I was wondering about this a few days ago. I seem lucky at the moment that my two don't barge past when walking on a narrow path. Shadow does tend to stand on my heels a lot, especially when I have snow shoes on, but he stays behind until I tell him to pass. But, I know several adult labs and GRs who barge past quite badly. It can nearly knock you off your feet. Because of where we live, we're often on narrow paths where it's not wide enough to pass easily. How would you go about training a dog to have some manners and not push you out the way when in this situation? Just by training a "walk behind" cue, and making them do that until it's practical to get by? It would be nice to be able to teach something that doesn't need a cue, though, for when they're running free and you don't notice them coming up behind.
Re: Training to not barge past? I taught this by using the words I go first when opening a door . So , home from a walk , I go to open the front door , Sam would edge forward to try and get in first whereupon I would block him using my right leg and gently push him back saying " I go first " . It didn't take long for the penny to drop , Millie too although harder with her because she is very small, but I do use this command on narrow paths and it seems to work, much better than a clout in the back of the knees from a lump of a Labrador
Re: Training to not barge past? Mine know not to barge through doors and I just did this by gently closing the door if they tried to push past. The same as jumping out of the car or bursting out of the crate at home. Sometimes I want Riley to go in ahead of me so I put "inside" on cue. You could easily do the reverse though and then move it from door/gateways to narrow paths.
Re: Training to not barge past? Our choco used to barge past depending on the scenario. I found that blocking with your legs is very effective followed by a buzz word of your choosing. Worked a treat.
