Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 11/1/2008

Question
QUESTION: My dog is obnoxious around other people and dogs! He is wonderful in the house (tricks, no bad habits). But when he sees a person or dog outside, he goes "crazy". In the car, he barks wildly. Outside, he whines, he will pull and pull until he chokes or I fall. The only good thing about it, is this: He has never growled, bit, or showed behavior that would make dog or human afraid. When he finally gets to smell the dog or be petted by the person, he is happy and friendly! And after about a minute, he is "normal" again around them - even laying down and resting quietly. He is a Lab/Schnauzer mix from the shelter. We got him when he was 8 weeks old. We are retired and have no children or "excitement" for him during the day. (Although I walk him a mile with backpack on, and train him to do tricks etc in the house.) He goes to weekly dog training class, and follows "rules", heels well, comes when call on leash, etc. ONLY AFTER initially saying hello to every dog and frothing at the mouth from happy excitement. He must have a prong collar on. When I have used a slip collar, he pulls until he chokes himself to get to "others". Although most people don't mind this behavior, I do...and some dogs don't like it either. He is so reactive at these times, that he has no interest in treats, toys, etc. (I even offer them before he goes into this zone, and he just ignores me.) Help!

ANSWER: Hi, Nellie,

Thanks for the question. I have a few of my own.

How old is the dog? Do you have a yard where he can play fetch? How big is he? Does he gobble his food when you put it down, or does he eat it more slowly? What are his favorite games?

I look forward to hearing back from you,

LCK
http://www.LeeCharlesKelley.com
“Changing the World, One Dog at a Time”


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sarge was three years old last Feb 08. He weighs 49 pounds, and doesn't gobble food. In fact, he eats only a little at a time, and then goes back. If I put "meat gravy" from dinner over his kibbles, he does eat it all right away, but gently. He is very polite when he takes his treats also. (I do not leave food for him in his bowl during the day.)

Sarge does not have a fence now. We moved from 4 acres to senior apartment 2 years ago. I do walk him almost every day. He loves to play hide and seek in the house(he will stay in sit position until I tell him to come and find me), He also loves to play with all of his dollies and chase a ball. He has a ball that I fill with treats for him, and he loves that - until the cookies are gone! He is ready to do all of his tricks in a second, when I ask. If I say, "do you want to go for a walk or ride" he is up in a shot.

He sleeps alot during the day, has never got in garbage, on furniture, chewed a shoe, or potty in the house. He DOES get VERY excited if a stranger passes and he barks with a Lab big bark that seems scarey. If someone rings our door bell, he must immediately go to a room where I close the door, or he gets way way too excited at the door. Later, he can come out to greet. Everyone loves him but he is just simply OVERBEARING!! Thanks for your help...

Answer
Hi, Nellie,

Thanks for the info.

It sounds to me like Sarge has a bit too much pent up energy and needs to play rough-and-tumble games with other doggies. Is it possible for you to set up an outdoor play date with another dog or two every day? Is there a dog park near you? The more he gets a chance to play really hard every day the more relaxed he'll be in general. I know you have him wear a back pack so as to use up more energy on his walks, but that's like siphoning off a few kilowatts of electricity from a 10,000 kilowatt doggie! He simply needs more outdoor exercise.

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I would also play tug-of-war with him outdoors every day if possible.

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I would also teach him what "Wait..." and "Okay!" mean. That's why I asked about his dinner habits. You put down his food dish and say "Wait..." then when he shows that he can hold still for a few seconds, you release him to go eat by saying "Okay!" You can also do this in other contexts, like at the front door when it's time to go out: Stand by the door with the leash on Sarge. Hold the leash with one hand and twist the doorknob with the other. Say, "Wait..." and when he waits for a few seconds say "Okay!" and immediately open the door. You should also integrate this command sequence into his favorite game: Show him a toy, tease him with it, act is if you're about to throw it, then say, "Wait..." and when you see him get that same kind of momentary calm focus, say "Okay!" and throw the ball. Adding that element ("Wait..."/"Okay!") to all your games, when he's really energized, will increase his ability to have brief (very brief) moments of calmness when he sees other doggies.

Once you've taught him this sequence, and he's been doing it reliably for a few days, whenever YOU see a dog coming toward you on your walks say to Sarge: "Who's that doggie?" in a nice, pleasant voice, almost as if you're saying, "You want to play?" Then say, "You want to say hello? Good boy!" Then say, "Wait..."

As the dog gets closer, and Sarge is pulling and leaping around, ask the other dog's owner if he could say hello, but tell them he has to learn to wait before he does it so that he'll stop pulling your arm off. If they're sympathetic ask them to hold their dog a few feet away from Sarge for a moment.

As the other dog sits or stands there, keep telling Sarge "Wait..." until he settles down or at least stops pulling so hard. Then say, "Okay! Say hello!" and let him interact with the other dog to his heart's delight. This will give Sarge the feeling that you really WANT him to meet other doggies. I suspect that the way things are right now, he feels like you're trying to PREVENT him from saying hello. Once he feels like you're on his side, and that you have a few simple rules about his behavior, he'll be able to moderate his behavior to fit both his instinctive desires, and your needs more quickly. (If he's taking obedience classes I'd suggest you try and have the local trainer help you work on this with you to make sure you're doing it correctly.)

The other part of the equation is that you probably dread it every time you see another dog coming toward you. Meanwhile, Sarge is super excited, and is also able to tune into YOUR emotions. So his feeling is that you're going to try and stop him from doing something that he feels is essential to his happiness at that moment. That's why you need to set this up so that when YOU see a doggie, you act as if you share his excitement, but that he also knows you want him to "wait" before he can do so.

If you're consistent with this, and do it right, within just a few days, every time Sarge sees another dog coming toward him he'll actually calm down a little and actually wait for you to initiate the sequence of "Wait..."/"Okay, say hello!"

Please print my answer so you can show it to Sarge's trainer. And keep a copy of your own for ready reference.

I hope this helps!
LCK
http://www.LeeCharlesKelley.com
“Changing the World, One Dog at a Time”