Hi all, I have a 19m neutered working black lab. He's very sharp and confident, which has made training a dream, but he has started attacking other dogs on lead. It is always when they lunge/approach us. I'm working with a behavioural trainer who has said that he thinks he is "leader" so is acting unnecessarily protective of me. This fits with a whole host of behaviours I hadn't really clocked (rushing through doors first, snarling when moved from best seat, lunging on lead etc). It also fits with my concern he seems stressed, particularly when we are home alone, he will growl and bark at noises and seem constantly on edge. I don't buy into the alpha thing which I've seen has been debunked. Instead I think I've separated training time v home life, forgetting he needs rules all the time to feel happy and secure. So, we have put him in essentially military bootcamp, lots of rules (sit=stay while we go through doors, told where he can sit etc) and improving manners. I've also got him properly heel walking and can see a massive difference in his attitude and wellbeing. So far so good. My question/problem is we still do have occasional incidents of him snapping at other dogs while we reinforce our new regime and I'm not sure how best to respond in the meantime. I've always gone for volume - a loud don't you dare, etc and then bring him back into a sit. My trainer has said to grab his collar (not fur) too to show it really is unacceptable. But it causes people to stare and looks really awful. I'm worried I'm not getting the balance right. I don't want to be shouting at my dog but I really need to show him that the behaviour is unacceptable. Does anyone have any tips on how to firmly tell a dog off in these circumstances please? Thanks all
