Help with training Niko

[Wardy]

So this fella has come to live with us


He is exceptionally well behaved does everything he is asked to will recall when off the lead with me and has always, unless there is another dog in site and he go's West.
Any hints and tips on how I can firstly get him to play well with other dogs, and secondly how to stop him running off like the roadrunner if he see's another dog in the park ?
He isn't aggressive just very excitable, he is getting walked three times a day and loves his walks.
@April hope you can help

Any advice would be appreciated

 

[April]

He's just so precious I wanna snuggle him.

Oh gosh I honestly don't really have any experience in this regard. I've always been too paranoid to let my dogs play with or really be near strange dogs,I avoid dog parks like the plague I've seen too many terrible attacks and maimings resulting from dog parks. I also keep my current dog on a harness and short leash when I walk him since he's terrified of other dogs and tries to run away in a panic(I believe he was attacked by dogs when he was a stray running loose).

Let me tag @Mizzely I know she's done a lot of work and desensitization on Luke and his reactions to other dogs.

 

[Mizzely]

I also usually avoid the dog park

If you have a doggy friend you can work with, that helps a lot. Then you can work one on one with that dog to help your dog learn better behaviors.

Pack walks where you walk together in the same direction helps a lot. Having dogs meet head on often makes them feel like they are on opposite sides, so walking together gives them a sense that they are on the same team. You can start across the street from each other vs right next to each other, single file, etc. My sister's dog and Luke do not get along well but they will pack walk all day long without a single issue

I've also done meets through a wire fence. Then I can gauge their reaction.

Sitting on the porch or in the park, letting dogs walk by, and giving treats when they focus on you vs the dog has been helpful too! I make Luke sit and look at me before I allow him to sniff a friendly dog. You may need to start really far away at first, but then you hopefully can shorten the distance as he's more responsive to your commands.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Aw that's great stuff @Mizzely

Basically it's so much exposure, that it just becomes routine.

But started with on leash so you can provide guidance. And they read your energy and the tension of the leash. You want them to learn on loosish lesh , it's not controlling with a tight leash, the leash is kinda like your back up .

One way that helped me with a rusher , and was effective teaching pound dogs I walked, is teaching the dog to watch you , pay attention to you. I use a combination of treats and sudden directions changes when walking. Plus high energy or pulling towards dogs, people, critters or whatever led us to immediately turn around and walk away till energy dropped then turning back and walking towards their object of excitement and repeat , untill they learned they couldn't go towards them until their energy was respectful. If the other dog was nuts not in control, I'd step to the side and teach mine to sit and wait till they passed.

How the above translates. If the dog isn't walking even with me or a step behind on a loose leash . I do random stops and sits with treat. As soon as any tension on leash I tut and very quick light check on leash with my ring finger . If that isn't enough at first then I pivot and start walking a different direction or even turn on my heal to walk back the way we came . Consistency and they quickly learn to pay attention to you, keep one eye on you.

How you start the walk is important, I have them sit and wait , I go out the door first then ask them to join me . Never letting them walk in front of me .

It can be very helpful if others with dogs work with you or people you meet out walking their dogs will work with you. I tell them I'm working with my dog to be respectful. Can we stop and chat ( like ten or so feet apart ) until my ( our) dogs are calm then let them say hi? My neighbor has his dog chained up outside and sits in his porch , he dog goes nuts then my dogs go nuts. So we would stand apart and chat untill our dogs were so board and over it and sitting or laying down . Then we let them say hi. Several times if this a d all the dogs learned to be calm and we could just walk up and they could say hi to their buddy. Same for neighbors out walking.

3 walks seems great! But there are high energy dogs that need more, either more mental challenges during walk , or longer walks ,or fetching or agility or such . Taking them to new places, Joann fabrics here has sign saying pets welcome, the home improvement stores allow pets here. Going to all the pet stores with your dog can give kits if chances to work on meeting other dogs

 

[Emma&pico]

Go you have a long extendable lead ?
I started mine of with that as they can only go so far when they see a dog can’t run off while I training them

knee down so your lower to ground I’ve found this helps so much more with my smaller dogs if he comes back when you call loads of praise and a treat (only have favourite treats for walks ) have to make yourself more desirable than the dog which I know is hard as it’s so much fun playing with another dog also keep shouting him back loads give treat get him to sit paw or any trick he can do outside too so your reinforcing behaviour you want not just when you see a dog I know I panic and they can hear it in my voice George is worse frank will listen but George is off then frank follows then George listens after a sniff frank doesnt takes ages to get him back once he’s excited with a dog and he will happily go off with other people but have got it down to about 70/80% coming back

I make my sit when a dog walks past us as they go mental and pull they get a treat if they don’t react to them walking past

I’ve found mine have got a lot better with age they are 5 and 6 now and are just starting to actually settle

 

[Wardy]

Thanks for the replys

Sitting on the porch or in the park, letting dogs walk by, and giving treats when they focus on you vs the dog has been helpful too! I make Luke sit and look at me before I allow him to sniff a friendly dog. You may need to start really far away at first, but then you hopefully can shorten the distance as he's more responsive to your commands.

