Chuckit / Dog park
Hello!
We have an mostly well behaved, but somewhat wild, 11 month old cardigan pup, Merlin, who is crazy about the chuckit at the dog park. Whenever he sees a chuckit he gets incredibly excited (those crazy corgi eyes!) and tries to bite at it, jumping, growling and barking. He is especially excited when someone tries to pick up the ball with it. He ignores any commands we give him or attempts at redirection (we have used high-value treats to try to physically lure him away from it and he is not fooled, plus the other people at the park are angry that we have treats).
While this behavior would be annoying if we were the ones with the chuckit, he does it when anyone else is trying to play with their dog, and it is obviously not okay. We usually end up putting his leash on him and trying to take him to another area of the park and entertain him there, but he always runs back to where the chuck it is. I know that every time the ball gets thrown, his bad behavior is reinforced.
There are other times when he gets this crazy and loses all self-control, but we are mostly able to manage him with time-outs, focusing him with tricks, and positive rewards. I'm at a total loss and he really enjoys going to the dog park (and we enjoy taking him) and he plays well with the other dogs when there is no chuck-it.
I have tried working with him with the chuck it alone where I take it away if he tries to put his mouth on it at all and I haven't been able to make any progress. We have tried taking him on long walks before the dog park so he is more tired when we get there to no avail. Is anyone else's corgi like this? I'm afraid there's something we did to make him this crazy! He loves balls, the lunge whip and playing tug -- should we try to focus on other games with him instead? We're hoping to try out herding with him soon, but I'm concerned that he's too wild! So far, everyone else has though that his behavior is "cute", but I'm scared that he is going to make another owner angry. What do you recommend??
We have an mostly well behaved, but somewhat wild, 11 month old cardigan pup, Merlin, who is crazy about the chuckit at the dog park. Whenever he sees a chuckit he gets incredibly excited (those crazy corgi eyes!) and tries to bite at it, jumping, growling and barking. He is especially excited when someone tries to pick up the ball with it. He ignores any commands we give him or attempts at redirection (we have used high-value treats to try to physically lure him away from it and he is not fooled, plus the other people at the park are angry that we have treats).
While this behavior would be annoying if we were the ones with the chuckit, he does it when anyone else is trying to play with their dog, and it is obviously not okay. We usually end up putting his leash on him and trying to take him to another area of the park and entertain him there, but he always runs back to where the chuck it is. I know that every time the ball gets thrown, his bad behavior is reinforced.
There are other times when he gets this crazy and loses all self-control, but we are mostly able to manage him with time-outs, focusing him with tricks, and positive rewards. I'm at a total loss and he really enjoys going to the dog park (and we enjoy taking him) and he plays well with the other dogs when there is no chuck-it.
I have tried working with him with the chuck it alone where I take it away if he tries to put his mouth on it at all and I haven't been able to make any progress. We have tried taking him on long walks before the dog park so he is more tired when we get there to no avail. Is anyone else's corgi like this? I'm afraid there's something we did to make him this crazy! He loves balls, the lunge whip and playing tug -- should we try to focus on other games with him instead? We're hoping to try out herding with him soon, but I'm concerned that he's too wild! So far, everyone else has though that his behavior is "cute", but I'm scared that he is going to make another owner angry. What do you recommend??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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Bear does this too. I always just apologize to the person with the chuck-it and just tell them how much he loves the chase the ball. I would think that anyone that brings something like that into a dog park should expect a little excitement. It would be like one kid walking into a classroom with a wii - no one would leave them alone, no matter how good their manners might be.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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It sounds like he just has a very high drive. If it were me, I'd maybe try not using the lunge whip for awhile, because the motion of the whip and the motion of the chuck-it launcher are similar enough to confuse him a bit. Once he's been through "rehab" successfully, then I would try re-introducing it and seeing if he can keep the message in his head.
