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Monday, July 25, 2011

advice!

Hi Everyone!   Hope everyone had a super weekend.  Ill discuss restaurants, movies, and books we enjoyed over the past week in a little.  But in the meantime, we need some help...

We started using a dogwalker last week!  For $25 she will take Havi for an hour long walk, 30 minutes at the dog park, then refill her water bowl and feed her a snack.  A lot of Havi's friends use her as well.  Additionally at the end of the walk she emails a photo of your pup on the walk and a review.  We don't plan to use her every week, but like the idea that Havi is used to a dogwalker whenever we may need her.

However, now she also knows our dirty little secret...when Havi walks and sees another pup down the street she lays flat on the ground.  You can't move that 65 pound pup for anything.  She means it in a non-threatening way, and I assume that because when the pup comes near she doesn't lunge or growl, she just stands up and starts sniffing.  However, I have a feeling this is not a good practice to condone.  Any advice?

Havi, her favorite spot, and one hot weekend.

12 comments:

  1. Does she have any advice? I only ask because we learned so much from our doggy daycare provider. She had years more training experience than we did. Katy has had so much more limited time with her and it shows.

    Does Havi respond to treats to get up?

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  2. Funny, when Michael does that (when he sees small dogs), I discourage it and ask other dog owners to keep moving because I know he is going to pounce/play "leap frog" with their pups. He's an asshole like that. ;-)

    But I have seen what you're describing before, too, and I attribute it to a lack of socialization/exposure to different type of dogs in the critical early puppy period. She is showing the other dog she is submissive and means no harm. Depending whether she is food- or toy-motivated, she will probably at least sit up if you wave the preferred reward in front of her nose. Then rub her chest in an upward motion to build her confidence and use the stimulus in front of her nose to guide her to walk (don't relinquish it to her until she actually walks and/or remains standing until she greets the other dog). Unlike former bait dogs, who completely shut down, this is not too difficult to correct. It's also why I am keeping my 9-week-old foster puppy on the leash in the house right away (read the BAD RAP posts on using the tie-out as an alternative to crate training).

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  3. Anther thing you can do is gently massage and push her rump--I've seen other dogs do this with one another to help keep them moving.

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  4. We would love it if dog walkers were around here! I am sorry that we do not have any advice for you; we have never experienced that before. Please keep us updated.

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  5. Hey Havi!
    Wow, I think it's cool you have your very own peep assigned to give you pawesome walkies! I'd like to have that too. Sounds to me like you're just being sweet and submissive which I think is a-okay. As long as you're nice to the pup when it reaches you, I think it's sorta fine. I don't really have any advise other than to say my mom says it's much better than my own problem. See, I'm really rotten to other dogs and peeps. :( Too territorial. Mom would much rather have your behavior than mine...ahem. Maybe a little treat would keep you walking.
    Grr and Woof,
    Sarge, COP

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  6. Hmm mine do that when they try to be "sneaky" but I give them a firm tug in the other direction. We had to use a head halter for this.

    Kari
    http://dogisgodinreverse.com

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  7. I don't have much experience with this, but I can offer some unofficial thoughts. I agree with the others that this is a submissive gesture -- an "I don't mean you any harm" signal to the other dog. In the grand scheme, this really is not a bad problem to have, right? Try engaging her in basic obedience next time you see another dog approaching, but before she gets to the point where she is laying down. You will want to redirect her attention and try to have her pivot her body away from the other dog so she's not look at it and becoming fixated with her need to tell it that she means no harm. Over time you should be able to push her threshold so that she is able to be within a normal distance of another dog without feeling the urge to flatten. I would also think that rewarding her for other submissive/calming behaviors when she sees other dogs would be good too -- when she turns sideways, suddenly starts to sniff something, licks her lips, averts eye contact, licks her lips -- those are all "I don't mean any harm" signs, and they should be reinforced. If laying down flat is her main way of commuicating to the other dogs that she is not a threat, it probably wouldn't hurt to help bring out her other calming behaviors while you try to phase this one out, so she's not left with nothing.

    If you haven't taken one recently, a group class could be good too, because it will refresh her on paying attention to YOU in the presence of other dogs, rather than just being fixated on them. Good luck!

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  8. No advice other than maybe consulting a behaviorist?!

    I have one dog who just hates to go for walks. I think it's because when he was a puppy, I wasn't able to take him on as many as I would've liked. Whenever we go for walks now, he tries to get me to carry him.

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  9. loveandaleash is completely right in this case. definitely try to take her attention away from the other dog -- it's your best chance at redirecting this behavior. And I definitely think taking her into more social situations (with other dogs), like positive based obedience classes, would be more than beneficial!

    Man, you sure are lucky though that she's not dog aggressive - you see that more often than Havi's type of behavior!

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  10. First of all, that's a great price for all that attention from the dog walker!

    Also, I agree with loveandaleash-timing is crucial, so try to get her attention before she sees the dogs and reacts. I did this with Neptune after he almost ripped my arm off in response to afternoon squirrel parties in the park. I would treat, treat, treat, or make him sit, watch me, tap, do whatever commands he knows to get his attention away from the squirrels. Now when he sees them, he looks at me for a treat instead of focusing on the squirrels. Also, if Havi is performing this behavior as a submissive gesture, perhaps having her perform her tricks will help her gain in confidence overall.

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  11. Would using your heel command help? Or whatever command you use in training to start moving from a stopped position? When we are training heel it means stay right by my side whether I am walking or stopped. When I move, you move. When I stop, you stop. This is important to us because at tests the dogs have to go and come from the line off lead and you might be passing another dog. Our problem would not be stopping as much as trying to visit another dog. But it seems the concept would be the same. Obviously it may take time, but with work that heel should become solid. I would work it without any dogs around and get it solid and then work it while you walk. Lots of praise for good work.

    When Thunder was young he used to decide not to move when he did not want to, say to go out before bed or on a walk when he wanted one more sniff. 95 pounds of dead weight. I used the heel command to fix it.

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  12. I wish we had some advice to offer you, but when I see other dogs, I go nuts barking!

    Nubbin wiggles,
    Oskar

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