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Exercises To Help An Awkward Dog?


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My young Dobe boy (6mths) gets terribly awkward in direct relationship to how excited he is and how fast he is going. :mad

When he is running around he doesn't seem to be aware of any object in his flight path and is not only a danger to himself but also to any human in the vacinity.

He has run into me twice in the last few days and I have the bruises to prove it. :mad

It usually happens when he is playing chasings with his best friend or whenever he gets really excited. He nearly squashed his best buddy today and then smacked into me!

I know with kids they can give them exercises to make them more spacially aware - does anyone know of anything that will help my furkid??? :)

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Shinguards? :)

My boy was the same at that age and he's gotten a little better, but he's still pretty crazy and rough when he's excited. I imagine that if you train her to have a decent recall you could call her back when she gets too nuts with other dogs and have her sit before she runs into you.

You might still have to deal with a bit of bruising though, last time I did that with my boy he ran up, headbutted me in a place that makes me glad I'm not a boy and then bounced down to a sit :mad

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I sometimes think I need full body armour!!! :)

Today he had to put the brakes on real quick because he didn't realise the garage was so close. He nearly squashed his best doggy buddy who is considerably smaller than him and had a major wack into the shed door.

Typical male, can only think of one thing at a time! :mad

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I would worry, it is a sign of disrespect, for want of another term. It is no fun been knocked over by one of our dogs. Sorry, but I correct my dogs big time (with good timing), just as the older dogs would do, to the young zoomsters.

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I would worry, it is a sign of disrespect, for want of another term. It is no fun been knocked over by one of our dogs. Sorry, but I correct my dogs big time (with good timing), just as the older dogs would do, to the young zoomsters.

I feel exactly the same way. Dogs can & need to learn to watch where they're going. Mine certainly know it if they run into me.

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You know, that is exactly the same answer I would have given if I was reading this thread.

However, I demand a great deal of respect of my dogs here and insist on being alpha of my pack. They have to wait, sit and be still before they are fed, they are not allowed to surge through doorways before me, I am very careful they do not get rewarded for demanding, etc. etc.. I follow Jan Fennels methods and also NILIF method - no other dog of mine behaves in the way that the young Dobe does.

I had him desexed last week but at this stage don't know if it will have any impact on his behaviour ie. no more testosterone.

I have found him to have two personalities. One is the well behaved, cute, loving guy that is extremely obedient and respectful. The other side is him in "drive" which is when he is single minded in whatever he is involved with, to the extent that he doesn't see anything that is around him and it is difficult to get through to him.

At home when we practice his obedience exercises he is fantastic and very responsive (no distractions).

At class he is very difficult to get through to as he is so interested in every other dog in the class. This was up until classes stopped in December.

I am hoping that it is an age thing, but if you can think of anything that may help I would be very interested in hearing from you.

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Saltwood,

One particular labrador of mine, is very active. For example, when I let him out of his run in the mornings. He would quite happily run laps around the house for hours, which has obviously happened if I was distracted.

I would simply, when not distracted LOL, extend on what you have already been doing regarding leadership etc.

Find the times he runs about, and use those to advantage regarding extending his training. Faster sits etc.

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Sorry Saltwood, for being unclear (it is quite normal for me LOL)!!!!

When "this" particular youngster was released from his run in the mornings, I took the opportunity as he was running about toiletting and zooming close to me, (which he afforded me on endless occasions), to disencourage!!!!!!!!! him accidently running into me.

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Ah yes - I am trying to be more pro-active as I don't need any more bruises.

I guess it is an age thing and being such a big dog he is capable of unwittingly inflicting damage to those around him.

He trod on my sandal this afternoon and nearly tripped me up - so awkward!!

Dobes do tend to throw themselves around - Dobe before this one impaled itself on a stick just by galloping around in our paddock and flicked it up. The stick went in about 3cm - day at the vet with that one! :laugh:

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Ah yes - I am trying to be more pro-active as I don't need any more bruises.

I guess it is an age thing and being such a big dog he is capable of unwittingly inflicting damage to those around him.

He trod on my sandal this afternoon and nearly tripped me up - so awkward!!

Dobes do tend to throw themselves around - Dobe before this one impaled itself on a stick just by galloping around in our paddock and flicked it up. The stick went in about 3cm - day at the vet with that one! :rolleyes:

I understand. Hopefully age will help settle your youngster down. Does he do much free running in large areas? A tired dog, is normally a good dog.

I am sitting here, looking down at my very active fellow, fast asleep on my feet. He does rest. I cannot help notice grey flecks (his is black) where his coat has grown back and many hairless areas, due to him not taking care of himself. He is only 18 months. He is going to look old before his time.

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I am just wondering whether some of the agility exercises done with puppies would be useful for him. There are a number of exercises that can be done to teach rear end awareness in pups. Things to help them understand where their body is & how to use it. I will go & have a look for some articles. I guess they can't do any harm.

Do you take him for walks in the bush? Things like creeks, logs, slopes & ditches etc? Walks like that can be good for pups, as opposed to open flat areas. And the bonus is, if they are not able to negotiate things correctly. they run into water & branches, rather than into you, LOL.

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Yes we live in a rural area and he has several acres that are fenced to run in each day.

Today he was playing chasings with one of his buddies (a smaller breed) who ran up from the paddock and onto our verandah, under the outdoor furniture and over a dog bed. The Dobe was fixated on the smaller dog and didn't register that the furniture etc. was there - CRASH! BANG! - into the chair, table and dogbed, legs, bum, etc. everywhere!!! ;)

He had a bit of a rest after that one! :thumbsup: ;)

Restart obedience classes at the end of this week. As soon as he is trustworthy in his recall I will try to start him at agility - that looks like fun!

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