Hi
   We have a 14 week Puppy just going walkies ,the prob is when we let her off lead (she good when off lead ) if she sees anyone she will race off and go up to them for fuss ,she always comes back ,after the fuss from stranger gggrrrr !!.How do you curb the racing off bit and get her to be more controlled and stop with us ,because when she is off lead and spots someone she races off before you can do anything about it .Keeping her on lead will not learn her for when she is off it .
And the people fussing her which they will all do while young (being so cutie cutie factor) will only encourage her more and the people are to far away to say dont give her any fuss .

any ideas on this ,thanks in advance ,or is it just a puppy thing that dies out with age ??? .

Hi, I used to have this problem with my boxer, she would always run off to strangers for affection til one day I hid from her and she couldn't find me. This seemed to have more or less done the trick. She will still go to strangers but only when they are close. She never strays too far though. Perhaps I was just lucky that it worked but its worth a go.

hi

i am going through this with my boxer at the mo she runs off to strangers but has the added problem that she jumps up and boy can she jump, i am going to try what lottieloulou did and hide, out of interest lottie did yours also jump up?

She never really jumped up at them just rub herself along their legs and wagged bottom like mad.They just seem to want to play with everyone and everything. What Digger says about making sure they understand the SIT command is all very well if your dog hasn't got selective hearing like mine. She is very well behaved, will sit, stay, come, when there is nothing around her very interesting but as soon as she focuses on something thats it she can't hear you.

hi lottieloulou

your very lucky your boxer does'nt jump up as its a common trait with boxers i never ever bump into anyone else with a boxer while on our walks yet their are a few where i live, when i have asked them where they walk they all say where theres no people around cos he/she jumps up, at the mo i refuse to give in and am desperately trying with the recall on a long lead she is showing improvements somedays then another day she'll be really bad, she is sitting on command but as soon as you say good girl she starts the jumping up again its very very tiresome to say the least.

jojo

You've got to be really alert and work on the 'sit' command so she will sit when ever you ask - that way you can ask her to 'sit' as soon as she sees somebody. It would also help if you ask her to 'sit' whenever she meets somebody new, on lead or not.

You could put your puppy on a long line and start teaching the recall on this in your garden and then when she is reliable start outside with distractions; your puppy needs very little outdoor exercise until it is 6 months but it is never too early to start training; unfortunately it is not something that your puppy will "grow out of" but something which will become worse and worse as she gets older because it is self rewarding.

Successful recall training is a long slog with most dogs and takes at least 18 months before your dog is 100% reliable during which time you must never let up training.  Allow your puppy to mooch about to the end of the 30ft line and then recall her excitedly with X come and reward with a treat; try to make the treats very rewarding and different so that you are like a human slot machine.  So use cheese, liver, tripe etc or you can use her food and ONLY feed at recalls or 50% of her food comes that way.  Do NOT tug on the line and ONLY reward the fastest recalls, if she does not come ignore her and walk the other way; she will soon get the idea.

You don't say how big your dog is but not everyone likes dogs and some people are afraid of them and everyone has a right to walk unmolested by uncontrolled dogs!  It is also somewhat less than amusing if you have a recuperating/ill/aggressive dog on a lead and you have to deal with an out of control dog!

It is the owner's responsibility to ensure that their dogs do NOT interfere with anyone or anything else and to extend the same courtesy to others as they would expect for themselves.  If you have a dog with selective hearing it requires more motivation, further training, or to be kept on a line for its own and others safety!

Also it is wise to remember that apart from euthanasia more dogs die from not having a recall than everything else put together!

Do not relax after a few weeks as most dogs hit the "up yours" button around 8 months - 18 months old :D

I think most of what I planned to reply Tohme has already mentioned ..... :)
Good luck
Lel

By the way as our Staffy is very "into" sticks we often used to distract him with a stick if we saw something interesting up ahead before he did- but you can use a favoured toy in much the same way

Please be VERY careful with sticks - many many dogs have sufered serious injuries from sticks, and some have died :(

I think Tohme says it all with the bit about not relaxing. Sparky has a long line and harness - whenever we have a walk where his recall isn't up to scratch, he's back on the long line for a week, then we try again. One of our main problems is that so many people have treated or fussed him when he jumped at them as a pup. When he is off lead, I've found the best way to avoid problems with him is to make sure he's on his lead going round bends, through the trees, etc. I scan as far ahead as I can see, and put him onlead if the oncomers are dog-less, or have a dog onlead, look elderly or have very young kids with them. If he is a way in front I usually have to run back in the opposite direction first, or hide in the trees, or wave something interesting at him (no jokes please ;)), like a big leaf! Being a collie, he also responds well to me darting about like a fool, left, right, left right, with him trying to catch up. As they pass, I then get him to sit. It's all a bit time consuming and it means the walk is a bit "stop-start", but he is starting to stop straining now, so hopefully there is an end in sight. I try leaving him off lead if the people coming have dogs offlead, and  I'm now getting better at being bossy with people too, and asking them not to fuss him if he jumps.

