[Fenris-wolf]

Sisko can sit and lay down without distractions outside now, but he looses all focus if there's people around? he will just stare at them and if I ask him to sit, he might, but he will still give 95% of his focus to another person and this happens every time he sees another person.


Worst case is he will either sit or stand there and stare at them and I can't get him to move. I've been working on look at me/watch me, but he will only do it for probably 5 seconds at most and 10 seconds if I'm lucky.


I haven't been able to break this habit since it started. The only thing that works sometimes is if I have a Bully Stick and give it to him.

 

[Raindrops]

Where do you normally walk him? For me the best thing for this is exposure. He's overstimulated and just needs to desensitize and work on his focus with you. Challenge yourself to mix up the places you take him, and alter your expectations based on how new and exciting the place is. Boring, low stimulation environments are great for refining your training and working on details. New and exciting sights and smells are good for improving focus and desensitizing. For me, this means I drive 5 minutes away and walk Misha around my university at least a couple times a week. And I make sure that most of the people and dogs he sees are simply boring things that pass by. My command to meet a person or dog is "say hello" so he knows when it's okay to turn on his googly eyes. Just work slowly, and congratulate yourself on the small victories.

 

[Fenris-wolf]

Thank you, Raindrops! I walk him around my apartment complex and around the block, and I take him to Mud Bay, and there's other places I can take him. Taking him places can be challenging sometimes because we still haven't mastered not pulling.


Do you think I should start in my apartment complex and stay out for maybe an hour or more?

Okay, thank you! I'm remembering to work slowly and I've been taking baby steps. Thank you, I've been celebrating small victories, but need to remind myself to celebrate them sometimes.

 

[Raindrops]

Thank you, Raindrops! I walk him around my apartment complex and around the block, and I take him to Mud Bay, and there's other places I can take him. Taking him places can be challenging sometimes because we still haven't mastered not pulling.


Do you think I should start in my apartment complex and stay out for maybe an hour or more?

Okay, thank you! I'm remembering to work slowly and I've been taking baby steps. Thank you, I've been celebrating small victories, but need to remind myself to celebrate them sometimes.

It's perfectly normal for him to want to pull in new places. That's just excitement. I think the length of time you're out depends on what your dog is capable of. I will often stay out for an hour or so for a walk, but that's with periodic stops where we practice settling and chilling. You may consider a no pull harness or halter to use for new places if he is having a lot of trouble, provided that he is able to use one in a safe manner.

Just pay close attention to how he is reacting. The more overly stimulated he is in an area, the briefer you want to make that exposure. You also want to limit any potentially scary experiences and try to keep things positive. Baby steps are good!

 

[Fenris-wolf]

It's perfectly normal for him to want to pull in new places. That's just excitement. I think the length of time you're out depends on what your dog is capable of. I will often stay out for an hour or so for a walk, but that's with periodic stops where we practice settling and chilling. You may consider a no pull harness or halter to use for new places if he is having a lot of trouble, provided that he is able to use one in a safe manner.

Just pay close attention to how he is reacting. The more overly stimulated he is in an area, the briefer you want to make that exposure. You also want to limit any potentially scary experiences and try to keep things positive. Baby steps are good!

Okay?. I just got Sisko a no pull Sporn harness and he can still pull, but I have more control than with just a collar. Do you have any recommendations for a harness? Maybe I should start a new thread about harness recommendations ? Head halters are Sisko's natural prey and has always destroyed them?

Okay, thank you!