CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Behaviour & Training => Topic started by: *MaryG* on January 02, 2012, 11:02:42 AM
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pepper is 16months and has always got excited when he sees a dog and loves to play.it is worse now if he is on the lead and he barks and jumps madly. nothing i do distracts h watch me used to work and i have tried walking the other way. now nothing seems to calm him any ideas?
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can you get him into a sit? thats what i try and do with Kira when another dog she knows starts to approach us, i find this much easier than trying to calm her down when she is already pulling me.
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have you tried distracting him before he sees the dog. In 'clicker solutions' they use the food bar technique where they find a point before an instance happens then begin continual treating. I use a version of this with Wilf as he gets really gobby with certain dogs - I know its just gobbiness but other owners don't always take it that way so its often easier to distract him earlier rather than when it happens. Its not an overnight solution but it can and often does work.
Its about being proactive rather than reactive.
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Training a hand touch can also help, if he has difficulty maintaining a sit in the face of another dog...
Have also worked with Honey the way Penny describes working with Wilf. I will also cross the road to avoid a head-on meeting.
Another point is never to let him greet another dog when he is on-lead... if he associates being on-lead with not interacting with dogs, he will have no reason to be excited when he sees one on-lead... :D
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Probably his age has something to do with it as well. It's a case of practice, practice, practice and as Karma said try not to let him be rewarded by meeting the other dog. Do you go to classes? That is a great way on practising keeping his attention when around other dogs. A trainer said to me once that not all dog to dog socialisation should be about having to greet every other dog you see ;).
Also the 'Look at That' clicker game may be more beneficial than 'watch me'.
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thanks very much for the suggestions. the food bar sounds a good thing to try, karma how do i train a hand touch, and sarah what is the look at that clicker game ?
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To train a hand target....
Have with you one clicker and one pot/bag of treats...
Hold clicker in one hand... have treats close by (but preferably not in direct sight - helps avoid the "I'll only work for a treat" mentality)
Hold out other hand flat at dog nose height... dog, being the nosy little thing they are, will sniff hand. Click and treat... repeat many times....
Once dog has got the idea, begin to refine... wait for a more definate touch rather than a passing sniff... be careful to click when dog touches, not when dog is backing away again... gradually build up duration by holding off the click for a milisecond longer... make sure not to hold the hand in the same place all the time, so dog gets the idea that it is the hand being out flat that is the cue, not any specific position.... once it's well established, you can add movement, so the dog follows your hand... again do this very gradually...
Hand targetting is great... it can help reconnect a dog's attention if it has become over-excited, anxious etc, and it can be used to achieve other behaviours/tricks without using a lure. It can help with recall (I know some people who use a touch command instead of a recall one, because the dog finds the touch command very rewarding), it can help with general attentino and focus... it's great! :D
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pepper is 16months and has always got excited when he sees a dog and loves to play.it is worse now if he is on the lead and he barks and jumps madly. nothing i do distracts h watch me used to work and i have tried walking the other way. now nothing seems to calm him any ideas?
Hand targeting is good and works well...That i agree with...But starting hand targeting with a hyper dog ..
I would go one stage further and use a flirt pole he seems so energetic...With the pole you tyre him down first....can but try...Chris
Have you a swimming pool..would be far better or a lake near by..he needs some of his energy to be taken off...calming down.....
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Why would you want to further energise a dog where the problem is over-excitability??
And using a flirt pole is hardly practical on lead in walk situations... :huh:
The idea with hand targetting is you train it in a low distraction environment, and it can become a means for the dog to calm down in stressful situations and regain its focus on its owner...
A flirt pole would be great for the situation where you want to redirect over-excitability from a non-desirable target to a more desirable target (such as diverting the attention of a dog who was over-excited at an owner returning home), but for encountering dogs while walking on-lead, you really want a calm dog.
Editted to add.
Actually, on reflection, if the calmer approaches don't work, there is an argument for trying a flirt pole, but it would be best used in stooge situations rather than out on walks - out on walks it would be rather difficult to manage and could entice the on-coming dog into trying to play. It's certainly an option for incurable excitability, though!
