owners of 'big' dogs, can you talk to me please

[bunnyfears]

I have an 18 month old rottweiler. she is a big smooch. she loves all other dogs and most people. her recall is 98% great.

she does 3 things that are undesirable...

1. she will bark at some passersby if she is sat in the car (waiting to leave). I can live with this

2. if a man takes her by suprise, she will bark. so for example, appearing out of the bushes, in the woods etc. I'm pretty ok with this also, because we got her for safety having encountered too many weird men out walking/intruder (me and 3 daughters)

3. she will chase after male runners and bark 😬...this is the one that is getting us into trouble. it's not aggressive but it definitely sounds aggressive if you don't really know dogs. many people are great, stop running, give her a fuss and it diffuses into nothing. but as you can imagine, some people are furious. I don't really want to keep her on a lead because 1) it happens maybe once a fortnight (haven't worked out what it is about some men that brings this response as opposed to others that she ignores or can be distracted from and 2) it's ot actually aggressive

because it's not consistent I'm at a bit of a loss

interested in other people's experiences and how they have dealt with inconsistent/occasional unwanted behaviours

The more you let her practise the behaviour, the more fulfilling it will be to her, so the more likely she is to do it again in the future.

As annoying as it is when she has generally decent recall, you need to keep her on a lead (or on a long-line attached to her harness) so you can stop her from running up to people and getting rewarded (when they stop for a fuss, she's learning that running up to people gets her good things).

Instead, have something on you that's better than anything a stranger can offer - a squeaky toy, a furry tug, high value food, and really really focus on rewarding her for being by your side and focusing on you. It might take a lot of repetition but if her recall is 98% there, then she should pick it up fairly quickly.

Good luck, and ignore some of the more extreme responses!

Some good advice on here already.

Most important thing is to eliminate the chance for her to practice the undesirable behaviour. She is finding reinforcement in doing it, because she gets an outcome that she wants, which means she will do it again and again when the trigger is present because it "works".

Terms to research:

• Desensitisation
• Trigger stacking
• Conditioning
• Thresholds

Videos to watch:
Check out KikoPup on YouTube, she has a super good video called "capturing calmness" and explains it all really well.

But if you really want results, you need to shelve the idea of your normal walks and really focus on this, because if she keeps practicing the undesirable behaviour again and again it will become more prevalent.

Put your dog and a lead.
you don’t have control.

you have absolutely no business taking your dog out.

men don’t need to stop and deal with your dog because you can’t handle it.

If there is an incident, you deserve to be criminally charged.

I have a medium dog

Number 3 is absolutely unacceptable and you need to do something about it. Take her to training classes maybe?

If you can't get it under control she'll need to be on a lead unless you're in an open space with nobody else around

I have a Labrador and number 3 would be totally unacceptable behaviour. Unless you deal with it you could find yourself in trouble under the Dangerous Dogs Act, if a person feels threatened.

Let’s face it, people are already feeling threatened. They’re the furious ones.

Please, please be careful.

Many years ago I had a border collie who I trained to be just as bomb-proof as your lovely gsd. He could be trusted in absolutely any situation, for 10 years, until... A fox suddenly ran across a main road some way ahead of us and for the first time in 10 years, Whisky ignored my 'Stop!' command. He made it to the vet where he had a fatal internal haemorrhage on the table. I truly thought I would die of grief.

Please don't risk this happening to you.

( With apologies to the OP for going off topic )

Sorry but I find it hard to believe there are people who will stop and give your big dog a "smooch" after she's been running and barking at them. We have a big dog (pushing 40 kg), albeit a very different look and temperament to a rottweiler, and my partner is also a runner. He sometimes gets chased by dogs, I think perhaps because he runs quite fast. Even though he's very dog-confident there is no way he would stop to say hello to a dog who took chase. That would be so reckless!

I have a Ridgeback, my third. My first used to love running up to joggers which wasn't good so we trained "wait! (ie stop dead). It is much quicker than training recall and gets you out of most situations (obv keep training recall too!) Like all dog training it is about repetition, consistency and suitable reward.

With my current one I trained MIDDLE (I yell it and she comes back to me and behind me and through my legs and looks up at me for a treat) I find this much better as people can see your dog is under control if it's between your legs!

@BluebellsareBlue if you're in England, it's generally illegal to have your dog off the lead on a road/pavement, no matter how well trained your dog.

