When people insist upon petting your dog while in training...

[KayleeGSD]

Yesterday I was very proud of Kaylee and how she controlled herself in Pet Smart. All the training we have done together has paid off. Since applying the rank drive our relationship has become a thousand times better!!!

Salisbury, MD was jam packed full of people shopping. Before leaving we played an intense game of merry go round fetch which is a non stop retreive/drop it game. So we go in and there are all kinds of people with pets. I had Kaylee do a proper heel and she stayed close to me. Two ladies were standing in line and set their eyes upon her. Kaylee took notice too. The ladies started to bend over and reach out to pet her and did not even ask me if it was okay which it was NOT okay to pet her at that moment. I could tell Kaylee was about to become excited with instant gratification if I did not quickly move forward. I let out a firm command of Kaylee! Lets go! Her focus was on me with a vocal command and no "lets go tug" was given. We quickly walked through and she was heeling, focused, and did wonderful. I could see out of the corner of my eye the two ladies were not happy but I do not care. I went back a few minutes later and I was polite and explained to them why I did it.

I told them she is 7 months old and in training. People must ask before they pet her. Kaylee must be calm in a sit/stay. When people lock eyes with her and go to reach to pet her it excites her. Once excited and allowed to escalate she will jump, nip, grab,mouth etc which is what I DO NOT want her rewarded for. The one lady replied to me and said, "it's okay she is just a puppy and puppies are allowed to do that." Then she went to reach out again! I told the woman mine is not allowed to and when this puppy becomes an adult it is no longer cute. Before she could touch her I gave Kaylee the lets go hand signal and walked quickly away from the woman.

At the store she did wonderful other people came up to us and asked if they could pet her. They were allowed to because Kaylee was in a calm sit/stay. The pet was a reward and she was doing great. She had a few excitable moments and the trick is to keep her moving forward rather than stay in one spot and make corrections. She will escalate if I do that which is what I do not want. I had her sit and observe other dogs. She did not react to them and remained calm which is a HUGE break through for her on large adult dogs!

I will continue using rank drive and leadership exercises because it is working. Everything is going very well and I think maybe December/January we may do the evaluation for the K9 program. Kaylee has been very happy and eager to work/play! Today I am going to be cutting down bamboo her job is to pick it up, drag it away, and put it in a pile. She loves doing that too, lol!

[Freestep]

You can get one of those training vests that says "In Training -- Do Not Pet" or something like that. It might help some, but I've found that people (especially kids) still want to touch the dog. If you catch someone making eye contact with her, do like you did and just break her away before the person even has a chance to do anything.

[pyratemom]

You did a great job in handling that situation, both in the training and the trying to explain it to the people. Some people just don't get it. I don't let people approach my dog unless I invite them to. I have turned and walked off from people to keep them from approaching. I can tell by her body language which people I need to keep at a difference.

[KayleeGSD]

Originally Posted by Freestep

You can get one of those training vests that says "In Training -- Do Not Pet" or something like that. It might help some, but I've found that people (especially kids) still want to touch the dog. If you catch someone making eye contact with her, do like you did and just break her away before the person even has a chance to do anything.

Exactly what I told my family. We will be getting her a vest and continue taking her out of situations like that before anyone has a chance to do anything. I found most people will ask. I am always on the look out for those who don't.

I would love to have a spray bottle to spray the humans for the bad behavior and tell the disobedient humans NO! LEAVE IT!!! lol

[KayleeGSD]

Originally Posted by pyratemom

You did a great job in handling that situation, both in the training and the trying to explain it to the people. Some people just don't get it. I don't let people approach my dog unless I invite them to. I have turned and walked off from people to keep them from approaching. I can tell by her body language which people I need to keep at a difference.

Thank you, and I agree 100%. I never ever go up to a dog I do not know to pet it I always ask the owner first. Keeping a distance along with awareness has saved me from making corrections just by avoiding the situations keeping Kaylee's focus on moving forward.

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by KayleeGSD

I would love to have a spray bottle to spray the humans for the bad behavior and tell the disobedient humans NO! LEAVE IT!!! lol

I love it.

[Sunflowers]

I would throw chocolate treats at the humans while walking briskly away

[Gharrissc]

I don't ususally get people who interrupt me while training,but if they do I will say something like 'Please don't interrupt we are training right now'. If that doesn't work then I move to another area. I do try to be pretty polite at first though.

[Bear GSD]

The company that I purchase my leads and collars from have these great badges that you can attach to your leash (any leash) that I think would work for your situation. Here's the link:
leash badge for pet and working dogs

[Nickyb]

Probably not the right thing to do but figured I would throw it out there, just to see what everyone thought about it.
Muzzle.... I haven't found 1 person that will willingly walk up and pet a dog with a muzzle on. When I have Zoey out with a muzzle on, people will go out of their way to stay clear because they have that impression, YIKES that dog has a muzzle on, he/she must be aggressive.

***FYI I don't think its the best reason to muzzle a dog so don't smite me for it!!!!!!!!!