Going Nuts When Seeing Other Dogs On Walks

[samoyedman]

He's 16 months and still doing this whenever we see another dog on a leash. He'll pull like crazy and if he gets close, goes into hyper-play mode and want to jump all over them and play. Its not a dominance thing; he hasn't got an aggressive bone in his body.

Funny thing is he can walk straight past dogs behind gates/fences without even blinking at them.

Ive tried both stick and candy methods to curtail this behaviour but with no success.

I've also socialised him as best I could, taking him to puppy kindergarten and off leash parks fairly regularly to meet new dogs.

Thoughts?

[NaturallyWild]

I've also socialised him as best I could, taking him to puppy kindergarten and off leash parks fairly regularly to meet new dogs.

With all this socialisation have you introduced any level of self control or is it just automatic play-time. Does he have self control with other things that he really likes?

[Kavik]

Have you tried keeping his attention on you? Work on getting his attention on command at home (look or watch are common commands) then use that when you pass other dogs. Treats may come in handy :rolleyes:

There are several methods for teaching attention, I can tell you some if you are interested.

[pie]

There are several methods for teaching attention, I can tell you some if you are interested.

I'm interested

Just on this subject can anyone give tips on how to give the dog self control? My dog tends to get super excited and jump up on dog with his paws as well :rolleyes:

[mita]

I had a Tibbie foster that used to do that. Real soft sweetie at home, & totally obedient. But out walking on a leash was a different matter, whenever he spotted another dog coming along on a lead (behind fences or gates, he couldn't care less).

I was told to wheel around & start walking in the opposite direction to the approaching dog, then walk on a few yards, then give command 'Sit' & give him a treat. I did this consistently & we spent a lot of walking time, wheeling around in the opposite direction. But the base problem really stayed there.

Then he was adopted by a man we knew....a tall & well-built bloke. First time he took this boy out on a walk, not a peep out of the Tibbie, didn't matter how many dogs were approaching. He just never did it again when he was in the company of his new owner.

So I'd start by seeing if your dog does the same, no matter who takes him for a walk, & how big they are!

[Kavik]

Here are a couple of methods (there are others)

1) Using a clicker or other marker. Hold treat away from your face but level with face. When your dog looks away from the treat to you, click and treat. When the dog is doing it reliably, add command. Then try using command without showing the food first. I also click and treat any time the dog looks at me. When I see dogs, I put my dog in a sit, and get my dog to look at me.

2) Spit food :rolleyes: Seriously, for eye contact this works! You may find it gross though! I started with the food in my mouth (I use cheese) sitting/kneeling down, and have the dog take the food from my mouth. Then progress slowly (sit to kneel etc) til you are standing. By this stage you will need to spit/drop the food and have your dog catch it. This takes time and practice! But even my dopey GSD figured it out. Works best if you don't let them get the bits they dropped.