Re: How to train my Dog to ignore other dogs!!

Dippy — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:40:19 GMT

Henri has recently started doing this with unknown dogs, after 8-9mths of being perfect in every way. He also has terrier in him along with the Poodle bit we think (acts like it anyway!) and it seemed to start after an ltercation with a particularly unriuly Staffie we met one day and he now copies the way it reacted to him with other dogs he doesn't know (and no, I'm not knocking sbt's - I will add that it had the steroetypical unruly owner which give them their undeserved reputation and is no doubt what had led to its behaviour in the first place and it could have been any breed of dog and would still have had the same effect on Henri) .

I have found that Henri is now very treat orientated and when I worked out he would do a fab recall for a treat, I applied this to the other dog problem. As soon as I see another dog approaching, I just have to put my hand in my pocket and say the magic words "what's this?" in my excited voice and I have his full attention ( he'll do anything for this phrase and hand movement but ignores his name in this situation!) I wave the treat around whilst doing a mixture of trying to walk past the other dog or calling ahead to the owner to continue walking past me if they look vaguely sensible whilst keeping the treat about a cm from his nose, allowing the occasional lick of it to keep his interest until they have gone past. He's not perfect and still gets distracted but it's getting to the point where we can now get past most unknown dogs without the embarrassing growling, pulling and generally pretending he's a small invinsible hairy monster on a lead. If your dog is treat or toy motivated, I guess anything would have the same effect, you just need to work out what works for her and also not react in any negative way such as shoutine, tensing up etc 9which I'm sure you already know), just continue walking and praise her when she's walking normally again etc. Henri is almost always walked when he's hungry which also helps with the treat thing!

Re: How to train my Dog to ignore other dogs!!

Geniverger — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:40:09 GMT

Is she a rescue? Do you know her background before you got her? Any problems with other dogs? When she goes mental at another dog, do you see it as fearful aggression, or dominance aggression? Both situations can be dealt with in different ways.

One thing I would defintely start her on is teaching her her name and the 'look at me' command. Teaching her name shouldn't be too hard. When you're at home, sit with her but not when she's having a mad half hour. A calm evening is best. say her name, and as she turns to look at you, give her a treat and lots of contact/vocal praise. Repeat this until you can get her attention with her name while she's playing with toys/in the garden/otherwise distracted.

Look at me is a little more complicated; have a couple of training sessions daily, 10-20 minutes each max. Get down to her level by sitting on the floor, have her on a lead so she can't wander off. With a treat in your fingertips, say her name and put the treat under her nose so she knows you have it. When you're sure you have her attention move the treat from her nose to yours, saying 'Look at me' while moving the treat. She should look into your eyes. When she does, even if just for a second, give her lots of contact and vocal praise and of course the treat. If she is very fidgety holding her collar may be of benefit. Soon enough you should be able to hold her attention for longer, 10-20, even 30 seconds before you give her the treat.

Both these commands are very useful in keeping your dog's attention. When you both are confident with these commands, you can use them when out on walks. You yourself need to be alert for other dogs; keep her on a short lead and when you notice another dog, say her name and use the look at me command (use a treat if necessary) to keep her attention on you, not the other dog. If she looks at the other dog, try to regain her attention again. high value treats, such as freshly cooked chicken or sausage will keep her attention better than regular training treats. ONLY reward her for a successful look at me, not for barking at the other dog.

Another thing you can do is to abruptly change direction as soon as she reacts to another dog. If she barks at a dog in front of you, turn around swiftly and walk the other way, swiftly being the key word. Most dogs can't bark and walk at the same time (but that's not to say she wont try!) She will soon learn that reacting in this way means the walk doesn't go her way, and definitely reward her for not reacting to another dog. A Halti or harness will help with your control and having two hands on the lead will again give you more control.

I would not let her off the lead until this problem is resolved. As you said yourself, she could run into traffic, or get into a fight with another dog. What you don't want to do is fuss her or give her attention when she reacts to another dog; this will reinforce the behaviour as she will interpret this as you rewarding her. Ignore her behaviour wherever possible and remove her from the situation.