I have a 2 1/2 yr male choc. and one thing bugs me. When I take him out for walks, he barks and growls at other dogs a lot. To the point I started making him sit and let the other dogs pass because he tries to go after them. He used to bark at people but we have worked on that and he is fine as long as the people do not have a dog. If my husband has him out for a walk he is fine with other dogs. we take him to the dog park and have him off the leash and he plays like a great friend with the other dogs. The issue is only when I have him on the leash. Any suggestions. I feel bad because I am starting to prefer to take our female more than taking turns taking them to the park for walks.
Re: Being protective or mean? Hello there, welcome to the forum! What is your boy's name? This isn't an unusual problem to have, and it's also not unusual for a dog to be perfectly happy with other dogs off lead. You could have a look at this article that recommends a few tips towards the end: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3600 the "get it" game is designed to give your dog something else to do when he sees another dog (it is very, very, quick to teach so can be a bit of a quick fix, depending on your dog of course) and this leads on to training a behaviour that the dog should look at you when he sees another dog. If he doesn't do this when your husband has him on lead, only you, then you might think about whether you are in some way communicating to your dog that there is a problem with the other dog - perhaps you might tense up a bit since you expect him to behave badly?
Re: Being protective or mean? Welcome from us, Hattie 6 years and Charlie 3 years. Enjoy this lovely forum. You could also look on the forum under Training at BAT Tips (sorry don't know how to link it :) which shows some counter conditioning techniques that we are using with our rescue Charlie and had our first success this morning We get the barking and lunging on lead but no growling. It's a very common problem but one you can work on as you have with people. Don't despair just ask any questions you have there is always someone to help x
Re: Being protective or mean? Welcome to the forum Does your dog like to retrieve? It might be good to distract him and play ball with him?
Re: Being protective or mean? Thanks! His name is Sir duckington, or "Duck" is his call name, and our female is Cabela she is just shy of 1 year. I will read the link and BAT tips. The thing that makes me so mad is he is the most loveable sweet boy, but he is on the bigger side (95lbs) and he intmidates people when he barks at other dogs. I got him to totally stop barking at people with "Watch Me" as we walk past, so now he doesnt even notice poeple, but the other dogs we are having a harder time with.
Re: Being protective or mean? The ball idea is a really good one . I have an almost three years old Lab and also an ? old rescue terrier Millie . Millie was also reactive to other dogs when we first had her ten months ago , I got her to love playing ball , even retrieving a ball and can now walk where there are loads of other off lead dogs and she will ignore them if I have a ball , well most of the time
Re: Being protective or mean? Hi there! Welcome to you, Duck and Cabela Well done on the "watch me"'s. I'm sure you will crack this one too Jac
Re: Being protective or mean? Hi Have a look at the BAT tips thread in the behaviour section like Helen suggested I think you might find it helps especially the counter conditioning. My problem is with people my dogs don't know coming near so hats off to you for cracking that one. ;D These dogs don't like to make our lives easy.
Re: Being protective or mean? Welcome to the forum! The barking is probably a combination of excitement, arousal and a response to messages you might be unintentionally sending him. Sometimes, when we think our dogs might respond to something in a way we don't want we do things like stare at the problem object, tighten the lead, feel anxious (which changes the way we smell to our dogs) and tense our bodies. All these things tell our dogs "There is a scary thing there and I don't think I can cope with it". So, we need to very deliberately do the opposite to these things: relax, breathe deeply, don't stare at the other dog, stand tall but relaxed and let the lead go loose. We can also even perform a range of behaviours that dogs do to say to eachother "chill out" such as yawning, blinking slowly and putting our bodies between our dog and the other dog (these are known as "affiliative behaviours" but they are also often called "calming signals"). To think of how we affect our dogs, consider these two scenarios: Scenario 1: You're walking down a narrow alley. Up the end you see a group of thugs. With you are three ex-SAS personal protection guards. You know that if trouble starts you'll just wait off to the side and they'll take care of it. It's not your problem. Scenario 2: You're walking down a narrow alley. Up the end you see a group of thugs. With you is your 5 year old daughter. You know that if trouble starts you have to take care of it and protect your daughter. It's very much your problem. In real life, the dog is in the position you are in in the above scenarios. We need to be confident, calm, reliable leaders so our dogs know we'll take care of problems and we don't have to. That means being relaxed around things that might worry or arouse your dog. It also means doing things to help our dogs cope, like performing a different behaviour that is more acceptable. So, also do the counter-conditioning training: moving with your dog to a distance at which your dog can cope without barking or being too aroused, and doing an alternative or replacement behaviour like sit and look at me, tug a toy or do a trick. It doesn't matter what the replacement behaviour is as long as it is not barking and lunging. First you need to train that alternative behaviour at home so you can get a reliable and keen response from your dog. Then you can use it out on the road. In a real situation you'll need to move to whatever distance you need to so your dog is alert but still able to listen to you. Using great treats, ask for your replacement behaviour and heavily reward it while the other dog is in sight. Repeat for the next dog you see. Remember to create whatever distance you need. Over time you'll be able to do it closer. And remember to be the calm, confident, relaxed leader
