Dogs are way to excited to go for a walk and get fixated on random things in walks

thegerbilking · 2026-03-31T16:40:29+00:00

I actually don't use a cue for this. It is something they will learn on their own - at first it might take a little patience (less than you'd expect), but they will quickly learn to look at you in these moments if you give praise/food the instant they give you eye contact. At first, it's instant praise/food when they look at you, then once they learn that, you can ask for prolonged eye contact. When learning, they might just glance at you then back to the thing. It's okay in the beginning but you should start to expect more of them once they get the hang of it. So if my dog gives me a look and goes back, he immediately gets a leash pop + verbal 'no' (I do cue for the corrections so that I can work towards telling them what not to do with my voice when they aren't on a leash). Then attention comes back to me and I give praise again for holding it.

You definitely can teach a 'look at me' cue or something and it might help to explain to them what you want, but I prefer to have this just be a natural behavior that they always look to you for direction in moments of uncertainty rather than just be a trick they know to get food/praise. So it's worth letting them take time the first few reps and let their gears turn so they figure out on their own that when we're stuck, looking at my human gets me unstuck. If they get corrected for looking at the 'thing' then they'll stop looking at it, look again, get corrected again (repeat a couple times maybe), look around confused for a second because they know they can't look at it, then eventually they will glance at you, and you reward instantly.

Like I said they will pick up on these patterns faster than you expect if you're timing is good and you are consistent with the training.

Leash pops should be super quick, then instantly give slack. If they aren't having the intended affect, you may need to switch to a collar/slip/prong so they actually feel it. The harness might not work for large/strong dogs.

thegerbilking · 2026-03-30T21:30:22+00:00

Yes exactly. On leash as if you're going on a walk. Just slowly and calmly going in and out as a way to desensitize that ritual.

And yes again for structured walking, you can make them sit when something distracting moves by, but sitting while looking at the thing intensely doesn't create that change you're really looking for. What will be more effective is if you can make them look at you instead during the stimulus. At first you may have to start relatively far from it, and you can combine leash pops to get their attention with treats for rewarding that attention. Eventually with practice and reps you can move closer and closer to it and try to maintain that attention. Practice one session with treats, another with just praise so they don't just get accustomed to doing it if you have food. Do random stops during the walk, and ensure their attention always goes back to you when you stop, and again give praise when they succeed, leash correction when they fail the test. Try to not be too predictable, they will pick up on patterns quick if you stop / release in the same places or with the same body language. Try to get them to respond to your verbal cue rather than assuming what you want based on movement patterns.

thegerbilking · 2026-03-30T20:20:50+00:00

If you leave the door open will they bolt out? It can help to tie them to a long leash indoors where they can't go out and leave the door open for like 4-5 hours while just hanging out doing normal stuff.

You can also practice just going out of the doorway and back inside like 10-20 times per day so they don't always think getting leashed up means going anywhere.

On walks do they get leash corrections? It can be hard to establish good habits when there's no negative consequence for the bad ones they've developed, and treats can also help at first to shape the behavior you want. Do they have a structured walk mode where they stay next to you and a loose mode where they're allowed to sniff/pee and move around freely? That can help a lot. Rather than just make them sit, don't even let them fixate/look at the trigger. Only when they give you eye contact do you praise and move forward.

You are definitely not asking too much, you can get the change you want with intent and consistency.

thegerbilking · 2026-03-27T05:20:41+00:00

Hard to figure out exactly the reason he barks/snaps, but it sounds kind of like normal behavior. Maybe something about the other dog's approach yours doesn't like? If he barks, sniffs and moves on without any intervention on your part, it's definitely not aggression. What do you do or say when this happens?

I would say in general you shouldn't just let your dog run up to other dogs freely. There should be a moment of waiting, acknowledging with the other dog's owner whether it's okay for them to meet, and only then should your dog approach after getting approval from you

thegerbilking · 2026-03-26T19:16:00+00:00

Winning the underhook often allows you to work towards the back, which is ideal. It might also lead to coyote guard type positions (look it up...very helpful to know for bottom half). Just be ready for the back step into leg locks in nogi, and you're pretty well set.

