My husband and I just moved from Pennsylvania to Chicago with our nearly 2 yr. old BC and our two cats. I was sure the cats would be tramatized by the move, but it turns out that the dog seems to be more upset than they are. His personality has really changed in that he is much more agressive toward strangers and toward the cats. He has strayed from his commands and is more distracted than he used to be making training much more challenging. He is extra "barky", too, which has really disturbed our new neighbors. We thought he might not be getting enough exercise, so we started taking him out more frequently. I'd like to have a sitter come by daily to walk him, but I'm afraid he'll bite someone.
Things have physically changed in his environment like the new yard is much smaller and in a city rather than a rural area like PA; the yard has a chain link fence rather than the invisible fence; there is more traffic in the alley way and on the front street than in our old house and there are is a lot of air traffic as we are very near to O'Hare. Could these be causing him stress? Could the fact that we don't have family or friends in the area visiting often be causing him to be intimidated by strangers? We have had family and friends from back home visit and he seems much more relaxed and happy when they are around.
I'd like to get him into some training and eventually into a more social setting, ie. with other dogs, but I'm afraid of him biting someone along the way.
Any suggestions on books or Chicago area trainers? I'm not feeling desperate, but we really do love this dog and hate to see him upset. What should we do?
Thanx.
