[terryjeanne]

I just want to enjoy walking my dog. Breezey is two this summer. We've done obedience classes and are now doing agility classes. She loves to learn and almost drags me into the building She can work off leash and closely around other dogs. The first few agility classes I really concentrated on her focusing on me and me only. She can sit and watch other dogs run a sequence with no problem. She did very well at obedience classes. One woman (who was in beginnger class with me) commented on how much she has improved since she first came.

Now when I take her around my neighbourhood, she is embarassing. Barking and lunging at every dog she sees. The behaviourist showed me how to click when she looked at something scary (kids, bikes, snowblowers, fast cars). When I clicked, she'd look back at me and I treated.

She is doing better with kids running around (I give her lots of space, she looks and I c/t. I thought we were progressing with other dogs out but she just seems to be regressing. The other dog doesn't even have to look at her or bark (and they are across the street). She focuses right on them and starts barking and jumping toward them. A couple of times I got in front of her and backed her up a bit and blocked her view but I could see she was trying to see around me.

I walk with a group of dogs every other week or so and she's fine with them. I walk with my friend and her spaniel (he's pretty laid back) and she'll bark at other dogs.

THis dog just baffles me. I tried telling her sit, down, etc to get her to listen to me but she was only half listening and wanting to focus on the other dog.

I took her to visit a friend who has two dogs to practice my training and she was very well-behaved. We practiced heeling, focusing on me while her dogs were running around and I was quite pleased with her.

Do two year old dogs have a phase? I sure can't explain the Jekyll and Hyde dog I seem to have.

[Lonewolfblue]

Dogs don't generalize well. Just because the dog does great at the agility place doesn't mean the dog should do good on neighborhood walks. You will need to start some new training in these problem areas. If there's a park where you can have some distance between your dog and something he reacts to, you can find the distance at which the dog first becomes uncomfortable and start there. Same process, good behavior=treats and praise. And work your way closer.

[terryjeanne]

I did that lesson the other week when we went to the ball diamond to watch a game. I gave her lots of space and treated lavishly for her quiet watching. She even ignored the beagle by the fence that was whining and watching us. Then we went to the playground (she doesn't like kids) and just watched them from a safe distance. Again lots of treats and praise for good behaviour. She did react when a child came closer asking to pet her, but I stood in front of Breezey and told the child she couldn't pet my dog. Child left and dog settled down.

I could go to the dog park and I could practice training from a comfortable distance.

[Lonewolfblue]

And the other thing to remember is it takes time as well. Never rush the dog, and as you work on each thing, you are also building up the dogs confidence in you in some of these other situations as well. Sounds like you have already got a good start on it.

[Kathyy]

The dogs passing by on your everyday walks may also be reacting to your dog. Remember a direct stare is not polite in dog language but most pet people don't understand that and think your dog is rude for acting up when their dog wasn't a perfect angel either. I am pretty sure many dogs don't know good dog language and don't mean to be rude, they just don't know how to be polite dogs! Many friendly dogs want to rush up and be friends with everybody right away and skip steps of a polite introduction.

If I behave the way I want my dogs to behave it helps. So passing by fenced in dogs I look away, turn my shoulders away and make as large an arc around the noisy beasts as I can. I take advantage of parked cars and pee posts to limit my dogs' vision and give them something doggy to do when dogs pass by. I walk up drivewalks and cross streets to give them a nice large good dog manners arc. They really appreciate not having to walk into other people's spaces.

If you think it is amazing how well your dog does at class wait until you see how well she can do at a show! My dogs do well around all those other trained focused dogs. In fact they really seem to notice the less trained pet dogs walking around visiting and can tell the difference. Years ago my old girl couldn't see another dog without having to meet but I remember going to watch a trial before she even started agility class and she calmly lay down back to back with a strange dog at ringside.

[Curbside Prophet]

What kind of reinforcer are you using? Perhaps you need to use an especially powerful reinforcer, one that she does not normally get...like Swedish meatballs.

[kelliope]

terryjeanne, I feel your pain! I have this same problem with my little Chi. She is fine going to dog shows, the vet's office, anywhere there are multiple dogs. But let us meet a lone dog or even several dogs with one owner on our walks and she turns into a red-headed terror. I too took her to dog school, work with her on sitting, "look at me", etc. while the other dog is approaching. This works OK if I catch it super early, but if I am even the tiniest bit distracted and miss seeing a dog approaching she's a terror all over again. And this is a dog I have worked so hard to socialize - she has 7 dogs at my mom's house that she gets along with great - all sizes too from a Rottie to a Doxie mix. She is 2 also.

Personally, I feel it is a territorial thing. She feels these walks are her territory and other dogs are trespassing. In addition, she is so annoying other people leave when she acts that way or I am so humiliated I leave, which only empowers her. Her reasoning: I lunge and bark at scary dog and scary dog goes away.

What has worked pretty well is asking people if their dog is friendly, explaining that mine is too, but only leash reactive. Then I ask if I can let her meet the other dog. She is always perfectly fine meeting them though she is quite shy. I can only do this with a select few dogs however since my dog only weighs 3 lbs. and has legs like matchsticks. But it does seem to make her realize that her rage reaction isn't working and the dog isn't going away.