Impulse control

Ok, we're having a problem at class. Cain's been a bit of a git for the last few classes, very pushy and rude with other dogs, no idea why his tolerance seems to have gone down. On top of that, we're having a horse issue! There's this right stroppy horse in the field next door who has NO fear! It deliberately comes up to the fence and winds the dogs up, then starts running up and down the fence causing all the dogs to chase it. It's always been in the field, but it's been winding the dogs right up more than usual for the last few weeks. No, the horse unfortunately cannot be moved. It has a HUGE paddock, I just wish it would sod off over the other side, but it won't. I actually think it's quite lonely Anyway, Cain is far too interested in the horse.

Also if another group of dogs have a spat, Cain will barrel in. Sometimes he's trying to break it up, sometimes he's just having a nosey, sometimes he gets involved, but he HAS to run over.

On the plus side, he did several absolutely cracking recalls today When two other dogs started to run up and down the fence with the horse, Cain actually ran over but then instantly came away when called (you could see on his face how hard he was finding it!).

At this rate, I'll never be able to let him off lead and he'll see something of interest in the distance and bomb after it like a bat out of hell.

How do train "with me"? We tried at class to all walk around, off lead, keeping our dogs near us. Cain did better than some of the dogs, but lost interest after a few mins and wanted to be off doing his own thing.

Incidentally, when on lead, he has very good impulse control. He'll sit calmly, watch me, play Look At That for other dogs, deer, horses trotting by etc. It's just off lead. He cannot help but dash over to check everything out.

He will actually recall back fairly well most of the time, but what I want is to stop him going over in the first place. He doesn't seem like he wants to listen until he's stuck his nose in first, then he'll come away quite happily

How can I train better impulse control/recall/generally control hen off lead? I have two problems
1) We can't use treats or toys in class when the dogs are off lead in case it causes a fight. Problem, I can't reward his fantastic recalls in hard situations around distractions except for huge amounts of praise.
2) I can't let him off lead most places outside of class so it's very hard to train around distractions as it's not safe to let him off. He's knows when he's on lead (long line/flexi) and behaves totally differently off lead.
3) We rarely see horses in London and when we do, they trot past slowly which is far less interesting than psycho horse galloping around it's paddock.

It's not his fault his off lead control is lacking, he hasn't had nearly enough training around distractions and it's so novel for him that he gets over excited. I feel a bit helpless as I only have one secure off lead opportunity to train this, and I can't use food/toy rewards in that environment. Outside of class it's near impossible to set up the scenarios to train off lead control Any ideas?

Oh dear - but I confess that bits of your post made me chuckle out loud! These bits:


Sorry I have no ideas to help you! Good luck - I like the sound of Cain!

Do you want him? I can send him via Airmail!

I hate that horse

I'm laughing out loud now. I can tell that Cain has a SUPER mum/butler/maidservant in you. Like your attitude and can relate to it.

Horse? Hmmmm.... don't see that many of those over here. They'd probably chop it up and serve it as Equine Souvlaki!

I'd personally find a different class.

It sounds very chaotic. Why are dogs that don't have good recall allowed off lead more than one at a time?

A good class would start with NO distractions, and once that was perfect, take it from there. If you can't manage something in a class situation, you really have no chance in the real world, and IMO, the class situation should be setting the dogs up to succeed.

I'm afraid finding another class it not an option because unless I want to drive to Cornwall, there's no other socialisation classes down south. Normally the horse isn't too much of a problem, he's just been very close to the fence this week and it made me realise that if I can't control Cain in an enclosed field then how can I even control him out on walks? Obviously the horse is not ideal, and the trainers are aware of that, however there's are limited farmers that are willing to rent their field to a load of dogs And removing that particular location won't make Cain magically trained. The fact is that Cain should not been chasing horses anyway, so I see it more as my problem to work on.

ETA: it's a socialisation class for difficult dogs, not a training class. They have to all be off lead to learn social skills. So they are not expected to have good recall in class, it's a secure field. it just made me aware of a problem we have.

I agree with trying to find another class as only one dog should be off lead at a time so that when recalled you can use your treats to reinforce the good.

If you can't change for whatever reason, maybe you could take Cain to visit psycho pony during the week, just hang out near the fence till Cain gets bored by it running around. And yes if the horse is alone in the field it will be lonely and seeking attention from anything/one that is near by.

Sorry, I wasn't clear in my first post. We are not at class to train recall or any sort of obedience. When we do "train" recall there, all dogs except one are on lead and we can use treats to reward. However most of the class is socialisation, therefore they must all be off lead.

Sadly I can't visit during the week as it's over an hours drive away and it's a private farm

Just saw your new post, so I would visit the horses field as much as possible so Cain can realize it is nothing to get overly worked up about and he can come to see the horse running as just normal and that he should ignore it.

LOL we keep cross posting!