obedience people?

Question

OK, what suggestions do you have for a dog that is so gung ho, that she basically plows me down on recalls! LOL I have stopped doing finishes with her right now on a recall, because she was so happy to finish after plowing me down. LOL She will be a high scorer when I get her fine tuned. The biggest thing is getting her to stop and sit in front of me on a recall without her trying to knock me over or without her putting her paws up on me as well. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Lol. That's a nice problem to have. You could teach her the drop on recall. That stopped my dog's enthusiasm to come to me! Don't really recommend that. (Stopping the enthusiasm that is... that was a low point in my training.)

What if you go to the park or something and find a low, iron (see through) fence. Call you dog as if it's just a normal recall, but there's the fence between you so she can't plow into you. Reward her by joining on one side of the fence once she's recalled correctly.

Or have you ever done any target training? What if you get a target stick and have her target a few feet in front of you. Once she gets the idea you can bring the target stick closer and closer and maybe she won't knock you down.

Answer 2

nellana uses the same technique that I basically used for dogs that had a hard time with being over excited on the recall. That is a great problem to have though, I have had way more dogs that didnt want to recall at all then ones that were over excited to recall so you are obviously on the right track with your training. When you dogs is returning hold a treat flat on the ground at the spot where you want your dog to recall (usually the heel position). If you want to start at the front of your feet you can do that to because that will be easier then the heel position. Only give the dog the treat when he slows down and goes to the treat first and doesnt run past it or jump on you. That way if he jumps on you and then tries to get the treat and you dont give it to him, the next time he recalls he will be looking for the treat first. Make him sit or lay down to get the treat, which ever you want him to do every time and be consistant with that. Dont allow him to lay down sometimes and sit others. That way he has another rule he has to follow on his recall which will take away from the excitement he is using to jump and plow through you. The more you make his mind work, the easier he will be to command. Good luck.

Answer 3

My friend's boxer did this to her early on in our obedience classes. Finally, our instructor brought a street cone (the big orange ones) and my friend put that in front of her. This discouraged jumping up, as he couldn't get that close to do so. I imagine that anything of that relative size, where you could stand right against it would be helpful.

Have you tried doing recalls close and then slowly moving the dog out and away, just a dab at a time? This might help too. Start at a couple feet, add 6-12 inches every couple of days.

Answer 4

With my big male Shepherd, I started to take a step or two towards him when he started getting close. This taught him to start applying the brakes before he got too close. If he has a nice front, I will usually throw his toy behind him and release him to go get it.

Don't reward her if she puts her paws up on you (this is the main reason I don't teach my dogs to jump up on me). Only treat her if all 4 feet are on the ground. She may need a correction if she continues to jump up.

I very rarely have any of my dogs do finishes, as you can definitely overdo finishes with a dog. If she knows how to finish and doesn't have any issues when finishing (i.e. crooked sits, etc.), don't finish her. Just release her when she is sitting in front. It sounds like she enjoys her finishes, so this shouldn't be a problem!

Good luck!

Answer 5

I'm just training someone to stop her dog doing this. We like fast, close recalls, so I encourage them to barge in initially. When the dog is confident enough, as your dog sounds, we then "put the brakes on". This is easily done. Call the dog, and as it is coming, lean forward with both hands extended. The dog reaches the hands, and you feed a treat. Keep your hands low and palm up, so that the dog remains in the stand. Then guide the dog into the present with another treat. (You need about three treats.) Reward the present.

Answer 6

What if you shape the recall? No rewards for the plow-Mama-down recall. Turn your back (no laughing!) when she does that. Seems that would extinguish the unwanted behavior - just reward the finishes that you want. Good luck!

Answer 7

I don't know if this will work for you but both our german shepherds did this and I nipped it in the bud when they were pups.
I'd call them to me and stand still until just before I got ran into then I'd bend over as I stepped aside grabbed the pup and spun him around and made him sit as I said "Stop."
After the second or third time they both got the idea and on the 3rd or 4th try all it took was pointing a finger and saying "stop" as they ran headlong right at me.They got really good at running full speed and sitting as they slid and turned to land right against my leg looking up at me happily.
As I recall STOP was the first command our oldest shepherd learned.Sit came next then lay down and stay.
This may not work for you depending on the size of your dog and how fast you are.

Answer 8

Taking a few steps toward your dog on approach may help. Also a down in motion helps slow the pace greatly because they dont know when you're gonna changed up the command.