# Dog goes berserk when she meets another dog



## cavon (Aug 10, 2010)

I am just wondering why you wouldn't keep her on a leash? At least you would stand a better chance of controlling her and you wouldn't have the concern of her getting hurt.

My Finnegan reacts differently to different dogs. Some dogs he approaches very calmly and others he gets very excited about even from a distance. I am not sure what causes the reactions, but I think it might have to do with his and the other dog's energy. 

Finnegan is an excitable dog, so if he meets another excitable dog, he gets wound up. If we meet a calmer dog, he reacts in kind. When he gets excited. I hold his leash short and do not allow him to interact with the other dog until he calms down.

When we have been at training class and we have been doing some off leash stays, sometimes he is an angel and other times he takes off and runs like a crazy poodle around the hall. If I give any indication that I am going to try to catch him, he gets more wound up and thinks that I am going to play with him.

If I turn and walk towards the door without acknowledging him, apparently he stops his running immediately and follows me to the door and sits and waits for me to come back. I will stay out of sight for a minute or so and when I come back in he either remains sitting or walks quietly to me and I put him back on his leash.

Because of my own fear of him interacting with a dog that is not interested in being bothered by a young dog, Finnegan is just about 20 months old, and my fear of him running crazy and getting hurt, I never take him out off leash.

In the house he is completely calm with me.


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## zyrcona (Jan 9, 2011)

But I like to play fetch with her. :-( And I think it's good for her to be able to run and see other dogs, it's just that sometimes something flips a switch in her when she does meet them. She is usually well behaved, and I never let her go offlead near roads or places that are obviously risky. Thanks for the suggestion though.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

She is an adolescent, and still learning good manners around other dogs. I would take every possible oppportunity of socialising her with other sensible, kind adult dogs, whether in classes or out on walks. If you can arrange to walk with other dog owners, that would be ideal. You also need to work on impulse control and basic obedience - and I really don't think hitting her is a good idea. Far better to teach her that focussing on you means Good Things for Poodles.

Teach her the Watch Me game, teach her to Wait, and work on a really reliable recall. Jean Donaldson's book "Train your dog like a pro" is very good on just how much training is needed before you can expect a dog to listen to you when distracted by the excitement of another dog to play with! And yes, in the meantime be ready to put her on a lead when she gets hyper - it is understandable that other people get annoyed if she is bouncing rudely all over their dogs, clothes or gardens! 

That doesn't mean she has to be on a lead all the time - just that you leash her when there is another dog around that is making her too excited to listen to you. Put her lead on, and walk away from the distraction until she is calm. If you are busy, and cannot stop to work with her, have her on a tie down. If you put in enough time and energy to teach her good manners now, you will have a calm, polite adult dog that can be trusted to greet other dogs appropriately, and can be off leash wherever it is safe, so it is really worth the planning and effort involved.


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