What do you do if you dog sits/lies down every time it sees another dog?

[SirChenjins]

Obviously I can’t drag him along the ground but it does slow our walks down! Sometimes he’ll just lie and watch them go by, sometimes he’ll say hi quite happily if they come up to him, sometimes he’ll growl and bark - no pattern to it.

I’ve tried to distract with high value treats, his favourite toy, his squeaky toy, walking the other way (not always practical obvs), and just letting him lie/sit. He won’t be distracted - he’s 100% focused on the other dog.

Any ideas how I can break the focus and keep moving? He’s 10 months.

Tug-e-nuff toys are good. But really you need to start with other dogs at whatever distance he can cope with and then decrease the distance. Have the other dog work along side in the distance and not pass and work from there

It’s not so much that he can’t cope, he’s just absolutely focused on them and will lie down until they’ve passed. He’ll spot one in 100 or 200 m ahead and then stop, lie down and that’s it - totally focused on it. We live in an area where there are lots of other dogs so it slows our walks down considerably.

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I'd be happy he's not reactive. It's probably a sign of submission isn't it?

I let him, without comment or tug on the lead. I just wait until he has finished. Once he is satisfied he gets up and walks on. I used to try and cajole him away but that only reinforced the idea that he other dog was worth watching. So I stopped. Now he looks, leans towards them but doesn't lie down.

It's not submission, It's all sorts of things. From that distance, which mine used to do too, it's a bit of anxiety, interest - especially if you've been chivvying him past dogs for ages. I spoke to a behaviourist who laughed and said let him do it, wait for him to get bored or comfortable and he will improve. And he has. She said it's not uncommon and is often because we do as we have been told, use treats to distract from things that are of interest and the dog recognises the treat and looks to see what is so bloody interesting! We actually train it in.

@SarahSissions I tried that too. But he is so very, very desperate to get close he doesn't do anything but pull, leap around like an idiot and generally act like a loon. Trainers had no idea how else to tackle it. But the same behaviourist (who I have come to realise is the only person I found who has a bloody clue) So now we don't bother. We just let him work it out in his own time and don't force any situation.

Thanks @SamphirethePogoingStickerist and that makes total sense about the treats etc training him to think it’s worth lying down! I never really thought of it that way. It’s not as if he never sees other dogs - he sees plenty of them on our walks and we stop and speak to the owners and their dogs, goes to a dog walker once a week, and we go to regular breed meet-ups. It’s just this lie down/complete focus that means our walks take aaagggeeeessss - and I feel a complete fool standing waiting for people to walk past us from 200m away (sometimes more!)

Plenty of the dogs I walk do this. I just let them sit there 🤷🏻‍♀️ it's their walk, not mine, so if they spent fifteen minutes if it sat on their bums, they just end up with a shorter walk, lol.

I’m so glad you said that @coffeecupsandfairylights! 99% of all the other dogs we meet are dotting about quite the thing and there’s mine, lying on the ground, staring at a dot sized dog in the distance. We do meet one other dog of a similar age who does the same and it’s a complete nightmare if they’re coming in the opposite direction - her owner and I can stand for ages while the 2 dogs are flat on the floor trying to outstare each other. We’ve got to know each other quite well as we pass the time of day from a distance!

I find most owners just laugh and think it's sweet 🤣

It can be embarrassing for me, especially if it's a narrow path - if it's a small dog I have been known to pick them up if there are lots of other dogs around, but that's mainly because I'm a dog walker and have places I need to be 🙈

Yes, they’ve all been very good (although it’s embarrassing if he’s decided during our looooooooong wait that their dog is the one he’s going to growl and bark at 🤷‍♀️). It was easy to pick him up when he was a pup so we used to do the same - now he’s too heavy. I might start taking a book, a flask of coffee and a folding chair with me to pass the time!

🤣🤣 I know the feeling!

I normally pretend to be taking photos or doing something on my phone if it's one that's especially stubborn 😳

I think that’s what I’m going to start doing - I will be the Candy Crush champion of the world by the time he’s 2 🤣

Mine's also 10 months, I let him sit because I think he's taking the time to read the other dog's signals, which I like to encourage.

I love it when a dog sees my dog and does this. It's usually always followed by a eye roll and little 'tut' by the owner but I just find it so cute. Their little legs out in front laying all graceful 🤣....there's a lab on our park that is just constantly laid down in the middle of the field as he marvels at all the dogs and his long suffering owner just stands there defeated !

Is he a collie? Collies do that to our dog all the time to the point that our lab has started to copy them 😂. I think it’s so cute!

Oldie but still a goodie

Thank you for posting this. It's cheered up an angry pms'ing goblin 🤣

My dog used to roll over whenever she saw a dog. I think it’s a sign of submission and respect. It’s a smart approach since it usually diffuses the situation even with dogs that may not like other dogs. Gradually she started only doing it for bigger dogs, then older dogs and then stopped entirely.

Love that @SolasAnla 😂

No, he’s a cockapoo @LadyCatStark but funnily enough the other dog we meet who does is a collie!

@LadyLothbrook I feel for that lab owner! Very often I haven’t even spotted the other dog but I know the stop/sniff the air/eyes forward/in the zone/lie down with feet to the front means there’s a dog up ahead. That’s the time for me to get my book out and settle down for the wait.

Our dog used to do this at 10 months. She was watching the other dog's body language and checking they were friendly. I got used to standing around looking embarrassed.

The worst case was when she did it in the middle of a pedestrian crossing. Thankfully the drivers were quite amused. I had to resort to picking her up (I'm short arse and she's a labradoodle).

She grew out of it.

We’ve had success with tossing the treats on the ground with a Find It command so our dog has a choice whether to do that or lie like a stone lion staring at approaching dogs. Behaviourist recommended that as dog is too invested in wanting to play with other dogs and so Watch Me command ramped up the FOMO too much. 9:times out of 10 she chooses Find It.
We think she is copying collies she plays with 🙄
On the plus side we’ve had compliments from other dog owners who mistakenly think we’ve trained a solid Down command when she’s done it off lead

Mine is fear reactive so he likes to stand and stare, sometimes he barks at them. I just let him get on with it - like a pp says it’s his walk and he’s only wasting his own time! Trying to cajole mine along makes him worse so normally I just sit down with him and wait

Occasionally, I resort to physically blocking her view of the other dog by standing in front of her if I really need her to move. I’ve also tried trying to keep her attention on me for the whole walk (or the part along paths and roads where it’s more awkward when she slams on her brakes). Lots of teats, constantly getting her to sit, touch, watch me, wait etc. It’s exhausting for both of us though.

She's five now and a lot better, but I’ve just accepted that her walks take forever. Now she’s more interested in sniffing every single blade of grass that she passes, so I’m still the owner in the park that is standing there like a lemon for ages.

My retriever just sits down waits for the dog to pass and walks on, although not with all dogs. I’m currently doing a lot of relationship training with my dog, his recall isn’t great as he’s so interested in leaves, squirrels etc so can’t be loose just on long line which is restrictive. So I’m training him to think of me as the high value treat as such, that and liver paste so the world around him doesn’t distract him so much. Not sure it’ll work with other dogs mind you but bonus if it does

It’s polite dog behaviour. They’re making themselves look smaller to demonstrate they’re not a threat