[smexch]

I've had my dog for roughly 4 years, had him as a pup. As he was my first dog, I did a very poor job training and as I've recently moved into an apartment, I'm realizing the importance of a well behaved dog.

Harvey (my dog) is a boston terrier/collie mix, I believe. He grew up in a house with very little interaction with other dogs. When I take him for walks, he''ll get very excited and start to whimper when he sees another dog, occasionally barking and pulling on the leash. He's gotten a lot better since I've started carrying treats with me when I take him out. As long as I get his attention with the treat before he notices another dog, he'll usually keep his attention on me.

Now that I'm living in an apartment building 11 stories up, I'm forced to take the elevator with him multiple times a day. We've been here just under 2 weeks and he's improved greatly on the elevator since day one as he would bark at any and everyone he sees. I've been using treats to keep his attention on me throughout the trips down/up and he will barely even notice any people getting on/off. I'll reward him with a treat when he makes it through the entire trip sitting and staying quiet the entire time.

Now, everything is different if someone with a dog gets on and it is incredibly embarrassing. I will wait for another lift if I see another dog is getting on, but that isn't possible when I'm already on it. He knows I have treats in my pocket, but he completely forgets it as soon as another dog gets on and I don't know what to do. I'll yell at him to sit and it's 50/50 if he'll do it, and when he does it's only for a second.

I'm DESPERATE for some advice on how to correct this behavior as soon as possible. I've been thinking of taking him to a dog park if I can find one in my city to familiarize him being around dogs which should help. As a forum full of dog lovers, are you guys used to people bringing their misbehaving pups to dog parks? I wouldn't let him off leash, of course! My dog has a mean bark, but he's never bitten another dog.

Anywho! I made this waaay too long already! I'd appreciate any advice for ways on correcting my dogs behavior!

Thanks so much in advance

 

[georgiapeach]

Could you enroll your dog in some obedience classes? I don't know if that's feasible for you, but it would be a structured way to expose him to other dogs. Only well behaved dogs should go to dog parks; otherwise, trouble could easily happen, and it would be hard to get your dog back under control if something went wrong.

 

[Analogdog]

It sounds to me as you got the right start with Harvey in your new place. Treating him to pay attention to you is a good way to get a dog to pay attention to you when he needs to. The actual command that it can be called is 'Attention' or 'Watch'. The way to train is to get the dog to look you in the eyes, click and treat. Loose leash walking is basically the same skill on a walk. Get the dog to look at you in the eyes, don't call a name, click and treat. See a video at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFgtqgiAKoQ .

That being said, I also agree that some basic obedience classes would be good.

 

[smexch]

Thank you for the feed back! I'm going to look in to some obedience classes if I can find some at good times for me

 

[Amaryllis]

You're on the right track. Just work "look at me" hardcore in your apartment and outside with no dogs. That will make it easier to eventually train in the presence of other dogs.

I wouldn't do an off leash dog park if you don't know how he'll react. That could be the sort of mess that had you owing hundreds in vet bills.

 

[smexch]

I've been making good progress thus far, it's amazing how quickly dogs can learn new habits and behaviors I've found since an elevator is so unpredictable, it's helped a lot holding the treat out where he can see/smell it. That way if anyone else gets on, he'll barely even notice it and will get the treat when its over. He's already taken to sitting automatically when we get on now!

And just so everyone knows! I was never planning on bringing him to an off leash dog park and letting him run wild! I was planning on bringing him and having him stay on leash and just doing some basic training around distractions. But after everyone's responses and some thinking it over, I realized how overwhelming that would be for him! Glad I didn't do it as we're already making great progress as t is

Thanks again for the great advice!