Stirring Other Dogs Up On Walks

[HugUrPup]

Miley has been very naughty lately when we go on walks.

If someone is heading towards us with a dog, she starts barking her tails wags etc, so I'm not sure if it's a let's play bark or a come on, I'll "go you" bark.

She barked at a Pitbull 2 days ago who was also on his lead and he was so anxious around her he poo'd while they were face to face

Today she was barking at an older blue healer which had apparently been locked in a yard for 3 months, so he was already over excited to begin with, but her barking and carry on really made him go nuts. If these dogs weren't on leads, I think there would be disaster and I doubt she would come away the winner

She doesn't even worry about size.. she barked at a brown Lab and a poodle last week too

I want to socialise her more, but she seems like a bully. Ollie on the other hand is so mellow he just ignores other dogs.

[HugUrPup]

*crickets*

[mokhahouse]

Good on you for recognizing that this is a problem and wanting to do something about it. Being the owner of two labradors I hate it when owners of smaller breeds think it is ok for their dog to go off at my dogs but it would be completely unacceptable if my dogs did it to theirs. Have you tried distracting her with treats or a toy when another dog comes into sight and praising her if she ignores the dog and focuses on you. I used this with Molly and it really worked well. I also remind her to "leave it" if she shows interest in another dog and keep walking past at a fast pace praising or giving a treat if she does not look to the other dog. Perhaps you could socialize with some friends dogs of different sizes so she gets used to other dogs. Good luck, I know it is annoying when they do this but I am a complete amateur when it comes to training dogs but this is one thing I have had success in. Other things I am still working on.

[Snout Girl]

have you done any obedience training with miley?

[HugUrPup]

It's embarrassing having a dog who carries on like a yap yapper.

I tell her no and pull her close to me and walk past quickly, but the entire time she is ruff ruff ruff and trying to lunge at them

She was de barked by the breeder before I got her, so I wonder if that it also contributing to it.. she feels like she has to play it big to protect herself *shrugs*

Her bark is still there but very soft and husky.

Not sure with the treats.. Ollie is on a diet and his nose would get out of joint if I didn't give him anything.

[HugUrPup]

have you done any obedience training with miley?

No I only got her around 6 months ago.. she is 3 and a half. Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

[Jake-K9]

You definitely CAN teach an old dog new tricks! Mythbusters have proved it too :P

I would enrol her in obedience classes asap Even going down there with so many dogs around she may be very excited on her first night, but after a while the novelty will wear off and she will calm down - this may even be enough to stop the issues on walks. If not start teaching her focus (look or watch) and if you can get her to focus while walking do that, and then reward when you are past the other dog, or if you can't manage it while walking, move off to one side, put her in a sit, and ask for focus until the other dog has passed, then make a big fuss of her

Good luck with it, and good on you for not thinking that just because your dog is small that it's 'cute', or that they are allowed to get away with it!

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

It's called on lead aggression! I had a shocking foxy who was like it with other dogs, cyclists, buses and so on.

I took him to dog training and taught him to sit. Whenever something was coming that he didn't like, I distracted him and fed him treats, making it all very positive.

After 2 weeks of this on a daily basis, he was really good!

[HugUrPup]

I'll look up an obedience class in my local area

[Zhou Xuanyao]

Id have her on a little check chain and correct her, not when she barks, but when she looks like she is about to bark.

The idea is to get her at the right time. Too early and she has no clue what is going on (bad mum), too late and the training will take much longer and the correction will have to be firmer (bad mum), just right and you can train with a gentle but firm correction and she will get the message quickly (good mum).

It's embarrassing having a dog who carries on like a yap yapper.

Aside from being embarrassing, small dogs who punch above their weight can have short lifespans.

[persephone]

The idea is to get her at the right time. Too early and she has no clue what is going on (bad mum), too late and the training will take much longer and the correction will have to be firmer (bad mum), just right and you can train with a gentle but firm correction and she will get the message quickly (good mum).

Yes, after input from a trainer, this may work very well on your dog...then again it may not be the most appropriate for Miley...I hope you can get in touch with a trainer who can see you personally.

[HugUrPup]

Id have her on a little check chain and correct her, not when she barks, but when she looks like she is about to bark.

The idea is to get her at the right time. Too early and she has no clue what is going on (bad mum), too late and the training will take much longer and the correction will have to be firmer (bad mum), just right and you can train with a gentle but firm correction and she will get the message quickly (good mum).

It's embarrassing having a dog who carries on like a yap yapper.

Aside from being embarrassing, small dogs who punch above their weight can have short lifespans.

It's embarrassing that I haven't trained her properly.. and it's very worrisome because as I said, if these dogs weren't on leads, it would have been disaster. There's no way I would take her to an off leash area like this.

I walk her with a harness because she is a brachy breed and it was recommended, but I am happy to try the check chain and actually know how to use one (was shown by a trainer a few years ago).

