10 month old socialisation?

irisheddie85

Hi

Looking for a bit of advice

About 6 months ago me and my girlfriend adopted a GSD cross pup that was found on the side of the road with no idea of history.

At the time we and vet agreed it was about 4 months old but perfectly healthy.

We brought it to puppy classes to try and learn how to train her and to do some socialisation as the pup was getting old for meeting new circumstances.

The training went well. It is a very smart dog and picks up anything you teach it in a matter of hours... Except when other dogs are around. She basicly wants to play with every dog she sees. nothing can distract her once she knows another dog is nearby, Food toys attention nothing works.

This was ok when she was small as you could hold on to her without too much trouble but now as she is much bigger it has gotten harder.

She has never shown any sign of aggression to another dog but i dont know how to get her out of her fascination with them. She just ignores any training once another dog is present.

The only thing i have got her to do is sit as other dogs come towards me so i can take her collar but once they are close she just wants to run off again and if I happen to come up behind some one else walking a dog my shoulder is going to know about it

I would really like some advice on anything i could try. Thanks for any help

tk123

My guy is the same but he's gotten better with age - he's 18 months old now. At first he was a bit clueless - he'd want to play with every dog he saw. Now he's gotten older and more socialised he's starting to recognise who wants to meet him and who doesn't. I found day care brilliant for him because he got to play and also learned how to talk to other dogs - he's not full on charging over to them and jumping around like when he was younger - he'll smell noses/bums first and then see if the other dog wants to play now.

suziwalsh

That is normal and a good thing, she will grow out of it and become less interested in other dogs.

I would concentrate on obedience and leave it in your home and when that is great, continue outside where it is still quiet, then with another dog present and so on working up to a crowded park.

Its not that she is not listening to you its that she is so excited and overcome by the fun of another dog that she doesn't hear you.

Always try to walk her before she has been fed and bring treats that she really loves that are going to be more rewarding. Good idea to whistle train her recall which is much more effective then calling her name when out on a free run.

I would also try clicker training too and do make sure she gets time to play with other dogs to keep up her socialisation

irisheddie85

Thanks for the replies.

She does get off lead to play with a few GSDs and a dalmation that live near by so im glad you said this was a good thing. I was worried i should try and stop her getting overexcited with any dogs.

Ive read about clicker training and even though im sure she would pick up on it i dont think i would have the timing or patience to learn a new way of training.

Her recall is getting good when no other dog is around and has always been on me or my girlfriend whistling, should i get a dog whistle or is this adequate

suziwalsh

Great the more play time she gets the better to be honest!

Whistling is great and you don't need a actual whistle unless it is not working all of the time. A proper whistle trained dog will have 100% recall.

As for clicker its really easy and loads of great videos on your tube.

I tend not to use clicker most of the time and I like to use "leave it" or "watch me" command for dog distraction....once you make yourself more interesting than the other dog then you are all set to go....

But it will calm over time and to be honest it is most important that you do not punish your dog for trying to greet other dogs. Otherwise she might associate another dog with bad things happening and that will turn into dog aggression....and that is far harder to mend!