Barking at people off the lead

Hi All

I really could do with some input/advice regarding one of my dogs,

Murphy is a 6yr old springer (cas) we have had him since a puppy & did all the usual stuff training classes/socialisation etc & he was fine up until a few months ago when he decided as soon as he saw someone in the park he would run up to them & bark furiously at them, regardless of what I did he just carried on, I took him to a behaviouralist & dispite several months of work it hasn't improved the situation & I just don't know which way to turn, so far we have tried (at the training school with victims!) waiting until he stops barking them treat him, wasn't happy with that one as I thought it was just rewarding him for barking even though he had stopped, we then went on to using a spray collar which did sort of work at the school but failed to have any effect whilst out on a walk, its that once he has taken off no amount of calling/commands have any effect at all,

I now walk him on his own as I don't want my two other dogs to copy him & I take him to a quiet park using a extending lead, he's not happy as he needs to expend more energy & I have noticed that he is getting more hyer because of it, he is fed on Burns,

Any advice most welcome

Was the behaviourist a reputable one belonging to the APBC or a member of barkbusters or self titled?

This is the club that I have been to

http://www.bdts.org.uk/about.htm

if he needs a run off, use a long horse lunge line. you can manage his speed direciton and momentum on this.
practice on your garden first, or get a dog trainer to show you.
wear gloves the first couple of sessions, as you can get rope burn if your timing is off.

im inclined to think he needs the opposite.....to reduce his adrenaline and all round nervous energy state.
to that end i would get him used to a harness and head collar. clip a double ended training lead onto both so you can steer/guide him like a horse.
then your walks should be quality not quantity.
for the next few weeks at least i would walk verrrrry verrrrry slooooooowly. do a drunk cowboy walk holding the lead between your 2 hands on your solar plexus.
lots of direction turns, find obstacles he can traverse...tree trunks, garden walls, fences (you have to traverse them as well).
its called groundwork and its to get your dog to behave like a thinking feeling sentient being (ie, cognitive training) instead of a reactive mechanical animal.
he will become body aware, his mind and body will slow down, he will think, he will become aware of you and you can influence him thru voice and treats.

excuse the rushed post, gotta go work.

happy to expand later, on thread or PM.

Did it just start out the blue, or was there something about the first person he barked at that was a trigger?

e.g. was it someone who was walking straight towards you; someone carrying something he didn't recognise...?


My dog does the same to certain things - he will bark at people carrying large objects that he does not recognise and he too will go hurtling over. Nothing stops him.

Thus, I use a long line - we started with a ten metre one, now moving to a 30 metre one for more freedom.

If your dog needs to burn some energy then he can still run and play on a long line, and you can grab it OR step on it to interrupt his pattern of barking and running over etc.


Also as has been suggested, you could instead get him used to a well fitting headcollar (a Dogmatic for instance) and walk him around the park, gradually getting closer to other people with each session and always rewarding for calm behaviour: this is key.

oh you've already tried a spray collar. (edited post)

so the dog associates barking with something unpleasant

yeah, like another dog or person, sounds like a very good idea in this context............ not!

I`d go back to basics and work on his recall and also do heelwork around people - onlead at first.
If he is ignoring you, he hasn`t learned recall.
A timid dog will mouth off at threats. Spraying him will simply make the experience more stressful for him.
What you need to do is to calm the whole experience down.
When he tenses at people. turn and move to `safe` (for him) distance. When he is quiet then reward or praise. You are rewarding the calm, not the bark.
He needs to trust you to take him away from danger in order to gain confidence. A frightened dog can not learn. So take the stress out of the confrontation.
Two good things to teach are `watch me` where you teach him to look at you - hold a treat by your face, say watch me, give the treat. Repeat at regular intervals till he drools when you say watch me. Then use it outside.
This command switches his attention to you and breaks the `glare` (you know what I mean?). Then you can turn and take your dog away.
I also teach the Behind Sit - which is simply a sit beside you - but behind the line of your leg not in front of it. This puts you between the threat and the dog. The dog feels more confident, learns to defer to you, and you can control the situation better.


I see you use an Essex club. You might want to try Andy, who uses positive methods and holds socialisation walks. He has a lot of experience with challenging dogs. http://www.dtce.co.uk/

Hi

Thank you for the replies

Will try to answer them all,,,Firstly the reward thing didn't have any effect at all, he ate the reward but after several sessions there wasn't any reduction in the barking at all, the spray collar worked partially in the training ground which is a sort of fenced in tennis court sized outdoor area but on a walk with a few set victims again no reduction at all, we stuck at both for around 12 weeks, approx 2hrs sessions weekly followed by daily practice,

He wears a headcollar already as he pulls like a tank, its a leather dogmatic one, he hates it so we did try a harness that I can't remember what the name of it is but we saw sarah fisher from the tt touch people last september & he doesn't walk too bad on that so is used to both,

it was in the evening that it happened but as it was in mid june it was still very light, the first time he did it was a man in his late fifties, not odd about him, no hat/stick etc since then anyone has been his target men/woman & children

hope that answers it all

he was fine up until a few months ago when he decided as soon as he saw someone in the park he would run up to them & bark furiously at them

The basic issue here is that you have no control over the dog, therefore the dog is taking more and more control into his own hands.

You are focusing, IMHO, on the wrong end of the problem, ie the outcome, not what led to it.

If you have good control ie you have a great recall then the dog cannot go and bark at other dogs and people which could be intimidating and put your dog and yourself at risk.

Whilst you are trying to access a good trainer who can work on this with you, I would suggest burning off his excess energy by biking him or swimming him now the water is warmer (if he will come back from the water) otherwise keep him on a lead and bike him, you could also take up tracking which again means the dog is on a line and so cannot escape and rehearse inappropriate behaviours.