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How to keep my dog calm around other dogs?
Apologise for long post 
I took on a 12 mth old rescue dog in January (was told collie cross, but she is more gsd/husky) knowing she was a bit of a handfull. She used to be very jumpy and mouthy at first, and used to tear the house to pieces, which we've managed to put a stop to, but i must admit im struggling when it comes to taking her out for a walk. When she sees another dog she will go nuts! I honestly cant control her...she will try and pull off her lead, jump around and just do anything she can to get to the other dog. Dont get me wrong, shes not vicious..she just gets too excited and wants to play but nothing I can do will calm her down. Its getting to the point where im dreading taking her out.
She used to pull something awful on her lead, but with a halti this has calmed down a lot and im now trying to work on walking her with just a lead. With enough treats and praise she will walk beautifully to heel... right up until she sees another dog. At home shes learnt sit, give paw, down, and stay all with no problems. This all goes out the window as soon as we go on a walk though!
Oh and another thing, she is much better off the lead - she will always follow us and stay close by, but her recall is non existant. So if we see another dog while off the lead she will just go and play and its a nightmare trying to get her back. It gets really embarrassing so i now know not to let her off unless its really quiet. But then seeing another dog while on the lead is even worse!
So any tips on how to keep her calm around other dogs, or ways i can distract her when voice or treats dont work, will be most gratefully received!
edit to add - I have taken her training classes, but they felt like a waste of time as she would 'perform' wonderfully after the initial chaos of being in a room with other dogs... maybe 5 minutes or so. Its the inital meeting another dog thing which we need to work on though.
I took on a 12 mth old rescue dog in January (was told collie cross, but she is more gsd/husky) knowing she was a bit of a handfull. She used to be very jumpy and mouthy at first, and used to tear the house to pieces, which we've managed to put a stop to, but i must admit im struggling when it comes to taking her out for a walk. When she sees another dog she will go nuts! I honestly cant control her...she will try and pull off her lead, jump around and just do anything she can to get to the other dog. Dont get me wrong, shes not vicious..she just gets too excited and wants to play but nothing I can do will calm her down. Its getting to the point where im dreading taking her out.
She used to pull something awful on her lead, but with a halti this has calmed down a lot and im now trying to work on walking her with just a lead. With enough treats and praise she will walk beautifully to heel... right up until she sees another dog. At home shes learnt sit, give paw, down, and stay all with no problems. This all goes out the window as soon as we go on a walk though!
Oh and another thing, she is much better off the lead - she will always follow us and stay close by, but her recall is non existant. So if we see another dog while off the lead she will just go and play and its a nightmare trying to get her back. It gets really embarrassing so i now know not to let her off unless its really quiet. But then seeing another dog while on the lead is even worse!
So any tips on how to keep her calm around other dogs, or ways i can distract her when voice or treats dont work, will be most gratefully received!
edit to add - I have taken her training classes, but they felt like a waste of time as she would 'perform' wonderfully after the initial chaos of being in a room with other dogs... maybe 5 minutes or so. Its the inital meeting another dog thing which we need to work on though.
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I have the same problem, but with one of my dogs it is not to go off and play but bite the other dogs nose!! I have seen really good results in other dogs with a clicker/whistle recall, using food first as a reward and then limiting it. I think the theory of using the clicker/whistle works more than shouting after them because it is a single sound with a reward at the end. But you would have to practice for a few days first with no distractions and see how it goes when there are other dogs around. Maybe find someone with a similar dog and arrange playdates?
I have a rescue husky, he pulled terribly and leapt like a loon at approaching dogs. He rarely does neither now but it's taken me months of training. I initially blocked his view and got him to sit till other dogs went past, then I got some delicious special treats and used them to distract him, I mix up whether he can greet other dogs so he has to take a command from me (obviously other dog owners don't always went to meet).
Just a thought about offlead: if your rescue does have husky in him they have a very high prey drive and are notoriously unreliable offlead. When it goes wrong sadly it's often the dog paying the price getting run over or even shot if they get onto farm land. This prey drive and independent streak (bloody stubborn!) could be contributing to her poor recall.
If I see a dog before my dog sees it, I get her to sit and keep her looking at me until the other dog has passed, take yours to puppy school and any local fêtes that allow dogs maybe car boots get them to see as many dogs as possible
, mine was a nightmare and took her to a fete where there was a very big dog show on and she barked and went mad but then it was all to much trying to bark in all directions at 100 plus dogs and she shut up and walked along nicely
I took on a rescue rottweiler in winter 2010 when he was also 12 months. whenever i walked him he would b so excitable and boisterous i bought a halti headcollar but found it rubbed at his eyes, so i bought him a dogmatic headcollar online which is a really nice design as it doesnt rub the eye and seems to give you more control of the head.
whenever he sees another dog all he wants to do is get to it and becomes very very agitated bouncing round like a kangaroo and crying like a puppy. food alone rarely seems to work for him because hes so focused on the dog. so what i do is stamp my foot and make a very bizarre high pitched squealy noise to kind of snap him out of being so fixated on the other dog. (have u seen 'its me or the dog' victoria stilwell , i got that noise from watching her shows). i get the focus back on me and get him to lie down and give him a treat- usually it has to be a super treat like chicken, beef or ham. once hes lying down and stays lying down hes a lot calmer hes still looks at the dog and wants to go play with it , but this way you are in control.
i think using a whistle as PAISLEY said would be worth a go. a friend of mine used it around the house at first with his dog by teaching it that coming to the whistle meant bacon , so when he transferred it to outside it was a success.
this could be an age thing as well, she will probly get calmer as she gets older.
i dont let my dog off the lead, cos hes just too focused on dogs. i use an extendable lead from pets at home- (its for very big dogs) its very strong + reliable- my boy weighs 40 kg so your dog would be very safe on it. then she can run without you worrying shes going to bother other dogs and owners.
i hope this helps in some way
this probably the best idea - maybe speak to the charity you got him/her from and see if they have any suggestions of behaviourists/trainers too.
sadly its alot easier to not train a dog (especially intelligent, high energy breeds ones like collies, spaniels etc) than put the hard work in to make it a good pet - and alot of people give up (probably why you found him in a shelter in the first place!). you don't see results every day but it will be worth it in the end!!
oh and try that cheese in a tube (primula i think) as a special treat - reserved just for walks/being good on the lead - apparently most dogs love it (not tried it myself, but one of the trainers I know at dogs for the disabled keeps a stock for special occasions - she says her dogs will do anything for it!)
Over the last month or so, i have learned to relax but also gain confidence with her. We had a nice little routine going. I learnt when she could be off her lead and when she shouldnt. (off lead and feeling tired a big no no - she would just ignore me and do her own thing. on lead and energentic around other dogs - also a big no no)
That is right up until a couple of weeks ago.
Id just put her lead back on for our walk home, and a shar-pei came running over. Wasnt too worried, i just thought he wanted to say hello. But no...without warning he just sunk his teeth into my dog :eek: My poor girl just stood there
edit to add - thanks again for all your posts. lots of little snippets in there which i will def try now. cheers guys