How did you do it? - Barking at other dogs

[DarrenAndNicola]

Patch is brilliant with people. He adores adults and children alike. The main problem we face is his socialisation with other dogs when walking, especially off-leash.

 

For instance, we were out in the fields a couple of days ago when another dog owner with a Bichon was walking her dog up the footpath (situated a fair distance from where we were).

 

Patch saw the dog from the distance and darted towards it barking (which in all honesty must be frightening for both dog and owner). He then proceeded to jump OVER the Bichon, knocking it over in the process. No matter what dog he spots, it becomes noise time.

 

Any time he comes by a bitch however, he displays submissive behaviour and gives slight whimpers.

 

I am just wondering what methods are available, or what methods worked for you in trying to prevent the barking and behaviour. I have tried distraction techniques and treats but it seems that once he is fixated on a dog, there is no breaking his concentration.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Camden's Mom]

For instance, we were out in the fields a couple of days ago when another dog owner with a Bichon was walking her dog up the footpath (situated a fair distance from where we were).

 

Patch saw the dog from the distance and darted towards it barking (which in all honesty must be frightening for both dog and owner). He then proceeded to jump OVER the Bichon, knocking it over in the process. No matter what dog he spots, it becomes noise time.

 

Yikes!!! Yes, that must have been extremely frightening for the Bichon and it's owner. :// You really, really can not allow Patch to behave that way! You must prevent Patch from doing this ever again for two main reasons:

1) It's incredibly rude to the other dog and owner and could result in injury, whether by accident (knocking the other dog over, a scared dog pulling their owner to the ground, etc.) or if the other dog takes the behavior as a challenge (rightfully so) and a real fight breaks out.

2) Every time Patch gets a chance to practice this behavior it will be harder to break him of it. Prevention will be the key to keeping everyone safe and keeping this from getting any worse.

 

Prevention: First of all, I would not allow Patch completely off leash until this is under control. Of course Patch needs to play and run and have fun... but he clearly hasn't earned full freedom yet. I'd attach a very long, light line to his collar so that the instant he goes to dart away from you and charge at another dog you can step on the line and remain in control. It sounds like in the situation you described you would have a moment to get him under control had you had a line on him. The line will help you with prevention but of course you need to do some training and desensitization as well.

 

Training:

Work on recall like craaaaazy. Here's a post with some great recall training suggestions and if you do a search on this forum for "training recall" you'll get lots of reading material! http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=6033 Work on attention games, like "watch me" or "touch" (dog touches nose to your hand) and even things like "sit", "lie down", etc. You want to give him rewarding things to do that keep his focus on you, instead of allowing him to reward himself by charging and barking at other dogs. ETA: "Leave it" might be a really good command to work on too as well as impulse control exercises!

 

Desensitization:

The key to making this work is to stay far enough away from his "trigger" (strange, male dogs) so that he's not going crazy barking or trying to lunge at the other dog. If Patch is looking at the other dog but staying calm, or if he is keeping his attention on you, reward like crazy (be it a quick game of tug or yummy treats). You are trying to teach him the appropriate way to behave when another dog is around. As he gets better at staying focused on you then you may be able to move closer to the other dog and practice the calm, focused behavior from that distance. Patch will have to set the pace here, just remember that if he's super stressed out or already barking at the other dog you are too close. For whatever it's worth, BC's are a notoriously "reactive" breed of dog, so a search on this forum for tips on desensitizing your dog to other dogs should yield a lot of results!

 

I'm sure other will have a quite a bit more to add but I just wanted to offer what suggestions I could. This must be a very frustrating behavior to have to deal with but with some training you should be able to teach how to act appropriately around other dogs. Just please, while you are working on this with Patch, make sure you keep him completely under your control for his own safety as well as others! Good luck and happy training!

 

*I edited this post to refer to the dog by his correct name of "Patch" as opposed to what I mistakenly read as "Patches". Sorry 'bout that!*

[DarrenAndNicola]

Hi, thank you for your response.

 

Since the Bichon incident, he has been extremely supervised and kept to secluded areas. I will take a look at the post that you suggested.

 

He has no problems with the "Down" command and "Sit" command. His recall is also good except for when he sees the other dogs. When off his lead and the recall command is given, he comes back when told.

