Hi
Can anyone give me advice? I have a 10 month old wheaten terrier who jumps at other dogs when we're out walking. Its as if she wants to play but doesn't know how to act around other dogs. After a few minutes she does calm down & lies down if I'm chatting but then when another dog comes along she does the same. She went to training classes from Feburary till June but even that didn't calm her down. At the moment its like walking with Tigger on speed & other dog owners who don't know her are starting to look at her as if she is aggressive which I'm sure shes not.
Thanks Sharon

Hi,
This sounds like fairly normal puppy behaviour. At 10 months, she is the equivalent of a teenager. Boisterous, bad mannered, disobedient, full of life. This phase will pass just be patient. It normally lasts 3-6 months. You could try diversionary tactics, when you see another dog approaching, grab her attention and give her a treat. It's perfectly natural for her to want to greet other dogs, she just hasn't learnt to do so in a ladylike manner yet, this will come with maturity. Are you still giving her puppy food. Her diet may need looking at if she is on a high protein diet you may want to change her to something a little less energising.
Good Luck.

Many thanks.
We changed her food about a month ago. She is on 1/2 Burns & 1/2 Natures Menu, both Adult. She has been acting like a typical " kevin" for about a month now- all training out the window, selective hearing,etc, but today she has started jumping at us now & being a bit mouthy. We have tried the treat when she sees other dogs but she has a one track mind- how to get to them. Its good to know that one day she'll grow up!!

Yep, that sounds just like your average teenage dog. If she won't be diverted by treats, you could try putting a few pebbles in a small plastic water bottle,(minus water), and shaking it vigourously to get her attention and act as a deterrent whenever she behaves in a way that is unacceptable to you. I promise you, she will grow up eventually.

Hi

My dog, a 13 month old Springer does the same.  I always put her on a lead or take the long line really short when we meet dogs which I don't know.  I ask other dog owners first, whether their dog can cope with a boisterous youngster and whether it's ok to put mine off the lead.  There is no treat, toy so far, that she would leave another dog  for.  But the good thing is, once she said hello or plays and I continue the walk and call her, she abandons the dog imediately and runs with me.  So I suppose that is a step forward.  But I certainly can't wait for the day that my dog has no interest in other dogs, just can't imagine that at all!!!!

hi,
seems like she is being a typical puppy of that age!! not sure that the pebble in bottle idea would be good in this situation as you may frighten the other dog   Could you not try to get her to do things like sit because she can't jump if she is having to sit! i practice this everytime we are out and somebody walks past with or without a dog on a narrow path. he then has to think about doing the sit and not concentrate so much on whats going by etc.
The stage will pass, I am still waiting though too ;-)

Hi thanks all,
We have tried sitting when other dogs pass. She sits tensed till they're near then jumps. If I have her on a v. short lead its near to the point of strangling her. She wears a 1/2 check chain but even when it gets tight it doesn't bother her. Thought about pebbles in a bottle but she can be nervy at times & don't want her to associate being near other dogs with getting a fright. Could this happen?

I would think it might do yes.... can you not once you have got her into a sit start feeding her some treats (very tasy ones) and get her really focused on you? or even try using a headcollar, she may not like it at first but then nor did my dog and he walks like a dream now. If I need his sttention I can pull on the lead and he has no choice but to look at me! maybe this could be your solution?? good luck anyway and if you do go this route, you will then enter the minefield of which head collar to get :-)

You won't be able to force her to sit still with tight leads and check chains - a tight lead just seems to wind dogs up more and increase the dog's power of wriggle!

Has she played with other dogs a lot in the past?  If she associates the sight of another dog with a really good game, then she will get very excited when she sees a potential playmate.

If she enjoys playing with other dogs, then I would ask her to sit before she does so.  At first it may only be for a millisecond but then as she gets the idea I would gradually extend the time before letting her off the lead, and build this up until she is able to sit calmly in the presence of another dog and wait to be let off the lead to play.

You could also try teaching her to focus on you (using food rewards as suggested) even when another dog is around, some people teach their dogs a sort of "watch" command.  However, this won't work in the presence of other dogs until you have taught it in easier contexts, eg starting with in the house, then the garden, then out with no distractions, then with easier distractions, then with a dog at a great distance away, then a bit nearer and a bit nearer.  Having her look at you when a dog passes close by will be the ultimate challenge.  You could still reward this with a game with that passing dog but it will be on your terms.

I would also try to find opportunities to walk her along with some other dogs, on the lead for some of the time, so that she gets used to that too.  Anything which leads to calm behaviour around other dogs which you can reward well.

IMHO there's no short-cut to changing this behaviour, no matter what you shake at her, so I would go for the training option.  As others have said, she is very much a teenager at the moment and needs help to learn some self-control! :-)

We have tried using a headcollar(gentle leader) but after a couple of weeks of using it she would run & hide when she knew it was time for a walk (no force used when she was on it). She used to play with other dogs at the training class we went to esp a boxer in particular. At the moment I am restricted to where I can walk her as she has an allergic reaction to harvest mites as the park we use has a main road at the top & I don't trust her recall when other dogs are around. When the mite season is finishes I can take her to the place we use to let her off lead(v. secluded from roads) I have tried to teach her to focus on me using treats biscuits, chicken etc. which she will do in the garden & house but not when other dogs are around. At the moment in the house shes like tigger on speed & does the Pepe Le peu cartoon bouncing. I am getting a bit worried as she is now trying to mouth at me & my daughter when we come in after work & school but poss just excitement. Never having a terrier breed before & one which needs so much training this is all new to me. We have been to training but for various reasons it didn't work out. As such all comments are greatly appreciated.

hi i had exactly the same problem with my rescued staff aged 15months...as soon as another dog was within reach he would launch himself at it barking tail wagging....we initially were unsure if it was an aggressive thing but the tail wagging indicated he just wanted to play..he had very little socialisation before we got him....took him to training classes and we taught that whether play or not it was unexceptable on a lead for Buddy to launch himself....took alot of training...
we did the treat thing....whenever a dog came close we used treats to get his attention on us.....eventually whenever a dog came near he would automatically focus on us...now dont use treats all the time but he still focuses on us...doesnt launch himself anf we can now weave through other dogs sitting with him focusing solely on me and the same when it is his turn to sit!!
It takes some work and i often thought i would never get there but we progressed loads so much so we are now at the top level of the training class just this class to achieve and we can join the obedience evening a different night and do some competitive stuff...

>I am getting a bit worried as she is now trying to mouth at me & my daughter when we come in after work & school but poss just excitement.

My JRT is a whole year old and when I come in his greeting of choice still involves a lot of teeth and an impression of a Harrier Jump Jet. He's got excellent bite inhibition (something essential to achieve with terriers!) but the sheer joy of being reunited, no matter how short a time we've been apart, tends to make him forget his mouthing manners!

The best way I've found to deal with this is to defuse the excitement by greeting him without too much fuss and, if necessary, throw in a calm reminder of the "no teeth" variety.

perhaps try to totally ignore the dog even if you have to work away into another room until the dog is calm....any attention is what the dog is after even if it is "no" for mouthing...by ignoring the bad behaviour but reward the good...just like children lol!!!
we used this when we were crate training ...as soon as we came in after being out dog would go mental in the crate barking whinning just was so pleased to see us....
we did the ignoring thing, no eye contact, no talking to, until he was calm then we would let him out of the crate....dont crate now and he presents himself to us when we have been out and we calmly give lots of fuss...