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How To Stop An Approaching Dog In Its Tracks


corvus
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I thought, given how often people are frustrated by dogs approaching theirs when the interaction is not wanted, that this blog post from Patricia McConnell might prove useful.

http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/it-works-how-to-stop-an-approaching-dog-in-an-emergency

Not gonna work on a charging dog, but I haven't found anything that does, yet.

a cattle prod

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I find cracking a stock whip gives most enough of a fright that they think better of charging and you can deter them from further away. Most will stop on the first crack and retreat on the second but I did have a White Shepherd charge recently from a couple of hundred metres away across a park and it must have taken 20 whip cracks for it to finally decide to retreat back to the idiot owner. If they get close enough they get hit with the stockwhip across the face.

I have my dogs trained to sit close by my side while I crack the whip above their heads. None of them have ever really liked the whip but they tolerate it with careful training. I never walk dogs without carrying a whip any more.

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It's not going to help if you have a regular walk and see the same friendly dogs, cos they're going to start associating you with a fist full of treats.

So teach them to stop at a distance from you to get their fist full of treats.

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I often wondered if there was a solution to this problem. It has happened a few times to us, walking along my 2 both leashed & along comes a stray no owner in sight. Very annoying :mad & I am fearful if the loose dog looks

aggressive. My boy is a bit defensive of me when he is on lead & my girl is reactive to just about everything. I just try & change my direction & hope not to be followed. I had never thought of throwing treats, interesting thread.

I will give it a try. Couldn't carry a whip or anything like that around here. Probably get locked up :laugh:

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So teach them to stop at a distance from you to get their fist full of treats.

I have managed to train them not to fight over treat distribution. Ie no resource guarding when I'm handing out treats or the treats disappear.

A few of them try jumping on you to get the treat - because it works on other people including their boss. My dog does that too, and she's learned to head butt the hand with the treat cos that works too on other people, not me.

I will have to be more careful about paying out only on average or better. And not encouraging back chaining. Ie intermittant reward does not mean if you jump on me and then sit, that you're going to get a treat now instead of when you first arrived and sat (and didn't get a treat).

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Some people live in the suburbs where it's considered disruptive to crack a stock whip and anti-social to carry a cattle prod.

:rofl: :rofl:

I think I'd try telling the dog to stop or "NO!" first, and if that didn't work, try the treats. The problem I usually have is actually getting away - I can get them to stop but as soon as I try walk away they follow. Would be interesting to see how many dogs the treats work with.

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I used to take a stock whip out when I was riding, yes, it's very effective most of the time. I dont think it would be that disruptive in the 'burbs. It's just a quick crack and not as loud as a rifle. Traffic and lawn mowers make alot more noise than a millisecond sound of a whip. I know a lady who carries a cattle prod with her now after she and her dog were attacked twice. I dont blame her. I dont think she's had to use it as yet.

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I used to take a stock whip out when I was riding, yes, it's very effective most of the time. I dont think it would be that disruptive in the 'burbs. It's just a quick crack and not as loud as a rifle. Traffic and lawn mowers make alot more noise than a millisecond sound of a whip. I know a lady who carries a cattle prod with her now after she and her dog were attacked twice. I dont blame her. I dont think she's had to use it as yet.

Not many rifles in the 'burbs either... at least not in my area :o

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I should hope not! :laugh: what I am trying to say is a stock whip isn't going to be disruptive in the burbs. It's not like it's going to be cracking constantly either.

I would say that just carrying it would be disruptive :) Not to mention my own dogs would run a mile if I even thought about cracking it...

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I should hope not! :laugh: what I am trying to say is a stock whip isn't going to be disruptive in the burbs. It's not like it's going to be cracking constantly either.

I would say that just carrying it would be disruptive :)Not to mention my own dogs would run a mile if I even thought about cracking it...

Yes, that is definitely a point. I dont use one when I have my dogs with me, you would certainly have to train your dogs with it.

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I think the video demo might flawed because she calls the dog over, so it's not a dog approaching her dog, it's a dog responding to be called. Also she throws the treats and I don't think she walks away with her dog. So we can't see if a dog that wants to approach her dog (not her) and is thrown treats will actually choose to keep seeking out the treats even when the target dog and her try to make an escape. Nice idea though, and maybe it would work.

I don't let my dogs approach dogs on leash without checking with the owner. If all dogs are off leash then I assume they are friendly and in the control of their owner and approachable. If the owner calls their dog away, then I call mine back to me.

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I should hope not! :laugh: what I am trying to say is a stock whip isn't going to be disruptive in the burbs. It's not like it's going to be cracking constantly either.

I would say that just carrying it would be disruptive :)Not to mention my own dogs would run a mile if I even thought about cracking it...

Yes, that is definitely a point. I dont use one when I have my dogs with me, you would certainly have to train your dogs with it.

Yes, you have to train your own dogs to ignore the whip and you have to know how to crack it safely. It is rarely used but is good to know it is there. On the few occasions I have had to use it I wouldn't care who it disturbed if it prevents my dogs being attacked. I would prefer to carry a gun or a taser but don't think that would be allowed in suburbia. :eek: My whip makes less noise than the air rifles (I assume) that are frequently heard round my area near the local park. I think they are trying to get rid of the cockatoo invasion.

I mostly drive to large parks that are away from houses to minimise the risk of running into roaming dogs, so using the whip there is not an issue. I have a short whip that just hangs around my neck and would rarely be noticed unless someone walked really close to me.

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Yes, you have to train your own dogs to ignore the whip and you have to know how to crack it safely. It is rarely used but is good to know it is there. On the few occasions I have had to use it I wouldn't care who it disturbed if it prevents my dogs being attacked. I would prefer to carry a gun or a taser but don't think that would be allowed in suburbia. :eek: My whip makes less noise than the air rifles (I assume) that are frequently heard round my area near the local park. I think they are trying to get rid of the cockatoo invasion.

I mostly drive to large parks that are away from houses to minimise the risk of running into roaming dogs, so using the whip there is not an issue. I have a short whip that just hangs around my neck and would rarely be noticed unless someone walked really close to me.

I agree, surely the screams of a person and their dog being torn to shreds would be more disruptive than the crack of a stockwhip.

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