Kelpie Puppy Too Focused!

[LovemyKelpie]

Hey Guys!!

I just registered here and was wondering if anyone has any advice for me...

I have a 3 month old kelpie named Durzo and he is wonderful and gorgeous and pretty much my new lover =P

I've had him for nearly a month now and we are doing pretty well, he sits, comes and walks well most of the time (as long as it's on his halti because he tends to want to pull).

We have also been attending puppy school which has been good, however he has a problem where he gets too focused on one certain puppy when playing and after a while that puppy (it changes each week) gets annoyed and snaps. When I remove him or try to distract him, Durzo just keeps going back to play with the same puppyand he gets over-focused one that one dog and this has resulted in at least 3 dog fights this week alone.

Also he tends to focus on the smaller dogs.. or the ones that don't want to play with him in the first place..

I think that the over-focusing is the only problem as the instructors said that he was exhibiting all the normal "come play with me" signs.

I have tried distracting him with squeaky-toys, a dog whistle, running around and treats but so far he just acts as if I'm not even there and I am now at a loss for ideas. He is not like this when there are no dogs/other pets around at all. (but he does the same if my 2 rabbits are out playing in their pen)

Do you have any ideas as to how I could get him focused on me when this happens? or at least get him to change his focus to another puppy before it gets out of control.

Hayley =DD

[Gayle.]

Don't let it happen in the first place. Keep him on the leash and close to you when there are other puppies or dogs around and don't let him participate in a puppy free-for-all, no matter how much fun it looks.

He is too young for a halti, did someone recommend that you use one?

[ellz]

I'm no Kelpie expert but I have to confess I'm not really a "fan" of puppy schools which are generally nothing more than an all-in uncontrolled excitement session just waiting for incidents to happen.

That said, as a person who has Staffordshire Bull Terriers (and a Kelpie), I would personally be keeping your puppy on lead whilst you don't have a lot of control of it via other methods. When it shows no signs of listening to you, keep it on a VERY short lead, use the time as a means to establish voice contact and remove it from the situation and calm it down BEFORE the level of play escalates to a fight.

In ANY situation, if you don't have effective control of your own dog, then you need to work on this before you allow the animal into a situation that could result in a scuffle or injury. It's all very well to say that it is at puppy school and supervised, but obviously it isn't being supervised WELL enough if your dog is able to intrude into the personal space of another dog for long enough to start an incident.

You have no right to allow your puppy to annoy another dog to the extent where it must snap and snarl to get the point across that it is not comfortable with the level of attention. IMO that is NOT being a responsible owner/handler.

[Kavik]

I don't think a halti is suitable on a 3 month old puppy. Surely a flat collar should suffice for such a young dog!

I also think you should not allow the pup to annoy the other pups like that. Put him on lead if he continues to go back and annoy the other pups. If he continues to do this he may become a bully or become aggressive towards other dogs - you DO NOT want that, believe me! I think it would be more beneficial to go to an obedience class where they do not routinely have free for all playing.

You can also work on focus on you exercises at home, and then transfer those to class and walking situations. Clicker and treats are your friend It is best to start focus exercises somewhere where there are not a lot of distractions to give yourself the best chance of success. This should help with the pulling on lead as well

[aussielover]

Agree with the others about the halti.

Really they should only be used as a training tool for large, strong dogs that the owner cannot control on a flat collar.

I am sure you are strong enough to control a little 3 month old kelpie puppy

It is unusual for such a young puppy to be getting into fights? Do you mean play fights or the real deal- causing injury etc???

I wouldn't be letting him offleash at this stage if he is not listening to you. The puppy class doesn't sound like the best imo. The teacher should really be taking charge and ensuring that no puppies are bullied etc and the fact that "fights" are breaking out isn't a good sign.

In our puppy school we had a very dominant rottie pup, a GSD, a mastiff cross and my lab puppy as well as a few smallies and there was never any fights at all.

The pups were always separated when they got too boisterous or if any inappropriate or dominating behaviour was occuring.

[persephone]

Hi, welcome!

I agree with what the others have said!!

1: keep him on lead.

2: please do not use a halti .. he is young , and you should be learning th eskills to walk /control him using voice, and a flat collar. :D

3:

Also he tends to focus on the smaller dogs.. or the ones that don't want to play with him in the first place..

he does the same if my 2 rabbits are out playing in their pen

just from reading your post... my GUESS is that this is not 'playing'/focussing- it sounds like prey drive... and if so, needs addressing.

