Daniel.P.Hughes Webboard User Reg: 02-06-2010
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Haven't posted in a while. Everything is going good. She is more tolerant of dogs barking at her, great food and prey drive and I can walk without her pulling and she is engage while walking etc etc.
My current issue
When kids are running about or riding bikes and just being kids she gets super excited. As they get close she goes to the down position and lowers her head (exactly like the herding dogs do) then will leap for the nip when they get close.
I want to add that my son can work her in obedience and walk her great so it isn't a I hate kids. But if he is out running around it kicks in.
How do I deal with this? She is 5 months old. I have a prong collar that is the size and fit Ed recommends. Should I correct with that since that is not acceptable pack behavior or try and do the treat and attention which is almost impossible.
I would remove her from the situation before it becomes an issue. And take that time to work on obedience with distractions.
I mean, yeah, it's a no-no. But it's also herding dog puppy play. So I prefer to teach more self control and prevent at this stage rather than correct. I would want to keep her under threshold and train the behavior you want rather than letting her get ramped up to that point. Keeping under threshold allows you to give basic corrections if needed and they'll be a lot more meaningful to you dog as she'll still be able to think and process the information. At this point I'd want to keep her under threshold enough for a verbal correction or simple leash correction with a flat collar to be effective. And of course highly reward the behavior you want
At 5 m/o my Border Collie took a lot of management around kids. At 1 y/o he's getting some nice self control. He still might go crazy if things were too exciting but I keep and eye on him and I can call him over and settle him down pretty easily.
Training with such strong distractions can be next to impossible.
You need to get the obedience work with low level distractions solid before you can expect the dog to obey when in the middle of the herd of noisy kids.
Build up to that with distance.
Work at a distance where the dog shows little to no interest in the noise. Slowly, over a period of days or weeks to get closer to the distractions and the dog still obeys.
If the dog shows excitement then you've move to close, to fast.
Every time the dog gets overly excited and you loose control you've reinforced to the dog that it doesn't have to obey.
Daniel.P.Hughes Webboard User Reg: 02-06-2010
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Okay thanks. I have to manage the kids as well. Basically we all go to park and walk together. I work engage the and fetch and the dog does well. The problem arises when my kids take off and want to play. Looks like I need to instruct them to calmly walk away while I work obedience and return in the same fashion.
I'd consider separate park trips for the kids and the dog at this point. Kids need to be able to run and play sometime.
Just way too much going on for one person to manage kids and an active teenage puppy. It won't be like this forever but both the kids and the pup probably need your full attention at this stage.
Mike Arnold Webboard User Reg: 07-09-2004
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What has been said.
As the father of four grown children, who were once little ones around dogs in the house, it became clear, lo those years ago, that you train your children and you train your dogs but it is a challenge to train or tend to both at the same time.
If you train your children to help train the dog, well then.
But if your goal is, on the one hand, to have a well trained dog, you need to focus on that objective without distraction to either you or the dog during the training regimen.
The saw about having cake and eating it too won't serve as a good basis for conditioning your dog. You train the dog today for the dog you want tomorrow. Works for children too.
Two cents.
Mike A.
"I wouldn't touch that dog, son. He don't take to pettin." Hondo, played by John Wayne
Duane Hull Webboard User Reg: 09-23-2011
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Even if the kids are going to help train the dog, the dog should at least have a foundation before multiple handlers are introduced. Asking a puppy to stay focused while kids are playing nearby is "flooding", and can be counter-productive. IMHO, train the puppy, initially at least, one on one and free of distraction (in a controlled environment). Once the puppy exhibits some focus and impulse control, you can then add additional handlers dependent upon their aptitude (IOW, wife or older kids first).
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prey drive and inappropriate behavior
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