shags Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Hi aall, I have a four month old Staffy. She is going great in general. However, being a Staffy loves other people, kids and dogs. So if we let her off the lead at a park or the beach, if she sees any of these within 80 metres, she is off to say hello and then being as cute as she is, welcomed with open arms by those she visits. Will this desire of hers just grow out over time as she matures or is there something I can do, other than not letting her off the lead? When no one else is around, then she stays right by our side and is great. She just cant resist the temptation of saying hello to others? Cheers Eamonn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Train her to come when she is called and don't let her off lead until she is reliable. Use a long line if you want to give her more room to run around. She definitely won't grow out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Do you go to obedience classes? What training do you do with her each day? She's only a baby still, so needs a lot of work to achieve excellent recall . Until she is reliable at recall, she doesn't get to free run in areas where others are. It could be very dangerous ..and no, she will not grow out of it - she'll just be able to run further ;) I think you will get some good ideas from reading this thread about a similar`problem . CLICK HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumof4girls Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) My next door neighbour has a dog and he stands and calls and calls and ends up going and getting her when she runs off.. He doesn't go to obedience classes, go figure.. If you can't get to classes there are some great books out also, the focussed puppy is great :-) Edited December 13, 2011 by mumof4girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 It's very easy to train them to have recall and well worth it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doglifetraining Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 She sounds very cute! Work on recall skills like: Name recognition Calling her to 'come' when she is running towards you (this can either be set up with a friend holding her or just whenever she runs towards you) Then doing both of the above with small distractions like smells on the ground or when she is watching something. Then increase the level of distractions over several months. Only let her off lead when she cant race up to people, cute now, but in a few months you could be 'done' for having a dog that 'rushes'. So either enclosed spaces or off lead when no one is around. To continue her socialisation walk her up to people and dogs on lead, then let her off. You dont want her to practice rushing up to people. She will not grow out of this. Check out some more recall info here... doglifetraining.com/recall Be vigilant when you walk her and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktig Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 As cute as I'm sure she'd be I'd be annoyed if I had my pup or worse, my parents dog aggressive dog out and about and had another pup run up to say hello. It'd end fine with my pup, but if I had my parents dog out, it may not end well for either of them. There's a reason I don't let him off lead and dogs that are offlead which approach him really annoy me if their owners can't call them back - they tend to be upset with me then as my dog appear quite aggressive. He's a lovely dog with people and other dogs he's met in a controlled environment, but not dogs that appear out of no-where just "to say hi". She won't grown out of it, just get bigger and faster, so until you are able to get a reliable recall, I'd keep your pup on a lead - you just never know how another dog is going to respond and it'd be awful if anything happened to your pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Hi aall, if she sees any of these within 80 metres, she is off to say hello and then being as cute as she is, welcomed with open arms by those she visits. I would be annoyed if she ran up to my dogs. If you can't control her keep her on a lead. All off lead dogs still need to be under control, that means great recall. What are you going to do the day she runs up and gets into another dogs face and she causes a fight??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skully Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 We are having this problem at the moment with our 5 1/2 month old English Staffy pup. She's great at recall when no one else is around and is starting to get better with slight distractions...but if she's interested in something its just impossible to get her back. We have resorted to the long line lead when there are other dogs around, but let her off when we're alone in the park. I think it will just take practice... I'm just worried she will run onto the road one day and wont stop when i call her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 We are having this problem at the moment with our 5 1/2 month old English Staffy pup. She's great at recall when no one else is around and is starting to get better with slight distractions...but if she's interested in something its just impossible to get her back. We have resorted to the long line lead when there are other dogs around, but let her off when we're alone in the park. I think it will just take practice... I'm just worried she will run onto the road one day and wont stop when i call her. That actually means that she has no recall . Having recall does not mean the dog comes when it feels like it or there is nothing better to do, it means they return to you each and every time you call, regardless of distractions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I'm just worried she will run onto the road one day and wont stop when i call her. IMO dogs anywhere near an unfenced road should never be off leash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 She sounds very cute! Work on recall skills like: Name recognition Calling her to 'come' when she is running towards you (this can either be set up with a friend holding her or just whenever she runs towards you) Then doing both of the above with small distractions like smells on the ground or when she is watching something. Then increase the level of distractions over several months. Only let her off lead when she cant race up to people, cute now, but in a few months you could be 'done' for having a dog that 'rushes'. So either enclosed spaces or off lead when no one is around. To continue her socialisation walk her up to people and dogs on lead, then let her off. You dont want her to practice rushing up to people. She will not grow out of this. Check out some more recall info here... doglifetraining.com/recall Be vigilant when you walk her and good luck. Try and allow your dog to meet as many other dogs off lead as possible, this helps their confidence, and they will not be so excitable when interacting with other dogs. Dogs that socialise a lot tend to be calmer, and more controllable, meeting dogs is nothing new for them. I would certainly not advise this for any puppy owner, let alone the owner of an SBT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I'm just worried she will run onto the road one day and wont stop when i call her. IMO dogs anywhere near an unfenced road should never be off leash. I prefer unfenced parks (as they attract less idiots) and that means unfenced parks near roads as I'm in the 'burbs. However my boy has an excellent recall. Look at getting the Really Reliable Recall DVD, well worth the money. It could save your dogs life. IMO, most obedience classes don't give people the