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Vee DeOllos-Hudson asked me what to do when her dog cries and acts overly excited on walks when he sees other dogs (dog in picture is not Vee’s dog). The problem is, he loves other dogs and can’t control himself around them because he is so friendly. He is OK when he meets dogs in other situations, but when he’s on a leash, he cries excessively.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for Vee? How do you stop a dog from crying during a walk when he sees other dogs?

I suggested a few things:

First, make sure your dog is getting enough exercise to get rid of any pent-up energy. Not getting enough exercise is usually the main problem. Another good idea is to sign up for an obedience class with a group where your dog can get used to heeling around other dogs while on a leash. But this situation can be created without taking a formal class by walking side by side with a friend and his or her dog. Keep moving forward and do not let your dog smell the other dog until the end of the walk when he is calm.

If your dog cries and pulls near a dog in a yard, try walking by the same dog several times just for practice (and until you drive people nuts). You could try walking in the direction of another dog, and the second your dog begins crying, turn and walk the other way. When he’s calm, walk toward the dog again, but walk away if he cries.

I think it’s best to correct a dog right away if he begins crying or pulling and to never let an overly excited dog smell or play with another dog until he is calm. The pinch collar works best in most cases for control, although a choke collar or Gentle Leader might work for some dogs. Remember to keep the leash loose except for a quick leash pop. A tight leash and collar will create more tension and excitement and make a dog cry or pull even more.

And my last suggestion: If there is anything the dog likes more than other dogs, like a tennis ball in my mutt’s case, carry that with you on your walks to get his attention when needed. Maybe it’s bits of hot dogs, jerky or cheese. Use whatever works.

How do you stop a dog from crying on walks when he sees other dogs?

Email your dog-related question to me at Lindsay@thatmutt.com, and I’ll post it for others to answer.

(Image from sfcitizen.com)

 
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This is a two-part series on how I trained my mutt during the first two weeks he came to live with me.

Ace came to me kennel trained (supposedly) and housebroken. I was very happy to adopt a mutt that wouldn’t have any accidents and wouldn’t mind going in his kennel. I knew he didn’t know any commands and hadn’t walked on a leash before. These were minor issues because I knew I would be able to train him on my own.

This is what Ace learned in two weeks: His new name (he was previously named Junior), sit, down, stay, wait, come and heel (continuously working on this one). But more important than these commands, he learned to practice patience, that he is expected to follow rules and limitations, to contain his excitement, to think (at least a little) before acting, that furniture is off limits and that it’s OK to accept a human as a leader. He literally went from a hyperactive pup to a mature teenager in about two weeks.

Of course it is not possible to entirely train a dog overnight, in a matter of weeks or even a year. Training is a lifetime commitment to our dogs. What I am saying is my mutt made incredible changes in a very short amount of time because I didn’t give him any slack. I am highly influenced by Jon Katz and Cesar Millan. Before adopting my mutt, I did my research and found the dog that was right for me, but I also read some new books by Katz and Millan about dog behavior and training. I started training Ace the moment his leash was handed over to me.

Here’s what I did:

1. Rules and limitations were established immediately and enforced.
2. I made sure to always play the roll of a leader (with my mutt the follower).
3. I committed to exercising my mutt every day.
4. I gave him short training sessions every day.

I had to drive an hour out of town to pick up Ace when I adopted him. Ideally, I should’ve taken him for a run before I even put him in the car. Instead I drove him to my town and immediately walked him in one of our parks. Ace of course was terrible on his walk, pulling and basically strangling himself out of excitement and anxiousness. At exactly a year old, this was the third walk he’d been on in his whole life. Still, he needed to let out some pent up energy (a year’s worth).

I immediately began teaching Ace commands, but before he had those down, he was already learning the rules of my apartment. The first time I brought him inside, he had to sit and wait while I entered first. This was before he understood the sit command, so I put him in that position and did not let him in until he was calm. Then he had to lie down on a rug and observe the room from there. He was kept on a leash, and I had to sit with him for a few minutes so he would stay. He was not allowed to run around smelling the place or to chase my cat, Scout. Scout was not restrained at all and was free to come check Ace out at his own comfort level. Ace did not have the same privilege to approach Scout.

Ace was used to no discipline and doing whatever he wanted. When I went to meet him in his first home, he was jumping on and off the couch as I sat on it, trying to climb into my lap, putting paws on counters, grabbing towels off shelves, etc. He was a dog that had never been given exercise, training or discipline. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted and that had made him and his humans miserable.

Once he came to live with me, things were different. Ace always went in his kennel when I left. He did not get to come out until he was quiet. All furniture was off limits. He wore his leash in the apartment for at least two days so I could control him. At night he either slept in his kennel or on a blanket on the floor. He did not get to eat or go outside until he was sitting calmly. Once we were outside, we didn’t go anywhere if he pulled. If Ace pulled, I stopped until he was sitting at my side. The first time I brought him outside, we literally stopped at least 20 times. Neighbors were watching me and it was embarrassing. It took several tries to get out the door and several tries to get down the stairs because all of his life Ace was used to barging through doors and knocking people over. By the second time I brought him outside, he already knew to sit and wait calmly.

It was simple exercises like these that helped Ace learn how to behave. It wasn’t obedience commands, although we went to work right away on those too. It was consistently enforcing rules without yelling or getting upset. Tomorrow I plan to share how I began training and exercising Ace from day one.

The photo is of Ace the day I brought him home. It was hard to get him to hold still for a picture back then.

Yesterday I wrote about the final day of my 30-day challenge to take my mutt to 30 new places. The main goal of this challenge was to get my dog to chill out when he visits new places. Basically I want Ace to act calm wherever I take him and to not freak out (he gets really anxious or excited) just because we’re at a new park or a friend’s house.

The challenge was difficult, but I plan on creating more challenges for Ace and I. Time was the biggest problem for me. I thought just walking him for 30 days was hard enough. It was even harder to take him to a new place 30 days in a row, let alone think of where to go. Plus, getting there and being there cut into our daily exercise time. A walk is more important than going somewhere new, and this challenge required me to organize my time in order to get a good walk in every day before going somewhere new. Let’s just say we did not get a long enough walk in some days. And although I took Ace somewhere new 30 days in a row, I didn’t blog about it 30 days in a row and got behind on the updates.

Over the last 30 days, I wanted to:

1. Take Ace to 30 new places.
This was fairly easy to accomplish. If I had more time it would’ve been easier. Some days we had no choice but to walk to a new neighborhood or even a new street because of time. Other days I was able to plan ahead and take Ace to a new grooming shop or dog park.

2. Decrease his anxiousness/excitement in the car.
OK, this is still a problem. It seemed to get better for awhile. Now it seems worse again. It depends on how much exercise Ace has had. Wearing the Gentle Leader in the car also makes him more calm. I plan to work on telling him  “No!” Instead of “quiet,” “down,” “bad dog,” etc.

3. Cure Ace of his whining issue when he wants something.
This problem hasn’t improved either. Ace cries after we get up because he wants to go for a walk. Sometimes he cries if he’s not in the room with me, etc. I’ll have to think of some ways to work on this issues, perhaps putting him in his kennel for a half-hour at a time while I’m home or making him stay on his dog bed while I’m in a different room.

4. Help Ace control his excitement in a new area or his favorite places.
This improved. The Gentle Leader or other training collars help, as do treats. Just going to new places and telling Ace to heel or sit improved how he listens to me. He still needs work, but he is getting better.

5. Practice random basic obedience in as many places as possible.
I want Ace to listen well no matter where we are. When I’m consistent with this, Ace improves. When I slack of, Ace doesn’t listen as well. It’s all up to me to practice with him every day in as many places as possible. The goal is still to get Ace to sit on the first command 95 percent of the time. He is not there yet.

6. Improve Ace’s response to the heel command.
His heeling has improved. Lately the choke collar, worn high on the neck has been working better than the pinch collar or the leader. Ace’s heeling has improved a lot since our first challenge. This second challenge helped some more. We still have a lot of work to do though. Perfect heeling will be a never-ending goal for Ace and I.

7. Work to perfect Ace’s heeling without a pinch collar or Gentle Leader.
This is still a challenge. Some days are better than others. There are so many factors, from where we are, who we are with, how much exercise he has had, etc.

8. Work on Ace’s off-leash heeling.
He has gotten better at this too. But again, he does better the more we practice. If we take a couple days or a week off from off-leash heeling, then we have to work harder to catch up again. Other factors affect this too like how tired he is and where we are. I need to practice more off-leash heeling randomly, so Ace doesn’t know whether I’m holding the leash or not.

9. Continue using treats for positive reinforcement.
I’ve been using more treats and this has helped Ace’s focus big time. I’ve been using jerky and that works great because they are soft, and I can tear them into tiny pieces. I don’t want to depend on treats, however.

Taking my mutt to a new place every day for 30 days was a good challenge. But in order to keep up the positive improvements, I will have to continue bringing him to new places and walking him every day. It is not necessary to take him to a new place every day, but once a week would be good. I encourage others to give it a try.

Click here to see all my 30-day challenge posts.