[nagdu] Barking at Other Dogs

Wed Jun 10 22:19:59 UTC 2015

I feel your pain! My dog has always had a dog distraction.
I only use the Halti, which is another head collar, if we'll be in an
area heavily populated with dogs such as an outdoor mall, farmer's
market, and such. But usually, I just use a nylon buckle collar. I
learned very early on that leash corrections only make my dog shut
down and are counterproductive for us.

First, I know my dog is distracted by a fellow canine because he
starts staring off in another direction, walking faster, wagging his
tail, and breathing heavily. I can detect all this behavior through
the leash and harness.
What I've done is trained my dog to speed past other dogs. This
capitalizes on one of his knee-jerk reactions, walking faster.
I first did this on leash, so I had more control of where we were
going and how fast we were walking. I took the Golden Guy out to a
nearby neighborhood with lots of dogs being walked and behind fences.
Whenever he was distracted by another dog, I told him "leave it," or
"focus," and walked faster past those dogs. If he did not try to go
for a dog, I rewarded him using praising, petting, or treats. If he
lunged for a dog, I turned around and walked away from the dog.
When he did this pretty good on leash, I put the harness back in the
game and repeated the same strategy.
So there's 2 components to this: (1) refocus your dog, and (2) teach
an alternative behavior. You can use verbal commands, such as "leave
it," "focus," or the touch cue, making your dog touch your hand.
Alternative behaviors include sitting, walking faster, laying down, or
waiting. If your dog is doing any of those things, they cannot be
lunging for another dog. Be sure to reinforce these behaviors with
rewards. Treats are primary reinforcers for dogs, but use what works
for the both of you.
-- 
Raven
You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
have or what you do.

Naturally-reared guide dogs
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs

On 6/10/15, Daryl Marie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Cindy,
> Yeah, the no-notice thing gets frustrating. Jenny has only ever barked at
> another dog twice that I can recall: once was before we got her allergies
> under control, so she was in pretty intense pain and was quite edgy. The
> other time was when we were trying to get away from the other dog at a
> street corner and the other dog kept trying to get in her face. But if you
> can hear the other dog (leash, barking, whatever) it's a lot easier to
> preempt anything. But if it's vocalization... if you're out of the dog's
> path and have the leash in the right hand, does he still bark? Curious.
>
> Daryl
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: Cindy Ray via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org> Cc: Cindy Ray <cindyray at gmail.com> Sent: Wed, 10 Jun 2015
> 15:43:13 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Re: [nagdu] Barking at Other Dogs  I know this
> is one good thing about Fisher usually. He starts pulling, panting, and/or
> whining, so I can grab the leash in my right hand. The other night at the DQ
> when he pulled me down though he saw the dog and lunged before I was aware.
> So this is a good question. How much advance warning do you get? Cindy
> -----Original Message----- From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Daryl Marie via nagdu Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 4:34 PM To:
> NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users Cc: Daryl
> Marie Subject: Re: [nagdu] Barking at Other Dogs Hi, Alysha, Depending on
> your dog, correction may add to the stress of the situation. Jenny is like
> that... leash corrections can make problems worse, and they are basically my
> last resort when she's doing something I don't want her to do. Can you hold
> the leash in your right hand if you notice him starting to pull toward other
> dogs? Have you noticed certain behaviors before the bark/lunge, or is the
> bark/lunge the first way he alerts you to other dogs? Daryl ----- Original
> Message ----- From: Cindy Ray via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> To: 'NAGDU
> Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org> Cc: Cindy Ray <cindyray at gmail.com> Sent: Wed, 10 Jun 2015
> 15:19:53 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Re: [nagdu] Barking at Other Dogs I have
> always had this problem. I have used the gentle leader. I kind of doubt it
> is adding to the stress, but it could be. I have not tried treats, and I
> have had nothing to do that worked so much. I've tried dogfgie push ups,
> which is down, sit, down, and got the dog to rest. I have had a couple of
> instructors come here. Actually there were three. Anyway, for me there has
> been o resolution. I hope you get more positive information from somewhere
> else. My guy is a good guy, and this is his most major flaw. Cindy
> -----Original Message----- From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Alysha via nagdu Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 4:16 PM To: NAGDU
> Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users Cc: Alysha
> Subject: [nagdu] Barking at Other Dogs 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
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