how do i get my dogs to stop barking at other dogs out on walks? - Page 1

I have noticed while watching dog shows on tv, that all the dogs are very well-behaved, not lunging at each other or barking either. how is this accomplished? when i am out on walks with my dogs, the second they see another dog, they go crazy lunging on the leash, almost making me fall over, barking and whining really loud. if i see the dog before they do and get the choke collars high on the neck, while holding the leashes tight, it seems to help some, but i would love to be able to maintain control without it looking like i am choking them. is that possible?  thank you.

My advice would be to desensitize them to other dogs.

This is fairly easy to accomplish. Try doing OB work in a place where there are alot of dogs. Or start going to a place with alot of dogs to just relax. Eventually dogs wont be as exciting to them anymore. Make sure you remain calm when other dogs approach so you dont stimulate them with your anxiety and fuel the fire, so to speak. If you are stressing out at the sight of a dog, they will inturn stress out as well. You are the leader, you need to show them that there is nothing to worry about.

My 3 year old female use to do this. I found taking a tennis ball on the walk and only bringing it out when I spotted another dog really helped her keep focus on me. I would give the command " Play nice" while keeping her attention on the ball, when we passed the other dog I would toss the ball into the air and let her have it for a bit. If your dogs are not motivated with toys, try using a really tasty treat that they only get on walks.

Be patient!

Try enrolling into a group Obedience class.

 Tell him "NO" and correct him.

Pinch collar and pop your dog when it barks or reacts in any manner other than neutral. Do it enough times hopefully your dog will start to ignore those that get him in trouble. Using a toy like above can help too but ulimatly your dog needs to listen to you not be distracted away.

 When you tight lead your dogs every time you come near another pooch, you're telegraphing apprehension and danger through the leash to your pets.  If you can keep the leash slack, and divert their attention with a toy or treat, you'll go a long way to diffusing the situation.  

 What a great suggestion!!!!!!!  I never even thought of bringing a ball on our walks.  I have a high prey driven czech female and she is the same way very aggressive towards other dogs, but ball driven to the point of distraction.  I just never thought to put that together with a walk to distract from other dogs.  I will try this weekend!

The FIRST thing to do is to be certain you have good control of and good obedience from your dogs. If they behave this way, you do not. So do NOT go where there are other dogs for now and work on obedience. You must first teach obedience without distractions, and only after the dog is doing really, really well, then SLOWLY introduce distractions. This must also be how you "desensitize" the dogs to other dogs. You must do some obedience and perhaps some playing with a tug toy or ball at a distance from other dogs who preferably are also trained and under control enough that they are not going crazy when other dogs are around. So it sounds like you must go back to basics. Having more than one dog on a walk, who is out of control around other dogs, is potentially very dangerous for you and the dogs. You might also consider taking them where other dogs are not present for now, until you get a better handle on it, or take a single dog at a time. But first things first. Do some obedience work. There is NO substitute for good obedience and that means obedience that remains strong under distraction.

Good luck.

I pinch collars !!

RememberJack,

 I also found that dogs that are fixated on tennis balls,

that if you put the ball under your left armpit, and make
sure the dog knows it's there, boy does he watch your
every move!

Also, you have a very beautiful girl!!!