Aggression when on lead

I've had Bryan for a year now. We got him from Dog's Trust when he was about 10 months old. He was a stray so we know nothing of his life before he came to us, other than that he was very thin. He was housetrained, knew the command 'sit' so I guess he'd had some kind of home life.

Ever since we got him, whilst on lead, he barks at other dogs. We had him seen by a Dog's Trust behaviourist because I was concerned that we would never be able to let him off his lead because of the aggression he was showing.

But when the behaviourist tried him with another dog, he barked and barked but when they got close together he didn't attack, just sniffed the other dog. The behaviourist thought that Bryan was so desperate to get to the other dog that this frustration was showing itself as barking and aggression.

When he is off lead he is very friendly, and loves playing with other dogs. If an off lead dog approaches him while he is on lead he is friendly also.

I was using a water bottle to squirt him when he starts barking. I tried distraction with treats, getting him to sit, but he goes off on one so much that he just can't listen to me. The water was working and he seemed to be getting better.

But now I have a foster dog it's really difficult to squirt him with the water while having hold of two dogs. The other dog is fine - she doesn't bark at other dogs when on her lead, unless they bark first

What I've been doing is crossing the road if possible, and just walking past purposefully and not paying him any attention. There's no point me shouting at him - it has no effect at all. But it doesn't seem to be stopping him barking.

So I was wondering does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do to stop him barking? I'm not sure if I'll ever get him out of the habit, but I would like to be able to stop him getting to the point of no return, if you see what I mean.

Thanks everyone!

I would go back to walking him on his own again otherwise your foster dog may pick up on the barking and start doing it too!

i though you CMd this dog? Is the poking foot tapping,pssting not working? All methods that CM will use & you believe in ?perhaps it might be time to invest in an CM "illusion " collar & strangle .....(Opps no wrong word cos the dont hurt at all do they)him when he starts, im sure if hes fighting to breathe he will not bark
.

Alteranatively why dont you attend dome local Postively based training class & train Bryan to work around other dogs

I am in the process of training my new GSD out of similar behavior. I work with a choker collar on my dogs. Snap it the minute he looks at the other dog. Snap it every time he makes to look at it or bark. Short snap, no long strangle like people who don't know who to use the collar do. Snap. It is only used to get attention. Keep walking past the other dog. Your in charge. Keep snapping the lead until he settles down.

It sounds odd but it works. I only had two problems with my big GSD and then it was sorted. Now I'm working on him walking past dogs on the lead without looking. After that I intend to see how he is with mixing, but not before. He's a 100lbs worth of dog and this works.

Thanks for the help, that's really positive. I do positive training, please don't assumethings about me when you don't know me.

Wow, this is the second time I've asked for a bit of advice on this forum and been met with hositiliy. What's that all about?

Hi Mayvren, I don't really want to use a choke chain on him as he's a small dog. I've got him on a harness right now.

Thanks for sharing though

Yes that is a worry. Up to now she's been fine with it - she just ignores him. If there's even a small sign of her picking up on it I will walk them seperately.

Thanks.

going by what the DT trainer said and your experience it is not agression its a desire to get there
So I would work on a combination of impulse control and desensitisation
If you can in a big area have a friend walk another dog on a lead a long way away - before the point he will go mad
walk him nicely, and treat treat treat
then gradualy get closer
if he goes mad at any time you have gone to far - take a step back

The other thing is - if its a desire to go and say hello then as soon as he goes mad stop and wait till he has calmed down then walk abit closer, stop if he goes mad
so he learns that he only gets where he wants to go by being calm

I dont think water bottle or choke chain help in this kind of case (or in anything much but thats just me) cos it will make him associate bad things happening to him when other dogs are close - not what you want him thinking

good luck - it might take time but he is a smart boy

I don't know if you use clicker training, but we were shown how by a behaviourist. We walked Missy ( on her own as we only have one dog) and when I spied a dog in the distance, I was told to click and reward instantly and keep doing so as long as she showed no reaction. We did get through a lot of treats to begin with, so we adjusted the intake for meals.
After a few walks, Missy got the idea the less she barked, the more fresh turkey she got.
Oh, yes, that reminds me, we were also told it had to be a VERY high value treat - hence fresh meat.
If you don't clicker train, perhaps you could find a class and get someone to show you. Timing is crucial.

Thanks Ben McF, I've seen them doing that on Dog Borstal.

I'll try to get my friend with her springer to meet me tomorrow and we'll give it a go. He doesn't bark at her dog when he's on the lead, but he does pull like mad to get to him. So it would be a start if I could get him to walk calmly up to her dog.

I was using the water bottle as a last resort, even the trainers at DT couldn't get him to stop barking at other dogs. He just goes totally deaf.

I've never tried clicker training MissE, but I do train with treats. I've been using Thrive dried beef treats recently - they work really well. Also got good results with cheese and hot dog sausage