Well I can add a new obsession to Ace’s list – golf balls. Nothing frustrates me more than when my dog is so focused on a ball that he won’t respond to the most basic commands like come, heel, sit.
So last week while Josh was hitting golf balls in the back yard (we’re fortunate to live along a large field), I took Ace out with us for a serious on-leash training session.
I always tell people to work with the problem rather than pretend the problem is not there. When a dog is aggressive around bikes, she needs to be around more bikes. If a dog is obsessive about cats, she needs to meet more cats.
Ace and I worked on some basics – sit and stay with our backs to the golfer, recalls, leave it and heeling. Basically all I was asking him to do was ignore Josh, the golf balls and the golf club.
I encouraged eye contact, focus on me and self control. When Ace became fixated, I simply walked him away and asked him to sit and stay with his back to Josh until he relaxed. Looking at me rather than turning to look at the golf balls was a huge challenge for Ace.
We’ve let Ace retrieve golf balls before – a useful job for him. But he’s also so obsessive that he won’t dodge a swinging club or give the golfer any space. Not only is this dangerous but it’s extremely annoying.
That’s why I worked on training with a leash and our old friend the pinch collar. It was a good training session. Ace was successful (for the most part), and I had the satisfaction of working with my dog.
What issues does your dog have that you need to remind yourself to work on?
Related posts:
- Taking my dog anywhere
- How to break a dog’s possessiveness
- How to calm an excited dog
- Dog kennel training
- Dog behavior issues
August 30th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
My dog is somewhat obsessed with loud cars and trucks. Well, don’t know if obsessed is the correct word. Anyway, When I take her for walks and we are near traffic she will lunge out at loud cars and trucks. Any suggestions on how I can stop this behavior?
August 30th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
My old girl used to be obsessed with ANYTHING that she could retrieve. Gus, on the other hand, looks at me like “why did you throw it if you wanted it” if I try to get him to fetch. He’s just obsessed with naps and food. I have the world’s laziest dog.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Ross, check out my post about dogs attacking bikes. It’s kind of the same concept with cars (you just have to be a bit more careful around cars). Basically just work in small steps, building the dogs confidence and comfort. http://www.thatmutt.com/2009/05/22/my-dog-attacks-bikes/
Apryl, that is so funny! “Why did you throw it if you wanted it?” hahaha!
August 30th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I gave my dogs away 2 weeks ago because of flood destruction of my home. The person I gave them to said she was a dog trainer. She uses the shock collar for 100% of her corrections. I was able to get one dog back yesterday ( Even though I gave the dog and $350. worth of supplies she would only SELL the dog back for $600. I am very concerned about the dog of mine that she still has and won’t release. My dog had lost 7 pounds, had a shock collar on very tight and she would run the dog on her bike and this healthy muscular dog would have to sit after a mile and a half and she thinks it was because she was giving the dog such a good workout. I think the dog was in distress because of the extremely tight collar around his neck. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Well you did give the dogs to this person, so it is this woman’s choice how she wants to train her dog. Shock collars are good training tools if they are used properly. And they have to be against the skin in order to work. It could be that the collar looks tighter than it really is.
I’m not really sure what you can do other than to try to buy the dog back or convince the woman to give the dog back to you. If it is an abuse case, contact law enforcement. Honestly though, unless it is an extreme case I doubt animal control will be much help. If you can get a photo of the tight collar or if you can get other witnesses, that would help you. Perhaps the woman’s neighbors would take your side, for example.
Good luck, and I hope your dogs are OK.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
P.S. – I have never used a blog – don’t really know how to present a new question!
August 30th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Thanks – I think it could be lethal to run a dog with a tight collar on. That is what I was told in Dog Obedience training. Especially a Golden Retriever whose heck is normally supposed to swell quite a bit when running hard. However can’t find any info online that supports this. Also – the dog is only 18 months old, healthy and lost 8 pounds in the 12 days he was away. I just wanted to find them a very good home. I think she just wants to breed them now as they were very expensive dogs – I did not give her the registration papers.
August 30th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Oh, asking a question in the comments like you did is fine.
You are right about running a dog with such a tight collar. Imagine how uncomfortable that would be for the dog.
September 18th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
To Ross, who’s dog lunges out at loud cars and trucks.
This problem is easy and FUN to fix (my dog was the same way). just strap on some roller blades and wait for a loud car/truck/motorcycle to go past and when it does encourage your dog to chase after it with every bit of strength and speed he/she can. enjoy the ride (please use a harness so the collar doesn’t choke the dog while he is pulling you). pretty soon your dog will realize that catching up the the car/truck/bike is impossible and not worth all that effort. Have fun while it lasts, if you take your dog for a walk every day I give it about a week before your dog looks at you like your crazy when you ask him to chase a car.
September 18th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Ben, I hope you are joking.
Although this might have worked with your dog, I do not suggest encouraging a dog to chase trucks and cars! Most dogs love to run and chase and this will only show the dog that chasing trucks is fun.
Rewarding this kind of behavior is dangerous because at any time the dog could bolt after a car and either get hit or cause an accident.