[lmtoth2]

Kirby has a sort of obsession with small dogs. Whenever we see a small dog he goes crazy! If we are at the dog park and a small dog comes into the large dog area Kirby will follow him/her around nonstop in a sort of obsessive way. Today we went hiking and passed a man walking 2 small dogs and Kirby was like a crazy dog! He was leaping and barking and would not stop. We try to tell him "settle" or to calm down, but nothing will reach him. He gets excited for large dogs, but not the way he does for the small ones.

Does anyone have any ideas for how we can get this under control? I don't know that we could enroll him in a group training class right now because if there were small dogs there he would be out of control!

 

[Paintsmeblue]

The obsession is definitely not good. Because its probably a "prey" instinct. What kind of correction did you use?

Sorry, we tivo Caesar Milian, so we watch him quite a bit. So, I'll be citing him.

 

[lmtoth2]

the corrections are tough. When we're at the dog park, we try to let the dogs sort it out...sometimes Kirby does this to a tough small dog who puts him in place. However, if it's a submissive dog we wind up having to step in. We will remove Kirby from the situation and make him have a short time out. However, sometimes he will just throw a tantrum and try to escape back to the dog...

Today on our hike, the man walking the 2 small dogs wasn't much of a help. He decided to finish walking right next to us and Kirby was just throwing a complete tantrum to try to get to the small dogs - we just tried to get away as quick as possible.

I just don't know what to do to address this. Kirby has some "obsessive" behaviors in other aspects of life (with tennis/kong balls, running from window to window to "find" whoever left the house, etc) so it could all be related...

 

[Paintsmeblue]

Again, I'm going to say, this is ONLY from watching Dog Whisperer....

If he's showing obsessiveness to things around the house, you should dominate them. Meaning, decide WHEN he can have a kong. Put the kong on the floor, and "guard" it. If he tries to get close, Caesar lets out that "shhh" noise, and give the dog a "bite" meaning uses his hand as a "mouth" and gives a little corrective "nip" that a dominant dog would have done in the wild. Same can be done in public. But, when dogs obsess in public, Caesar finds a spot that's kind of like a "sensitive spot." He usually just have to touch it with his heel to get the dog to focus back. This is usually somewhere in the back half of the dog, so you can try different spots. Again, you obviously can't feel embarrassed. Kirby did just recently have a pretty serious life adjustment, so its probably normal.... Just know its a problem, when it comes up, just act dominant, and give him a dominant correction (which doesn't have to be hurtful, or physical). If it should happen again in a hiking situation and you can't get Kirby to stop, I would say, turn and walk the other way until you GET Kirby's attention. Then go back again, with a dominant stance, dominant energy, and walk towards the "problem".

Anyway, that's what I've learned from Dog Whisperer..... So, good luck!

 

[Paintsmeblue]

I would consider it could be pent-up energy as well...the key with Caesar Milan's teachings is EXERCISE,..then discipline, then affection...Kristen's training scenarios were right on however, Caesar always drains their energy before working on temptations or obsessions...

I completely forgot about that part. Well, not completely forgot its importance, but I forgot the most important part! Thanks for catching my mistake! :lol: :lol:

 

[Bigfoot]

My 19 month old 75lb male labradoodles has the same problem on leash. If he is on leash and a small dog is near him he will go crazy. How I handle it was that I would put my hands around his mussel and firmly hold it and tell him no. The "no" has to be a deep I mean it voice. We will not move until he settles down. It also help that I used a gentle leader head collar. My dog only goes crazy when he is on a leash. Off leash he is a very calm dog and only wants to walk up to the small dog and say Hi. It also helped to collect him before he goes into the crazy wild state. I now can settle him down most of the time.

hope this help.

 

[lmtoth2]

Thanks for all the good suggestions. Kirby does have a lot of energy. When we play in the back yard, he'll fetch over and over again while Dexter sits and watches...haha...

I think I may need to get a Gentle Leader harness for him. We started walking them separately because of the distraction problems. When there are no distractions, Kirby is an angel on the leash (he actually walks behind us)...

 

[MaxandMe]

I think Max would eat a small dog?hahhaa

Leslie no advice here as we haven't had the opportunity of being around a small tiny dog in 5months

 

[blueteal]

Vanessa has totally got it right with the distraction ideas.
If I am holding a tennis ball and Denver knows it, then a
heard of elephants passsing by will not get my dog off his ball.
I always carry one as it comes in handy when we go to new areas
and old ones but until I get to know the lay of the land and the local dogs
I just keep Denver very focussed and he is a ball dog so that is what works for us.

 

[lmtoth2]

I love your new avitar Sue I need a new one...I have to work on that

 

[River Rat]

This is similar to Vanessa's idea; it's funny - I was just reading this before I went onto the forum and saw your issue. Again, it's Sarah Wilson, from the My Smart Puppy training book:

Example: Julia was a German Shepherd we owned for many years, and she was highly predatory to deer. She loved to chase deer. And we lived in Gartner, where there were a lot of deer on our farm. And I didn't want her chasing the deer, so here's the quandary… how do I get her to want to stop chasing deer? Unless I can get her to want to stop, good luck stopping her once she's in pursuit, as any of you know, who have had this problem. So the thing I did was I started to take her beloved tennis ball, because a lot of predatory dogs are also highly motivated by toys and balls. And I kept it in my pocket, and the only time I took it out was when there was a deer in view. I had to be quick, but the minute I spotted the deer, I waited for her to see it in the distance and I would say her name, "Julia!" And she would whip around and I would throw that ball in the opposite direction. Pretty soon, the deer became the cue for her to run back to me and for me to get her the ball. How easy is that? Right?

Seems like that would work well for you, no?

Leslie

 

[lmtoth2]

This is similar to Vanessa's idea; it's funny - I was just reading this before I went onto the forum and saw your issue. Again, it's Sarah Wilson, from the My Smart Puppy training book:

Quote:
Example: Julia was a German Shepherd we owned for many years, and she was highly predatory to deer. She loved to chase deer. And we lived in Gartner, where there were a lot of deer on our farm. And I didn't want her chasing the deer, so here's the quandary… how do I get her to want to stop chasing deer? Unless I can get her to want to stop, good luck stopping her once she's in pursuit, as any of you know, who have had this problem. So the thing I did was I started to take her beloved tennis ball, because a lot of predatory dogs are also highly motivated by toys and balls. And I kept it in my pocket, and the only time I took it out was when there was a deer in view. I had to be quick, but the minute I spotted the deer, I waited for her to see it in the distance and I would say her name, "Julia!" And she would whip around and I would throw that ball in the opposite direction. Pretty soon, the deer became the cue for her to run back to me and for me to get her the ball. How easy is that? Right?

Seems like that would work well for you, no?

Thank you for posting that. I guess I will have to find out if he likes the small dogs or his ball more

I really need to do some research and find some good exercises with him to teach better control. Because it seems like he gets in this zone about certain things and for his overall health I would love to break him of this. He is very responsive to treats so that may work too. This weekend when my parents came, I was able to distract both of them with liver treats even though they were dying to go say hi.

Thank you again everyone for the excellent advice - Kristen, I watch most episodes of the Dog Whiperer too and I don't know how he does what he can. I try the "shhh" thing and the dogs look at me like I'm nuts

 

[blueteal]

I love your new avitar Sue I need a new one...I have to work on that

Thank you Leslie :wink: :wink:

 

[River Rat]

Vanessa, your "books" are just wonderful; I love the way you work with Mija and it's great that you're so willing to explain your techniques to the rest of us!

Leslie (Chou's)

 

[MaxandMe]

I'm no expert...
The hard work at the beginning makes for cruise control later in life!!

AMEN!!!
the more training and consistency you do for the 1st year or so, really can pay off later on whether its dogs, cats or kids. FORGET husbands hahhahaaa they require ALOT MORE work hahhahaaaaaaa