I've done a few more off lead walks in the quieter areas. The first two dogs on the vid are from last night - I called him away when he kept sticking his nose up the girl's bum, he knows better than that really, but she ran after us and played with Charlie so couldn't have been all that put out about it. So today, I went back to a busier area, and kept him on lead for a bit. This isn't an unusual thing for me to do in this area even though there are loads of off lead dogs. The first couple of open spaces next to the car park are packed with kids, kites, balls etc. so I usually keep him on lead for a bit and let him off lead once we are out of the really, really busy bit (otherwise he'll nick footballs etc ). I was unsure what to do about off lead (and on lead) dogs that ran up! He looked fine! His normal self, I think. He is interested, and looking over at dogs barking, but he has always done that. Normally, I'd expect him to walk at heel and ignore off lead dogs. Because I'm a bit uncertain I didn't cue him to walk at heel but just left the lead as loose as I could manage, in an attempt to either let him say hello or move away. Tut. I don't know whether this is ok or not - something the behaviourist can help me with, for sure (I hope, anyway). All that said, he really did look more or less like he has always looked.....to me, anyway. [click pic for vid] 30th april 1st may by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
(Couldn't get vid to work ) It will be interesting to see what the behaviourist says to do in that situation Julie. I think the standard behavioural advice would be that you did the right thing keeping the lead loose. You gave charlie the choice to say hello or not and by tightening a lead you can send the dog the wrong signal that your getting ready for something to happen so they do. Reactive dogs (I'm not labelling charlie reactive by the way) have a problem making a choice. They aren't sure they have a choice. Stuck on a lead where's the choice between fight or flight ? There isn't one they're stuck with fight. A loose lead makes them feel more like they have a choice. This is why training advice with reactive dogs starts with a big gap between the dog and it's trigger, reduce gap until dog starts to show interest then turn and walk away. The human makes the choice for the dog. It's not to avoid other dogs it's to show the reactive dog flight is an option. The gap reduces over time until no gap or turning and going in a different direction is needed. The difference with your situation is that under normal circumstances you would have had charlie at heel and ignore the off lead dog. By not doing your usual routine it could cause charlie confusion. When he walks to heel passed off lead dogs obviously his lead is loose but do you shorten it at all ? If not he then would still have the choice but you'd be following your usual routine. I think that is probably the best option. Charlie needs to know if a dog approaches him that worries him he can move away. If Charlie usually walks at heel passed off lead dogs and ignores them the problem should only arise if a dog approaches him that he doesn't like it's not charlie initiating the meeting it's the other dog so your usual routine shouldn't cause problems. I hope that makes sense.
I think lowering your criteria (not asking for heel) is just fine. Different situation but we were working on Riley's caution around jumping. While he was trying really hard and jumping as asked he clearly found it a challenge and everything else fell apart including heelwork. He also did a lot of nipping off for a nervous wee. It was important to focus on what we were trying to achieve and not the other components - work on one thing at a time. I agree with Jen about using a loose lead and giving Charlie choice Looks like the training is going well!!!!
I don't want to hijack your thread - but I'm going to a little anyway . You all know that Shadow has problems with other boy dogs. I came to the UK expecting to have lots of issues to deal with, because we'll see a lot more on a daily basis than we would in weeks back home. Over the bank holiday weekend, we've had potential contact with about a hundred boy dog. Mostly, we've gone with avoidance if we were going to end up on the same piece of land, and working on focus from a distance. Several times, though (maybe seven occasions), we've had boy dogs run up to us, and try to interact with my two. We've not had a single grumble from the little man. Nor have we had the stiff-legged posturing that we see every time at home. I don't know if this is to do with the different type of land we're on (here, it's big open fields, at home it tends to be narrow paths on hillsides with scrub, trees or rock on either side) or whether it's familiarity vs an unfamiliar environment. I'm really pleased with how many good interactions he's had, albeit we're still avoiding certain dogs - like the Malamute that attacked him when we were here last May that we bumped into! Sadly, life at my sister's with her cocker has been less pleasant. The behaviourist is coming tomorrow morning, and not before time!
@snowbunny The behaviourist will hopefully be able to answer your questions Fiona but I'd go with unfamiliar environment. It will be very interesting to know what the behaviourist says. Back home is it the same dogs shadow reacts too and the same places ? In the UK it's new dogs, new environment, except the Malamute PS. Whatever the reason it's great and should really help.
No, not at all. I can expect any new male to elicit a negative reaction in him. In retrospect, he's a lot easier-going when we're in open areas (meaning, still stiff, but I can call him away a lot more easily), but that may also be down to unfamiliar areas - the walks I do most often are more corridor-like, so it would be hard to say which of the factors (if either) is the major contributor. As soon as I saw a Malamute, I told J to take Shadow to the car. We were on our way there anyway, via the river to wash Willow off, because she had gotten filthy. I talked to his owner while washing off Willow, and she said that he walks beautifully with most dogs, but every now and again will attack one "for no reason". I guess Shadow was one of those. Because of this, she keeps him on a muzzle, which shows responsible ownership and I'm very thankful for.