skills to get a fantastic recall (ie recall from chasing a bunny etc). Some basics: i) Always reward your dog when they recall. Always. With something they enjoy (eg roast chicken). I still do this with my 4 year old dog. ii) Before you let your dog off its leash, get his/her attention. I always play a game with my boy when I unclip the leash. This meant that, whenever I unclip it, it looks to me first. This reduces the chance of him just running off as soon as the leash comes off. iii) At home, get some really nice treats and stand next to your dog. Say "come" and shove a treat into their mouth - they don't have to do anything. Repeat 20+ times over a few days. Then, a few meters away, say come. If they come running, treat, treat treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. If not, go back to step 1. Then try it in another room and do the same. Then in the garden etc. You should be practicing this hundreds of hundreds of times (not all at the same time! Just once or twice a session). This is called classical condition and your dog will become conditioned to come = I come straight away, without even thinking. iv) When you treat your dog for coming, sometimes give one treat, sometimes give a few (first in rapid succession, then more slowly). This means that, once he comes, he won't run off. Rather, he'll hang around for a bit which is handy if you're recalling him in an emergency. Work on being interesting to your dog so he doesn't see the need to run off to find fun. Do you play tug with him? Goof around with him? Basically, don't be worried about embarrassing yourself in public, run around, play with him, act like an idiot and he'll think you're the bees knees and see no need to find fun with other people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shags Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 I think a long lead might be the go. I do lots of abedience training and like I said she is very good and developing well when it is just Mum & Dad. But she is just this super friendly little thing that wants to say hi to everyone, so easily distracted. Sounds like my report card at school. "Has potential but easily distracted?". She has done Puppy pre-school an dtsrats puppy school in January. This might help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skully Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) We are having this problem at the moment with our 5 1/2 month old English Staffy pup. She's great at recall when no one else is around and is starting to get better with slight distractions...but if she's interested in something its just impossible to get her back. We have resorted to the long line lead when there are other dogs around, but let her off when we're alone in the park. I think it will just take practice... I'm just worried she will run onto the road one day and wont stop when i call her. That actually means that she has no recall . Having recall does not mean the dog comes when it feels like it or there is nothing better to do, it means they return to you each and every time you call, regardless of distractions. as I said, she is getting better with slight distractions, we can't expect her to have perfect recall with distractions right away. Training is a process. Edited December 13, 2011 by skully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 We are having this problem at the moment with our 5 1/2 month old English Staffy pup. She's great at recall when no one else is around and is starting to get better with slight distractions...but if she's interested in something its just impossible to get her back. We have resorted to the long line lead when there are other dogs around, but let her off when we're alone in the park. I think it will just take practice... I'm just worried she will run onto the road one day and wont stop when i call her. That actually means that she has no recall . Having recall does not mean the dog comes when it feels like it or there is nothing better to do, it means they return to you each and every time you call, regardless of distractions. as I said, she is getting better with slight distractions, we can't expect her to have perfect recall with distractions right away. Training is a process. It is very easy to get an SBT pup to think that you are it's entire world. They don't need to meet and greet every dog and person they come across. Limit the interactions, to a few that you can control the situation and focus on the games and food rewards, that make you the best person in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 She sounds very cute! Work on recall skills like: Name recognition Calling her to 'come' when she is running towards you (this can either be set up with a friend holding her or just whenever she runs towards you) Then doing both of the above with small distractions like smells on the ground or when she is watching something. Then increase the level of distractions over several months. Only let her off lead when she cant race up to people, cute now, but in a few months you could be 'done' for having a dog that 'rushes'. So either enclosed spaces or off lead when no one is around. To continue her socialisation walk her up to people and dogs on lead, then let her off. You dont want her to practice rushing up to people. She will not grow out of this. Check out some more recall info here... doglifetraining.com/recall Be vigilant when you walk her and good luck. Try and allow your dog to meet as many other dogs off lead as possible, this helps their confidence, and they will not be so excitable when interacting with other dogs. Dogs that socialise a lot tend to be calmer, and more controllable, meeting dogs is nothing new for them. I would certainly not advise this for any puppy owner, let alone the owner of an SBT. I agree. I only let my pups meet other dogs in a controlled environment. It only takes one bad experience to ruin a pup and SBT's need extra cautiousness. I avoid off lead dogs like the plague with my pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aziah Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 (edited) Hi aall, I have a four month old Staffy. She is going great in general. However, being a Staffy loves other people, kids and dogs. So if we let her off the lead at a park or the beach, if she sees any of these within 80 metres, she is off to say hello and then being as cute as she is, welcomed with open arms by those she visits. Will this desire of hers just grow out over time as she matures or is there something I can do, other than not letting her off the lead? When no one else is around, then she stays right by our side and is great. She just cant resist the temptation of saying hello to others? Cheers Eamonn Simple - don't allow her off lead until you have established effective recall. You can practice that when you are alone at the beach or park or home, progress to a long lead when people are around and use that to help in your training. They say that reliable recall displays a great bond between dog and its human. Edited December 14, 2011 by Aziah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I agree with other - you need a strong recall. Your pup is still a baby, so it is probably a bit too much to ask of her at this stage. Sounds like your pup need to be on a long lead until she learns not to run off. You do not want her getting into bad habits. Another technique is to build strong value for being with you. Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Poor Staffordlove was horrified at how quickly my guys recall and how often they check in at full speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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