My dog is lovely at home with us , the chooks , the cat BUT on the beach or street if off a lead he has chased people eother walking or running and bailed them up or torn their pants. This has happened even after a half hour walk with someone just because I told the person I was walking with that the dog was being well behaved. Then the dog turned on him. I have been told its fear but I am not so sure. The dog is not dominant with us (does try to jump up if excited) BUT if he chases he wont come back if called. We cant go to the beach and let him off lead and he needs to be able to do this to get the excercise. He is a cross of everything. Red Heeler coat , lab face body bigger than head. Was supposed to be a staffy/jack russel. WE got him at about 8 weeks from an Indigenous lady as a litter of 4. ???????? any ides/suggestions welcome
How is your dog at home when people walk by your property? Does he bark and follow them alone the property line, or ignore them? How about when he's on lead, does he pull towards other people, or is it only when he's off lead? Overall it just sounds like excitement to me, unless there are other behaviours you've seen that might make you think its fear. Typically a fearful dog, however, will run away, not chase.
Does he have a favorite toy, or is he very attracted to balls? A bit of distraction with a squeaker or throwing a ball in the opposite direction can sometimes work. It works with my dog if he's getting too excited about another approaching dog, I just chuck a ball and he's instantly more interested in chasing that than leaping all over the other dog.
Have you tried putting him back on lead before he starts chasing another person? It'll take you being super observant and catching him before he starts to chase, but its a great way to work through his behaviour. If you can get him on lead first, then you can train him to ignore people walking past. You can have him sit, and keep saying his name and "stay" while he's sitting - the aim of this is to keep his eyes and attention focused on you, not the other person. Once he's got this, you can try letting him off lead, but calling him to sit before he goes after the person (instead of putting him on lead). I realize this might be a bit of a hassle, depending on how busy your beach is, but it will really help you out.
Try exercising him a bit before walks too, play a big round of fetch and general run around in your yard first, so that he's not so amped up when you let him off lead.
Let me know if any of these ideas work, hopefully we can sort something out
