My boy is 5 months old today

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Kedavis
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My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Kedavis »

Just showing him off some more, his obedience is going great. I have one big concern, when he sees a car he wants chases it.Only at the house when we're out in the yard. Any ideas, I've been working on it but he still wants to chase them. We live in a very rural area and cars don't come by very often. I try to get him stopped before he is fixated on it,but once he does he's going after it.
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Dutchringgirl
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Dutchringgirl »

He is so cute!!

Have you trained him to "look"? make eye contact with you until you release him? You want him to focus on you. When you see a car, have him look at you, hold a tug or something and when the car passes, reward him for ignoring the car.
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Kedavis
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Kedavis »

Yes as long as he is close to me I can usually divert his attention to me. The problem is when we're playing ball and he is after the ball away from me. He sees the car and drops everything and goes. I've been waiting till later in the evening to play ball so there is less chance of cars and I can hear them coming so I can get his attention.
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Dutchringgirl »

when you are playing ball, is he on a long line? what I used to do when I was training for recall and yard boundaries, and a few other things, is put them on a long line, play, so something, then recall, give him a sec to respond then give a tug on the long line and train him to come to your front and sit. toy and reward. do that until as soon as you recall him he runs right to your front lets, sits and looks at you.

While playing, keep him on a long line, if you are not, and when you see a car, hopefully before he does, recall him and keep his attention. If he sees it first and runs to it, do the same, recall to your front.
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Kedavis
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Kedavis »

Sounds good, will give it a try.
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Dutchringgirl »

great, keep us posted
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Owned-By-Hendrix »

I agree with Lisa. Sounds like the start of his drives - he's roughly about 6-10 months now? This is when you will be seeing those "protection" drives start kicking in... strongly.

I would do what Lisa recommended. This is part of the recall training - coming off a distraction. My only addition would be I would start doing this before adding in cars, and if a car is there and he turns his head (but doesn't make an immediate turn towards you), reward heavily because he's showing that he is trying, just the distraction is too great. That is a very big distraction for him so you need to make sure your reward is bigger, better, and has more of a history (to help build drive for it).

If that isn't working, I would introduce an ecollar and teach the recall to the vibrate function, or combine the ecollar and prong (this is at the very very very end of "this isn't working so try this" list, though, and I would only recommend it if he has had prior exposure and training with these) along with Lisa's long line.
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by k9lexi »

What a gorgeous pup! My cousin lived in a rural area and her boxer would chase cars and trucks that went flying down their gravel road. Very sad ending for one dog and years later the next dog even with an electric fence. The dogs learned to just run thru it.

I hope you find something that works. An ecollar, if properly used, might get the results you need and may save your dog's life.
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Dutchringgirl »

k9lexi wrote:What a gorgeous pup! My cousin lived in a rural area and her boxer would chase cars and trucks that went flying down their gravel road. Very sad ending for one dog and years later the next dog even with an electric fence. The dogs learned to just run thru it.

I hope you find something that works. An ecollar, if properly used, might get the results you need and may save your dog's life.
thats very sad

It really isnt that hard to stop that behavior, its that people dont take the time to be consistent and do it.
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Kedavis
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Kedavis »

E-collar doesn't stop him unless you get him before he is locked on the chase,after that not going to happen. But I have been working on leash and he is starting to show some results. I know what the end result of chasing cars,never ends good. My wife's pomeranian was run over in our driveway by my son,really bad deal.
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Kedavis
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Kedavis »

Hey Lisa, how long of a line were you using? Really the only time he is off leash is when we play ball and he will always recall except when distracted by a car. I was thinking about a long line too,I was just concerned that as hard as he goes after the ball that he might get tripped up and injured...lol..that kind sounds like a mute point now that I'm writing it. And yes I can see improvement already,yesterday we spent time on leash standing in the yard waiting for cars and looking and staying. He did pretty good so it's working. The thing is he's been so smart to learn everything else,this car chasing really gets him going. I really appreciate all the great advice, thank you all.
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Dutchringgirl »

He should ALWAYS be on the leash except when you put him in the crate, then he goes right back on the moment he comes out the door .

The length depends, in the house I had them on two leashes hooked together so if I just needed one, I had one, then if wanted to let them learn to roam a bit but still wanted to be attatched I hooked two together.

For outside, I had made a 9" rope and they were on that outside at ALL times, unless you have a fenced area, then they can go free and play.

If you are not in a fenced area, he should be attached to you at ALL times, so when that car comes, you can get him.

When you play ball, that is a perfect recall teaching time, You can start short, have him sit, and wait, toss the ball a few feet in front of you, let him get it and as soon as he does, recall, if he dosnt come in a second, reel him in with the line. then have him come to your front, and have another toy as reward.

repeat this over and over until as soon , and I mean as soon as he hears NAME, COME ( or what ever your recall command is) he turns and burnes back to you.

Thalie can be in a full run 2 feet from a squirrel and when I recall her, she leaves skid marks on the ground

remember, NAME gets their attention, COMMAND they better do that right away
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Dutchringgirl »

Kedavis wrote:Hey Lisa, how long of a line were you using? Really the only time he is off leash is when we play ball and he will always recall except when distracted by a car. I was thinking about a long line too,I was just concerned that as hard as he goes after the ball that he might get tripped up and injured...lol..that kind sounds like a mute point now that I'm writing it. And yes I can see improvement already,yesterday we spent time on leash standing in the yard waiting for cars and looking and staying. He did pretty good so it's working. The thing is he's been so smart to learn everything else,this car chasing really gets him going. I really appreciate all the great advice, thank you all.

Trip, injured on a rope or squished by a car.................pick one :eek:

I have yet to have a dog get injured by the long line, they get tangled all of the time but never injured, for me the choice is an easy one.
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Kedavis
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Kedavis »

I hear you, that's the way it's gonna have to be. I actually have been taking him to another part of our property to play ball. I'm going to work with him with the line until it's resolved. It was really weird he's was fine with the cars and the recall and then one day bam,I'm gonna chase cars now.
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Re: My boy is 5 months old today

Post by Dutchringgirl »

He is hitting the age of developing drive and his instincts are kicking in. Sadie did the same thing, I saw days where the light bulb would go off ( then break).

One day, she was sitting at the top of the stairs and I saw her realize that if she was high enough, she could watch over everything, I could almost hear the " DING DING DING" go off.

Personally, I recommend the long line/ leash until he is super solid and there is no chance, not even a slim one, that he will chase the car.

It will pay off in the long run too, I spent hours a day training Thalie when I did Ring sport, and I dont even have to give her any commands, she knows what to do.
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