# prolonged stay with stranger



## gsdlover91 (Jul 21, 2012)

How do I work on this? My dog goes absolutely cuckoo when I walk away and leave him with someone else. Normal stay, with ME is not an issue. But he thinks that when someone else is holding his leash and I walk away, I must be leaving him with this horrible person FOREVER!!

We are training for the CGC (and eventually the BH) so this is kind of important, and definitely the only thing stopping us from getting his CGC..

Yesterday, I was out and about with my brother and Berlin. I walked into Jimanos to order food, and Berlin stayed with my brother, right outside the door. Before I even GOT INSIDE I hear him whining, and once I was inside, it sounded like he was being killed. Oh for heavens sake...Plus, for the whole five minutes I was inside, he never stopped, and was practically choking himself trying to pull to get to me.

I practiced this with the trainer too (who is the CGC evaluator) Berlin loves her, but as soon as I handed her the leash, and attempted to walk out of the room, the wailing starts. I came back in less than 5 seconds later....

HELP!! He is 8.5 months old. I have no idea on how to work on this. I guess the bond between us is SO INTENSE, that he thinks I am going to die if he doesnt come with me. 

He has no issues when I leave the house. I guess the only positive to this is that his recall has NEVER been an issue. Hardly had to even work on it.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

oh I know the feeling! Singe was the same. A couple different strategies:

give the leash to the person and walk away. you might start with only turning away and going a few steps or across the room and just opening the door knob. Ignore him while he is fussing. Just gets the idea that you handing the leash to someone else isn't the end of the world and you won't disappear. This is what worked for Singe. Hand over the leash, tell him "wait" and then walk around the room. Eventually I started leaving the room for a few seconds and then go back. 

you can also try putting a walkie-talkie in the room and tell him "quiet" if he starts freaking out


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

Ollie is the same way in public, when we went hiking and I stopped at the visitor center to use the restroom, I gave my husband the leash and I could hear him carrying on all the way from inside the stall. 

I would start REALLY slow like the other person said, just you walking away a little bit and then keep extending the distance and praise and treat him for being quiet. Could take awhile though these guys are BIG babies especially the boys. :crazy:


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## gsdlover91 (Jul 21, 2012)

Dainerra said:


> oh I know the feeling! Singe was the same. A couple different strategies:
> 
> give the leash to the person and walk away. you might start with only turning away and going a few steps or across the room and just opening the door knob. Ignore him while he is fussing. Just gets the idea that you handing the leash to someone else isn't the end of the world and you won't disappear. This is what worked for Singe. Hand over the leash, tell him "wait" and then walk around the room. Eventually I started leaving the room for a few seconds and then go back.
> 
> you can also try putting a walkie-talkie in the room and tell him "quiet" if he starts freaking out


Thanks, I'll try these methods. I feel like he'd be fine in the actual house. Its when we're OUT, that he has this problem. Like i'm going to leave him in some random place with a stranger. And since the CGC and BH take place out of the house, thats the issue...ugh. Hope once it starts to warm up and I can try this outside and try it in public. Its so embarrassing to work on this in public though, people probably think my dog is being hurt, I'm sure.


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## gsdlover91 (Jul 21, 2012)

Carriesue said:


> Ollie is the same way in public, when we went hiking and I stopped at the visitor center to use the restroom, I gave my husband the leash and I could hear him carrying on all the way from inside the stall.
> 
> I would start REALLY slow like the other person said, just you walking away a little bit and then keep extending the distance and praise and treat him for being quiet. Could take awhile though these guys are BIG babies especially the boys. :crazy:


Yeah Carrie, Berlin is the definition of "Momma's Boy - Velcro Dog Extreme" :crazy:

Which is GREAT, as I said, for recall, and for the bond, but for THIS, its not good.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

My dog is the same way and because of that my son did the CGC test with her. She is still that way with me, but she is getting better We'll be retaking the CGC test in about a year and I'm thinking she will be completely fine by then.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when it's you and your dog and you tell your dog to "stay"
can you walk away? can you walk away and be out of your
dog's view?

i would start slow. i would have someone stand next to my
dog but not holding the leash. i would walk away, short distance
at first. as the dog gets stronger with the command i would
walk further away finally walking away where my dog couldn't
see me. then i would give the person the leash and maybe
take a step backwards. a step backwards would lead to 3 steps,
then 10 steps and so on. finally letting the person hold the leash
working my way towards to being out of sight while the person
holds the leash.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> when it's you and your dog and you tell your dog to "stay"
> can you walk away? can you walk away and be out of your
> dog's view?
> 
> ...



This was exactly what I was thinking. If he is great on recall, stop thinking about it as leaving him with someone else. Create a mind set that you are going to recall him. The person on the other end of the leash is merely a distraction.


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## Muneraven (Sep 4, 2012)

This is good for me to read because Jaeger is just a HUGE baby and he hates to be left alone. I need to work on this.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Practice, practice, practice.

When you leave, don't say anything except "stay" (or whatever command you use). Don't turn around and look back. Don't make it a big deal, just walk away and get OUT OF SIGHT. This part is important. As long as he can see you, he's going to fuss and cry and try to get your attention. In training, it's ok to have the person holding him give him treats, or take him for a little "walk" in the opposite direction, to get his mind off you.

I am a dog groomer by trade, so people hand their dog to me and leave several times a day. Most dogs who fuss about their owner leaving are actually much better once the owner walks out the door and is out of sight. Then the person holding the leash (me) is the new "mommy". Usually the dog will go straight into a crate, but sometimes I'll take them out back for a short potty walk, and sometimes they go directly into the bathtub. Most of them calm down in a reasonable amount of time, but puppies can be rather fussy for the first couple times they come in. It just takes time, patience, and maturity.

In my grooming shop, key to keeping the dog calm is that the owner is GONE. Really, truly, gone out of sight, scent and hearing. Most dogs stay with me for at least 3 hours, and almost all of them stop freaking out by then. But you can start slow and gradual, like just handing the leash to someone, walking ten feet away, and turning your back to the dog. Then come back as soon as he is calm, and praise him calmly. The whole process has to be matter-of-fact, no big hullaballo about it, no big party when you come back. If anything, the person holding the dog can give praise and treats when the dog is calm. It takes time, patience, and maturity. Did I mention that?  You might want to consider putting off the CGC until he matured a bit more, there's no shame in that!


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

What free step said use the key word turn and walk away. Only return once he has calmed down. If you return while he is carrying on you have just re enfored the behavior. Do you crate him?


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