Comments on: How do you stop a dog from crying on walks near other dogs?

By: Lindsay Stordahl

Lindsay Stordahl — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:52:22 +0000

Good point. The dog should not necessarily be punished. But, the dog should not be rewarded for acting overly excited, either. It’s best to distract the dog or redirect her attention and then go visit the other dog once she is calm. That way the dog learns that if she is calm and quiet she gets to go greet other dogs.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:30:58 +0000

I don’t see why a dog who simply cries when he sees another dog should be punished. Maybe he’s just lonely and wants to say “hello.” Dogs are social animals. There are a lot of worse things to be concerned about.

By: Lindsay Stordahl

Lindsay Stordahl — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:56:14 +0000

Vee, thanks for keeping us up to date on Jake’s progress.

By: vee

vee — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:02:56 +0000

To Lindsay and her readers that gave me some suggestions for Jake’s crying issue-
I’ve got an update on my blog on some of the tips I’ve implemented.
Thanks again for the great suggestions!

vees last blog post..Doggy Updates.

By: Saint Lover

Saint Lover — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:49:58 +0000

I need to work on this with my Saints. Big TIME!

Saint Lovers last blog post..Wordless Wednesday – Puppy Edition

By: Lindsay Stordahl

Lindsay Stordahl — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:09:41 +0000

Hey everyone, thanks for all your input. You have some really great ideas.

Apryl, I think distractions work really well too, especially if you predict the problem before it starts.

Jan and Mayra, I think you are lucky you have quiet dogs!

Amiga, I think that is a great idea to walk the two dogs together. The calmer dog will act like it’s no big deal, and that will naturally calm the other dog.

And Biggie, you are right. I think we could all work on getting our dogs to look to us for what to do.

Good luck, Vee. Although I know many of us have the same problem and will be working on this right along with you.

By: Biggie-Z

Biggie-Z — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:58:41 +0000

Oooh. This is a hard one. I think you really have to understand why the dog is making noise in the first place. Is it wanting to play? Investigate? be friendly? be aggressive? Is it fearful of the other dog? (yes, a dog can be fearful yet still be trying to get close to the other dog)

If there is any fear involved, I would really hesitate to “correct” the dog because you’d be punishing the dog for being afraid, which doesn’t make them less afraid, it just makes them more afraid the next time of the stimulus PLUS possible correction.

Redirecting the energy would be my suggestion – deciding to go in another direction in a non-negative way (“oh hey, let’s go over there!”) or teaching the dog to sit on command are possibilities.

Ultimately what you want to do is teach the dog to look to you for guidance and to pay attention to you on command – the “look” command is good for this. I differ from Apryl, I think food rewards are great for this because if a dog is chewing on a piece of biscuit or taking it from your hand as you walk, the dog physically can’t whine or bark, and its attention is focused on you, the handler. As the dog gets conditioned to look at the handler more, you can decrease the # of food rewards the dog gets, and substitute praise and petting.

Biggie-Zs last blog post..Training Momma

By: K9 Amiga

K9 Amiga — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:27:36 +0000

Dogs learn really well by example. Try walking him with a really well behaved dog? He’ll have some company and maybe seeing the other dog remain calm will be a good influence

K9 Amigas last blog post..War and Peace

By: vee

vee — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:09:09 +0000

hey thanks for putting my question up there and the tips! We’ve started out this week with longer exercise time and are looking in to obedience class.
The boys are also having their first day of doggy day care this week as well!

vees last blog post..there’s always tomorrow

By: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:54:21 +0000

I never had this problem. On the contrary, I’ve sometimes wondered if there’s something wrong with my dog–he’s so quiet and calm when other dogs get wild when they get close. I’ve always associated this with him being passive, but I’m not sure.
Mayra

Mayra Calvanis last blog post..Review of Janoose the Goose, by J.D. Holiday