A "Leave the Nice People Alone" Command?

[BNM1980]

What is a good command to use when your dog wants to go to people at the park who may not be as enthusiastic about him as he is about them?

 

I use "leave it" for when I want Blake to let go of something I am taking from him, like the rope, and again for when he is about to go to something he shouldn't, like a rubbish bag. ("Drop it" is for something he has in his mouth that I want him to drop on the ground, like a ball or piece of garbage). And at the moment, I've been using "leave it", or just "come" when he starts to run to strangers in the park. It's working most of the time, but a lot depends on how close he gets. Once a certain critical proximity to new people is reached (about three meters at the moment) he appears powerless to stop himself.

 

I was wondering if it is a good idea to use a new command for this specific problem? What command do you use to curb your dogs "social calls"?

[bc4ever]

What is a good command to use when your dog wants to go to people at the park who may not be as enthusiastic about him as he is about them?

 

What command do you use to curb your dogs "social calls"?

"Never mind" while we keep moving works wonders with Scooter. Sit/stay works too, but he seems to respond better to "Never mind."

[mbc1963]

When people raise their hands to shoulder level, palms facing outward, it's a pretty universal signal for "stay away" or "get off me." Might be a good signal for you to use to teach your dog "go away from me," and then he could apply it (with some kind of verbal command from you) out in the world.

 

I give this advice because I trained my dog to do a double high five when I put my hands up like that. It was a very stupid moment in dog training! When other people use that universal human gesture to mean "back off" or "get away," Buddy goes toward them and puts his paws up on them. Duh. It's a gesture we run into a whole lot, always coming from people who aren't dog fans.

 

Mary

[Root Beer]

Back when I first got into dog training, I had Speedy at the club of which we were members at the time. I asked a woman to give my dog some space and so she started shrieking "LEAVE IT!" every time her dog started to approach us.

 

I was very insulted. I thought it extremely rude of her to call my dog, and me, for that matter, an "IT". I actually went out of my way not to speak to her for the rest of the class session! Seems very silly now, but at the time I really thought she was extremely disrespectful to me and my dog.

 

Since then, of course, I learned that Leave It is a common cue - one I use myself in certain situations, but I'll never forget my first impression of it and I do keep in mind that non-dog people might not understand it altogether. So when I call my dog off of a person or dog, I usually say "leave him" or "leave her" or just "with me".

[urge to herd]

Buzz's favorite thing ever was greeting people. I learned to use it as a reward. If he came and sat quietly when I called him, I'd ask the stranger if she/he wouldn't mind helping me train my dog by saying hi to him. Worked like a charm.

 

Buzz got to show off how well behaved he was, which impressed the heck out of most folks, and probably 90% of the time, the folks said, sure, they'd pet him a bit. Even when I could tell they weren't all that into dogs, the polite manners that Buzz displayed made them agree to at least say hi to him. It was a winning tactic all the way around.

 

Ruth

[Ninso]

I don't know that the command you are using matters as much as whether the dog has been trained to obey the command in the particular situation you are using it. Lok knows "leave it" in regards to objects, but doesn't respond as well when I mean to leave people alone. But we really haven't practiced this. In fact, since he was a bit shy when he first came home, we have practiced getting him to think that people=wonderful things! I realized he had learned this lesson when he ran up, to greet a guy walking across the field we always play frisbee in. He didn't respond to a recall and shoved his slobbery frisbee again the guy's leg. He did come back right after that, but the guy was less than thrilled. I would try to recruit some friends to help you specifically work on this issue.

[Root Beer]

In fact, since he was a bit shy when he first came home, we have practiced getting him to think that people=wonderful things!

 

LOL!! I had to do the same thing with Speedy. With my other dogs, if they want to greet someone who does not want to greet them I will call them off. With Speedy I'm jumping for joy saying "GOOD JOB!" when he puts his paws up on someone. Of course, anyone he is comfortable enough to do that with knows him well enough to know it's a big deal and they are happy, too.

 

It's funny going from that to Dean, for whom giving hugs to new friends is one of his most favorite things in the world! With him I can use that as a strong reinforcer for sitting until he is invited up to greet.

[JohnLloydJones]

What command do you use to curb your dogs "social calls"?

 

The only place Senneca is off-leash is at the dog park, and at our dog park, you need to be prepared to be jumped on, slobbered on and bumped into by random dogs. Given the general lack of doggy manners, Senneca bowls people over by her subtle approach; she saunters over to people and nuzzles them. Never had an issue with that. She does forget her manners when someone is dishing out treats, though. She will sit and beg -- something she would never dream to do with me. I just use her name -- in a scolding tone. Once I have her attention, I simply call her to me with a "Here!" command.

[Lenajo]

What command do you use to curb your dogs "social calls"?

