Dog loves everything

[galbritton1]

My goldendoodle sits when he sees people, dogs, golf carts coming and waits until they are close. I tell him to stay and give him the wait sign in front of his face. When the above are at about 5 feet from him, he pulls toward them to a point of choking. It is not aggressive, it is to meet with the people. He is super friendly.

HELP!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

It sounds like your dog is doing well sitting and holding the stay when people, dogs and golf carts are at a distance, but is struggling with these distractions when coming too close. Most likely, what is happening is that he isn't read yet for this level of distractions. When we train a sit/stay, it takes a certain level of proficiency to hold that stay despite challenges such as distance, distractions and duration. When all these stimuli (dogs, people, golf carts) are too close, these put your dog over threshold, which means he is too overwhelmed to being capable to cognitively function (think clearly). Here is a read on dog thresholds: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

Often, we see such eagerness to greet in young dogs who haven't attained yet much impulse control and perhaps dogs who don't see much people on a regular basis (suburban dog syndrome). I have see improvements in such dogs, after taking them to trips to the city.

 

Also, something to consider is that sit/stay might not work too well for dogs who are slightly anxious. What happens is that these dogs struggle holding their stay because they're not too comfortable holding still in presence of certain stimuli. They might feel "trapped" (especially with the golf carts which many dogs find a tad bit intimidating). These dogs may want to sniff and investigate people, dogs and golf carts as this reassures them so they can then go on with their lives. However, we may not want to encourage meeting and greeting everybody on walks as this will reinforce the pulling.

 

You may have more success doing some attention heeling exercises rather than sit/stays as this gives your dog the opportunity to move slightly away rather than staying still. Use high-value treats to help your dog make good choices. Enrolling the help of some volunteers may help for creating setups. More tips on overenthusiastic dogs can be found here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/approaching-people/

 

Since your dog makes choking sounds, it may help to invest in a front-attachment harness (leash attaches to front ring in the middle of dog's chest area).

 

Let me know if you need any further assistance!

Best,

Adrienne

Edited November 28, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli