My dog is obsessed with men! HELP!

[TheGoblinQueenoftheLabyrinth]

I have a 14 month working cocker spaniel (m) we’ve been walking with the same group of people and similar aged dogs in our local park and woods since he was 15 weeks old and he’s really friendly and well socialised.

The issue is that during these walks he’s discovered that the men are really good at throwing sticks and now barks at the men in our group to throw him a stick. I’ve tried rewarding him for being quiet, throwing the stick myself providing he doesn’t bark at me before I throw it.

It’s harmless and the barking stops after a few minutes but today he ran over to a couple with a stick and barked at the man to throw it while we were walking in the park, I was chatting to my friend so I didn’t immediately notice which is my fault but before I could call him back (he was about 20ft from the couple) the man threw his hands in the air and started shouting that my dog was attacking him. Obviously I had words with the man because I was afraid he was going to hit my dog. My dog took the man’s reaction of flailing around and shouting as an invitation to play and it took me longer than usual to recall him because the man was far more entertaining than I was in that moment.

I really want to nip this behaviour in the bud, and having looked online I can only see guidance on dogs that bark at men out of fear and aggression and this is definitely not either of those. He just wants men to play with him because he knows that they throw a good stick! Any advice for curbing this behaviour would be really gratefully received.

I'm afraid my immediate reaction is to tell you to stop throwing sticks because of how dangerous they can be Please swap to something safer - stick injuries are worryingly common in young dogs who get excited and get a stick in the eye or worse, lodged in their throat or mouth.

However, practically speaking I would ignore any barking behaviour and maybe get people to only throw (balls only) for him if he performs a certain behaviour.

So, ask him to sit/lie down before the ball is thrown so that it becomes automatic for him to be still and calm if he wants play, rather than encouraging noisy and demanding behaviour like barking or jumping about.

Also, you're going to have to be really careful if he's starting to run up to strangers on walks. All it takes is one bad incident and he could become reactive or get himself injured. All it takes is for someone to feel threatened by his behaviour to report you to the police for having an out of control dog.

Now, in reality all that probably means is someone coming round to have a word with you about keeping him under control, but you don't want your dog to get scared or injured by a stranger who kicks him or hurts him because they're scared.

I say this as a totally obsessed dog lover but if your dog is doing this you shouldn't be letting him off the lead to do this to strangers. If a dog did that to me I'd be ok but there are a lot of people that are scared or nervous around dogs and it isn't fair that their enjoyment of a park is ruined by having a strange (to them) dog barking at them.

Agree with fairylightsandwaxmelts about sticks - they can cause horrific injuries very easily (love the name change)

Also use a lead when in areas that he can do this.

The more he practices it the better he will get at it.

I would stop throwing anything for him at all when out on walks. He can search and hunt for a still object eg place a ball out but not allow him to chase a moving object.

@showmethegin

I say this as a totally obsessed dog lover but if your dog is doing this you shouldn't be letting him off the lead to do this to strangers. If a dog did that to me I'd be ok but there are a lot of people that are scared or nervous around dogs and it isn't fair that their enjoyment of a park is ruined by having a strange (to them) dog barking at them.

Yes I completely agree with you on this! This is a very recent development and he was previously perfect off the lead. Will go back to on the lead for a bit.

My first two thoughts are: back in the lead and eventually, train him to walk off lead and also to walk to heel (you will thank yourself for this for many, many years!).
And lose the sticks/balls/whatever it is that excites your dog to the point of hounding strangers. There’s this idea that dogs need sticks and balls and entertaining. Nope. They need good walks and so do you. Make life a little easier for both of you (you have to work at this but it’s worth it!).

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

I'm afraid my immediate reaction is to tell you to stop throwing sticks because of how dangerous they can be Please swap to something safer - stick injuries are worryingly common in young dogs who get excited and get a stick in the eye or worse, lodged in their throat or mouth.

However, practically speaking I would ignore any barking behaviour and maybe get people to only throw (balls only) for him if he performs a certain behaviour.

So, ask him to sit/lie down before the ball is thrown so that it becomes automatic for him to be still and calm if he wants play, rather than encouraging noisy and demanding behaviour like barking or jumping about.

Also, you're going to have to be really careful if he's starting to run up to strangers on walks. All it takes is one bad incident and he could become reactive or get himself injured. All it takes is for someone to feel threatened by his behaviour to report you to the police for having an out of control dog.

Now, in reality all that probably means is someone coming round to have a word with you about keeping him under control, but you don't want your dog to get scared or injured by a stranger who kicks him or hurts him because they're scared.

Thank you for your reply. No more sticks! The problem is we walk in the woods which is obviously rife. I'll resist the temptation to throw one to shut him up in future.

You're right on your last point. That's my biggest fear. He's never run up to a stranger like this before and I'm mortified and also really scared it'll happen again. Hoping it's a one off but he'll be on lead only for a while.

Oh I just read that he’d been good off lead.
What I will add is that he’s coming into his ‘teens’. This could explain what might’ve a bit of a behavioural minefield ahead. It’s not forever but it’ll feel like it when you’re going through it.
Have you considered working with a behaviourist?

Oh sorry about the typos!! I don’t have my glasses and I’m typing blind!

@TheVanguardSix

Oh I just read that he’d been good off lead. What I will add is that he’s coming into his ‘teens’. This could explain what might’ve a bit of a behavioural minefield ahead. It’s not forever but it’ll feel like it when you’re going through it. Have you considered working with a behaviourist?

I think I've caught the running up to strangers part of the behaviour early enough that we'll just go back on the lead for a while and do some corrective training there.

The teens are the worst! My perfectly behaved puppy is now a fetch obsessed nightmare when he sees men

The teens are the worst! My perfectly behaved puppy is now a fetch obsessed nightmare when he sees men

Welcome to adolescence

Honestly they are little sods aren't they. Ddog, also a working cocker (just 17 months) realised that my son (age 20 and staying with us over Xmas) threw the ball further and in a more exciting way than me (I only throw underarm so he's not straining too much when he chases) and when it was time for his walks, he took his lead and gave it to my son each time . You're redundant now mum!

Ruffwear sell a fake rubber stick toy if he would rather have that than a ball. I would also just do a few walks with no throwing anything if he can manage that. Another useful command is the 'stop' or 'wait' command. We haven't mastered it (!) but it might be useful in your situation to get him to 'wait' or 'stop' before he runs off.

Other thing they love is finding things so you could bring some smelly toy from home and go ahead of him and hide it for him to find rather than him chasing/fetching things all the time. Using their nose really tires them out! Good luck!

Cant belief,people are still throwing sticks for dogs.It is soooo dangerous.please google injuries that have occured because of throwing a stick.I personally would train the dog to just walk in a group with people,without needing to be entertained by people during the walk.if you are just by yourself with your dog, it is much better for the dog to throw a ball and use the play also for training.