star Toff and scaredy cat Gypsy

1318 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Mikey, Sep 4, 2009

Mese

Discussion Starter · Sep 3, 2009

This may not be a big deal for other dog owners , but for me , who lacks confidence in their training techniques , its a major thing , lol
We went to our usual field for our tea-time walk and there were five other dogs on there already , 3 springer type dogs , a setter and a dally ... armed with the knowledge that Toff recalled so well the other day I decided to trust him again tonight , and he was a star
I recalled him 4 times (once from the other side of the field , the OH says its about a quarter of a mile) and each time he turned on a sixpence and came shooting across the field , once on the way back he went into a collie 'down' while he waited for Bella (a dally girl) to catch him up , then carried on back to me and sat until I sent him away to play again
I couldnt have asked for a better behaved dog ... that is until he got hold of the ball launcher and decided to leg it off round the field with it, closely followed by the other dogs (one of the other dogs brought it back ;D )
Little Gypsy went into shy mode ... she was literally walking between my legs the entire time , it was obvious she wanted to join in playing with all the others cos every so often she'd step away from me and look alert towards them , but the minute they showed any interest in playing with her she'd shoot back towards me and hide , she just doesnt have the confidence ... hopefully she'll gain that the more she interacts with other dogs off-lead
One question I have though , Toff ran off towards the other dogs the second he saw them and ignored me until he'd said hello ... how do I train him not to go and say hello until I say its ok to go ?

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Criosphynx

· #2 · Sep 3, 2009

Sounds like fun! There aren't many places we can have our dogs off lead here.

You would practice it on lead first. The second she turns back towards you (after seeing the other dog) release her. Build up the time before you release her...eventually she will see a dog and look to you for directions

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pawzaddict

· #3 · Sep 4, 2009

I personally make my dogs sit before they can be offlead or before they can meet another dog. Pretty much the same thing crio said but I put my dog is a sit/stay and then take the lead off and give a release command to go play when they have waited nicely.

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Mikey

· #4 · Sep 4, 2009

I believe the more obedience you do, the firmer and more in control you are-the more confident they can be. BUT then again there is always a shy dog

Mikey seems to ask permission before meeting a dog at an off leash park-turns around and starts crying at us, so we say 'go say hi' and then he does.
The way we did it was calling his attention, then saying 'go say hi' and gesturing to the other dog and then telling him he's good when he's done sniffing or playing. It worked with him, but with other dogs it might not work.

I think for your shy dog-just continuing to go and meet all kinds of dogs, and keeping the experiences pawsitive will get her out of her shell. My bf's mother has two chihauhua's who were terrified of any dog that wasn't a chi, and with tons of exposure they actually go to the offleash park now and play with other (big!) dogs

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