# Dulcie NO!! ARGH



## Sweetearlgrey (Mar 3, 2015)

Oh no!!! I'm so sorry to hear about this :/. I would not be too upset, I have worked rehabbing a few dogs and I think that this issue is probably due to protectiveness of you and not aggressive. I think the best thing you can do is keep this in the back of your mind and constantly use preemptive measures to ensure good behaviors, teach her the leave it or ignore it command and when you see any thing tha could cause an issue prempit the event with knowing what you are going to do to guide your girl through it. If you show her that her reward is based on keeping her attention on you when something new passes by she will more than likely not nip.  hopefully more experienced handlers can chime in and give you better advice!


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

It would have been the fast approach of the scooter (should it have been on the sidewalk?) When you have her in the park and you correct her with the long leash, do use a corrective word, like "NO!" later this word will be connected with termination of a behavior. Good luck.
Eric.


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## Luce (Mar 4, 2013)

Another route to take is to socialize her to different things. Go to a park where there are kids on scooters, bikes and skateboards within sight but not near them and see if she reacts. The idea is to build her up to a close distance and doesn't react. Distract her with treats while she is not reacting and go from there.

Good luck!


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## Moyen (Jul 28, 2013)

Luce said:


> Another route to take is to socialize her to different things. Go to a park where there are kids on scooters, bikes and skateboards within sight but not near them and see if she reacts. The idea is to build her up to a close distance and doesn't react. Distract her with treats while she is not reacting and go from there.
> 
> Good luck!


Good advice!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would agree with Eric - an instinctive response to a fast moving object passing close by. I would do a combination of socialising and desentisising - visiting lots of places where there are cyclists and scooters and runners and gradually getting closer and closer to them as Moyen suggest - and preempting, by calling her to you and making sure you are between her and the zooming thing. The really difficult ones are those who zoom up behind without a warning and pass very close to us - I don't understand why cyclists no longer seem to use bells!


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## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

I am so sorry this happened to you. I would be so upset too but Dulcie is a puppy still. Piper is _such a big puppy_. Piper and Dulcie are going to settle down and be perfect but it is just going to take time and then we are going to wish they were puppies again (not really)... just like kids.

pr


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Thank you so much everyone! Eric, your post helped me to relax and be able to sleep last night. Good point about it being on the sidewalk! 

Yes, it is back to more careful socialization. I thought Dulcie was just about "bomb proof" as the saying goes. She has been walking in the city for months now and I worked really hard with her in the early weeks to he;p her get used to joggers, bicyclists, strollers, other dogs, trucks, buses, the L train barreling overhead as we passed under the trestles, etc. She really had reached a point where I thought she was pretty alarm proof. Oops. 

She has seen scooters before - only with young children on them, though. This was a young adult coming at speed, and yes I made the mistake of not getting between Dulcie and the oncoming scooter. My excuse is that we had just crossed a street on the crosslight and there were a lot of people who suddenly parted and wham! There was the scooter coming toward us! It startled Dulcie for sure and he was on her side, not mine. I didn't actually have time to think let alone change positions. So maybe her reaction wasn't so unexpected.

Anyway, back to the drawing board. It was the first mild day in a long time and people were out in force - and it is a good reminder for me that training in every respect is an ongoing project!


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Poodlerunner, yes the BIG puppy part is something of a challenge. People are always astonished to learn that our older puppies are in fact _puppies_! I remind my building neighbors of that fact when in the elevator for instance. Dulcie will usually sit really nicely on the elevator, though she occasionally hops back up on her feet when lots of people crowd in - so I tend to casually mention that she is a puppy still learning her manners. Most people are totally cool with it and think she is really well-behaved for a puppy.


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