My brother in law has his own method by the way - more direct. He has a friend who he arranges to meet on the park the first time he takes a new dog out (dogs never having met him before). They pass as if strangers, and if one of his labs jumps up, the poor thing gets a sharp knee in the chest from his friend. He reckons it's very effective, but couldn't it make a dog fearful of/aggressive towards strangers? Be interested to hear if anyone else has heard of this one.

Tracy

This is a very old fashioned method and entirely unnecessary; why punish the dog for normal behaviour?  It is so much easier to click and treat correct behaviour and ignore incorrect; the dog is not stupid and will cotton on extremely well.

hi

i have been told to punch her in the chest when she jumps up but theres no way  i would do this to her the thought of it makes me feel sick. Is'nt it dangerous as i thought their heart was somewhere between their front legs? 

jojo

That's what I thought. Unfortunately, B-i-l is very set in his ways, and does have very obedient dogs, he tends to make me feel like the little weak woman who knows nothing and is much too soft whenever we get talking about dogs!

Think I'll recommend he has a peep at CD for more up-to-date methods! ;)

By the way, just back from walk with Sparky - walked part way round with old chap who walks his daughter's vizla(?). He stopped to do a "poop scoop", and the minute Sparky heard plastic bag rustling, he instantly thought a treat was on the way, so started jumping. When he finally realised that wasn't working, he sat for him - still no treat, so he went round the back of the chap and did a "finish", sitting at the side of him, nearly wagging his tail off. I gave him a treat for that one, when I managed to stop giggling!

Tracy

Jojo,

I cannot imagine anyone advising someone to punch their dog in the chest.  

When the dog moves to jump you can bring you knee up, it surprises the dog and because it throws them slightly off balance it forces them to put all four paws back on the ground.  You are not kneeing them in the chest either, they are simply coming into contact with the lower part of your leg before they have a chance to hit your chest with their front paws.  This is for an nearly fully grown or adult dog, however, not a young puppy.

Stacey

In general I have found this method to be worse than useless especially in the very boisterous breeds; physical contact such as this is just an invitation to play and throw themselves about even more :(

You're right Digger - there was a local dog here who actually died, really sad.  He was a rescue I think, went to a middle-aged couple - anyway, they used to walk him on the beach, and throw a stick for him.  Then over the summer, the stick somehow landed with the dog jumping on top and it actually impaled him.  Before the owners could get to it, the dog pulled it out himself, but he later died.  Of course that is probably a bit of a freak accident, but it's just one of those things I'm never going to forget.  That poor dog.
  Hilda

A puppy from my first litter ran onto a stick he was chasing and impaled himself and as the stick broke he got lots of bits in him.

The vet was removing bits of stick for years afterwards as they caused problems in various places.

Chrisitne

Tohme is right!  The other thing I will mention is a method i use with my pup who is now 22 weeks and we had the same problem :rolleyes: - Our pup is clicker trained so we are able to use this whilst on the walks - Thing is, as with most puppies we can have a perfect traing session and then once outside with all those distractions it all goes out the window!  And in a way, who can blame 'em?  They are puppies at the end of the day and they are bound to find other dogs, people, children and bikes more interesting - and I speak from experience!!  Our recalls are brill when there are no distractions but Lana loves running over to school kids that pass through our field in the morning (their teachers must wonder where the muddy prints are coming from ) - So what we did was click and treat her just for coming back without being called, we also would take hold of her collar, click and treat and let her go again - just so she didn't associate us with fun stopping and back on lead!  Then, when we saw another dog or person we totally ignored her and walked in the other direction...It kind of lost all its novelty this way and Lana wondered why we weren't interested - In fact we actively encouraged her to greet these dogs and people.  We do this in a packed park, ashton court mansion in Bristol.  Now when a cycle goes bombing past she will give a short chase but then turn round and come back and not at any point do we call her back - and the beauty of the clicker is that she can be clicked for turning away from the bike while at a distance (however timing is essential if you cant click for the turn away, dont click) as the treat can be delayed as long as the click is on time!  You do need to communicate with other people lots and keep them informed at times of what you are doing with your pup - we have had difficulty with young children with toys as they are easily scared of a bouncy puppy and yet they are sooo tempting for pup so in situations like this I again ignore the situation and if Lana doesn't follow then I supervise until Lana is bored with the situation which makes her easier to recall - The worse thing to do is stand there calling the dog, you will reinforce its drive to investigate and teach it to ignore its name..So I've found!  Another quick trick when you are in a secure environment is to play a little hide and seek with pup, this way when you appear pup gets all excited and learns not to take you for granted!
Sarah

Hi Tracy,

Re the kneeing the dog in the chest thing - to my shame i have done it myself years ago .... but any fool who does it also runs the very real risk of internal injury to the dog  :( so stick to your guns. I would never, ever do it now i know a bit more about training.

