# Approaching strangers



## Tula (Dec 17, 2011)

Hi, I hope someone here can share their tips/experience with me on how to train a Vizsla not to approach people during walks. 
Tula is one year old, fairly well trained - she knows her commands well, but sometimes chooses to ignore them when something 
particularly exciting comes up. She is extremely friendly, generally submissive (can bark if scared or wants a ball to play). 
A few days ago she approached a jogger and sniffed her calves - the jogger was listening to the music and was startled, which caused her to 
somehow stumble over her own feet, fall down and end up with bleeding knees. I apologised profoundly of course, but it was a dogs running free area and Tula was just passing. The girl said she's just scared of dogs. 
This morning, we were at the fields, and a man was walking through - Tula was running circles, as she does, and once again, she sniffed the passer-by, as she does as well-usually people either ignore her, or start playing with her, but this time the man swore really badly at me, told me to keep her away - he was clearly deranged, but it doesn't change the fact that I really need her to NOT approach any people anymore. Twice is enough. I've been upset for the whole day after what was supposed to be a nice walk in the fields. I'll be grateful for any training ideas. Thank you!


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

Hi Tula,
And welcome to the forum.I have the same problem with my Vizsla Darcy, she just loves both children and adults alike and runs up to them doing a strange dance with her hind legs.Most people enjoy the greeting from her, but it upsets me when some people shoo her away or ignore her completely.I guess that some folk dislike dogs.....a strange bunch if you ask me..


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## Tula (Dec 17, 2011)

Yeah, it seems some people don't like to be reminded that we're not the only species sharing this planet


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

I guess it's just a case of work work work on her recall till it's nailed 100% of the time. Ruby's problem is that she doesn't like strangers approaching her, especially if she's on her lead.


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Tula- we've had a problem, but it was usually when Oso was on leash.

When off leash, we are usually doing it illegally near where I live. I usually risk the very expensive tickets. I used to bring treats with me, and everytime someone came we'd do a recall and he'd get a treat. Depending on if the person looked like they liked dogs, I would leash him or let him go again. 

He's now at the point where he pauses before seeing going over to anyone off leash (even other dogs) and waits to either be recalled or get the go ahead. This is fine with us, you could also have him learn just to run back to you every time he sees someone. 

How is Tula's recall?


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## SerCopper (Nov 1, 2011)

Tula - You could teach her 'Whoa' which basically means don't move. I am working on it with my dog for when we hunt but I notice he does it while on our walks now. Anytime another dog/person approaches he freezes and waits for me.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

It happened to me as well. This is what I learned. 

1. Not everybody likes dogs and, I find only about 20% of passers by enjoy being sniffed. 
2. Parents with small children are often inexperienced and overprotect/overreact even to puppies let alone an 18 month old V.

My solution is to immediately put Sam on heel and attach the leash to his collar the moment I spot people approaching. Doing this puts people at ease and earns the dog good points. Most fathers walking their babies smile, say Hi and some thank me for securing the dog. I generally find this works well. 
At the beginning the distance between spotting the people and recalling the dog is greater. Over time this distance can be reduced to mere 10-15 feet. 

Good luck, IMO the trick at least at the beginning is to keep a safe distance regardless if he park is offleash or not.


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

Hi Tula,

In one of our obedience classes we learned the command "say hello". You teach your dog to "say hello" to any stranger who wishes to meet him/her by saying "say hello" and motioning the dog toward the stranger. You let the dog approach the stranger (not the other way around) but only when you give them the command. That way, they learn not to approach everyone they see whenever they want but only when you give them the command. I will be the first to admit, we still have a long way to go with our 1 year old because like your pup, she likes to greet everyone. But you could try this.


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

This is so crazy....
A young vizsla was killed when he ran out of the house towards another dog...

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/man-charged-in-in-fatal-dog-shooting-that-2449964.html


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## Tula (Dec 17, 2011)

Oh, how awful!! The man we came across in the fields seemed capable of the same, good thing guns aren't easy to come by in the UK. 
Many thanks to everyone for replying and for useful advice. Tula is great at recall...until she comes across something that is more important in her eyes - typical teenager  
I usually call her to heel when there are children around, she is good at it. I was not restricting her with adults, but I suppose till we figure out how to train her to keep certain 
distance from people when running, we'll have to call her to heel every time we see someone not smiling at her - the last article is a good warning.


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

I don't think it is a good idea to ever knowingly let your dog run up to strangers without permission.

I am the biggest dog lover and have never been afraid of dogs, however, a strange dog running up at me will still make me nervous. (I wouldn't freak out or scream, but I probably wouldn't be thrilled with the owner). And I think any rational parent would not want a strange dog running up to his or her children without permission (I don't think that is being paranoid at all). 

I've never found a dog I didn't like, but I still know that a dog is a dog and they can be unpredicatble (and they have sharp teeth). I don't think you should ever trust a dog you don't know to be friendly, and you shouldn't expect other people to either. 

Just the other day police in our city had to shoot a pitbull and boxer that went on a rampage around a neighborhood and bit FIVE people. One guy got bit because the boxer looked friendly and came up to him wagging his tail before it attacked. I guess my point is, in my opinion, even though your dog may be the friendliest dog in the world, other people don't know that, and they shouldn't be expected to.

Of course, easy for me to say since my dog hates strangers anyway and would never approach one on his own.


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