Hi, I'm new to the forum. My 22 mo female lab walks lovely on her leash until we run into another dog walking towards us. Then she acts all crazy jumping around and barking. I don't think she is afraid, just frustrated she can't go and play. I have been using 'look at that' to try and help, and it has helped and in some of the places we walk we can walk by other dogs with little to no problems. We've been to obedience classes and I have been working on this for awhile. However, occasionally she will just revert back to her old ways out of the blue but usually on the path that we walk that is closest to my house. Friends with well behaved dogs all suggest aversives such as a prong collar, but I so dislike those and don't want to use one, but I'm getting very frustrated. I'm hoping for advice or just reassurance that I am doing the right thing and things will improve with time...
Maybe you could try early distraction before he gets a hold on his excitement. Carry some food and when you spot the dog ahead, get his attention with the food and make him watch you as you walk past the dog at a good pace. Give yourself good distance from the other dogs. Reward him with praise and the food after the passing. Even if it's not real good the first couple of times still reward with food. You just have to read the situation and preempt. Labs put food first. Food replaced by praise after and I use "watch" to get attention on me and not other things. May not work for you but it has for me. Worth trying I guess
Keep going with LAT. Remember, if she's reacting, you're too close and you need to give her distance so she gets back under threshold and work back towards that closer distance. Remember, nothing in dog training is linear, so you are bound to have some bad days mixed in with the good