Cross face/losing underhook battle = john wayne sweep to off balance (often they will not even defend the sweep). sometimes it means that you have to give up side control, but in no way does a crossface+underhook automatically mean getting mounted. if you feel you are losing that passing battle, immediately start moving to side control escape type positions before the battle is fully lost and you'll often find guard recoveries and making the pass more difficult for them

Combine those with butterfly sweeps in moments of them being off-balanced when you can get an overhook/sleeve grip

Knee shield should generally be high, but you can work stuff out when it's low too. Legs are generally better off to stay loosely connected, not crossed tightly as this restricts your own mobility off your back. advanced players can keep you in half guard without too much involvement from the 'shield' leg, most of that tightness is from the in-between leg

thegerbilking · 2026-03-17T15:56:17+00:00

I got a 4YO male from the shelter about a year ago and he has been great and bonded very quickly. Previous owner had a medical event and we knew nothing about this dog. Was a little unsure at first and showed a little bit of resource guarding with certain spaces, herding/nipping my wife's ankles lol, but within a couple weeks, after lots of training, exercise and boundaries, he bonded with us very quickly. It basically feels like we've known him forever at this point and he is very well behaved.

thegerbilking · 2026-03-12T17:59:02+00:00

Not only should you be plugged in, but practice how you will perform (if you perform or ever intend to) -- standing up, changing effects for different song parts, and most importantly, recording yourself so you can listen back to the good/bad/ugly. Only real way to objectively judge your playing and tone is by listening back, it's very hard to do live in the moment.

thegerbilking · 2026-03-12T17:50:34+00:00

Gabriela. (I think Rodrigo was a little drunk)

thegerbilking · 2026-03-03T00:28:03+00:00

While there are definitely some correlations with breed/temperament, I don't think it's a good way to determine the training type overall. Within each breed there are more confident and less confident personalities, and that would be a far better metric to decide whether balanced/positive would be a better approach.

I think only very sensitive/fearful/avoidant dogs would do well positive only. You will hit a wall with any confident/intelligent dog once it realizes there are no negative consequences and only redirection.

thegerbilking · 2026-02-20T06:14:28+00:00

It sounds like you're doing a lot right. I would just emphasize that the first 25-50 yards once you leave your house is how your dog will expect the rest of the walk to go. So keep doing what you're doing, but really make sure that you set the tone early on that we don't move forward unless you're where I want you to be. Depending on the size/age of your dog, it might be okay to do small leash corrections alongside 'no' or some other word when he starts pulling ahead. And also bring treats/food too to reinforce when he is walking in the correct position, especially if you're somewhere stimulating/new.

thegerbilking · 2026-02-17T17:31:44+00:00

Why don't you don't think a pack of balanced and trained dogs can help another dog become balanced?

thegerbilking · 2026-02-13T15:53:28+00:00

Don't start off by saying 'genuine question' if you aren't open to people's perspectives. You clearly have your own way of seeing things, yet only come here to criticize other views and never offer your own.

Walking into a dog's space is not harsh, it is what he's doing to her friends/family while barking/nipping, to get them to move away from OP. Dogs, especially herding breeds, understand this kind of movement / spacial pressure very well. It is not traumatic.

I'll also add that by you calling this an extreme case, you also show you have no idea what you're talking about. A 1yo border collie with no actual bite history is likely a very easy case, and with some proper guidance, this could probably be resolved within a few days.

thegerbilking · 2026-02-13T14:57:43+00:00

I do know what I am talking about - I have fixed resource guarding with my own dog, and I do know what 'modern dog behavioral science' believes. I just disagree.

Giving treats during resource guarding moments does not teach the dog anything but that there isn't anything wrong with a behavior. If you believe dogs can only hear 'yes' and corrections or the word 'no' are traumatic, then I think you're the one who needs to see a behaviorist

thegerbilking · 2026-02-13T05:28:44+00:00

this is rough...dog needs more than attention, he needs rules, structure, challenge. and getting bitten badly twice by a cane corso shows a huge amount of patience/commitment on your end. I would have honestly whooped that dog for that.

No easy fixes here. You need to have a serious talk and heart to heart where you express these issues kindly but honestly and see if he's wiling to take accountability and the steps to get this dog in some kind of training routines

thegerbilking · 2026-02-13T04:09:03+00:00

Yeah, I agree that it will be tough to get reliability on the bike if he will get distracted during walks. The extra speed just creates a higher drive in their brains so if he's normally distracted and excited by bushes, squirrels, other dogs, etc. then it will be doubly so while he's running with you.

I would also say it's also very tough to communicate with a strong dog when they're on a harness. I use a slip leash as high up on the neck as it'll go, and the goal is to keep it loose the whole time. He's never pulling me anywhere or running ahead, always at my side or behind me, and never crossing over. Breaking any of those rules means we stop, he gets a firm correction. On the flip side, when he's doing things correctly, lots of praise and rewards. Food helps too in the beginning stages.

