Hey, stranger... (How to meet, greet... and treat other people?)
I have a problem here. Charlie gets overly excited when he sees other people on the street when we walk. He starts running and jumping towards them, he wags his tail, and he is more excited than when he sees us!
I try to sit him when he sees people, or call him with "come" command, and it helps a little, but temporarily.
So, what should I do so that he would not be so excited seeing other people? :)
I try to sit him when he sees people, or call him with "come" command, and it helps a little, but temporarily.
So, what should I do so that he would not be so excited seeing other people? :)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ju Lo on
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Aww, but you shouldn't avoid people all together. This is how dogs get socialized and learn! You could completely avoid people and teach Charlie to walk by your side beautifully, but how is that going to work in the real world? How is Charlie going to react when he sees another dog or another person? Probably the same way. :-/
I've been walking Theo twice a day for 5 months and this has by far been the hardest thing to train him on. Just try to be patient and enforce the rules that you set out for Charlie. He's not going to be perfect for a looooooong time, but if you never teach him how you want him to act, he's never going to act the way you want him to. Anyway, it could be important for safety reasons too. What if Charlie got off leash, saw someone across the street, and ran to greet them when a car was coming?
Don't worry, Charlie will eventually chill out a bit. If seeing new dogs becomes a common occurrence, then he should be a bit more calm about it after awhile. :)
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Permalink Reply by Alla on
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Thanks, Ju Lo, for your thoughtful post! You are right - I need more patience, I guess :) and make more effort teaching him.
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The best advice I ever got from my trainer on walking with Theo is to not give them the whole leash. Use a regular 6 foot lead, and only give them about half of it (depending on the size of your dog and you of course). Basically, give them enough so that they can walk comfortably by your side without pulling. That way if you feel pulling it's because they're not walking next to you.
Not only does it keep them where they should be, it also keeps them under much better control. It's much harder for a dog to try and pull you when they only have 3 feet of leash to work with. :)
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But what you do if you are in a fairly safe area? I cannot let him go without the leash, but I also want him just to frap around a little, and enjoy his life? Or I should be more strict at the beginning? Finding the balance of that puzzles me!
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I'd say when Charlie is on leash you should be "strict", and by that I just mean that he should walk next to you. But it's not really strict vs. not strict so much as consistent. Consistency is key!
When I want to let Theo trudge around on his own I always do a release command with him first. I put him in a sit, do a "watch me", and then say "release" (of course you can use whatever commands you want). That way I'm basically giving permission for him to wander around on his own, so I'm still in control.
Do you have off-leash dog parks in your area? That's a great place to let Charlie run around and frap. :)
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This is a good suggestion about "release" command, I like it!
I know we have a dog park someplace, but I did not investigate it yet :) May be it's even off-leash...
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Permalink Reply by MagnoliaFly on
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Depending on his age I'd make it age appropriate for the length of time you ask him to stay at your side. You can put free walking on a cue (where he has freedom to sniff/explore) and put attention walking on a different cue. You definitely want your dog to be on a loose lead in both cues and come back to you when you ask for his attention.
If you walk in different directions, change direction, go in circles, figure eights - he'll learn to follow your lead and that he never knows which way you might turn so he needs to pay attention. Say the direction you're heading in (left/right/back) as you're doing it so he begins to make the verbal link. Practice turning with him on the outside and the inside.
I agree very much with the shorter leash. It doesn't need to be so short you're choking him but I feel it is a courteous thing to do especially when you are passing by people. Nothing is more annoying than when you're out walking by yourself and some person has a crazy dog running to the end of his leash un-checked to sniff you and they think it is amusing (I have a friend that does this and I refuse to go walking with her anymore and her dog).
If he is still a baby (under six months) go easy on heeling training. You don't want to frustrate him.
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he is 3,5 months right now :) Thanks, MagnoliaFly! I'll start to teach him to follow me when I move in different directions.
Also, today is a first day of our puppy class - I am so excited! :)
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Oh great! Puppy class is so much fun. Let us know how he progresses and what fun tricks you teach him!
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Awww, well with Charlie so young, definitely be patient, patient, patient with him! Puppies are puppies after all. :)
Have fun at puppy class! That's where I learned all my walking etiquette. ;)
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