Do you have a quiet (non dog-park) place where you can play with the chuck-it with him? If you do, what I would do is this:
I would get out the chuck-it to play, and as long as he chased the ball I would play with him. But the second he focuses on the ball-launcher, I would put the toy away for awhile (maybe five minutes). Let him play/sniff quietly while the chuck-it is completely out of sight and out of reach. Bring it back out and again, if he chases the ball he's fine and if he touches the stick, the toy gets put away. And he can enjoy other activities. But then bring it back out to try again; you need to do it enough times that he makes the connection that no teeth on toy = fun game, teeth on toy = no game. If persistence and absolute consistency does not work (if you cave in even once the message is lost), then you might need a helper to physically keep him away from the chuck-it so that he sees that not touching the launcher is the secret to getting that ball tossed.
I would try it to see if he figures out that attacking the stick means game over.
You can also try mixing up playing with training. Start with a game he's not so high-key on, and give him an obedience command (sit is easiest for most dogs to start with) before you engage him with the toy. You will only use very short, quick commands. This is not an exercise in advanced obedience. So say he likes frisbees. Tell him "sit" and the second his fanny hits the ground, say "OK!" and throw the frisbee. I would give your release word instantly at this point so he's not having to do a protracted sit or down when he's excited. Mix it up, do it maybe every third toss, then every 4th, then every 2nd so he doesn't learn the pattern. When he masters this, gradually try it with more and more exciting games.
That's what I'd try if it were my dog.
That said, people should not really bring high-value toys to a dog park unless they are the only ones there....
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By the way, I probably wouldn't tug with him either. Tug is a fun way to get low-drive dogs to engage more, but I don't really like the message that tug and prey-chasing games (like the lunge) teach a dog who is already very high-drive. In experienced hands they can be great to release that prey drive, but I wouldn't be able to tell when I was just keying the dog up more as opposed to releasing energy. I did use tug with my Corgi Jack when he was a puppy, and we taught him "leave it" that way. And I play tug now with Maddie because she can be hard to keep focused on a toy and it gets her to play with appropriate things instead of just running around barking at the other dog. But if a dog is having trouble telling when it is appropriate to use teeth and when it isn't, I think I would personally focus on games where he's not encouraged to latch on.
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Permalink Reply by MagnoliaFly on
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Tug is a great game as long as rules are used. I highly recommend it to puppy parents to help them teach appropriate use of teeth.
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Oh, I agree completely. Not sure if I was clear but I just suggested stopping the high-drive games until the learns boundaries a little better and isn't trying to take that behavior to items the owner finds inappropriate. If you are to tug, the dog should have an on/off switch, and with a puppy tug is a great way to teach that on/off switch.
It's just because he is now going for the chuck-it stick, if it were me I'd cool it a little with other things til I regained control.
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Permalink Reply by Merlin's Moms on
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Hi Beth! Thanks for the help. He is (after three series of obedience classes!) able to drop it / leave it / down / sit when we are playing tug or other games, and I try to throw them in there for him when we play, but I agree that the lunge / tug probably aren't a good idea right now since he is so bitey with the chuckit, even though he's pretty careful with his teeth otherwise. Maybe after we have this figured out we can go back.
When we play fetch or frisbee, I have him do a command (usually down since that's the easiest one for him) and before I throw it and that works really well for him.
I think we just need to find some more time & a quiet place to work with the chuckit and keep at it until he gets it figured out.
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Permalink Reply by Kimberlie on
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My only comment is that working with you and the chuck it may have taught him to behave with you with it. Try finding a friend he doesn't know well and have then with it, and teach him he must ignore it when it when it is with a stranger. Try using a comand like "leave it" or "ignore" using treat reward at first.
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Permalink Reply by Vee Luther on
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I have the same issue with one of my guys. He's crazy for the fetch game and if i don't say "leave it" and reinforce that command, he'll bite at the chuck it and the ball in it. Having him sit before I throw it has helped a lot. It just slows down the game a bit.
When I was first using the "leave it" command concerning the chuck it, I'd also use my hand, palm flat toward the dog, to reinforce keeping his distance from the chuck it.
This all works ONLY if I'm consistent every single time I get ready to throw the darn thing. Otherwise, he'll still try to bite at it.
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Thanks! I'll give using my hand to give him the message (carefully). He's never been mouthy when I go to pick up the ball when we're playing regular fetch (although I sense his instinct is to go after the moving hand vs. the stationary ball), so maybe that can help him be a little more controlled!
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