[nagdu] Barking at Other Dogs

[Alysha]

Hi all,

My new dog, Xylon, has unfortunately developed the bad habit of barking at
other dogs if they pass too close. I usually work him with his gentle leader
because he struggles with dog distractions, and I can generally keep him on
track when the other dog is across the street or far away. But if a dog is
passing us on the sidewalk or walking toward us and acting excited, Xylon
will give out a loud bark and sometimes lunge toward the dog. He only barks
once and hasn't ever tried to hurt another dog, but for obvious reasons,
this behavior is not good! I called the school, and the trainer I talked too
told me to keep one snap of the leash connected to the gentle leader and one
to his collar and to correct him when he barks. I tried that, and it did not
work. In fact, I'm now wondering if the corrections are adding to the stress
and tension that are causing Xylon to bark in the first place. Some advice
I've read online suggests using treats to help associate the sight of other
dogs with positive instead of negative feelings for your dog. The articles
suggest moving away when the other dog comes closer than your dog is
comfortable with and slowly work on reducing that threshold with the use of
the treats. I'd like to give that a try, but it's difficult to do this on my
own since I'm not always sure when a dog is coming or what it's doing. The
school is going to send an instructor out to work with us, but in the
meantime, I was wondering if any of you have dealt with this problem and
successfully overcome it. I'd love to hear any tips or advice. Xylon is a
great worker and a friendly, happy little guy, so I'm confident we'll find a
way to work through this.

 

Thanks,

Alysha