Is it ever too late to change a dog's behaviour?

Hello

Just wanted peoples thoughts on this. I have a dog that quite often barks at other dogs when she is out on a walk and doesn't interact with other dogs when out on a walk but plays with my other dog brilliantly and they live alongside each other with no problems. I have tried to work on her narking at other dogs by distracting her with toys and treats etc and sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn't. She will also walk around a dog show without barking once.

So sometimes I've felt I've made progress and then gone backwards. She is worse if approaching a dog face on. If I'm walking on the opposite side of the road or behind them she is no problem at all. When off the lead she still barks but never approaches other dogs. She is not aggressive but seems scared more than anything (she got attacked once by two dogs).

I thought I'd ring a qualified dog trainer thinking I could work on this and help socialise her more. However, the trainer told me that at 3 years old I might not be able to stop her behaviour!! and why had I left it so long!! I was quite surprised and disheartened by this. I wasn't expecting miracles but was hoping for a more constructive reaction from the trainer. Is this usual?
When I mentioned I had a jack Russell she said they are often yappy and you can't rectify that!!

the part about her walking round a dog show and not barking has me intrested, would you say she shut down showing signs of being very stressed or worried when at a show? or did she seem quite happy with things?

As with all training things will take a step back.

Im a trainer and would never tell someone they cant change behaviour, there is a very good chance you could stop the behaviour, if not stop it you could improve it no end,
as to her comments on JR's well it really says it all, shes wrong.
Sarah27 on the forum would also be good for you to chat to, she is currently working on a similar issue with one of her dogs, I will pm the link to her and Im sure she will come on and give you some tips on what she found to be useful. x

I have rescued 3 adult dogs and one of them was 8 and I managed to change her behaviour . I think you will be able to change the behaviour of a 3 year old if you persevere and stick to your guns

Shona. Thanks very much for your reply. I'm not expecting miracles and I'm willing to work on it and know there is no quick answer. I'd just like to improve her behaviour.

With regards to the dog show, she does seem happy in herself but I have sometimes thought she is a little worried!

which dog is it that has the problem? your vizsla or your jrt?

Like Shona said, I've been working on a very similar issue with my terrier cross for quite a while now. Bryan is a rescue dog and came to me at 10 months old. He'd been living on the streets for a while and probably had to learn to defend himself from other dogs from an early age.

Off lead he is totally fine (although very boisterous and vocal, he is friendly and wants to play with every dog he meets). On lead, he is a different dog. When he sees another dog he will bark, growl, lunge, spin, cry - he's like a mad dog

I was getting bogged down a lot in thinking why was he doing it and was worrying about what other people were thinking of me and my dog when he carried on like that.

I tried everything too - distraction (with every food and toy I could think of), shouting at him, making him sit, using lead correction, ignoring him. Nothing worked.

Now I'm using a spray collar and it is working. It's not a quick fix solution and not something I'd suggest using as a first port of call, but it sounds like you've tried loads of things.

We've been using it for about 4 weeks now. I can walk past about 80% of dogs with no barking as long as they are on the other side of the road. I'm not sure if he'll ever be able to walk past a dog on the same side without carrying on. He gets praised massively when he doesn't bark with treats, fussing and high pitched voice.

In Bryan's case I don't think the barking will stop completely, it'll be something we'll have to work on forever probably. But I think it definately can be improved.

And it always makes me feel better when I see or hear of someone else whose dog does the same thing! I used to think Bryan was the only one!

HTH and feel free to PM me if you want to chat x

Hubby and I adopted a russell who was 7ish and she was bossy with every single dog she met!

We took her to training classes and she improved greatly once she got to know the dogs. She could be off lead around them and not bat an eyelid.

Now out walking , sometimes she barks at dogs, sometimes she doesn't.
We used praise and reward with clicker training, clicking when she ignored.
Some days though, nothing seems to work. I used to get uptight, but now I don't. I know she can walk past them nicely if she wants to. Jacks sometimes push boundaries. So now, I just give the lead a quick flick to get her attention and I say in a low voice, "pack it in" Eight times out of ten she will. I don't stop walking though and before she knows it we're past them and she has nothing to bark at.

At 3 years, yours is more than capable of learning.

It's never too late to change a dogs behaviour. I worked with my rescue dog Jackjack for 6 years on all sorts of issues, unfortunately he was like a bag of balloons, as soon as we pushed down or deflated one problem another reared. But he learned and changed and adapted every day of his life until we lost him at the age of 9 (ish).

It is clearly also never too late to change your dog behaviourist! My advice... call another one.. That one sounds rubbish!

Its good to hear other people have issues with their dogs aswell. Sometimes I feel that everyone else has perfectly behaved dogs.

Interestingly its my Vizsla that is the barky one and not the Jack Russell.

Sarah27 - thanks for your tips. I find myself being wound up by it, which I know doesn't help. You're right, I've tried all sorts of approaches, distraction with toys and treats, telling off, ignoring but haven't tried a spray collar. My only reservation about the spray collar would be that I think my dog is sensitive and I'd worry it would make her worse. Do the dogs end up associating the unpleasantness of the spray with the other dogs?

I don't think they make that connection no, the spray just distracts them from barking and directs their attention somewhere else. Bryan hasn't even connected the sray with the collar - he sits wagging his tail waiting for me to put it on