Scott and Jag Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Hi all, I am after some advice to calm my 6 month old GSD male pup while we are at the park - Jag. At home he is quite well behaved and will do as he has been trained, will do anything if a treat or a squeaky toy is involved. The problem I have is that when I take him to the dog park after work (generally every night), he is very rough when he plays, he is not at all aggressive but people are commenting that it is good when Jag is there because their dogs are not the worst behaved. I am thinking it is my fault because he has been going to the same park since he was vaccinated and I have pretty much let him play and be himself. This wasn't a problem when he was small, but now that he is 3/4 grown it is becoming a real issue. The other issue I have is that he is almost impossible to catch now. Initially he would always come when called, then he wouldn't so I took his clicker. I would call, he would come and I would click and give him a treat and praise a number of times then when I was ready to go I would do it again, praise him put the lead on him and go. He will come at home, come in the yard, just will not come within a couple of metres of me while at the park. Should I give him a break from the dog park and take him to another park with no dogs and no distractions (but I don't think this will help as it is the stimulation of other dogs that sends him nuts? I think he just associates the current dog park with free time and anything goes. Now I don't let him off the lead at the park, we just walk around doing training but if there is another dog comes near him he just goes back to his rough play ways. Any advice would be much appreciated. Scott and Jag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Do you drive him to the park? Maybe a nice long walk might be a good way to wear him out a bit before letting him loose at said park? T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott and Jag Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 T, I drive him as it is on the other side of town, come to think of it, he has started going more and more nuts in the back of the ute on the way there... it is like he can't wait to get there. He also doesn't seem to tire, he will play fight the entire time he is there, up to an hour and I am sure if I was there for 2 hours he would still be going, he is like the energiser bunny, lol. Scotty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 OMG Please please join Susan Garrett's Freecallers - ie the foundation games of recallers for free... (or for the price of your email) https://www.brilliantrecalls.com/ The program will teach you "collar grab" (catch your dog with ease), "its yer choice" (aka impulse control), restrained recall (dog come back when called with enthusiasm) and crate games (I hope - hasn't said what the last critical core game will be). One of the things included is to make a list of distractions and then rank them from - barely distracting - dog will train with you and ignore, to OMG LOOK I CAN'T LEARN ANYTHING THATS WAY TOO EXCITING. so he's obviously getting plenty of fun from everywhere but you. You need to make his time at the dog park entirely conditional on listening to you. So I agree - for now - don't go in the dog park or let him off lead around other exciting things. Practice training - on lead - at a distance far enough away from distractions that he can still pay attention to you. If he's all focussed on the dog over there - you're too close. And just interrupt any behaviour you don't like with a collar grab, ask for attention, and see what his choice is when you release... if he chooses to repeat the undesirable behaviour - put him on lead until he can pay attention to you again. The first part of the collar grab video explains why we train the way we do and what you need to do (or not do) for it to be successful - it's worth handing over your email just for that. And note the actuall collar grab game - starts with the dog on lead - so you have control - you don't drag his collar into your hand but you do stop him from nicking off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 What Mrs RB said :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott and Jag Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 Thanks RB, I will give it a go. He is a smart dog, just very very easily distracted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) Scott and Jag He's 7 months old - just hitting the dog version of "teenage angst and rebellion" also the age most puppies get dumped because the owners can't handle this stage. But it is possible to train a dog to be more focussed (on you) and less distracted (by everything else) bit by bit. Especially a GSD. Edited July 11, 2015 by Mrs Rusty Bucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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