Hi,
I have a nine-month old BC. Whenever we see another dog on the horizon, he gets out of control, meaning he is focused on the other dog, wants to go to them and pulls the leash to do so and doesn’t listen to me. In the interaction with other dogs he is a ball of energy that doesn’t come to a standstill, which eventually exhausts other dogs until they turn aggressive, because he doesn’t leave them alone.
- What did I do wrong?
- How can I get him to be more calm?
- How can I get him to acknowledge boundaries, when other dogs signal their annoyance?
He also nips other dogs during play (herding behavior?). How can I get him to stop that and play with other dogs without using his teeth?
Any help is much appreciated :)
You are dealing with what a BC was bread to do.
Go on YouTube and watch a few videos on redirection training.
Also, does your dog have a favorite activity? My GSD loves balls, so if I need to redirect her I can pull out a ball and she will focus on that. My dog is trained to sit and stay, so I will take out the ball, make sure she sees it, then I have her sit down or lay down. Only after she is in a down will I give her the ball.
Dogs don’t need to play with other dogs, they really want to be with their people. They can be very enriched by playing with you and interacting with you in a positive manner. So if you take your BC to the dog park, plan to do activities with them that they love. They will.want to do that activity and will eventually ignore the other dogs.
Thank you for the term! Now I know what to even look for :)
I’ve never viewed it like that. This is eye opening. Thanks!