Hi Guys - Hoping someone can give me some handy hints here. I took Millie on as a 14 month old in December and she's doing really well except in one area. I like her to do some free running but only encourage this when we are with friends and family and their dogs - not when other people are about due to her size. She has mad half hours where she just runs round like a loon. However, we are having a problem with her just running into people and bowling them over. Even when it is clear she has seen them, she sometimes runs full pelt at them, knocking them over and then yelping in surprise. I'm hoping this is just youthful exuberance and not co-ordination or sight issues - her sight appears to be good and her co-ordination is still that of a gangly teenager.

Somebody has suggested having a plastic bottle with some gravel in and shaking this sharply as she approaches. Any other suggestions or experiences would be gratefully received. I want her to have the freedom to do this without endangering anybody or herself.

Hi there ,
I don't think there's too much you can do; it is an awkward stage. I liken it to my son growing from about 5'5" to 6'3" in about a year; he would smash his shoulders into door frames, knees against table legs constantly. We used to say that his mind hadn't adjusted to the amount of space he required. Some deerhounds seem to do the same thing for a while; I was scared stiff when Cailean ran full speed into a tree and had to be carried home.
When talking to Barb Heidenreich she said something that made a lot of sense. The young dogs need as much play as possible with a dog of similar abilities to improve their co-ordination and dexterity. I found it best to plan running free in open areas and be very firm about pushing away sternly when collisions with people seem deliberate. As with human toddlers they will constantly test the boundaries of what play is allowed and what is not.
Hope you pass from this stage to the next with only minor bruises.

Our Dana used to do this but it was more the bystanders fault (as such) as they would try to step out of her path and inevitably step into it. If they stood like a tree she would swoop past them. I used to walk Dana at 5:00 in the morning to avoid the heat and people but sometimes someone would rock up and Dana would rush up to them. She was an exhuberant girl and because she was speyed at an early age she became very lanky and could run like the wind.
She never did grow out of it, she was our F1-11 hound.

My dog Ben used to do this and thought it was hilarious. One day he nearly broke my legs and left me in severe pain so I had to do something. On advise from an experienced DH owner I purchased a water pistol and squirted him whenever he got too close when running. It worked very quickly and stopped him in his tracks.

An old "squeezy" type of washing up liquid bottle will work just as well if you fill it with water when it is empty.

I must be lucky with layla as she can turn on a six pence,
and so far does have brakes and avoids me, but i do use my lead
and voice, if i think shes getting to close to me, i warn her and swing the lead
infront of me, its only a soft rope lead, so wouldnt hurt her if it did hit her,

if she does crash in to you though, realy have a go at her, and chase her off if you can - like another dog would do,
it wont upset her or cause her to be frightend of you, but it will learn her to start avoiding you, its how dogs learn to be respectfull when there running around other dogs.

Mrs T has done a couple of very near misses and did get my friend and bowled her over when she moved out the way and T swerved the same way
I just wave my hands by my side when shes coming towards me at break neck speed and she will usually do a wider swing round then

I had my wrist broken a while back caused by a deerhound/human collision so best to try and stop this before a real injury to human and hound occurs and if it happened to a member of the public you may end up in deep trouble.

Good advice about the water pistol - I use one now as Murray and Carys still like to hurtle themselves at me - good luck!

I swing the lead out, or get a stick to throw to make him go off in another direction. We've had our share of accidents. Someone mentioned on here about moving at the last minute and they are right, I have done that too, thinking he is going to crash into me I have moved at last second just as he did = collision.

They do calm down. I wish I had another big dog for him to play with, good advice.

We've had this problem too!
When Callie is chasing Fergal, he runs while LOOKING BEHIND to see where she is, he's run into me a couple of times
What we do now is if they get to close we just give a sharp loud shout, no words, just a noise.
Seems to work up to a point.
Spring

We all share this problem at times

I bellow!, and hug a tree as my neighbors can verify

I don't use a lead to swing around as that can cause association problems I do use my hunting whip ( one crack in the air and they stop)

I can think of a few Deerhound owners that have had broken bones so it does need to be stopped

let us know how you get along

Thank you for all the good advice guys - its nice to know we aren't the only ones with this problem - in the nicest possible way of course. We've tried the standing still approach. On one noteable occasion, I announced confidently to my friends "Stand still and she'll miss you" and she proceeded to bowl one of them straight over. Luckily, no real injuries yet and I don't think she's doing it on purpose. I'll give some of these techniques a go and report back in due course. I'm going to start going running with her - it will do us both good!

Lurch8252 wrote:
[quote]I swing the lead out, or get a stick to throw to make him go off in another direction. We've had our share of accidents. Someone mentioned on here about moving at the last minute and they are right, I have done that too, thinking he is going to crash into me I have moved at last second just as he did = collision.

They do calm down. I wish I had another big dog for him to play with, good advice.[/quot


Trouble is with 2 big dogs playing you get slammed by 2 not 1 Murray and Carys have a really annoying habit of playfighting right behind me or around me feet - doesn't matter how much space they have, beach, fields whatever they will play and run so close to me that I always end up getting slammed. It is also so embarrassing when there are other people around - I spend most of our walk trying to regain what little composure they have left me

i agree with Betina "I bellow!, and hug a tree as my neighbors can verify", not sure about hugging trees but shout to get their attention & then stay still as they SHOULD go round you

Counsel of perfection, I know, but time spent teaching puppies to respond to a sharp shout of 'Brakes!' is never wasted. The trick is to catch their attention and make them think about where they're going. And if that doesn't work, the squeezy bottle is a cheap and painless deterrent.

Sid wrote:


Hi Sid, you must have a better "Counsel" than me - they dont even empty the bins on time

Yes this has to be stopped as soon as possible. As others have said making a loud noise as they come towards you usually works, or hug a tree if there'a a convenient one near. Another idea is to go walking with someone larger than yourself, then you can hide behind them Anyway god luck and I hope you cure the problem before someone gets hurt.

Pam

Like that idea Pam - not sure if I know any wider than me

I don't remember what age my deerhound became a "Perfect Companion", I forgot that we used to sing out "Flexible knees" and the use of the same sharp word which can be Stop! or whatever you choose as warning. I am sure that on occasion it is deliberate and Cailean had to be put in her place more than once.

Hi Guys - Just a bit of an update on how Millie's getting on. She's still a complete fruit loop but the collisions are not as frequent. I'm finding that telling her "steady" VERY firmly stops her (usually). Posting some pics of her yesterday at Sutton Bank.

Try again!!