Puppy obsessed with playing with other dogs

[Chocolateandamaretto]

So we've had our lovely 4 month old lab/golden retriever cross for nearly 2 months now. Inside the house he is already becoming the dream dog we had hoped for - puppy biting is less frequent and gentler, toilet training seems pretty solid, he is playful but will snooze in his crate whilst DH works or on the sofa with me in the evenings, can be left for half an hour for the school run etc etc.

However we are really struggling with his obsessive desire to play with other dogs and people on walks. He isn't at all aggressive and doesn't bark/growl/snap or anything like that, but if he sees a dog he stops dead then pulls towards them and is the same with runners/cyclists etc. We've put him back on a long line to try and rein this in but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to train to prevent this. I took him to a socialisation class to see if the trainer could give me some tips on appropriate dog interaction but it was basically set up for shy/nervy dogs and the trainer just more or less ignored us so I was left trying to stop him bounding up to everyone.

Everyone seems to just say "oh he'll calm down when he's older" or "You have to train it out of him" but I can find any methods other than "treat him for coming back to you" which is pointless as if he's seen another dog no amount of sausage/chicken/salmon will catch his attention. Same with trying to play with a toy with him on a walk. I think the predominant problem is that there isn't anywhere around here where we can take the jump from "paying attention in the garden" up just a small amount, it's straight into "woods full of other dogs" and I have to say there are a lot of over friendly labs round here who are quite happy to play with him which actually isn't helping!

Basically, will he get better with age? Is there a method here that we should be following? Do I need to employ my friend's grumpy 12 year old dog to tell him off a few times? I'm at a bit off a loss right now....

I will add that next door have dogs that bark in their garden at all hours and he doesn't respond to them at all. It's like he knows he can't play with them so he's not interested. So I feel like he could get the concept if we could work out how to teach him!

I know it's difficult at the moment but are there any places he can go to socialise with other dogs? Puppy classes or doggy daycare?

Sorry, I meant to expand. He may well need a lot more exposure to other dogs to have a chance of him calming down. The other dogs will also teach him how to behave.

No do not leave it to a grumpy dog to sort out. It may get better with age but I doubt it. You do not want him to practice it as it will get harder and harder to prevent.

You need to go back to basics and foundations.

I would work on eye contact to you and reward that. You need to practice this everywhere, start at home, then out and about but keeping your distance and in quiet placces to begin with. His default is to check in with you a lot. This foundation helps with recall and lead walking and generally helps all training.

How do you feed him?
Use his meals to train so throw out food, let him eat it and then call him back to you do this as a game to get him charging back to you . What usully happens is when they have eaten the food they will turn back to look at you mark this with a yes and then throw the next bit of food. Then add in running away when you call him back to you.

Basically you need to make sure that you are the focus not the environement.

When you have built on his focus to you then you can start to walk in dog areas but do keep a distance and use the line to prevent him chasing over to the dogs. He can get in a lot of trouble approaching dogs uninvited.

There are more things you can do but this is a good start.

Interesting I absolutely would not be encouraging interaction with other dogs until he can learn to ignore them and focus on you.

I feel that if you let him bundle in with other dogs you are just feeding his obsession and it will encourage more want to be with dogs. TBH they are more exciting than you at the minute..

My 9 month old lab is famous here for stopping dead and now lying down when he sees another dog, even if it's quite a distance away, he just won't move. I have been told it will pass. It's been a few months already... So sorry no advice!

I had this and it took about a year for him to get better. The treats were nothing compared to the fun of other dogs! We had him on a long lead for most of that. We used to make sure that other dog owners were happy for us to let him off to play with their dog, and then say "okay" as we released him. I think once he realised that we would sometimes let him play, he was a bit more cooperative. Also, being snapped at or told off by the odd dog didn't do him any harm. He now approaches other dogs and waits several metres away to see if they're up for playing. I never thought we would get there during his first year.

Sorry I was being facetious when I suggested the grumpy dog!

We do already make him work for all his food - he doesn't eat out of a bowl really, either use it as training rewards or from a puzzle feeder, kong etc.

I have tried throwing his food out to get him to come back to me at home and in the garden and this works great, the issue is the jump to being out of the home - we don't really have anywhere without other dogs we can walk him. my husband took him out at half 6 this morning and bumped into about 10 other dogs in a 20 minute walk. This only gets worse later in the day. Sort of walking him at 3am I'm not really sure how to build this up slowly?

The reason to get him to train for his food is not necessarily that you are going to be doing this out and about but it just begins to cement in the dogs head that fun things come from you. If fun things come from you then he should not need to go off go amuse himself with other dogs. Puzzle games are great and good to distract the puppy but 90% of his food at this age is best to come from you and training. Just to reinforce how great you are.

Can you put greater distance between you and the dogs - seeing dogs is fine. It is an opportunity to train but if you are too close as you have found out he can not concentrate on anything else.

What toys does he play with , with you? that is also something that needs to be encouraged so again you are the fun manager. Starting at this age will make all training easier.

However it takes time, the world is a really exciting place and he should be allowed to explore it however he also needs to be kept safe.

If he does greet dogs keep him on a lead and have a 5 sec greeting, quick sniff and then you run off with him excitedly - he should love the chase with you and this again will remind him that you are as much fun as the dog he has just momentarily sniffed.

If you see a dog approaching sometimes do the "lets go" and quickly turn around and run in the opposite direction again great fun for the puppy.

Another one here who wouldn’t be allowing more interaction with other dogs. They are already overriding you in the fun stakes and you need to be his number one and the only way to do that is to make the dogs less fun and you more.

Have you tried teaching owner focused games? Obviously start at home with no distractions. Hand touch is an easy one. Hold a treat in your right hand and encourage your dog to touch your left hand with its nose. Once it does release the treat in the opposite hand and release. I would also teach a strong close and heel command where the dog is watching you at all times but make it fun.
I would make most of his food come from you to reinforce that you=food and fun.

You can use games like this to get focus from your dog onto you so that it isn’t so focused on other dogs when you pass. I wouldn’t let mine off lead at all around other dogs because I don’t want them buggering off every time a dog comes into sight- they are meant to want to walk with me not random strangers.

Can you join a dog training class or club? They can be invaluable for teaching the dog to work beside other dogs but not pay any attention on them.

Kibble/biscuits won't really cut it as a distraction when the dog is out on walks - you need to use something MUCH more high value - cut up hot dogs, chicken, liver treats, cheese etc.

If the choice for a dog is dry biscuits or playtime, they'll go with playtime every time! But if you up the ante and give them something they ONLY get when they see other dogs - you're far more likely to succeed. I use dried chicken strips, liver treats or cut up sausages as rewards.

When you see other dogs, don't be afraid to veer off in a random direction or turn around and go back the way you came, either!

You have my sympathy Chocolateandamaretto . I have a pup about the same age and with a similar level of over friendliness. He wants to play with everyone - dog or human! He is currently quite small and very cute so most people encourage the jumping up by fussing him. They won't be so understanding when he is bigger!
I used to have a problem with him jumping up and nipping my legs when walking which I more or less stopped by standing still with my back to him and my arms folded. Unfortunately my pup has started to use this to make me stand still and wait when he sees a dog approaching from behind! He knows how to make me wait so the other dog can catch us up! Any ideas?