Great Tips to Stop a Herding Dog from Chasing Bikes
By: Sam Kanouse
Published Date: September 18, 2018
In this Iowa dog training session we worked with Kadey, a one-year-old German Shepherd, who needed help with reactivity to bikes.
When a dog is reactive it simply means that a dog has a strong reaction to something, it doesn’t mean that they are being aggressive. So to help Kadey stop having such strong reactions to the kids riding their bikes in the yard we used a method called Behavior Adjustment Training or BAT. This method empowers the dog to make positive choices such as relaxing when they see the bike instead of wanting to chase or nip at the bike. To see how we did this you can watch the video below.
As you can see in the video, Kadey sometimes still wanted to chase the bike. That is okay and should be expected, especially in the first training session. When Kadey gets overwhelmed by the bike, meaning that she can’t use self control to stop herself from nipping at the bike, help her choose to walk away until she settles down. Then as long as she is staying calm you can help her walk towards the bike slowly over time. This approach is a fantastic way to accomplish any goal that includes a strong reaction, but the owner must take time to give the dog plenty of opportunities to work through their reactivity.
By the end of the session Kadey was looking to her guardian for leadership and direction. As a German Shepherd trainer I suggest that they use multiple, short training sessions, such as 15 minutes or less at a time. This will help Kadey overcome her reactivity to the bike or the cats in the house. We wrapped up this dog behavior session with Kadey’s Roadmap to Success video, which you can watch below.
Categorized in: Dog Behavior