 

"No"

 

The only place Senneca is off-leash is at the dog park, and at our dog park, you need to be prepared to be jumped on, slobbered on and bumped into by random dogs.

 

It's bad enough it happens, but the idea that it's acceptable and normal is appalling.

[Ooky]

When we're off leash at the non-dog park, I make it a requirement that Odin stay near me. He is really wiggly-enthusiastic, especially with kids, and is therefore not allowed to meet anyone without my permission, because I want to supervise his meetings to be sure I can enforce no jumping and no shoe-licking, a nice polite sit, and if the other person wishes, no licking period. So, every time he wanders very far from me I call him back, being sure to praise him, run or skip a couple steps, throw a ball/frisbee, or give him a pat as a reward. If we pass people close, he gets the "heel" command. I watch other people closely, and if they seem to want to meet him, AND he is being good (like Ruth described) we go meet the person together. So it's less a matter of stopping him after he wants to go over but setting up rules that he stays with me and listens to commands (like heel) all the way through to commands like "No shoe-licking!"

 

At the dog park he is allowed a bit more freedom to initiate greetings himself, since presumably the people that are coming there are wanting to deal with dogs. Usually, he is so focused on playing ball that he mostly just goes and drops his ball at someone's feet, and looks up at them as charming as possible ;-)

[JohnLloydJones]

It's bad enough it happens, but the idea that it's acceptable and normal is appalling.

 

It's neither acceptable, nor "normal", but it certainly happens. There are many well behaved dogs too, but the few ill-mannered ones are the ones that notice.

[ThunderHill]

If it looks like my dog is headed for people who don't want to be visited, who are going to get stressed in a hurry, I'll use a sharp command -- generally the dog's name, in the tone of voice that means "stop and check in with me right now." Or I'll use a recall, if it seems prudent to give the people plenty of space right away.

 

If things aren't that urgent, I'll generally use "get out of that," which all my dogs learn early on means "that's not the thing I want you paying attention to." (As when a young dog gets distracted by another group of sheep on the other side of the fence from where we're working; or if they suddenly find the set-out team unusually interesting. Or if I catch my dog giving a dog who's tied up or in a crate the wrong kind of Look.) I kind of like the longer phrase because it gives me plenty of variation for tone and delivery. It's usually guidance, not a correction as such. You can make it mild or harsh, depending on the situation. I believe dogs understand the *way* you say something better than *what* you say. (What trainer can't use their dog's name for both praise and imprecation? What parent isn't equally talented with their children's names?)

 

"Leave it" works fine to interrupt excessive volunteer socializing, too.

 

For what it's worth, as far as I've ever been concerned, the "that" (in "get out of that") and the "it" (in "leave it") refers to the unwanted behavior, not a concrete object or a person.

 

Liz S

Gift & Joss

[Shetlander]

I was very insulted. I thought it extremely rude of her to call my dog, and me, for that matter, an "IT". I actually went out of my way not to speak to her for the rest of the class session! Seems very silly now, but at the time I really thought she was extremely disrespectful to me and my dog.

 

 

Cute story!

 

I use "leave it" or redirect my dog's attention back to me with their name.

[RaisingRiver]

I use Leave It. All my dogs naturally generalized it to anything I refer to. Maybe because I trained it for the cats as well as objects when each dog learned it so people weren't much of a stretch.

[afrancis]

I'll chime in with 'leave it' as well.

However, usually Skye's visits are a pretense for getting someone else to throw her frisbee. If the volunteers are amenable I'll allow it but the trick early on was to get her to believe they were done when they'd had enough (used here, 'leave it' seemed to be greeted with the rebuff, 'you've got to be kidding -- why wouldn't they want to keep throwing my frisbee?'). So I used the command 'that's all, they're going home' -- wordy I know but such are my conversations with her

Now I can say, 'they're going home' and she'll come back to me right away, which surprises many people that she has such complex language skills

Ailsa

[DTrain]

My dogs are very social and in some situations in their work it is good public relations. I does not really matter what command you use as long as you get the result you need. I simply use That'll Do across a lot of situations. The dogs return to me and stand or sit at my side.

[Jumpin Boots]

We have a 'with me' command, it just means, walk with me and ignore everything else. When I trained this command I carried Boots' favorite toy so that 'with me' not only meant walk closely but keep an eye on me too. It works great when passing people on narrow paths or when he starts to stray towards a group that don't want a doggy visit.

[Bo Peep]

What is a good command to use when your dog wants to go to people at the park who may not be as enthusiastic about him as he is about them?

 

I use "leave it" for when I want Blake to let go of something I am taking from him, like the rope, and again for when he is about to go to something he shouldn't, like a rubbish bag. ("Drop it" is for something he has in his mouth that I want him to drop on the ground, like a ball or piece of garbage). And at the moment, I've been using "leave it", or just "come" when he starts to run to strangers in the park. It's working most of the time, but a lot depends on how close he gets. Once a certain critical proximity to new people is reached (about three meters at the moment) he appears powerless to stop himself.

