Back in March we had a behaviourist come out for a few hours, we talked through a lot at home, she observed Marco, she showed us some tips to help. We tried some of those around the home, to get the hang of it. And then we all went for a long walk. The walk gave us chance to practice what she had taught us and try to get it right. It took a few goes with us panicking etc, but then we slowly got the hang of it.

Now, a few months on, he has improved a lot. He doesn't react anywhere near as often, and when he does he manages to recover a lot quicker. We're hoping to see the behaviourist again next month to review and progress things further.

We actually went round my brothers yesterday and introduced him to their two Labradors. We took it slowly, it looked positive, no reactions at all. However I think the fact he didn't react was partly down to also feeling a bit overwhelmed. He kept looking to us, so we praised and rewarded him for doing well and not reacting badly, kept the meeting short and left it at that. But it still felt like good progress compared to what he was like before.

I was looking at getting a book to help, but I think from what I read, one of the important things is to have another reliable dog available to help with the training, rather than relying on chance encounters. Nonetheless, has anyone tried any of these 3?

• Behavior Adjustment Training: BAT for Fear, Frustration, and Aggression in Dogs by Grisha Stewart
• Feisty Fido: Help for the Leash-Reactive Dog by P McConnell
• Fight!: A Practical Guide to the Treatment of Dog-dog Aggression by Jean Donaldson

Hi One of my dalmations who was male,we had done as he became a nuisance,even creeping into my next door neighbours,as they had a goat skin rug,brought back from a holiday,and he used to make violent love to it.So he was just a year old,when he got neutered at nearly 2 he started going for other dogs,and it got to a point when we only walked him really early or late,we went back to the vet who assured us that he was probably just reaching adolescence,and he gave us some advice,do not make an issue of it,whenever possible reward him for good behaviour
but if he is dog reactive its the worst thing to do at this time to scold him,you will have avoid other dogs until his hormones have settled,but if you are too heavy handed you could do more harm then good,I took this advice on board,and though sometimes it was tough,persevered and when he reached 3 1/2 he turned the corner and enjoyed playing with all dogs.Gemini54

Gemini - the dog in question on this thread is 6 yrs old already so not 'adolescent'. As for your dog being a nuisance by 'creeping' into the neighbours' house! It must have been in a position to get out of your house first for that to happen! I'd consider it to be a tad more than a 'nuisance' if someone didn't keep their dog in or on their property and it kept coming into mine.

I`m really pleased to hear you are getting results with him, think its about time we had some pics of the lovely Marco, its been awhile since we have seen him xx

Yes! I'd never even heard of Portuguese Water Dogs before I joined Dogsey. They look gorgeous.

Tang Hi I feel really sorry for people whose life is so small,when I answered this it was in todays posts,but in the big world when your body is turning on it self it seems so petty,when I have to face another spell in hospital as I am not healing,but if it makes you feel important go ahead its fine by me Gemini54