You’re not going to get the answers you’re looking for as the only option for a dog that chases people is for them to be on a lead at all times. Once a fortnight is not occasional and she’s going to end up getting into trouble. Having a dog for “protection” that isn’t trained to within an inch of its life is not fair on the dog or the public.

I was chased by a barking Labrador when out running and it was terrifying even though I have a lab myself and know they’re the softest dogs in the world, you just don’t know if the one chasing you is though.

I didn't say she was aggressive and have given advice on desensitisation to you further up. I know it's hard to hear because we know our dogs and know they are gentle/wonderful etc but other people don't feel the same. I hope you manage to find a good trainer. I would reccomend looking on the APDT website, as these are certified trainers. Any one can claim to be a dog trainer and you don't want someone using methods which could set her back of be detrimental to her...best of luck

She's not intimidating because of her breed. She's intimidating because she has a novice, incompetent, deluded, nitwit for an owner who is treating her like a weapon.

Agreed.

Yes and I should be able to go out for a run without being chased by a bloody great rottweiler who you yourself admit is used to intimidate people. You need to keep her on a lead until she is trained.

I actually own 13 giant breed guard dogs, averaging between 55 and 80 kilo's. The age between 1 and 3 can be the hardest as suddenly their recall drops and they are trying to find their role in the family unit. rotties are guard dogs as well. is it all men that she does this with, is it only when the jogger has a certain type or color of clothes?

To be fair, I would never have one of my guard dogs of the leash, even with almost perfect recall and absolutely never at that age. Their instinct is to protect their family and if someone does anything or looks that they might seem threatening, you place your dog, the other person and yourself in a unwanted situation. Fe we have fairly high fencing but once one of the dogs jumped the fence of 1.6m high as a jogger passing by was taking too long or looked as a breath to the dog. Nothing happened but the same day we put in extra fencing was put in to avoid it.

I love dogs, I have one myself and generally not afraid of them.

I also do some running and often run with my pre-teen, now if a rottweiler came running towards us, of course I would be afraid and fuming at you. 98% recall is not great.

How would you feel if a dog took chase on you, would you trust that the owners wouldn't let it off lead if it was aggressive and just assume it was okay?

You say you are an experienced dog owner but can't control your dog in the event it sees someone running. It needs to be placed on a lead and if you want to revert to off lead walks, you really need to get that dog trainer sorted.

I would be fucking furious with you if I was out running and I spotted a (possibly barking) Rottweiler pursuing me. It would be terrifying.

I don't care if you shout "she's friendly!" Most runners have headphones in.

And about every fortnight? Jesus.

None of this is ok!!

I would be petrified if she came up to me

You let your Rottweiler run after people off the lead?!

So fucking sick of stupid dog owners 🙄

Do you realise there are people out there that are actually terrified of dogs like this?

Agree with the advice to get a breed experienced trainer. It's the best thing you could do, and long lead until you've done some work.

We have large dogs, although retrievers, so a totally different dog, and I have to say that I've found that at around 18 months their training seems to backslide. We've found it an important age to double down on things and be a bit firmer again. Is she food orientated? I always found it useful with ours at that age to have something really delicious in my pocket, but mine are such pigs that the potential of earning a bit of hot dog is much more appealing than any misbehaviour.

I do like dogs and am not generally afraid of them, but I have to say, I'd be shit scared if a Rottie chased me while I was running. I definitely wouldn't be happy.

The only good thing about this thread is that it’s in the Dog House topic and not AIBU/Chat so we’re getting responses from other dogs owners who are quite rightly as horrified by the OP’s appalling attitude as the non dog owners. This restores one’s faith somewhat.

I’m so sorry, this has made me wince what a nightmare 💐

You want a trainer - someone in RL that can assess your dog and knows rotties

Because to me reading your OP she’s sounding a bit nervous and people are notoriously bad at reading rottie body language

Obviously I could be wrong as I’m just reading a post, which is why I think you need in person help

Distract her with a high reward treat for displaying the correct behaviour (cut up hot dog sausages are often a trainer's choice).

I have an elderly rottie;he's an absolute idiot;try to remember they a working breed and naturally protective which is why she barks at people in the car and wants to chase runners.I'd probably try to avoid walking her in areas/at times it's likely there will be runners/joggers around.

I am very ok with her barking at men that appear suddenly due to previous experiences

I think you seem to be saying that it's okay because it's men. What if that man is a vulnerable man?