[cos]

My friend has a puppy, about 5 months old, that she wanted to take to the dog park for the first time. She asked if I wanted to bring Cosmo along and I agreed, so I drove the two of us down to let them play.

Cosmo is usually really good with other dogs, and I have no idea what happened today but for some reason he was extremely rough with Angel (the Husky puppy my friend owns) he played inappropriately and didn't accept her cues of being uncomfortable and nervous like tail tucking and cowering. He was using his growly style of play and chasing her down and bowling her over, so I called him back to me and leashed him immediately. I let him settle down and tried again, but he did the same thing! I wanted to use it as a training opportunity because I've never seen him be so rough with a nervous dog who isn't into it before, so I leashed him and kept him on this time. I asked my friend if it would be okay if I let Cosmo approach on leash and, if he started playing inappropriately, would promptly pull him away from Angel and walk off and then try again a couple minutes later.

I thought this was an okay method, and it seemed to be working alright - but there were these two other ladies there with their dog and, while their dog was playing beautifully with Angel, they were really snotty and rude about Cosmo's behavior. My friend had no problem with me training Cosmo while Angel played with the other dog, but these ladies were, in my opinion, very rude! They kept making comments about how aggressive my dog was, how their dog was trained properly and played nicely, and they said "the difference between our dog is that he doesnt growl and bite other dogs like yours" even though Cosmo was on a leash at this point and I was trying to train this behavior out of him! The verbal punishment for his behavior was unending and I tried my best to ignore them and just train my dog.

Eventually they asked "have you tried those pinch collars?" and I told them no and explained I wouldn't use one especially for this situation as walking on leash isn't the problem, it's his rough play and if he's already excited and agitated adding pain and pinching won't help. They told me its like a "mothers bite" and my dog needed to learn some manners the "correct way". I got so frustrated and felt so put down that I just left and my friend followed with Angel. She apologized for how I was treated and told me she thought I was doing fine and the right thing but now I'm just so discouraged!

I know that I won't use pinch collars but can anyone give me any ideas on what to do when he gets over rough and over excited? He growls and barks when he plays and today he continued doing so even when the dog wasn't into it. I don't like this at all and I'm at a loss! Is keeping him on leash and walking away every time really going to work? I can't just catch him every time he does this, and if I always use "come" (because he does have good recall) and then leash him and end his play I'm worried he will stop coming to me.

Help!

 

[cos]

Thank you everyone! The thing is that we walked the nature walk trail by the park because I don't ever take him at full energy because I know that's a bad idea.

I took him today and he was perfectly fine! No issues and there was even a nervous pittie there and he didn't bother him at all. I considered just not taking him anymore which would be fine it's just a bummer because he enjoys it.

Anyone have any ideas as to how, if this were to happen again, I could train at least the barking out of his play? If he gets too rough I decided to leash and leave, but I want to end barking. Any ideas? Thanks!

Also @SnackRat the dog was my friends dog not the people who were being rude, and she was fine playing with the other dogs and wasn't shut down by Cosmo or anything and I had him leashed and I asked my friend if I could try training with him in the situation and she agreed.

 

[cos]

Don't feel too bad. I've found it's really, really easy for people to judge when they haven't had to really deal with certain issues themselves.

I include myself in that assessment, by the way. I always had impeccably trained dogs and would judge those who had unruly or reactive dogs...until I became the owner of a reactive dog myself and realized just how hard it can be. There's no one size fits all dog training, and when someone is trying out a method (as long as it's not cruel or aversive) it's FINE. Good, in fact. Even if I don't think it will work, no sense in criticizing or doing anything beyond offering a helpful pointer or compliment - at least the person is trying!!

I think you handled the situation well. Does Cosmo have a leave it, and/or have you worked on any impulse control exercises with him? Sometimes dogs are just pushy and rude..especially young, male dogs. Some progress I think will come with maturity (*knock on wood* for me & Chisum) but I do think impulse control exercises help too.

Thank you for the suggestions! He has a leave it but that doesn't work at the park lol :/
I'll definitely be working on impulse though! Thank you

 

[cos]

This is a super old thread of mine! It’s kind of funny to read back on how frustrated I was with him though lol, now this kind of behavior would be a no brainer

I’d suggest opening your own thread in the training and behavior section with some extra info about your specific situation to get the best answer! Good luck!