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If you were to head to a moderately busy but spacious park, put a blanket down in the grass, and park for a while with your poodle, how would he or she behave?
What's your poodle like at the park?
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Pogo, if on leash, would flop down and go to sleep unless he saw another dog. Another dog would cause him to flip out and start barking.
Galen would look everywhere, fidget, get tangled in his leash, chew on his leash, invesigate the contents of the cooler, chew on my backpack, try to visit with the people on the next blanket, and just be a general PITA. Gotta love puppies.
Galen would look everywhere, fidget, get tangled in his leash, chew on his leash, invesigate the contents of the cooler, chew on my backpack, try to visit with the people on the next blanket, and just be a general PITA. Gotta love puppies.
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Depends on whether Misha had significant exercise before. If he did he would be fairly well behaved but would try to go see any people or dogs if they walk very close to us. If he hasn't been exercised I think I would have a harder time convincing him to behave himself. But sometimes he surprises me. I take him to outdoor restaurants occasionally and he sits in a chair like a perfect gentleman and is great, but he will lose a little composure if there is a dog right next to him.
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Apparently, I am in a silly mood.
The following code has been prepared in my proprietary language "PoodleIQ"
The following code has been prepared in my proprietary language "PoodleIQ"
Code:
#define
Annoying = 'bark, whine, and pull'
Good = 'Lie down and relax when told to settle'
Stand = 'Stand up and wag tail'
#Check cases
While (location = 'Park')
If (squirrels = yes)
Behaviour= Annoying
If (dog_passes = 'True')
If distance_m >10
Behaviour = Good
ElseIf distance_m > 5
Behaviour = Stand
Else
Behaviour = Annoying
If (poodle = 'Tired')
Behaviour = Good
Else
Behaviour = Stand
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So good, For Want of Poodle! Peggy's got some similar code. I'm lucky she's yet to encounter a park squirrel.
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You now owe us a photo of this!
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I can't believe I actually forgot what this was like! It's not even been a year since we tried taking puppy Peggy to a concert in the park. What an adorable nightmare that was.
I clearly have a very selective puppy behaviour memory.
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Ohhh how I can relate to this embarrassment.
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Sisko would..........................................
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Assuming they were on leash, Groot would lay down and would watch everyone that went by. He would get up if an interesting dog comes within 6 ft of us to see if he can get a sniff, but will usually stop trying after a while. Snoop did fairly well the other day, even though I hadn’t really exercised them. She whined and barked a bit when some other people arrived with their dogs and sat fairly close by (probably >30 ft or so), but she got over it fairly quickly. I think she’s doing about the same as Groot at her age, but I have selective puppy memory as well.
I usually bring a bone for each of them to chew on their towels, and I find that mellows them out. They’re occupied for a good 20 min or more (depending on the bone) and afterwards are a bit more chill.
I usually bring a bone for each of them to chew on their towels, and I find that mellows them out. They’re occupied for a good 20 min or more (depending on the bone) and afterwards are a bit more chill.
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I'm not sure I have one but I will try to take one next time haha
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I think this is so important.
We were at the park today and I was almost immediately ready to leave. It was NOT relaxing. But then I thought about last week's return to training class, and how Peggy was nuts for the first 15 minutes and then settled right in.
If I gave up right away, she'd think that's how a dog is supposed to behave at the park.
So we hunkered down for a while and were rewarded with a poodle who finally settled enough for us to feel good about walking back to the parking lot. And suddenly, even with people and dogs and trucks coming at us from all directions, she was perfectly chill.
I was literally laughing out loud, I was so shocked.
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All silliness aside, "Settle" is probably my most-used sanity and embarrassment saving command in public. Settle means "it's super boring right now, I want you to lie down, sprawl out, and even put that busy head on the ground if you can, and relax, we will be here for a while." Annie had a pretty strong reward history for it, so usually complies unless way overstimulated. The command resulted from teaching her Relax on a Mat in a frustrating period.
On a bus? Settle. Waiting while the instructor at class talks? Settle. Chatting with neighbors? Settle. And then I occasionally drop her a treat. Sometimes she will volunteer a settle in those situations, and is often rewarded for that, too.
On a bus? Settle. Waiting while the instructor at class talks? Settle. Chatting with neighbors? Settle. And then I occasionally drop her a treat. Sometimes she will volunteer a settle in those situations, and is often rewarded for that, too.
I took my spoo a lot to the parks/sports fields as a puppy and I would make sure we did something to get her energy out first (ie dog park or fetch or a snuffling walk) and then she would lay down and sleep. I would bring toys, blanket, and water + treats as well and in case she woke up for something for her to do and that’s what she still does. Unless someone hits her with a ball or a dog runs up to her (so many people with unleashed dogs even though not supposed to) and wakes her up then it takes a few minutes to get her to settle again.
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Those early puppy days are so important. I struggled to fit in all the experiences I wanted Peggy to have. We got her out frequently to coffee shop patios. We even did a mock camping trip and got a nearby campsite for the day so she could sit with us next to a campfire. But I think I slacked a bit on the park thing.
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I've never actually paired it with a "settle" command, but this is something we do practise regularly. I love when I'm chatting with a neighbour and she flops down at my feet. The neighbour just thinks she's being "good," but I know how hard we've worked at it.
When she's over-threshold, though, like at the park, this and pretty much all training goes out the window. She can't relax enough to focus on me for more than a few seconds, which is probably part age, part temperament, and part training failure.
I wish we had a park within easy walking distance so I could make it a daily excursion and verrrrrrry slowly decrease the distance between us and all the excitement.
My last girl was less embarrassing, just due to her smaller size, but she never really learned to relax in that sort of environment either. It wasn't until our last ever park visit that she finally just flopped over on her side and lounged quietly in the shade. (But.....she was likely in heart failure at that point, so even though it was a sweet moment, I'm not gonna count it as a win.)
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Can Annie hold a "settle" when there are squirrels around? That would be extremely impressive, as I know they're her kryptonite!
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My method for working in these situations is to try to make them normal. The more often a dog is exposed, the less stimulating it will be. I'm lucky that I live close to busy places and parks because Misha's been constantly around distractions. I know it's really hard when you can't get out to these areas regularly. I would make as much effort as you are able, and reserve an extra special treat for working in high stimulation areas. You will find that over time, she can listen to you more and more. Misha's never been in an area where he couldn't listen to me on leash (aside from bouts of zoomies), but I've worked with dogs that certainly had the issue and I measured their progress by how much they could comply.
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