[Jake-K9]

Can I suggest a martingale instead? Will be a little kinder on her neck (and less likely to slip off accidentaly!).

I have found some good ones at K9Pro http://www.k9pro.com.au/categories.php?cat...tingale-Collars and I'm sure if he doesn't have one small enough to fit he can order in or direct you to where else you may find them

[magnet]

Id have her on a little check chain and correct her, not when she barks, but when she looks like she is about to bark.

The idea is to get her at the right time. Too early and she has no clue what is going on (bad mum), too late and the training will take much longer and the correction will have to be firmer (bad mum), just right and you can train with a gentle but firm correction and she will get the message quickly (good mum).

It's embarrassing having a dog who carries on like a yap yapper.

Aside from being embarrassing, small dogs who punch above their weight can have short lifespans.

It's embarrassing that I haven't trained her properly.. and it's very worrisome because as I said, if these dogs weren't on leads, it would have been disaster. There's no way I would take her to an off leash area like this.

I walk her with a harness because she is a brachy breed and it was recommended, but I am happy to try the check chain and actually know how to use one (was shown by a trainer a few years ago).

So glad to hear to you wouldn't risk having her off lead in these situations. I had a very overexcited Lab (she just over 5 months) to contend with when two Pomeranians were let out of the car by their owner and then proceeded to run around the park (unleashed) barking at all and sundry and then bailed us up. Billie was on lead in an on lead area. I waited patiently for the owner to appear and grab her dog, but all I got was a filthy look from the owner and disinterested call to her dog that wasn't listening! Argh! I was just flabbergasted that this woman would let her dogs behave this way, and given that there are plenty of other bigger dogs around, it's so dangerous.

There is no way I would let Billie run around at will like that. I too am working with my dog to get her to calm down around other dogs, and not see every dog as an opportunity to play. It's a hard one, but persistence I guess. I'm doing a distance course with K9Pro and Steve is putting together an exercise for me to address this very thing!

Good luck with your little girl.

[Aidan]

You might find some of the information in this thread helpful:

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=193061

[sas]

Miley has been very naughty lately when we go on walks.

If someone is heading towards us with a dog, she starts barking her tails wags etc, so I'm not sure if it's a let's play bark or a come on, I'll "go you" bark.

She barked at a Pitbull 2 days ago who was also on his lead and he was so anxious around her he poo'd while they were face to face

Today she was barking at an older blue healer which had apparently been locked in a yard for 3 months, so he was already over excited to begin with, but her barking and carry on really made him go nuts. If these dogs weren't on leads, I think there would be disaster and I doubt she would come away the winner

She doesn't even worry about size.. she barked at a brown Lab and a poodle last week too ;)

I want to socialise her more, but she seems like a bully. Ollie on the other hand is so mellow he just ignores other dogs.

It's not neccessarily about socialising the dog, it's about you showing her what the boundaries are, if you're not sure how to do this, have a session with a behaviourist, even just one session can set you on the right path

I don't think an onedience club is the right way to go at the moment, you'll end up stressed because she'll probably be worse there and the instructors may not know how to deal with her, I really do reccomend having one session with a behaviourist before embarking on something like an obedience club.

I walk her with a harness because she is a brachy breed and it was recommended, but I am happy to try the check chain and actually know how to use one (was shown by a trainer a few years ago).

Being a brachy breed doesn't mean you can't walk it on a coller but it does mean you have to train it to walk on a collar. A harness if only teaching the dog to pull, however you could look at getting a front clipping no pull harness.

Edited April 8, 2010 by sas

[sas]

have you done any obedience training with miley?

No I only got her around 6 months ago.. she is 3 and a half. Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

She's not old. Give the dog credit, she could learn 100 commands if that is what you wanted her to do.

Within 6 months you could have taught her a lot, but that's ok, you're willing to do it now.

[stormie]

Obedience may help, but I think you're going to have to work on the issue whilst out walking. I find the excitement level at obedience much lower than when out walking. At 'school', Orbit is great, in fact, he really seems quite bored with it, and exercises like passing other dogs etc mean nothing to him. Get him out on a walk though and passing other dogs and it's quite different and I actually have to put in more work and corrections with him.

I agree with sas' advice to seek out a behaviourist to come and do a 1 on 1 session with you to see how she behaves first hand.

[Danois]

Agree that 3.5 is not too old. Training can happen at any age and age is not an excuse for bad manners.

I also do not think it is fair on the owners of the other dogs to encounter a dog behaving like that.

Re being brachy - is she a CKCS? I always understood that CKCS are not a brachy breed

[stormie]

Re being brachy - is she a CKCS? I always understood that CKCS are not a brachy breed

Not as obviously as the main ones, but seeing they don't really fit into either of the other two types, they would probably be classed as brachy