In the official Canine Good Citizen book, “CITIZEN CANINE,” I described a procedure that I called “Sit and Watch.” This is for dogs who lunge on leash when they see other dogs, or for dogs who become overly excited when other dogs pass by.
It works like this: 1) Teach your dog to sit-stay in a non-distracting setting with no dogs. 2) When the sit-stay is reliable, you’re ready to try this with distractions. Go to a place where there are other dogs on leash. 3) As another dog approaches, tell your dog to sit and “watch me.” 4) Reward the dog for sitting (with a praise and treat). 5) When the other dog has passed by, you and your dog can begin walking again.
This past weekend, as Wyn and I approached a dog owner with a hound-mix, I saw the dog start to pull and get out of control. The dog’s owner reached in her pocket, pulled out a treat, and in a sweet voice, after telling the dog to sit, said, “mind your own business, Charlie.”
“Sit and Watch” worked beautifully for her. When we passed by, she and her dog resumed their walk.
The behavioral principle behind “Sit and Watch” is called DRI; this means Differential Reinforcement of an Incompatible Behavior. If the dog is sitting and watching the owner, it can’t be lunging.
For other behavioral tips such as Sit and Watch, check out the official CGC book, CITIZEN CANINE, or the official CGC puppy book– AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy: A Positive, Behavioral Approach to Training (www.dogwise.com)
AKC's Canine Good Citizen and S.T.A.R. Puppy Director, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist
DRI (with either impeccable leash manners with no tension and/or a super reliable sit-stay) is extremely important for setting the stage for desensitization and counter-conditioning to work in these cases. Thank You for posting this.
Perfect! This is what I instruct my owners and even work on my new dog that I have adopted. Work in progress but it does work!
Loved this! Thank you for sharing. I’ve been using it more and more with my reactive little guy and I think it’s very helpful for DS & CC alone.
Reblogged this on alaskasretrievers and commented:
I have had the phone call occasionally regarding this topic. I am happy to see Canine Good Citizen on WordPress
Thank you so much! I have a service dog (in training) who has an issue with this. She is amazing with everything else. I will start work on this tomorrow. The trainer I have been working with had not recommended this… his approach is – different. I am so worried, failure is just not an option for us.