You're NOT a linebacker!!!!
With football season fast approaching, it appears Mr. Pip has taken it into his head that he wants to get in on the game. When I take him out into the yard to play he likes to run out (for instance, to chase a ball) and then come running full tilt back to me. Except recently instead of stopping when he gets to me, he runs INTO me! TACKLE MOM!!! My legs now look like I've been abused, I've got scrapes and bruises from where he hauled into me on Saturday. This needs to stop ASAP. We're trying to get pregnant, and having 50lbs of sheepdog run full tilt into a pregnant lady is NOT a good idea. Let me clarify that since we do not have a fenced in yard, for his own safety Pippin is always outside WITH someone. If it is just a potty run, he is on a lead, if it is for fun, we put him on a hand held 30' long line. My property is on a corner, so I have streets on 3 sides. Being off leash is not an option, except at the dog park. Anyone have any ideas for getting him to quit with the tackling? He does sit on command, but not when running, I don't have an emergency stop command, although perhaps I should look into teaching him one. |
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| I would go with positive reinforcement. He is young and should pick it up very quickly.
When you are out playing with him, throw the ball, when he goes to get it say good boy, and then when he brings it back tell him whatever word you want to use, slow, or gentle, etc. If he slows down and does not run into you, praise him like crazy and throw the ball again. If he is rough and runs into you, say ow or ouch or whatever, turn your back and ignore him. Don't throw the ball again. It may only take once of him slowing down and being praised for it for him to get the idea. |
| Thanks Stacey, I'll try that. He's not much of a retreiver, usually he just runs to the ball and then back to me and then back to the ball, and then back to me. I did notice that when I turned my back to him when he was running towards me full tilt, it usually slowed him down. |
walter has started doing this recently too...i usually kneel down, lower my shoulder and wait for the impact as we both go falling to the ground in a joyful, hairy heap.  (kidding)
however, i can understand the difficulties with doing that as a pregnant woman... i have read that a way to combat this is to inhabit the space they're trying to get into before they do...i guess it was more so about jumping up, in that you step into the jump, lift your knee, etc, but i'd imagine it would be helpful with the linebacker. i think i might try this with walt later, but i'm thinking maybe as he gets 10 or so feet from you, take a few steps towards him. take up the space he's trying to get into...or do that and face either left or right, and have him run to one side. it's not exactly perfect "fetch" but it might prevent getting tackled. let us know what works - i'd like some other options too. I'll need to try Stacey's trick too! |
well, Im no help....my legs are totally bruised up from Panda...just the other night she came running pellmell and she usually races through my legs....well she missed, hitting me in the shin....Brian saw the whole thing happen from about 10 yrds away...came running asked if I was okay...Im crawling say panda check panda...lol....she sure does have a hard head...more so than my shin....B said I went at least 2 feet off the ground.....Panda was fine, but my shin looks like someone took a baseball bat to it.....  |
| Ouch!! |
| Ouch Darce! you've got my sympathy! I don't think I've been so scraped up since I was a kid! Who knew sheepdogs could be hazardous to your health???? But he's so, so worth it!!!! I talked to Mike this afternoon about it and he fessed up! He'd been out with Pip in the yard playing tackle!!!! BUSTED! He gets all his bad habits from his daddy!!!! I gently reminded him that for safety's sake this was not a behavior to encourage. Sigh! Hopefully we can break him out of it. |
| My problems aren't with being tackled but with Chaunceys paws. He has become quite a lap dog, all 90lbs of him. At 11 mos. he's still a puppy with lots of energy and affection. I keep his nails trimmed, but I'm on some meds for my lupus that cause me to bruise easily. We're leaving for the beach next week and my legs and arms look like something you'd see at a battered woman's shelter. Anyone know where I can buy a 1920's style bathing suit??? |
| Hmm... nope, but they do have some very pretty mesh beach tops and pants that you wear over yourbathing suit... I'm taking my meshy pants up with me this weekend to the cabin. Perfect for camoflauging sheepdog abuse! Pip loves to use his paws too, but I'll take that anyday to playing tackle dummy for sheepie football! |
