Jrt Barking At Other Dogs

[moll]

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We have an elderly JRT from a rescue centre.

When we first got him home we took him for a walk along with our other dog.

A lady walking on the other side of the road decided to let her black Labrador off the lead to greet the dogs. Having bounded over towards our JRT Alfie, he got a nasty nip on the lip from him.

We are now careful to keep Alfie away from other dogs. The problem is he barks at every single dog we come across and pulls towards them.

It seems to be an aggressive sort of barking, it is getting very tyring taking him out. I dread coming across other dogs and now I just pick him up as soon as I see one coming.

Can anyone help?

:blink:

 

[Evie]

Personally, I think picking him up only reinforces the idea that there is something to be worried about to him. I would ignore the barking as far as possible and try to keep yourself between him and the other dog.

How is he off lead meeting other dogs? If he handles this better give him as much off lead socialisation as possible to help improve things onlead. Booking into classes with a local trainer would also help. Depending on the severity of the problem, they may recommend one on one training to help before putting him through the stress of a class full of dogs.

JRT are very determined and think they rule the roost. It can be hard to get through to them that you are in charge and have it all under control. (w00t) But with consistant training you can start to break through to them.

My jrt used to go absolutely hysterical when he seen other dogs when I first got him. People used to come running out of shops etc when they heard him thinking a dog had got hit by a car or something. :b He has always been calmer offlead, I think because he knows he can run away/defend himself if the going gets tough.

7months on he will whimper and cry on seeing other dogs when onlead and throws the occasional "diva", but not to the level he used to. I just consistantly ignored or distracted him giving sit commands and treating. We also met alot of regular great dogs out on our morning walk which gave him tons of offlead socialisation and helped build up his trust in other dogs.

Lots of treats and praise can help some dogs, but I found in Archie's case treats were a bad idea because he got more defensive, seeing the other dog as competition for the food. :- "

That's what worked for me anyway; and as I say, it's still a work in progress.

 

[FeeFee]

Good advice from Evie :thumbsup:

It's very hard without knowing him to guess what's causing his aggression, and it may be worth getting a good behaviourist or trainer to assess him.

Often lead aggression is fear-based and gentle, calm socialisation will work over time. The main thing is not to push him any further than he can cope with.

It's very important you are relaxed about him meeting other dogs, too, as he will pick up on any tension or tightening of the lead which will reinforce his worries. If your concern is that he may bite another dog it might even be worth muzzling him for the time being so you can let him mix with other dogs and be less worried that he will do any damage.

Walking with a harness or headcollar can help with some dogs as it gives you a bit more control and can help keep him focused on you.

Good luck, I hope you manage sort things out with him :luck:

 

[Evie]

Ooh, also meant to add (Feefee's post just reminded me :thumbsup: )

I use a halti headcollar on Archie. I found this helpful for getting his head turned to get is focus on me, rather than the "tunnel vision" he would have got on spotting another dog. He also seems to be alot calmer on walks wearing the halti as opposed to days when we leave it off.

He does have the occasional tantrum of trying to get it off, but these are much easier and quicker dealt with than the hyteria that was before, lol.

 

[Macha]

another reason not to pick up your dog is that this action may well excite the other dog who may then jump at you and your dog

I sometimes have problems with my dogs barking and pulling at other dogs (especially if the other dogs are barking at us). Recently I spoke to a dog trainer at a pet info. day and he suggested I get some training discs. Maybe someone else can write about experience of using these discs. If not, there must be info on the internet and also the dog-trainer told me there would be some written information in the packet along with the discs. They are available at larger pet shops (and maybe from smaller shops too)

by the way, what is this discussion doing in the greyhound section rather than in the general dog-related discussion section?

 

[FeeFee]

I've used training disks in the past, they come with full instructions. They were recommended by a behaviourist for a difficult (dog aggressive) dog I was working with, not one of my own dogs. Tbh I wasn't convinced they were particularly effective in that case, but that may have been down to the dog or my lack of skill using them.

One difficulty would be that you couldn't really use them if you are walking two dogs, they have to be used one-to-one.

Having said that, it is always better to walk an exciteable/barking/lead aggressive dog alone if possible at least for a while. It is MUCH easier to tackle these problems and train more positive behaviour if you can give the dog your full attention and have a free hand to distract with treats etc.

 

[rach125]

Sorry to sound thick but what are these training disks and how are they used?

 

[FeeFee]

Sorry to sound thick but what are these training disks and how are they used?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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There are some details here:

http://www.crosskeysbooks.com/product_info...products_id=288

They are basically a set of metal disks which make a jangling noise dogs find startling when you throw them on the floor.

The idea is that you 'prime' your dog to understand that the disks mean 'no', then when they are displaying the behaviour you want to stop (eg barking) you throw them down and this interrupts the dog's behaviour for long enough for you to get their attention. The dog will come to associate the 'bad' behaviour with the sound of the disks which will discourage them from doing it again.

As I said, I didn't find them particularly successful myself, I did better with that dog using a click/reward regime, but I'm sure they can help in some cases.

 

[moll]

Thanks for all the great advice.

I think you are right about picking him up. We haven't let him off the lead yet though he did escape and was fine sniffing at two other dogs!!

Sorry for the late response we have been on holiday in Cornwall this last week.

It has been very difficult, Alfie barking at all the dogs we met. He even gave my husband a nasty bite on the hand as a dog walked by suddenly as he was bent down to him.

We started to try the distraction method of using food and this does seem to be working.

I think using a muzzle as suggested would be a good idea as well. I'm sure he may pick up on my anxiety and this would be lessened if I new he couldn't bite.

Lol everyone Moll x