so badly behaved

[nessclair]

Well, Monty may be doing well in his training class, but it couldn't be more different out on our walks. He has been really badly behaved, barking ferociously at other dogs this week. I've tried all our training tricks that we do ie walking away, getting him to sit, blocking him, talking to him firmly, taking out treats, but he has been really unresponsive to me and just carried on barking. He's been the same in our usual park and on a completely new walk yesterday. We didn't even make it into the park this morning as I was so fed up with him barking at another dog as we approached the park, I turned round and frogmarched him home on a short lead with no sniffing. I've been putting in so much effort with him, and the results couldn't be further from what I was trying to achieve I'm at a bit of a loss to know what to do- walking this week with him has been horrible, and the barking has been the worst its ever been

[MyMillie]

Oh dear Vannesa, I'm so sorry your going through this frustration with Monty, and I'm so sorry I can't offer any advice, hope someone comes along soon with a method that could help you....but in the meantime, I just want to send you lots of

[Maty]

Rodders was really bad out of training classes for a while too They just seem to think that they train at school but walks are different so I stopped doing our regular walks during the week and we walked the streets doing training type stuff with a little stopping for toileting and sniffing.

After about a month he seemed to understand what was wanted and we were able to go back to normal walks.

[hart]

How old is he? has he had any negative experience in class or outside with other dogs lunging /barking at him? I know how you feel as mine are the same and worse if I walk them all together, which I try not to do as I like to relax on walks which is hard to do if they are all together.... anyway I digress!!!! Have you tried clicker training. Sometimes it's easier to just keep walking as by stopping and trying to get them to focus on you when they've got to the point past not listening, only gives them longer to focus on what they are going beserk at. You could try waiting until the person/dog they are going nuts at have walked a reasonable distance and then follow behind so they can sniff the other dogs scent and what their status is, they pick up a lot from other dogs marking. What happens if he gets to meet the other dog? I have to say I'm having the same problem as I don't like mine to appraoch when they are showing hysterical manic behaviour as it's not good manners but sometimes i find they stop a lot quicker if they get to greet!!! It's a tough call. Often dogs are worse on lead and act more reactive as they don't have options to retreat.

Have you got access to some stooge dogs? As Kate said sometimes it's best to take them to an unfamiliar area that's not "Their territtory" give them some thing different to think about. Mostly it's just a case of keeping at it ,finding a level you're happy with. I accept mine barking to a degree as it seems to be a schnauzer trait. Good luck

[nessclair]

Thanks very much for all your comments and support. I think all of the above is good advice- I think I just need to plough on! When I look back at how far we've come in the last year, I can see how much progress he has made in many different areas, so hopefully, in a few months time, I'll be able to look back on this and see how far he has come. Also, I realised I had taken his DAP collar off. I had got it primarily to help him remain calm while I was away on holiday, and I wasn't sure how much of an effect it would have, but seeing how different he has been this week, I suspect that it helped more than I realised. Anyway, I bought him a new DAP collar yesterday , so hopefully, that, combined with training, consistency and persistence, will pay off. Feeling more positive today anyway! On the plus side, I bought him a new soft crate for travelling in the car this week as he has been a bit of a nightmare with barking at pedestrians, cyclists and dogs when we are in the car, and he has taken to it really well- so much calmer and more peaceful, for both of us

[Little Bear]

The bad days are just awful aren't they?
Like Hart mentioned, clicker training has worked really well with Little Bear as his reactiveness is fear based.

Just a thought but could this change in behaviour be a reaction to you going on holiday? Little Bear is an angel for a few days when I get back from anywhere, but I do know other dogs who react the complete opposite and get quite stroppy when their owners return due to the separation.

Glad you're feeling more positive.

[nessclair]

The bad days are just awful aren't they?
Like Hart mentioned, clicker training has worked really well with Little Bear as his reactiveness is fear based.

Just a thought but could this change in behaviour be a reaction to you going on holiday? Little Bear is an angel for a few days when I get back from anywhere, but I do know other dogs who react the complete opposite and get quite stroppy when their owners return due to the separation.


Glad you're feeling more positive.

I'd wondered if it was to do with me coming back from holiday too- he was a bit funny about me leaving him for a couple of days, but he's been fine since. Net result is the same though!! Still got to do the training. Monty is very responsive to clicker training- that's what we've been using at the club, so maybe I need to take the clicker out with me.

[countrygirl]

I've found that with my little guy going through adoloescence we can have a really bad walk just before class, where he seems to have completely forgotten how to walk on a lead and pulls towards every living being, then we get to class and suddenly he can walk to heel off lead past other dogs and is hanging off my every word. It is so frustrating

My saving grace was that I knew he understood what was required because he could do it in class, it was just finding how to make him concentrate and motivated in the real world. Similar to you I'd only used the clicker in class or at home for trick training and started to use it on our afternoon walks, I found that it really helped as he then went into training mode (meaning he knew there were lots of treats available) and concentrated on me a lot more.

I also realised I needed to chill out a bit and stop if I was getting frustrated as that just made him more contrary, they'll all get there in the end with patience, consistency and perseverance

[Little Bear]

I'd wondered if it was to do with me coming back from holiday too- he was a bit funny about me leaving him for a couple of days, but he's been fine since. Net result is the same though!! Still got to do the training. Monty is very responsive to clicker training- that's what we've been using at the club, so maybe I need to take the clicker out with me.[/quote]

That's a good idea. As Tania said, might help him get into training mode.

OH thinks I have a clicker problem as I have them all over the house! ;-)