We have a 9 month old mini Aussie - 40 pounds- and live in open spaces and near the beach so he is seldom on a leash. We love to take him to the beach so he can run and find other dogs to play with. But if he sees a child running, he starts to chase them. He hasn't jumped up or nipped yet, but it really worries me. He comes when called 80% of the time (not quite enough!). He doesn't see very many youngsters--I thought of asking some over and having them run past him while I have him on a lead. I'd appreciate ideas...Thanks... I would feel TERRIBLE if he ever nipped a child. If I walk in the opposite direction I am almost sure he would follow right away, but I would rather be absolutely SURE he would never do it.
I think chasing things that move fast is a natural behavior of herding dogs that comes from their instinct. One of my dogs goes crazy when he sees/hears a skateboarder.
Your Aussie chases a child because of his breed specific instinct. It will be hard to stop him doing that at all but you can control the situations:
First of all, whenever you see a child running, call him back and reward him. When you don't see a child running soon enough, tell him to "Leave it" or "Stop" so that he stops at the spot and stays still. You can then come to him and reward him.
I don't think you will be successful to make your Aussie lose interest in fast moving things so I don't know what to do if you are not watching him. In other words, you can only prevent him from getting too close to running children, and it is in fact your responsibility to keep a close look on your dog especially when off-leashed.
Thank you for your response, and I think you're absolutely right. I have another questiondo you think at nine months he should be doing those thingsleave it, stop, comereliably? He certainly knows all the words and does them most of the time. But he still looks at me sometimes, with that "I don't feel like doing that right now..." look. He had puppy class and reliably sits, stays, lies downis he too young for another trainer? Should I wait until he's a year or so? Thanks again for your answer..
9 mos old is a difficult age because it is like a juvenile stage in human beings. They are curious at many things and want to explore. They usually want to find out how far they can push their parents (owners).
That is why I don't think you should wait. You need to keep working on those basic commands even if sometimes your dog seems not to be listening or following your instructions.
Also, it is time to reinforce those commands when there are distractions. For example, if your dog masters to "Stay" when you are in front of him, add "duration" by making it longer, "distance" by giving him command from a short distance, and "distraction" by practicing when there are people and other dogs are around.
It will be frustrating sometimes but it will definitely pay off later.
I think Aussies (working breeds) generally get mature sooner than some other breeds, say labs, etc.