If he is so focussed as a youngster, he may have terrific potential for learning things!!

Now, may I suggest you immediately start feeing him using THIS

[LovemyKelpie]

Thanks for the replys!

This is my first dog so I have mostly been going off advice from friends and people at the dog club.

During the off leash part of the puppy class, Once I see that he gets focused on a dog I tend to pull him away early and leash him and try to get his attention for 5 or so mins, even if he is looking around at the other dogs after this and I think he will find another dog to play with and release him, he runs straight back to the previous one and the cycle starts over again.

Also, the instructors don't like to interfere too much with the dogs as they say that they have to socialise and learn the rules themselves or something.

From what you guys have said and my experiences so far.. Beginners Obedience Classes start next week so I might head on to that one instead.

A friend who has a kelpie and a BC recommended me a halti because Durzo pulls so hard on the flat collar that he coughs and splutters. He seems fine with the halti and doesnt pull at all(It's a gentle leader if that makes a difference?) I have started walking along with him and giving him treats at totally random intervals and so now he walks along and pays close attention waiting for the next treat so I'll give it a try without a halti but i just don't want him to hurt himself.

I'd really love to do agility and advanced obedience later on with him. He's such a sweetie.

That "training with drive" system looks pretty good! I'm going to give that a try aswell =D

Thanks guys!

[poodlefan]

I'd really love to do agility and advanced obedience later on with him. He's such a sweetie.

You can't do either of those with a dog on a head harness. Head off to obedience and learn to teach him how to walk on a loose lead.

You need to learn how to get his focus rather than correcting him for focussing elsewhere. Hopefully a good obedience school can teach you.

[aussielover]

Thanks for the replys!

This is my first dog so I have mostly been going off advice from friends and people at the dog club.

During the off leash part of the puppy class, Once I see that he gets focused on a dog I tend to pull him away early and leash him and try to get his attention for 5 or so mins, even if he is looking around at the other dogs after this and I think he will find another dog to play with and release him, he runs straight back to the previous one and the cycle starts over again.

Also, the instructors don't like to interfere too much with the dogs as they say that they have to socialise and learn the rules themselves or something.

From what you guys have said and my experiences so far.. Beginners Obedience Classes start next week so I might head on to that one instead.

A friend who has a kelpie and a BC recommended me a halti because Durzo pulls so hard on the flat collar that he coughs and splutters. He seems fine with the halti and doesnt pull at all(It's a gentle leader if that makes a difference?) I have started walking along with him and giving him treats at totally random intervals and so now he walks along and pays close attention waiting for the next treat so I'll give it a try without a halti but i just don't want him to hurt himself.

I'd really love to do agility and advanced obedience later on with him. He's such a sweetie.

That "training with drive" system looks pretty good! I'm going to give that a try aswell =D

Thanks guys!

It is not good for the puppies that learn to be scared of big dogs, nor is it good for puppies who learn that bullying is ok.

You need to *train* him to walk on a flat collar, they don't just come fully leash trained and ready to go (i wish)

To start with when he pulls, DO NOT move, wait until he comes back close to your body (you can call him to get his attention), then reward and begin to move off again. You may not get very far, and keep these session very short (5-10 mins), quality of walking is more important than quantity at this stage.

If he is really strong, I would think a front leading harness might be a better training aid than a halti, that way you are not risking neck damage.

A lunging puppy on a halti may be injured.

Obedience school will potentially be able to help with this (though i went to one where they recommended all strong pulling dogs to be on a halti )

A good school will be able to teach him to walk on a flat collar or martingale collar.

Edited September 20, 2010 by aussielover

[Gayle.]

Lovemykelpie, I have a puppy and I set all the rules for him. He sets none for himself as he would not know how to set socializing rules without either him or another puppy getting hurt. So I say when he can "talk" to another puppy, how long for, whether he can touch the other puppy, whether he can have his lead off or not..........mostly not cos I'm a cruel mum like that.

But he's too little to set the rules himself so I do it to keep him safe from harm.

[siks3]

halti =

[persephone]

Love my kelpie , HALTI and GENTLE LEADER are both brand names for dog halters, or 'head harnesses'