Act Acting » Acting School » dog misbehaves in strong wind!!

dog misbehaves in strong wind!!

Question:

Usually we can go for a fairly sane walk with our 14 week old caucasian mountain dog but in strong winds i am guessing the scents overwhelm her and she goes absolutely crazy.. neone know for sure if this could be so? also if you might have any positive reinforcement training tips to overcome this id greatly appreciate it .. im tired of having to pick her up or stop walking all together cause it’s could now don’t get me wrong i am willing to keep doing these things if they are the only things that can help but there has to be something better … P.S. Puppy obedience school starts in a few weeks the one recommended was closed for a bit….such good recommendations (Vet and Humane society) and price i didnt want to start her newhere else…

Response:

All the domestic animals I have known have gone slightly wierd in a wind — whether they are out in it or inside. The phrase "getting the wind up" might come from this, dunno. But a wind is invigorating, even to us. Jane Webb M&M Pie

Response:

Usually we can go for a fairly sane walk with our 14 week old caucasian mountain dog but in strong winds i am guessing the scents overwhelm her and she goes absolutely crazy.. neone know for sure if this could be so? also if you might have any positive reinforcement training tips to overcome this id greatly appreciate it .. im tired of having to pick her up or stop walking all together cause it’s could now don’t get me wrong i am willing to keep doing these things if they are the only things that can help but there has to be something better … P.S. Puppy obedience school starts in a few weeks the one recommended was closed for a bit….such good recommendations (Vet and Humane society) and price i didnt want to start her newhere else…

For starters, don’t try to soothe her by sweettalking or petting… That is interpreted by dogs as a reward, as praise, and they connect that praise with their behavior and are then more likely to repeat the behavior in the future, trying to get the praise. On the other hand, she’s much too young for a correction, and it’s also not fair to correct her for not walking properly when she’s too young to have learned a proper walk.  I would start a few things.  First, teach her to not strain against the leash by giving her slight pops and saying "with me" or "easy" or whatever command you wish to use to mean "Walk nicely with me but don’t be in a perfect heel position." Supplement the pops with suddenly turning and walking the other direction.  You don’t want to freak her out at this age, so maybe carry a squeeky toy and encourage her to follow you with the toy.  When she gets older you can insist on her following you and paying attention by giving stronger collar pops.  But now you are right to want to stick to mostly positive reinforcement. The point of having a command for a good walk is so that you have something to use for her to earn positive reinforcement when she goes nuts when the wind kicks up.  It’s not very effective to just apply positive reinforcement for something as non-specific as "not acting crazy"… You need to find a specific behavior that is incompatible with the acting crazy behavior, and show her that you like it when she exhibits that behavior by praising her for it and giving her treat for it. Then when the time comes that she’d want to go nuts, give her the command for the behavior.  Then she’ll have a choice; she can go nuts and not get the reward, or she can obey you and get the reward and not go nuts, since obeying you is incompatible with the going nuts behavior. The sit command is a good one for this too, but if you are out on a walk, a "walk nice" command is better because it allows you to keep moving. You won’t have to stop and give her the sit command each time she starts to freak out.  But you should start working on sit now, with treats.   Keep in mind that you have what will be a very strong dog, and that it is critical that you learn to get her attention focused on you and on your commands now, before she gets unmanagable.  I would not recommend carrying her around at all, simply because you lose an opportunity to train by doing that.   You can also work on her reaction to the wind without going for a walk.  Just sitting outside with her on a leash and waiting for the wind, and then saying nothing when it happens, will help desensitize her.  Don’t soothe her; just be calm and confident yourself.  Be sure to work on the sit ASAP, and then you can use that when you are sitting out in the wind.  Get her focus with a treat and hold the treat up over her nose and say "sit".  Let her nibble a treat out of your hand slowly while the wind is blowing; that will help her learn that other things can go on that are nice during the wind.  Of course, if she starts to go nuts, don’t give her any treat, but if she will stand somewhat still and nibble during the wind, that should help a bit. I don’t know why she gets like that during the wind, but I would think that the difference in smells is not that great for a dog compared to when the wind doesn’t blow.  I would think it more likely that she just doesn’t like the feel of all her fur being ruffled, or the sound of the trees and other stuff moving during the wind, or even the sight of branchs moving… ???  My Teddy is getting better, but typically he goes bonkers when branches move.   take care, Daisy

Response:

Related Posts

Leave a Reply