Lindsay

When a dog tends to run to people and jump up, its very difficult to ignore the dog though Sarah. As you say young children tend to be scared of a boisterous dog which makes tends to excite the dog even more. My 8 month old pup gets very excited by people especially children and twice i have been in a very embarrassing situation where my off lead pup (Not off lead anymore - back to long line) has run over to some children and made a nuisance of herself. The first time she wasn't too far away but the screaming and running children (not to mention the bouncing dog) made it impossible to ignore, and just as impossible to seperate. The second time yesterday she was off lead when a family appeared, she ran some distance over to them and began barking her head off at them. She ignored all my calls, and i couldn't catch her for ages cos she wouldn't stay still, but i just couldn't walk off, because it wouldn't look very good if she didn't follow, which being an independent pup is very possible. I was in a similar situation with my first dog who was a problem because of fear not excitement. When she was younger she became scared of a man just walking towards her and began barking. I tried calling to start with but if didn't work so i tried ignoring her.It didn't work and so the man kicked her twice. (Non-dog lovers don't think twice about something like that, and wouldn't if the dog was jumping up in excitement either) To this day she still barks at men, thanks to that man making her ten times worse. Basically what i am trying to say that it might be better to keep the dog on a long line until the dog is older and more obedient, so that if the dog misbehaves you have a way of enforcing the recall. As its been said before, not everyone welcomes even a friendly greeting form a dog.

Your right..I guess it's a suck it and see situation - What worked for mine may not be the right technique for another?  I also enlisted the help of my two nieces who are 7 and 8 and eventually she even got bored of them :rolleyes:  Course if I do need her to come back because she is scaring a child and she ignores me I do end up going to get her.  But my pup's strengths were when greeting other dogs, she is well socialised and was meeting known dogs before her jabs were finished and I guess because we used the ignore technique with that it now works with people/chilrden (but not horse poo, unfortunately!!)  We had a situation once where she chased a jogger and he turned round and told her to **** Off!!  But it worked!!  Mind you if he had kicked her we seriously would have had a situation on our hands!  We walk twice a day in a busy dog-friendly park going back a few weeks I used to dread walking her but I was always calling her back before she had even done anything, but at the moment we are on a good phase and I can prove everyone wrong who said my hound is a breed that is disobedient that cant be let off!
Sarah :)

Ah all training seems to go out the window when they hit adolescence i'm afraid, i'm pining for that perfect little puppy i used to have, enjoy it whilst it lasts!! ;-)

Doh!!! :D

Forewarned is fore armed, Sarah :) As soon as you see the long stare into the horizon at 6 months, get the long line out and you may be spared the problems we caused ourselves by not understanding dog development. And no our dog was not an impulse buy, we did do our homework, but relied on a Gwen Bailey leaflet about adult rescue dogs instead of getting a puppy book. We learn by our mistakes. :D

We have just come back from our walk, it wasn't as busy today but I guess some people have gone back to work!  We saw a few families with children but the dog stayed with us - she did stop and stare at one lot in the distance but because we were walking the otherway she decided to come with us!  She's not perfect - especially when she meets a youngster who wants to play as much as she does but I just let her carry on for now then leave when I'm ready...I also find that a pocket of liver cake helps ;) - I will look out for that long stare at 6 months Lorelei!!  Hope she's not going to be too much of a bad egg when she's a teen - my brother is bad enough :D  We are starting group walks soon with our clicker training class and we go on group walks with my 'In-laws' four dogs so hopefully this will help!  I did buy a 9 metre lunge rein though...Just in case :)
Sarah

hi

re,lottieloulou's advise on hiding from the dog, tried it today and it worked a treat she was begining to panic i was hid in a bush (don't laugh) so's i could keep sight of her she was so pleased to find me she did'nt take her eyes off me for the rest of the walk, she ran ahead but only so far then ran back to check on me so thanks lottie just going to keep my fingers crossed that it continues.

have a good new year everyone, look forward to posting in 2004 have to go its party time!!!!

kind regards
jojo

Hi JoJo, really glad that it worked for you. I keep doing it to Roxy every so often just to keep her on her toes. Now I find it hard to get away to hide as she will keep turning and checking that I am still there. Good luck!

The only trouble with the hiding technique is that you have to check that there is no one around as i have had some really funny looks from people over the last few months, thinking i'm up to no good!
THey then just think i'm mad when i suddenly break into a run calling the dog in a high pitched voice and then going bananas when she reaches me.
I think dogs live to cause owners to make fools of themselves!!