OUCH! Foz has started something within the past few weeks. It used to be that he HAD to be first down the stairs. We have two sets of stairs and the ones to the lower level are wood and then onto the wood floors. Well, Foz walks about 2 stairs and waits for me to go down the rest. I'm terrified that he'll bash into the backs of my legs while I'm walking down the stairs, but he doesn't do that. What he does is let's me get down to the bottom and then he runs down the stairs and slides into the sides of my leg before I can turn completely around to check that he's coming down. He's knocked me off balance more than once  |
This is a good post - I'm been watching Bingley has he comes tearing to us and just visualizing what he'll be like in 6 months  When you all figure out a solution  send it over here, ok?! |
| What you do NOT want to do, I would think, is to have a "space" around you that your dog is not rewarded for being in. I want my dogs to be VERY happy and comfortable about being as close to be as possible, any time. I don't want them just out of reach when I need to put a leash on them, or call them close to me. And if my dog is frightened by something I would want him to come to me and not have one doubt about getting hurt or pushed away. Near you should always be the very best place for your dog to be.
That being said, if there is a behavior that you'd like to change think about what you want your dog to do instead, and train with a goal in mind. Picture what you want and work toward teaching your dog what to do. Ignore the bad behavior and reward the good behavior. For example, I like my dogs to come close to me and sit in front of me when I call them. If they are not close enough I ask them to come in closer, and lean back so they have to be almost between my legs before they get rewarded. Makes it a lot easier to leash or whatnot. Now if Bosley comes barrelling at me in fun I turn it into a "Come" cue and he goes into "come close and sit mode", knowing that "come" means a treat. The act of running into me is forgotten. Dixie is very bad at running and jumping into my backend. I stand still and ignore when she is getting crazy. When she stops I will turn, call her to me (even if she is 2 feet away) and we get the nice, close sit. Another thing I've done is trained them "around". This is where the dog is facing you and goes around your right side and comes up your left and sits beside you. When your dog has learned this (it is very easy to train) then if your dog is running towards you you can give them the "around" cue and he will run around you and sit. If you aren't interested in anything so formal, another idea could be to teach him to run towards you while you have a toy in your hand, and when he is close you toss the toy (as a distraction) and let him chase it. I have a game where if Bosley has a toy and I pretend to chase him he will run away, circle back round me and we play "keep-away", as he goes around and around me. He has the toy and I pretend that I really want it. That keeps him away from me and he gets worn out by running all around teasing me with it. If I pretend to chase him without a toy he will run away and then go find one to "tease" me with. Again, it keeps him off of me. |
I am sending all 3 of my sheepies to Nicole's house for training.  |
| Abby has this thing about charging into you. I now have a broken wrist from her charging me from behind. Ooops, didn't see her coming. I was wondering if a no bark collar would help with training. |
BatonRougeSheepies wrote: I am sending all 3 of my sheepies to Nicole's house for training.
I have success in certain areas, but I just keep the areas that are not quite up to par to myself. |
| One time I was out in my backyard playing with the dogs, fetch or somehting like that and I started heading toward the house and my Aussie Shepherd came running at me and went up on her hind legs and bushed me on my chest with her front legs. The force of her "push" was so strong it knocked me out of my sandals back two feet, and I was still standing, and my sandals never moved. It happened so fast I still can't believe it. She only did it the one time and never did it again. I was stuned.
What I do to both my OES and my Aussie to keep them from jumping on me, is I put my hand on their heads. It is hard to jump if someone has their hand on your head. Sometimes my OES will charge me, usually in the morning and I have learned to put my knee up, that way she gets my knee and not me. (I learned this trick from a friend who has raised many dogs.) Violet (OES) rarely charges me now. Dogs sure are charactors. Helen (Mom of China, Violet & Pearl) |
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