Walking Whinges

Have a few queries about Dougal, and his behaviour during walks. He's quite a vocal dog, has been since he was a puppy, and isn't shy about letting his feelings be known. Anyway, when he sees another dog he goes absolutely berserk. He tugs at the lead, yelps and pulls. He genuinely just wants to get over to see them, as when he does he is then quite happy. Of course people spot his behaviour and generally do what they can to avoid him.

We've tried stopping, getting him to sit and offering treats but this has had very little success. It also excites Tandie, who is very placid and generally unimpressed by dogs she meets on walks. But she can begin barking and pulling a little aggressively when Dougal starts this. We thought this behaviour was just puppyishness, but it's not abating. He's well socialised and good around other dogs. He was neutered several months ago. He can also sometimes exhibit this behaviour towards people (especially if he thinks it's possibly myself or my husband).

Generally speaking it's not a big problem, and he's not aggressive, but it's a little embarrassing at times

Is Dougal related to Oakley? I think he must be - Oakley does this and I agree it is a bit embarrassing especially when you know they only want to say hello and everyone else thinks you have a barking mad dog!

However! there is light at the end of the tunnel, I take a water spray out with me and now all I need to do is take it out of my pocket and Oakley will stop immediately.

I've never sprayed him in the face or anything horrid like that. I actually spray his feet! Like I say, now only after 2 months I just show him the water spray.

Merlin is usually fine unless of course we are watching a doggy programme -fortunatley I only need to spray him once (normally just as his bum) and off he pops behind the settee until the programme has finished. Its as though he knows he has to restrain himself so goes behind the settee so he can't see - he's a little love:luv:

Hi cecily,Haven't heard from you in a while . Pippin does this too and I get so embarressed,we have tried everything but nothing works..sometimes if I see another dog in the distance before he does I'll say good boy over and over as we near the dog and sometimes it works..mostly he just wants to say hello and most people oblige by stopping with thier dog.The ones that look annoyed..well I just treat them as you would the people who look down thier noses at a child throwing a tantrum in the supermarket and tut tut..I just ignore them for the ignorant people that they are. If you do find a way to stop this let me know! I think Pippin just gets over excited and wants to say hello as once he does get to greet the other dog he's fine..calming him down is the problem!

Kirsty I think Dougal might be related to both your pair. He goes nuts when ANY animal appears on the TV. It confuses Tandie no end. She leaps up and barks instinctively, and goes straight to the window, or to the kitchen to see where the intruder is. It can be quite comical

Pippa... I know what you mean. We get very mixed reactions. Most people really like them when they get up close, but you do get the odd glare.

Check out Daisymom's thread in the training section -- she was dealing with the same thing. It takes a long gradual time and a lot of small incremental achievements to desensitise a reactive dog from doing this. Lily is like this also, as is Lucy.

It involves working one on one, having a very firm 'look' command, carrying treats to feed the whole time the dog is going by, and you need to start with the dog/car/exciting objects at a very long distance, gradually working up closer and closer. In Tara's training classes, she also will have people work their dog to step over a series of low jumps while getting treats -- so the dog has to both concentrate on where its feet go, and gets rewards. This helps it realise nothing major happens just because other dogs are there, and they are still there after, no big deal. Rewarding wanted behaviour and inching towards new challenges is really the only thing you can do.

Daisy thread in this forum: http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=23689

Also dogs that have not done formal obedience -- maybe a couple of classes will be needed! -- are often going to be far more reactive and overexcited, both by seeing other dogs and because they actually have every little self control. That's why I always argue you do obedience not to teach the dog to sit, but to start to shape the dog's general behaviour and help it learn to manage its own impulses to do whatever it wants. Most people find they can very quickly start to address these kinds of problems by doing some classes and also taking 15 minutes or so daily to work the dog on obedience, including aspects of self control (hence 'look' commands, etc).

Here are some things to try:
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/therelaxeddown.pdf
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/LoweringArousal.pdf
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/letsgoforawalktogether.pdf
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/thereisnofreelunch.pdf

I can see Karlin's point about treats - unfortunately for me treats don't work outside the house with Oakley - only a firm QUIET and a squirt seemed to work for Mr Pokey - he seems to understand a firmer touch, whereas Merlin responds very well to treats.

I could do with two bodies when out on a walk! one to be nice with treats and one to be firm with Oakley He is a red headed devil afterall LOL

Daisy's Mom here -- and we are still working on it, but she is getting a little bit better. (Much better on cars, a little better on dogs.)

I figured out last night in our Intermediate Obedience class that once she's around the same dogs week after week, she gets used to them and isn't that excited about them, even though we've never let them actually go up to each other at all (one of the boxers is dog agressive and two of the other dogs are very timid). There was a strange dog (border collie) in class this week because the owner wants to put her through the CGC test next week. Daisy went crazy lunging on the leash again, but only toward this other dog.

We practiced the part of the test where two dog owners with their dogs on the left come toward each other, sit their dogs, shake hands, and then walk on. We did it successfully on the first try last night WITHOUT TREATS! The whole group exploded with applause because other dogs are Daisy's major issue and no one could believe she did it. I somehow kept her attention on me the whole time and she didn't notice the other dog. However, I think it would have been a different story if the new dog had been the other dog in the test.

She's still a terror when we see other dogs on our walks, BUT I can sometimes get her attention back on me even after she has zoned in on another dog, which is a huge improvement. I'm eventually going to try to work with a clicker on it, but I haven't done it yet.

I do still wonder if it would help if we got a second dog who would be a playmate for Daisy....icon_whistling I think she's dog-deprived.

It might work. Amber has never barked at other dogs when out and about, but I will only let her off lead if it's 100% safe because I *know* she will go racing off after other dogs. However, she seems to have calmed down a little and her recall is excellent. Having Holly helps, since Holly is her bestest friend (not sure H reciprocates) and I have found that if they are both focused on something like a game they totally ignore other dogs. Which is of no use whatsoever when you're simply trying to walk...

As for the 2nd dog.. Qwebble loves other dogs as well .. No matter how tall they are (if they are very tall, she acts like she's going over there and then quickly hides behind me)...

Qwick on the other hand, he only responds to other cavs... We have several cavs in the neighbourhood and he mostly just reacts if he sees any of them.. Qwebble starts to go crazy when she sees other dogs, she wants to go over there to play.. she almost never barks (except against a newfoundlander ) ..

So I don't think getting a second dog will help you with the problem cause Qwick doesn't have it, never had it.. now Qwebble joined and she does have it.. it's not as bad as yours but she also reacts (and had obedience lessons)..

But then again.. having a second dog is just fun

I am so glad to be reading this post for the tips on how to stop whining when on walks because Charlie is a terrible for doing it, so much so that we usualy go for walks in the evening where there are less people about and if its dark no one can see who it is with the noisy dog!

Im going to try with the treat thing 1st because when he was a pup he responded well to the click & treat training, so hopefully this will work! he starts whining as soon as the lead comes out so would you wait until he has calmed down & completely quiet (this will probably take hours!!) click and treat, then put the lead on? icon_nwunsure

I am working with Faithey on this very issue right now .. it is SOOO embarassing when they bark and bark incessently at other dogs

I've been working on Faith using the "watch me" command with a treat. She will start barking and I will say "ahh ahh" make her sit, pull out a treat to keep her attention, and say "watch me." I will make her watch me for about 15 seconds before we start the walk again. If she freaks out again, it's the same procedure. It's not easy, but I have noticed an improvement We actually walked by the "big bad saint bernard" this morning without a bark @! :w**h**:

Regarding MerlinsMum and the spritz of the water bottle on the feet to distract from the behavior......Dottie is crazy about water so I don't think that would work with her. The minute I bring out the hose to water the flowers in the garden, she flies into the air and does all she can to get in the spray. Nothing she likes better than playing in the hose water or running through sprinklers. I just love soggy dog syndrome!

Hi
My three are fine on walks as far as barking at other dogs goes ,but if we are in a safe area and the girls are off lead its always Daisy who gallops off to other dogs to say hello followed by Poppy then in the rear Rosie who gets halfway there then changes her mind and then races back to me to be picked up until all those other dogs have gone ,while Daisy upon reaching this new dog then falls flat on her back and waves four legs in the air in total surrender ,arent they all funny characters.Possibly i think all three attending good puppy and then good dog classes and the amount of socialisation with lots of other dogs in all ages and sizes helped a lot in the method they use in having no great fear ( Rosie excepted part way) of other animals and we have two cats who treat the dogs as cats , but as said prior animals or anything that remotely resembles them on tv causes utter chaos even Basil Brush gets a good barking at ,when the girls are upstairs with me and i get caught out with an animal advert ,I used to love watching all those nature documentaries but alas no more, my secret weapon is a compressed air duster can the type you use to clean computers a quick blast of air up the bum works wonders.:rah: