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Teaching your dog to “play nice” with other dogs
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Teaching your dog to “play nice” with other dogs
Hi there!
I recently adopted a 40 lb, 2 year dog 4 months ago, and she’s been really great. However, I’m working on her interaction with other dogs. She’s not aggressive but she has a very strong prey drive. And when it comes to other dogs, it turns into a very strong play drive. At first, I liked seeing her chase other dogs and play. But her play style turned into barking continuously at dogs that won’t play with her and using her paws to “punch” other dogs into playing. As you can imagine, a lot of dogs don’t like being barked at or punched. After she started to do this a couple times on bigger dogs (who have growled and chased her) and smaller dogs (who have consequently rolled over from her punches), I stopped letting her play with other dogs without a leash. I realized that she only plays like this when she’s very excited, and when I control her on-leash and she’s relaxed, she just sniffs and circles around other dogs. Also, when she is excited, all of our training is out the window so it’s a recipe for disaster.
Unfortunately, it feels like my restraining her from playing freely with other dogs has made her more and more dog-reactive. When she sees another dog, she started to pull harder on the leash than before. When she does get to the other dog, it’s just friendly sniffs and she’s on her way. So I know it’s not aggressive, but I feel like I’m “feeding” her dog reactivity by limiting her interaction with them.
I also wonder if this behavior a manifestation of her trying to exude dominance/confidence, because apparently she is very shy (but getting much better after the 5th visit) at doggy daycare. She was also a very shy/skittish dog at the shelter. It’s really weird to me to see her act completely different with other dogs, depending on whether I’m around or not.
Right now, I’m trying a bunch of different strategies, such as:
– avoiding dogs on the street
– working on recall / focus next to the dog park so she learns to pay attention to me, not the dogs
– rewarding her when she approaches dogs without pulling or interacts with dogs nicely (instead of punching and barking)
– leaving the situation if she starts becoming too excited
– e-collar training so I can work on her recall
Does anyone have similar experiences with dog reactivity and can either share tips or at least give me hope that one day, she’ll interact with other dogs with calmness and nice playfulness?!
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10 Replies
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I would try to shorten this up and submit it to Robert via AMA form as he would provide the best guidance for this but I’ll pitch in my 2 cents.
It’s hard to understand why the reactivity would get worse without me seeing what exactly you are doing and how you are handling it. If her reactivity is increasing as she is not meeting dogs then she may just be trying to find a way to get you to let her see them. If she starts acting worse and you give in, then she learns that she just has to act out enough for you to let her go. I would keep working obedience and increasing your dogs attention to you in the presence of other dogs. You may need to work this at a distance and gradually get closer. Personally if this was my dog, she would not be meeting any other dogs. She doesn’t seem to have any real problems and contrary to popular belief, your dog doesn’t have to meet other dogs in order to be well socialized. My dog has never played with another dog with the exception of my other dog and he’s pretty neutral around other dogs. The same goes for Robert’s dogs too from my understanding.
Hope any of this helps you out, just be patient and consistent and you’ll be ok. 😁
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I forgot to mention that Robert has a vid called something along the lines of “good manners and meeting dogs.” He was helping a couple with their mini schnauzer, LJ, and he explains some of this. You might get a lot out of it
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Thank you Logan!!! I agree with your tips.
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This is great advice and i feel what Robert would say too!!! I keep my dog out of dog parks and away from strange dogs. And he loves dogs and loves to play but also has a rough and tumble play style so I’m careful who I let him play with. My friends have dogs that love to play with him and can tolerate his style. But I do keep him on a light long line when playing and do correct and redirect him if it’s too much for the other dog. Usually I have to pull him over on trails and hikes because not everyone follows the no strange dog rule. If we are too close alot of the time people ask is he friendly as they walk their dog up to mine. So now I just give more distance and ask for a sit stay and then let’s go as soon as the dog passes. Easier on everyone and teaches Theo to be neutral and focus on me. It’s easy to correct for any excited jumping or lunging when he is already in a sit. But this isnt easy for all dogs I’ve been doing this consistently since he was 5 months
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Thank you for sharing your situation, YL. My dog has never played well with other dogs; almost as if she doesn’t know how to just play. She loves to play chase with them and will try to get another dog to run but if the other dog doesn’t want to play or wants to play with more of a “playfighting” style then she doesn’t just play; she gets aggressive and has gotten herself into a couple fights so I do not take any chances now.
But my big takeaway from this is Logan’s comment that a dog does not HAVE to play with another dog! I always got the feeling that she is very content to have only people around but I thought I was depriving her or not training her completely her if I didn’t have her around other dogs. Unless I am misunderstanding Logan’s comment?
Because the problem now is that another dog is living with us and her possessiveness of me is a big issue. But I’ll look for a discussion on that subject 😉
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@danajatmyahoo-com
Yes I believe you understood what I meant. Your dog doesn’t need to interact with other dogs, it just needs to have exposure to them and be able to engage with you around them.
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My 1,5 gsd exactly the same. I raised and trained her from 8 weeks old. As Robert always says on his videos, your dog thinks playing with other much fun than staying with you So you must be a fun than other dogs. Since I heard this I started to play with my dog a lot. And worked on leash reaction. She improved so much right now. Thanks to mister Cabral!🙏🏼
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Robert has posted some great videos on leash reactivity this year in the Join the Lesson series. You can find them by going to the Lessons tab and doing a search on “Leash Reactive” or use the “Categories” drop down on the Lessons page to select Join the Lesson. Then you can just scroll through all the lessons posted there to find ones of interest to you. Good luck!
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When you adopt a dog, you must learn some history about her; who was the breeder, why was she given away by the previous owners, etc. Maybe the dog suffers from anxieties which aren’t immediately detectable, but are present. Not all issues are ‘trainable’ on dog; some issues can be cured with a different diet, additions to food, owner’s own training (very few people do that). Although some suggested they don’t meet other dogs for various reasons, that solution may turn against you as soon as your circumstances change, or if your dog is forced outside that comfort zone. Training is a challenge, of sometimes doing things we don’t like, but for the good of the dog.
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