Joeys not nice to other dogs

[Joey.E.CockersMommy]

Our dog Joey is becoming more a part of our family everyday. He listens to commands from myself, kids and hubbie,the growling issue has gotten much better, and will be starting obedience soon.

One thing though Joey is not good with other dogs, he tries to challenge every dog he sees male or female no matter what size, or breed. So far Joey has always been on a leash with us as we want him to have more training before letting him off. I know dogs tend to be more aggressive when on a leash, or so I have heard.

Joey lived with 8 other dogs before, and didn't like the male dogs in the house, but apparently had no problem with female dogs.

Now he is the only dog. Is he protecting us when he is challenging other dogs? Is it possible this is his opportunity to be alpha dog where maybe he wasnt before.

What should I do when Joey challenges another dog, I tell him no and keep walking, but not sure if it is actually getting through to him? :

[tenderfoot]

Wasn't Joey intact for a long tme when he was living with those other males? He has only been neutered for a short time now? Correct me if I am wrong.
He has learned to be this way with males - you have to teach him to have manners. Yes, some dogs can be worse on leash - they feel restricted, feel your nervous energy in the leash and a tight leash transforms their body language. But teaching him good manners on a loose leash is the first step. When you work on having a balanced relationship you become more important than the other dogs. He might want to tossle with them but your wrods have more power and influence than his internal drive. He doesn't have to like the other dogs but he does have to have good manners.
Make sure his 'leave it' command is very good and then use that when he is being tempted. But you need to start on the leash to ensure that your word has power. The other dogs are college level for him and he may not be ready for that yet.
Telling him 'no' and still walking on doesn't teach him a thing. You have to recreate the problem (again and again) and correct his bad choices and then reward him when he makes a good one.

[StaceyB]

If it is not one thing it is another,eh. Well I am sure glad you have him and are willing to do the work he requires.
You can start off by setting him up into a sit stay while the other dogs pass by. When they are by you can release, praise and carry on. When you feel comfortable set him up into a sit before you go in for the greet, only allow a 2-3 second greet and then instruct him to "lets go". If he doesn't behave, he doesn't greet and if you notice that the dog you are about to greet doesn't look like it is going to be a good and positive experience, pass right by and use your leave it. The better he gets the longer the greetings may be. Make sure he never gets tangled with another dog on leash and whatever you do never jerk the leash during a greetiing. If you think it is going to turn bad, turn and walk away but don't pull him back towards you. The reason for the very quick greeting is to help control the signals given by each. A dog coming up off their front legs may signal to the other "so do you want to fight". Also don't avoid the other dogs. If you don't want to greet just pass by.

[Joey.E.CockersMommy]

Joey was neutured in Nov 2004, I just checked his records. Not sure if this makes a difference but he was never used for breeding. So he was about 4.5 when he was fixed. He just turned 6 in July.

Also he is like this with all dogs, he tried to fight with the female dog (fixed) down the street. (Sigh) I thought he could have had a friend.

What is the best way to teach the leave it command?

thanks again for responding.

[StaceyB]

I teach the beginning steps with a leave it for a food item or loved toy. I will PM you with the details on how to start this. You can use a leave it for anything you don't want your dog to have, including other dogs, squirls, etc. Once you begin the first steps he will start to understand that a leave it not to be touched. Off topic but related, Don't use leave it for something they already have in their mouth, that's give. Keep each cue very clear. As you are walking by tell him to leave it(firm voice) and then immediately re-direct his attention, lets go(positive tone(higher pitch) and then praise.

[Dag Sabot]

can you pm me with the instructions also? My dog isnt aggressive with other dogs, just wild animals and cats.

[Joey.E.CockersMommy]

I took Joey for a walk this morning and we past several distractions, an off leash border collie with his owner. Joey immediately started lunging towards the dog (the dog had no interest in Joey).

I walked backwards with Joey about ten steps and told him to leave it, then again ten steps and told him to leave it, he stood anxious but still until the dog past and we went on our way.

The second was a flock of birds that happened to land right on our path, again Joey lunged towards them and made a high pitched chirpping noise, again we walked backwards until Joey was no longer pulling and this time he was sitting anxiously.

Then we passed a pair of toy poodles, again Joey tried to pull me towards them we had to walk backwards, then Joey walked by them quite focused on them but not pulling, barking or growling.

Later we were all out running errands and I was waiting outside Magic cuts with Joey while the boys got their haircut. We were in a corner and Joey was sitting beside me. An elderly lady walked towards us with an elderly female bassett hound. She asked if Joey was good with other dogs, I told her we were working on it but right now hes not good with female and male dogs. She then walked right up to us with her dog. Unable to move or backup I told Joey to leave it. So that was not successful....she then walked by a second time but didnt come to close, I told Joey to leave it and he stood alert without growling or pulling and let the dog pass without incident....the dog walked by a third time and Joey completely ignored him.

[doggy lover]

Its working, keep at it, always anticipate what is going to happen and always look ahead. I just love this command.

[Joey.E.CockersMommy]

Took Joey for his evening walk tonight. We need to cross a narrow bridge when we do there is only enough room for 1 person to go by. We were about to cross it when I saw a young women with a schnauser on the bridge watching the fish in the creek . She told me her dog was good with other dogs, I told her how we were working on it. She said for me to walk past them and said he will get used to it. Joey past the other dog they sniffed each other a bit then Joey kept walking no leave it command used this time and no growling either. I could have used the leave it command but it didnt seem neccessary I did give Joey lots of praise for being a good boy though.

Tommorow should be interesting 6 dogs inside a gym for dog obedience.

[StaceyB]

Hurray!!!!! Sounds like you have got it. I have a private student right now who is aggressive towards people, kids, and a little iffie with dogs. It is so wonderful when I get a call with good news. He did the same yesterday, walked by with no reaction. Half of the work is done by the dog and half from the owner. Once you are not reactive/ nervous or scared. The dog begins to be less reactive.
Good luck in training class. It may be a little tougher but try not to get worked up. The calmer you are, the calmer he is. Keep your greetings to only a few seconds at a time. Don't allow him enough time to react. You can do several 3 second greetings with the same dog. Remember don't jerk him back if he looks like or becomes reactive. Turn around and walk back a few steps. If one of the dogs doesn't seem sound, don't greet that one.

[Joey.E.CockersMommy]

I admit I was a bit nervous as the dogs were in close quarters but Joey did great maybe he didnt feel my tension travel down the leash. Maybe I just need to trust him more now.

[debanneball]

Afternoon everyone..I sympatize with you all 'dog lunging at other dogs' type people. My Stella does this too. Tenderfoot emailed me information on the 'leave-it' command, and I have used it twice/three times a day on our walks. I have been to obedience, it didn't stop the lunging...however, what I did learn was the proper heel, and when doing this on our walks, the leave-it really works. We now walk by bikes (she lunged at bikes/motorcycles), cats, rabbits, squirrels, (I had no problem with people or kids), dogs in houses, fenced in yards, or in cars. Dogs on leash, it's still the learning lesson. Good luck everyone!!

[Joey.E.CockersMommy]

Joey is getting a lot better with this dog issue. He now just sniffs other dogs and even tries to talk to them in a high pitched chirping noise. Hard to explain it is actually cute. He even played with the neighbours cat, Joey was on a leash and the cat came up and layed down right in front of Joey on its back, Joey made his noise again and sniffed the cats belly. I think we are making some progress.