The first was a girl unloading two Australian Shepherds. As she pulled into the lot, one of the dogs began to bark. I heard her tell it to "Be Quiet!" and it did; the other dog barked...and barked again....and again...Each time, the girl told it to "Quiet." But she continued the process of taking them both out of the car.
After she had unloaded them, the frenzy began: Both dogs barking and pulling and barking some more, all the while this girl says "BE Quiet!" as she waited for a car to pass. At this point, she gave up the 'quiet,' and let two barking idiots pull her into the park.
The second instance happened literally as barking-girl-pack got through the gate. The woman opens the tailgate of the SUV, and three dogs blasted out of it. She panics and grabs a leash, her husband snagged the second, but the third, a rather large Golden-doodle went prancing around the parking lot. She's screaming and calling to the dog, who of course thinks this is a fantastic game. The dog acts as though it is coming back to her, and just as she reaches for the leash, he's off again! This time with the woman, and the other dog chasing him. He finally has enough of this and runs to the gate, which she opens for him.
In both these scenarios, the dogs got Rewarded for their behavior. The barking dogs got to go into the park. The runaway got to go into the park.
I know it's a pain in the neck, but can you imagine the different state of mind both these Humans could have induced in their "pack" had they only taken the time to drag these dogs back to the car to try again? And again...and again...and...well, you get the idea. I can't tell you the number of times I have had to load my big guy (whom I've had appx. 8 mnths./shelter rescue) back into the car because he forgot what "wait" meant, and jumped out without permission. Meanwhile, little guy sits there rolling his eyes and waiting for him to get it together so they both can get out and play.
What does he want? To go into the park.
How does that happen? We pull in, I get out. I open the back door, I say "Wait," I put leashes on, I step away from the space so he is choosing to wait, not just staying there because I've blocked the space, I say "ok" and then he may jump out. Being allowed to jump out is the reward. There is no need for food here.
Any deviation from this results in his being loaded back in, and made to try again....This prevents him from getting what he wants, so he learns to "Work the Human" and get his way. The frequency of his 'forgetting' is becoming almost non-existent, and that depends on my patience. If I give in, and rush him in after he rushed me out, he gets Rewarded for the Wrong Behavior. No thanks.
The same protocol can be used if you have a dog who wants to yank you as fast as they can into the park. Just go the other way. Walk back towards the car as many times as it takes, but teaching your dog that the only way they get the Reward of play is to walk politely to it, pays off. A dog who enters the park in a calm and controlled manner is more likely to use better social interaction skills.
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