 

I was wondering if it is a good idea to use a new command for this specific problem? What command do you use to curb your dogs "social calls"?

Owning a service dog with numerous patches on his vest- "Working-please ask before petting" I have found that the WORST people are Dr's and nurses. I also use the leave it command-one of my favorites- if I drop a pill on the floor, he knows for his own safety it is NOT a treat- I also use a hand movement in public to reinforce his and THEIR movements for both of them to "back off", Not saying he is an evil dog- just saying he is too friendly. A simple wave in their direction. Most parents are very good with their children saying "This dog is working" 99% of the time.

 

Usher has calmed down quite a bit where people notice and ask "May I pet your dog?: If it's a good day, I say yes- but then it takes him a little time to get back on track- that is now a service dog and not just a pet at a store. I don't feel that the dog should be corrected because of encounter with a stranger, but these things are expected in life.

 

A dog is a dog and should know it's place. It should not leap up on anyone, no matter what they are doing-- and they do odd things. LOL. I had a man walking with heavy gloves. It's cold outside. My new rescue barked at him- very odd- I asked him if he would mind being an experiment-I explained that the dog was fresh, yet friendly. He removed one glove and back to friendly dog- so.......we all have our upsets, especially with rescues. Never can tell what happened to them before.

Good luck and keep us informed.

As always-

Dianne

[BNM1980]

I give this advice because I trained my dog to do a double high five when I put my hands up like that. It was a very stupid moment in dog training! When other people use that universal human gesture to mean "back off" or "get away," Buddy goes toward them and puts his paws up on them. Duh. It's a gesture we run into a whole lot, always coming from people who aren't dog fans.

 

Mary

 

That's a funny story! Reminds me of another story about unwanted obedience. I heard about a woman who used the "Hurry up" command for "Go toilet". The problem was, whenever the kids were running late for school, and she told her kids to "Hurry up!" the dog would dutifully do his business wherever he happened to be standing.

 

 

Back when I first got into dog training, I had Speedy at the club of which we were members at the time. I asked a woman to give my dog some space and so she started shrieking "LEAVE IT!" every time her dog started to approach us.

 

I know! This crossed my mind too. It's as bad as McCain calling Obama "That one". Even though I live in South Korea where next to no one speaks English, I'm still tempted to say, "Leave them!"

 

 

I had a man walking with heavy gloves. It's cold outside. My new rescue barked at him- very odd- I asked him if he would mind being an experiment-I explained that the dog was fresh, yet friendly. He removed one glove and back to friendly dog- so.......we all have our upsets, especially with rescues. Never can tell what happened to them before.

Good luck and keep us informed.

As always-

Dianne

 

We once had a rescue dog that would run away whimpering with his tail between his legs whenever anyone in the family put sunglasses on. We assumed that his last owner had habitually worn sunglasses and been very rough with him.

 

 

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. I'll let you know how we do.

[Shetlander]

Reminds me of another story about unwanted obedience. I heard about a woman who used the "Hurry up" command for "Go toilet". The problem was, whenever the kids were running late for school, and she told her kids to "Hurry up!" the dog would dutifully do his business wherever he happened to be standing.

 

When I first read about training a "potty command," there was some warning along those lines. Actually, I did choose "hurry" or "go hurry" as the command. Sometimes I'll even simply say "go." So far in over 20 years none of dogs have become confused by the command used in other contexts. In fact, when playing Frisbee I will sometimes send Quinn out to wait for the throw to come to him and the the command for that is "go out" or "go." I think dogs are pretty smart about figuring out what we want. Habit goes a long way at least for my dogs and where they potty .

 

We once had a rescue dog that would run away whimpering with his tail between his legs whenever anyone in the family put sunglasses on. We assumed that his last owner had habitually worn sunglasses and been very rough with him

 

Now after saying how good dogs can be about putting commands in context, I'm going to say some dogs can just be weird about certain things. Quinn doesn't like the yellow slicker sometimes worn by a friend who will come let him out at lunch for me. This is the same man he adores in general and loves to play with. But in a yellow slicker, the man is not to be trusted or gone near. Quinn will also act suspicious about people in hats sometimes. Since Quinn has lived with me his whole life, I know he's never been mistreated by someone in a hat or yellow slicker. I had a Sheltie who was extremely shy and people often told me he had to have been abused. Except he came to live with me at 7 weeks and I knew the shyness was genetic. With rescue dogs, not knowing their history, we are always trying to piece together why they do what they do. So your dog may have been mistreated by someone who wore sunglasses. Or he may have just been weirded out by them for no easily understood (by humans) reason.