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have a read of this.
We first learned about the “Look at That” (LAT) game from Leslie McDevitt’s brilliant book “Control Unleashed.” One of the most common dog training issues is on-leash reactivity. Our gut instinct is to tell Fido to knock it off or to try to console them and make them feel safe by patting them and speaking in high pitched voices. Unfortunately for a lot of dogs our attempts at canine communication are often misinterpreted and we see an increase in snarling, lunging and barking at approaching triggers like animals, people or moving objects. If we scold our dogs for acting like a lunatic when triggers approach, we run the risk of creating an even more negative situation for our already stressed or anxious friends. When we try and calm down a dog that has gone over it's excitement threshold they don’t hear our words but may assume based on our high-pitched tone that we like it when they are nervous and scared and they may enjoy the extra attention it gets them.
Although it goes against our human nature, the Look at That game diffuses both of these situations and quickly results in increased confidence and focus on mum or dad instead of incoming triggers.
The key is to keep your dog below threshold (ie quiet and calm) while teaching them to look at a stimulus they get wound up by and rewarding them for looking at it. To train LAT, use your Clicker to click and reward your dog the second they look at a trigger as long there is no reaction. If your dog is too intense with the triggers being used, start with a neutral target like a piece of paper or other item your dog has no association with and again click as soon as they look at it. When your dog is offering a quick glance towards the target, name it “look.” Your dog will quickly start to look at their triggers and turn back to you for a reward. If your dog does not turn quickly, it is likely because they are over threshold. You should increase the distance between you and the trigger and try again.
Begin playing LAT with a different neutral distraction for about 30 seconds, as often as you can each day. Gradually progress to more challenging distractions such as favorite toys, the postman, squirrels and approaching people. Once your dog has mastered the game with various distractions, you can progress to using dogs they like and then strange dogs. Remember, the key here is to keep your dog calm during this game. If they begin to growl, bark or lunge, they have gone over threshold and you need to start again with more distance between you and the object.
If you have a particularly stressed, anxious or reactive dog, you may also want to check out Dr. Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol. The protocol provides a clear set of exercises to do with your dog to help teach self control in exciting situations. Remember to keep your training sessions brief and fun so your dog will want more!
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Mark I have you to thank for finding out about LAT and Control Unleashed. It has helped me so much with Millie :blink:.
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Mark I have you to thank for finding out about LAT and Control Unleashed. It has helped me so much with Millie :blink:.
Really useful trick isn't it? :lol2:
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Mark I have you to thank for finding out about LAT and Control Unleashed. It has helped me so much with Millie :blink:.
Really useful trick isn't it? :lol2:
I remember clearly that I had been writing about how I had taught Millie 'watch me' and you suggested LAT is better. I thought 'oh yeah what does this guy know?' Quite a lot actually ph34r :lol2: :lol2: :-*
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Mark I have you to thank for finding out about LAT and Control Unleashed. It has helped me so much with Millie :blink:.
Really useful trick isn't it? :lol2:
I remember clearly that I had been writing about how I had taught Millie 'watch me' and you suggested LAT is better. I thought 'oh yeah what does this guy know?' Quite a lot actually ph34r :lol2: :lol2: :-*
Shhhhh, keep it to yourself :005: and thank you.
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thanks very much for all taking so much time to answer,lots to think about but nice have positive things i can try.thank you
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I learnt the look at that thing very early on (or 'what's this' in my case) - was the 1st thing a dog trainer taught me re my 2 as he particularly understood how more difficult it was re focusing 'busy' breeds.
My 2 were on lead once while the trainer was talking to someone else and he was going through some of this and in a sing-song voice he said the magic words 'whats this' but carried on talking and as he was expressive used his arms a lot - he'd already caught my 2s attention and it was like watching a conductor as wilf and roobs followed every movement of his hands as if they were attached to them. To maintain Wilf's attention out and about if there is the ultimate distraction a tennis ball does it for him - I hold that tennis ball and he won't take his eyes off it till its thrown no matter what the distraction is.
There's some great articles here re clicker training http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/ (http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/)