This is something i will try however he doesnt do treats when we are out he has no interest but i will offer praise and fuss him if he is doing well

Basically it's so much exposure, that it just becomes routine.

this makes sense he is 6 and i dont think he has had much in the way of contact with other dogs over those years

How the above translates. If the dog isn't walking even with me or a step behind on a loose leash . I do random stops and sits with treat. As soon as any tension on leash I tut and very quick light check on leash with my ring finger . If that isn't enough at first then I pivot and start walking a different direction or even turn on my heal to walk back the way we came . Consistency and they quickly learn to pay attention to you, keep one eye on you.

When out walking his behaviour is exceptional and the our pre walk routine i think is pretty positive when he see's the lead/leash he gets excited i ask him to sit and he does i put his harness on then we leave he walks by my side loose lead for all of the walk ( unless another dog is sighted then he gets far to excitable ) , he will stop,sit ,wait and walk on command i started working on this last time we looked after him as there are a lot of roads where i live for us to cross he always responds.

3 walks seems great! But there are high energy dogs that need more, either more mental challenges during walk , or longer walks ,or fetching or agility or such .

fetching and agility are the long term targets however to do this i obviously need more control over him when out so he can be off the lead

Go you have a long extendable lead ?

my hand cant deal with them at the moment just need a lead i can keep a good grip on and have around my wrist

I’ve found mine have got a lot better with age they are 5 and 6 now and are just starting to actually settle

He is 6 now so he has behaved like this for 6 years but will crack on working on things

 

[Sparkles99]

It would help you to determine why he doesn’t play well with other dogs.

It sounds like he may lack socialization. If that’s the case, you’ll often see him be overexcited to the point of other dogs acting like he’s rude & in their face. They may half mast their ears & back up. He himself will seem on edge & on high alert, totally unrelaxed.

If it’s that, I’d suggest working with a trainer who can line up confident, grounded adult dogs who can help teach him how things are done without it impacting the other dogs. But you’ll never totally erase it.

The other thing that comes to mind is if it’s only certain dogs. Bigger, smaller, same sex, opposite sex, neutered, spayed, etc. This can help distinguish between a dog who was under socialized as a puppy & one who simply doesn’t like certain dogs (often same sex dogs).

 

[Xoetix]

Do you have a doggy daycare nearby? At the clinic I worked at, we had one, and we’d help socialize dogs who weren’t great in large groups - If the owner told us beforehand, we’d set up a plan with the owner, and usually introduce new dog to a dog that was established and easy going. From there, work up to introducing another dog(s) until the new dog was comfortable in a small group and playing politely.

If you do go that route, definitely research the daycare. Not all of them require up to date vaccines (including canine flu and kennel cough) and fecal checks!

 

[SunnySandi]

Breed may have something to do with it too. Every Frenchie I’ve ever worked with has always been intense. Be it with dogs or people, probably the bulldog brain lol.

If you can keep his focus for even a time that’s a great building point to recognize your working distance. If a dog is not an issue at 50 ft, but at 40 ft he loses it. I’d start my working distance at 50, if he’s fine that far away, 5ft closer, allow a look or a sniff in the dogs direction, then ask for focus and run through drills. Sit, down, stand, spin, anything that’ll drag focus back to you. If he’s fine then, maybe 3ft closer and repeat. If I get too close and am unable to regain attention, we back it up until we’re at a safe working distance and repeat. It’ll probably take a good bit of time and repetition to desensitize to it while on walks.

I don’t do dog parks or most off leash parks due to risk.

For recall, I usually make it very fun. It’s always a good thing when they come, so whistles, crouching, making a funny noise all help draw attention to you, then treats or cuddles or a toy. Using a long line at first to allow distance while still having control is a good method. A tool I’ve found useful for my own dogs is an e-collar, which imo when used appropriately are not harmful and it more so acts as a long distance tap on the shoulder, a “Hey, look at me” when voice may not make it.

 

[Wardy]

It sounds like he may lack socialization.

This is the issue in my opinion not that i am a dog expert all of my previous dogs we got as puppies and they where socialised with other dogs as soon as possible.

For recall, I usually make it very fun. It’s always a good thing when they come, so whistles, crouching, making a funny noise all help draw attention to you, then treats or cuddles or a toy. Using a long line at first to allow distance while still having control is a good method. A tool I’ve found useful for my own dogs is an e-collar, which imo when used appropriately are not harmful and it more so acts as a long distance tap on the shoulder, a “Hey, look at me” when voice may not make it.

understand what you are saying but not something i agree with myself, also they will be illegal to use in the UK from the 1st of Feb 2024

I think we have made some progress but still a lot of work to do i worked on him crossing roads at first with wait when we got to the roadside and then walk when it is safe to cross, as he knows and understands the walk command now when i see a dog in the distance approaching us i start telling Niko to walk on, walk on, walk on and continue this until we pass the dog. I am pleased with how this is going and 7 times out of 10 he just cracks on and walks past the dog when he does i crouch down and give him a good fuss and tell him he is a good boy this has been effective to a degree will continue doing this going forward.

Another couple of questions where do people walk there dogs if they dont go to parks ( there are no dog parks in my city just municipal parks ) ?
What treats are you giving your dogs ? this fella wont eat anything when we are out so need to find a treat he will get involved in.

 

[Emma&pico]

This is the issue in my opinion not that i am a dog expert all of my previous dogs we got as puppies and they where socialised with other dogs as soon as possible.



understand what you are saying but not something i agree with myself, also they will be illegal to use in the UK from the 1st of Feb 2024

I think we have made some progress but still a lot of work to do i worked on him crossing roads at first with wait when we got to the roadside and then walk when it is safe to cross, as he knows and understands the walk command now when i see a dog in the distance approaching us i start telling Niko to walk on, walk on, walk on and continue this until we pass the dog. I am pleased with how this is going and 7 times out of 10 he just cracks on and walks past the dog when he does i crouch down and give him a good fuss and tell him he is a good boy this has been effective to a degree will continue doing this going forward.

Another couple of questions where do people walk there dogs if they dont go to parks ( there are no dog parks in my city just municipal parks ) ?
What treats are you giving your dogs ? this fella wont eat anything when we are out so need to find a treat he will get involved in.

Cooked cold chicken is good break into bite size pieces or hot dogs are brilliant if he’s not into treats

we are lucky we have fields and woods surrounding us

 

[Emma&pico]

This is the issue in my opinion not that i am a dog expert all of my previous dogs we got as puppies and they where socialised with other dogs as soon as possible.



understand what you are saying but not something i agree with myself, also they will be illegal to use in the UK from the 1st of Feb 2024

I think we have made some progress but still a lot of work to do i worked on him crossing roads at first with wait when we got to the roadside and then walk when it is safe to cross, as he knows and understands the walk command now when i see a dog in the distance approaching us i start telling Niko to walk on, walk on, walk on and continue this until we pass the dog. I am pleased with how this is going and 7 times out of 10 he just cracks on and walks past the dog when he does i crouch down and give him a good fuss and tell him he is a good boy this has been effective to a degree will continue doing this going forward.

Another couple of questions where do people walk there dogs if they dont go to parks ( there are no dog parks in my city just municipal parks ) ?
What treats are you giving your dogs ? this fella wont eat anything when we are out so need to find a treat he will get involved in.

Sounds like you are getting there with him

 

[Wardy]

Sounds like you are getting there with him

I would like to think so always a work in progress isnt it and he has only been living with us full time for three weeks now

 

[Emma&pico]

I would like to think so always a work in progress isnt it and he has only been living with us full time for three weeks now

Sounds like you have done amazing in three weeks

 

[Wardy]

Sounds like you have done amazing in three weeks

Nah he has done amazing not me he is a cracking little dog behaviour in the house is exceptional just very excitable when out, my son said he got regular walks but i dont know he is out 3 times a day with me now and very much a routine so he knows when to expect his walks and i think the more exposure he is getting to other dogs is helping things.

 

[Emma&pico]

Nah he has done amazing not me he is a cracking little dog behaviour in the house is exceptional just very excitable when out, my son said he got regular walks but i dont know he is out 3 times a day with me now and very much a routine so he knows when to expect his walks and i think the more exposure he is getting to other dogs is helping things.

It definitely will be helping loads especially three times a day he will be so buff all that exercise

 

[Wardy]

It definitely will be helping loads especially three times a day he will be so buff all that exercise

He does look buff whilst i still look a mess but the exercise is doing me good as well