[Reaganb]

Hi there!
I have a 7 month old aussie puppy, her name is Dahlia.. and shes the best...
Dahlia is very smart and picks up new tricks and commands, house training her was also no problem. SHe is insanely well behaved indoors and at home too.. I have very very few problems with her at all... except for the big one..
When we go for walks and there is no other dogs walking past us.. she walks great and knows loose leash training well (apart from odd time) BUT when there is any other dog around all of her attention is on them and wanting to say hello (She is extremely social and friendly) she does not listen to me WHATSOEVER she pulls and pulls to go see them if we are walking... if I stop and tell her to sit, she will now which is great, but if the other dog gets closer she will literally charge at them.. all of her focus is on other dogs untill they are out of her sight.. But again like i said, no other dogs, shes so amazing..
Also, when we go to the dog park, she does not listen to me at all there either, Ill say come and she just ignores me completely. (she doesnt do this anywhere else) Its honestly so bad that I have to wait to be the last one at the dog park to leave because she will NOT listen to me because she knows I want to leave all the fun of the other dogs. I Have been bringing her favourite treats to the park and saying come anytime she gets sort of near me and she will come stop by my feet and get the treat and then take off again as shes having all the fun...... but if i were to call her from a distance, she wont come.
I know she's just an over excited puppy and all that she wants to do is play, but this is becoming very frustrating, especially since she completely knows what i want her to do but chooses to ignore me..
Like I said, i love her to death and most of the time she is an amazing dog, I get complemented on how well behaved she is all the time.. IF there is no other dogs around haha.
Any pointers??? is this just a puppy phase? Should I be NOT taking her to dog park until she listens better?? Im just worried that ive kind of ruined her in pulling to see other dogs because its rewarding as usually she gets to say hi if the other owner wants.
Disclaimer- dahls also gets lots of other excersise, we go on many walks a day and short hikes.
Any advice is helpful thanks in advance

 

[Kathyy]

Enroll in a group obedience class. Being around the same group of dogs for several weeks will work wonders.

You can get into big trouble bringing food in the dog park as some dogs will claim your food as theirs and fighting will break out. Maybe not today or this month but someday it will happen and it will be an extremely unpleasant situation all around.

Recall and attention during walks needs to be trained. Some time take her to the dog park but don't go in. Train outside at a distance where she can hear you and move closer as she gets the strange game you are playing. Behaving around distractions is the hard part. Easy to get a dog to sit, down, come and stay if nothing interesting is around!

 

[Reaganb]

Thanks Kathy! I will definitely give obedience class a try, I've heard that it helps for the sole reason of other dogs around.

She does listen around other distractions, im aware that it's easy to have their attention when nothing else does..... it's just other dogs specifically, she just gets so excited to meet them. Walking around outside the dog park is a good idea, thank you! After success I can reward her with some play time, if she earns it
Cheers

 

[Lillith]

Its a common issue. I would also suggest going to group obedience classes. It really helps to teach them that listening to you with distractions around is rewarding. I would not go into the dog park if she doesn't listen to you. The dog park is a privilege! Being allowed to ignore you just cements the habit that 'come' is optional. You may have already poisoned that word, so I would choose another one as you continue training.

For recall training, choose a really really awesome treat that she really really loves and she only gets that treat for recall training. Cheese, hot dogs, something stinky is usually best.

As dogs get older, they do tend to care more about what their owner wants and less about other dogs and other people. It may get easier, but age probably isn't going to be a complete substitute for good training in this case.

For out on walks and stuff, I would take a look at the "Reactive Dogs" thread in the training forum. The method for training fear reactive and excitement reactive dogs is basically the same. You want to start at a distance that your dog can handle, whether thats across the street or down the block. Reward for attention to you. Slowly decrease distance. It's a long process, but it does work!

 

[3GSD4IPO]

Go back to basics and work on FOCUS. It takes a lot of work to get FOCUS and you need to be interesting beyond being a simple Pez Dispenser of food.

When you get focus in the house, in the yard, in places where there are no other dogs THEN ask for it near other dogs.

It is common enough for your dog to find other dogs more interesting. What you need to do is be more interesting than other dogs.

Never let your dog meet and play with other dogs when on walks (I never allow it at all ever).

 

[WesselGordon]

Is a one-on-one play date with another puppy a feasible idea? If it is you can recall Dahlia every now and then, reward her and let her go back to playing. The other advantage would that if things do t nasty about treats you just have Dahlia and the other owner and dog to worry about instead of the entire ''park pack'' and their owners.

I would suggest you and the other owner agree on some basic poured-in-cement rules for these play dates for both dogs to avoid any mischief.