 

We already do attention games with him, I think I will be taking him in the back garden more often and doing them a lot more throughout the day.

 

Thank you for your advice, I really appreciate it.

[Camden's Mom]

Awesome! It sounds like you've already got some great groundwork laid!

 

Since you've got a few commands under your belt, I'd say when another dog is nearby and he's "under threshold" (not barking or super distracted by the other dog) ask him to do a bunch of those behaviors (sit, down, etc.) and reward him heavily for doing so.

 

As for recall training, the key is to work on it in all sorts of situations with various distractions. So, it sounds like his recall is quite good, unless another dog is involved. Could you enlist the help of another dog owner to help with practicing the recall with this distraction? Have your friend walk their dog past you guys and work on recall games with Patch. Make sure you have that line or a long leash attached so the recall doesn't become "optional". Set Patch up for success by keeping the other dog a good distance away to start and rewarding mightily for a quick recall. Even if he doesn't recall as fast as you'd like (or you have to reel him in on that line) try to keep it upbeat and positive. Always make returning to you a very good thing and if he returns to you quickly and isn't detracted by the other dog, throw a huge party.

 

He's also at that wonderful age (sarcasm, btw) where they sometimes develop "selective hearing" along with a strong independent streak. Remember to remain patient with your young dog while you work on this together... "teenage" dogs can be a handful but they also can thrive with lots of training.

[waffles]

I'll tell you what that other dog owner was probably thinking but was too nice to say because I have been the bichon owner many times: "what the hell is wrong with people letting their dogs off leash with out a solid recall?!" I would be fuming if I were the other dog owner. I have had dogs run up to us many times in such a rude fashion and it isn't okay especially when I was still teaching my boy not to be scared of dogs. Not only could both dogs get hurt but so could the person and you could wind up with vet or hospital bills to pay. I have had dogs run up to us so fast one knocked me over and another got myself and my dog almost hit by a car. I have grabbed other dogs and held them until their owners showed up and have had to kick a huge dog off of my dog. Almost every time there is an owner yelling far behind their running dog in vain... "come fluffy, come now fluffy, he is friendly, sorry he really is friendly, etc".

 

The good thing is that you have realized this isn't acceptable behavior otherwise you wouldn't be asking.

 

The short answer to your problem is stop letting your dog off leash until you actually having a reliable recall and can successfully call your dog off before he gets to the stranger. There really is no excuse for allowing this. If you can't call him off then leash him until you have trained a better recall. No one should be subjected to being confronted by a strange dog while they are minding their own business.

 

Work your way up from small distractions to larger ones to finally calling him off a dog. Set up scenarios with people you know for training and only call if you are sure he is ready for that level of distraction and will come back immediately.

 

ETA... I say all of this in with a kind tone and just wanted to give you the perspective of the other person. I think it is wonderful that you realize there is a situation that needs to be addressed and are working on it!

[DarrenAndNicola]

Thank you Waffles for your post.

 

I fully understand the viewpoint of the other walker as numerous times with my previous dog we had others heading for him at high speed. The first thing I did when leashing him again was apologise with a lot of sincerity. It was basically a slip on my part (I take full ownership of the blame) as I thought the recall we had was working without fail as he used to come back every time when just us around.

 

P.S: I had no thoughts of your tone being anything other than friendly, it is a fully valid comment and I am grateful for all advice on this matter.

 

Other than this, I can't fault Patch at all.

[DarrenAndNicola]

Always make returning to you a very good thing and if he returns to you quickly and isn't detracted by the other dog, throw a huge party.

 

I have the patience of a saint when it comes to my dogs. The party is already planned and ready to happen, date undecided

[DarrenAndNicola]

Quick update:

 

We went on a long walk today, and although not perfect, Patch calmed down a lot faster when seeing other dogs after using the distraction techniques. Still a long way to go but it's a great start

[Camden's Mom]

Quick update:

 

We went on a long walk today, and although not perfect, Patch calmed down a lot faster when seeing other dogs after using the distraction techniques. Still a long way to go but it's a great start

 

That's great news!! As with all things it takes time, effort and patience but it must feel really good to see some immediate improvement. Well done!!

 

I really enjoy teenage dogs. For all their quirks, flaws and "selective hearing" they are absolute sponges: soaking up everything you teach them.