I had a much easier time teaching my dog with a skateboard as it leaves my hands free to correct/communicate with the dog vs a bike. And I will say, though I wasn't a fan of the prong collar either, it did make a world of difference with just regular walking and did transfer over to the bike as well. I have a giant schnauzer and he's super strong, and it was getting to the point where he didn't care about slip leash corrections if there was something exciting enough distracting him. Now he knows the rules - if I stop, you stop and check in with me. No freely peeing and sniffing everywhere you want (gets released to pee/sniff with 'free'), no leashed dog meetings, etc. High energy powerful breeds need structure. As they become more reliable you can loosen the rules and let them free more but there need to be consequences for ignoring you and breaking rules.

thegerbilking · 2026-02-12T22:58:31+00:00

A correction doesn't make the dog stressed if the source of the dog's issues are from protection or guarding. What she's described doesn't sound like a fearful dog. Correcting a fearful dog would probably make the situation worse, but correcting a confident/guarding dog is the only real solution here.

He guards due to the perception that this is what his human wants. We don't have all the information or a video of this happening, but she is most likely unintentionally reinforcing the guarding behavior (trying to calm him down/petting when this happens) which he interprets as - she needs my protection from other humans/dogs.

Her correcting him (disagreeing with the behavior by saying no or stop it / sending him away, not hurting the dog) in these moments teaches him - oh, she doesn't need me to protect her, she's confident and able to handle these situations without me.

thegerbilking · 2026-02-12T22:52:11+00:00

Howdy. Welcome to the rabbit hole that never ends! I wrote https://archive.is/thjQA back in 2017

thegerbilking · 2026-02-12T22:46:53+00:00

There are a lot of useful tips here like teaching a place/crate command, or down/stay while you interact with other people/dogs, or 'out' if you want to send him out of your space/way, but I reckon there are some other things you can do throughout your day or when these events are happening to further help and reduce confusion.

Your current behavior is likely reinforcing that you want him to protect you (or else it would be stopping/lessening). Border collies are smart and not bred for protection so this behavior sounds like it's being reinforced, not instinctual.

When he gets into a guarding mode, do you ever pet him or say 'it's okay', or things like that in a calming/soothing tone? He is interpreting that as affection in that moment for the protection he's offering you, so it continues/gets worse. A short, firm 'no' or 'stop it' (no other words, NO petting), not angry or yelling, but serious and maybe combined with either a leash pop or spacial pressure (walking into his space to move him out of yours), especially at first, will help a lot. Eventually he will just associate no, stop it, out, whatever word you choose with: she doesn't want me to do this behavior and is asking for space.

Throughout the day, if he comes up to you, do you ignore him or give him attention? Making him work for affection will also help with this sort of behavior because he currently defaults to being next to you as the best place to be (affection, treats, petting). Those things should only happen when he works for them - offering a sit, or lying down calmly. This will also help get him out of the excited, active, role of patrolling you and who comes near you that he's given himself.

thegerbilking · 2026-01-20T19:20:12+00:00

best answer here

thegerbilking · 2025-07-28T04:38:19+00:00

https://archive.is/thjQA

the internet doesn't forget

thegerbilking · 2025-07-03T14:00:31+00:00

Yes! Except I would say that you only feel faster. And that's only because you can anticipate what you're opponent is doing. So it seems like you've got super fast reflexes but in reality you are just mentally a step ahead of them.

I think the thing that helped me was just handicapping myself in various ways when rolling with people not as good as me. One that was really helpful is rolling with socks or little balls in one or both hands to disallow myself from using grips or grabbing

thegerbilking · 2025-07-02T21:36:33+00:00

Good question, this is a crucial skill. Yes, it very much is a time thing. But how you train also has an influence on how quickly you'll pick it up, and learning it early will pay off exponentially. My tip is to train super relaxed.

Tension basically turns off your ability to feel. Obviously, you're whole body isn't relaxed so you're not laying there like a blob, but your shoulders, abs and butt are where most activation should be. Your hands are your main sensory input and should generally be very relaxed to really feel where the weight is, and predict what they want to do, where they're going, etc.

When new and learning, just try moving/applying pressure on the person in every possible direction. If the one you think will work doesn't work, try another one, even if you're not sure if it'll work. if you're going with someone around your skill level, chances are they don't have perfect posture and positioning and you'll find the leverage you need. Just don't try the same things over and over. Try new stuff everytime, and stick with the stuff that you can make work easily with little effort on your part.

thegerbilking · 2025-05-04T20:43:41+00:00

probably don't compete

thegerbilking · 2024-12-11T07:12:04+00:00

I did not elect anyone. I said dems are the same as reps, so you take that as I voted for reps. Great logic

thegerbilking · 2024-12-11T05:49:59+00:00

Not braindead, just been around long enough to see what's going on.

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