My Mali pup, Theia has been maturing very nicely (approximately 5.5 months), and, like the rest of the Mali's I've had experience with, is infatuated with attacking any large object that I roll around (trailers, garbage cans, wheel barrels, etc). It seems to me as if her herding instinct is kicking in, and she is trying to help me wrangle and submit the object.
So far, I have been walking her along the object as I move it, and attempt to keep her attention on me (not on the object) as an attempt to channel her energy elsewhere and become less interested in the object. This doesn't seem to work too well (immediately diverts her attention to the moving object) and I was wondering if anyone else has had any experience with this, and knows of any good methods of easing this? She does not seem suspicious of the object at all, but is determined to stop it's movement immediately.
I can take some vids if it helps anyone.
*I'd like to add that I understand this is the natural instinct of the dog, and almost expected when dealing with this breed. I believe this should be controlable in the future though, and would like to know if anyone has any good methods of controlling it?
It's imperative to be able to stop any behavior when you decide it should be stopped. Teach her the "leave it" command. Leave it to the dog means the object of his attention has ceased to exist. You can't do this with BS methods like redirection. It's easier to teach when the dog is young and can't resist you as it would be able to do when full grown. Leave a loooong line on her so she can't run away from a correction. Say leave it loud and clear the moment the behavior starts. She will ignore the command the first few times. Stop whatever you were doing, go for the end of the line which was dragging on the ground, reel her into you hand over hand, and apply a correction starting with a mild one first. Nothing could be easier, it just requires your time.
It's imperative to be able to stop any behavior when you decide it should be stopped. Teach her the "leave it" command. Leave it to the dog means the object of his attention has ceased to exist. You can't do this with BS methods like redirection. It's easier to teach when the dog is young and can't resist you as it would be able to do when full grown. Leave a loooong line on her so she can't run away from a correction. Say leave it loud and clear the moment the behavior starts. She will ignore the command the first few times. Stop whatever you were doing, go for the end of the line which was dragging on the ground, reel her into you hand over hand, and apply a correction starting with a mild one first. Nothing could be easier, it just requires your time.
Thanks for the tips Dan. Will try this out with her. I have used the long lead with her before for training her to come and it works well.
Correcting/calming excessive moving object (large) aggression
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