Hi All, my Bichon “Zeus” is generally a really well behaved dog who is also 2 years old. when it comes to going for walks this becomes a different story, I’d love to let zeus off the lead as I live in a little village which is extremely dog friendly, but Zeus just charges at all other dogs in a friendly excited way. just wondering if there’s any tips or training methods anyone has ?
What about a long line? A light line of between 7 to 12 metres will give him lots of space to run about while you are able to keep him under control. If you carry a pocketful of Zeus's fave treats, you should be able to teach a smart recall too. Just remember to use the treat as a reward for coming back, not to lure him in. Speaking from experience here, some people must think my Beagle's name is Sweetie!
Tally is Sweetie Cutie Pie Face! The long line is a great idea. Understanding the cause of his reactivity will help also. If he is just being over friendly, the long line is great because you can give him more freedom without losing control while he learns to be more polite. Yoy might also try to include mental activities with him to keep him focused more on you than the dogs around him. That can help if he's getting over stimulated by everything going on during his walks.
I found that keeping a squeaky ball in my pocket and using it to get my dogs attention but then replace it with a treat when he looks my way helped,, before I started letting him off lead, now I use a whistle and two blows for him to come back when he was on a long line.
