Common problems - all owners say the same
5
Jul
Common problems - all owners say the same
My clients out there all experience the same stuff when it comes to their dogs - does the following sound familiar?
Not coming to me when called!
Jumping up on me and visitors - how can I stop this?
My dog doesnt listen to me!!!!
My dog growls at me around food.
The dog and kids play and then the dog nips
How can I walk my dog without him pulling me down the street?
I can't walk my two dogs together - arrgghh!
How do I walk with baby in pram and my dog at the same time?
My dog won't eat all his dinner?
When can I start walking my dog?
What collar is best to use?
What is the best deal for my dog?
My dog won't come to me in a dog park!
the list goes on and on and on....
Are these familiar to you? If so, email us and we will help you.
Hi there!
Yes, this can be very frustrating and hard to deal with and you feel like there isn't a light at the end of the tunnel.
With these types of issues, remember dogs have a high prey drive, so they like to chase anything that is moving quickly and that's nature. You need to be more exciting than that and so this is very hard to do. I would suggest get your dog out and about firstly in smaller settings, and with less distractions, then start to get your dog to focus on you and succeed, setting both you and your dog up for success, that is particularly important. From there, work on small distractions and use diversion techniques so your dog is more interested in maybe a squeaky toy, or a ball or something that your dog LOVES other than the moving object.
All of this takes time and practice and really hard to do. This is a very common scenario that you are experiencing, but please don't give up, understand where your dog is coming from and make it known that you are just as exciting if not more with something you have or can do with your dog.
Also, being a great leader to your dog is very important, when you have that respect from your dog, you will get more attention from him/her and more results. You might be expecting too much too soon, depending on how much training you have put into your dog.
Also consult a training group in your area that you can practise with, simply practise over and over what the problems and the more you put into your dog the more you get out of your dog as well.
Off leash can be really hard with your dog as well, do it in stages, and make sure you are first practising your recall on a long lead and you can 'reel' them back in when need be when they run off! Recall takes a long time to perfect and most people expect their dog to come back to them no matter what, but usually this isn't the case.
Good luck and let us know how you go with some basics first.
Trainer Nic!
A few of these problems are very like my year-old dog. He is an English Setter- big, strong and over-confident. He is oblivious of me and my commands whenever another dog or person or cat or bird or anything else appears on the horizon. I've tried keeping his attention focused on me with frequent treats when we are out walking, but even treats are forgotten in the excitement of something else moving- even in the distance. He becomes unruly, pulling and jerking me around. When there is only the two of us, he is usually reasonably behaved on the leash.
I don't dare let him off the leash even when we are alone walking on the beach, because if anything else appears, he is gone without a backward glance. I'd appreciate some advice. Thanks,
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