My 8year old lab Ollie walks beautifully on a loose lead but when he sees someone he knows he can't wait to get to them and this has resulted in him pulling me over. Can anyone help me?
I am not sure what you mean. Pulling you over to meet the person? Or pulling you over on to the ground? Are you ending up flat on the ground? As I did once?
Hello and welcome to the forum. Whether your dog is puling you to the floor, or simply pulling you forwards, it's clear he is simply too excited by the person. The best way to approach this is by setting up scenarios, rather than simply dealing with it when it arises. Have your friend at a distance Ollie can cope with, and give him lots of treats and praise for looking away from the person. Let him look, but reward when he looks away. If he starts to pull forwards, you're too close, and have to increase the distance. If you use a clicker or a verbal event marker, this is a great time to use it, marking when he looks away. Over the course of several sessions, you can decrease the distance between you and your friend. Remember it's not necessarily going to be a linear improvement, so if he is struggling at a distance he was fine with before, just back it up a couple of steps and try again. Eventually, you'll end up in a position where you can walk up to your friend without any pulling. In the meantime, if you're out on walks and he does see someone he wants to pull over to, stick a handful of really high value treats by his nose, so he doesn't practice the bad behaviour. Or, if treats don't cut it, use a favourite toy or ball. Move yourself away to a distance you know he can cope with and use it as a training opportunity.
