Growling/barking at other dogs

HELP!!
How can I stop my two westies from growling at other dogs. It has now got to the point of me not taking them anywhere there might be other dogs. They are missing out on a lot of nice walks.

I think we need some more information about the growling & the context in which it happens before we can suggest anything.

How old are they? What sex & neutered or not? Have you had them since pups or did you get them as adults? From a rescue or breeder?

Are your dogs on lead when the growling happens? Do you ever let them off lead? If so, do they still growl?

Do you ever let them interact with other dogs freely? Have they got any particular doggy friends to play with?

Where do you walk them? How often & how long for?

What are they like with people, especially strangers that they meet out on walks?

If you let us have a bit more info, I'm sure that there are people here who would be happy to try to help.

Training Class! The right one Get recommendations and have a good chat with the trainer about your dog first before you join.

As daunting as it might feel it, if it's the right one, with a good trainer, it will help. Just a few hours, once a week.

Your dogs aren't getting socialised. Just by being in a hall with other dogs, on lead, doing tricks for treats with you, he is learning to socialise.

1 of ours used to be really snarly at other dogs. She's a large dog and I just felt it really wasn't acceptable social behaviour. We took her to a general obedience class and the improvements she made week to week were amazing, I grew so proud of her, and our bond got stronger. She now does agility classes (1-1 for now). On walks she still sometimes tries to pull towards dogs but will not make any noise, she is even learning to not growl back when other dogs growl at her.

Whilst I agree that training classes can be a great idea for some dogs, most training classes, unless it says specifically otherwise, are NOT socialisation classes. I've assisted at training classes for years now & our worst nightmare are the dogs that are poorly socialised, bark at other dogs & generally upset the whole class. We try to help by putting blankets over chairs to stop the eyeballing but what usually happens is that the trainer suggests that these dogs go for one-2-one training classes & that behavioural advice is given for the socialisation or dog 2 dog aggression problems.

Training classes are for dog owners to learn how to train their dogs, not for the trainers to do it for them. For dogs that have behavioural problems in class, we also suggest that the owners continue to come to classes but without their dog, they learn what to do, watch the other owners & learn from their problems. But they do the training with their own dog in places where the dog can be calm, quiet & relaxed.

No dog (or person for that matter) is going to capable of learning anything when they're stressed, hyped up or fearful. It's not fair to expect a fearful dog to learn anything ~ it is essential that learning takes place in a calm, quiet environment where the dog is capable of concentrating on its owner & is not distracted by external things.

Similarly owners that are stressed out trying to stop unwanted barking or other behaviours in class are not going to able to concentrate on what the trainer is saying or get very much out of the training class at all. I've long been a fan of having training classes without dogs! Perhaps each owner could take it in turn to bring their dog each week so we can monitor progress, or one dog is brought along so that certain training techniques can be demonstrated. It would allow owners to concentrate more, talk to each other, have questions answered etc without the stress of trying to control an unruly dog.

Now puppy socialisation classes are a different matter.......

Sorry wilbar, you have misunderstood me, i think I may have not explained myself properly. This is why I meant when I said the right one it is important to look for a recommendation and talk to trainers to find one suitable.

I'll explain further...We took our Akita to a 'behavioural' class especially for large breeds with socialisation issues, there were only 5 dogs in there. I did say it was a general 'obedience class' but I meant it wasn't part of a nationally recognised Kennel Club ran Good Citizen Dog Scheme or anything.

All the dogs were well and evenly spaced out in a large village church hall. There were more trainers and helpers than dogs and the activities we did were very much tailored around for us.

The aim of each session was not for the dogs to meet or greet each other - they never did, I didn't say it was a puppy socialisation class, I said training class. The aim was to get the dogs working with US, their handlers. But of course, still learning the skills to be around other dogs, learning that they were not to be feared, Keisha learnt not focus on them, focus on ME! which works a treat when out on our walks now.

It felt like a very safe environment - the methods used were what I agreed with - positive, rewards etc.. We had our own base mats where we did a lot of the work around the edge of the room. Eventually we were able to walk around with them, following treats in discs on the floor or using the 'look at me' command to reward.

They entered the room one by one, and left one by one. In no way did we feel "stressed, hyped up or fearful" as you say. It was taken at a very slow pace. By the end of the first hour, the dogs were lying around the edge of the room relaxing. That to me, was fabtastic progress and showed it helped. She'd entered the room a bit hyped up and panting to be at the others, some did bark initially but once we got working they all settled remarkably well. The second week they came in much calmer..and it was all up from there.. The blankets down the middle were gradually removed week by week etc.. it really was a brilliantly organised and ran class.

Well the classes you attended sound just the ticket. I'm really pleased that you found some well run training classes.

We try to run the classes I help at in a similar way & generally can be very successful for most dogs. But there are of course, limitations, such as the size of the hall, the number of dogs in each class, the number of trainers & assistants. And there are always some unexpected minor problems like it's half term so we get 5 or 6 kids coming along, which can be quite disruptive!

One thing that we do is that the first session is only for owners, no dogs. This allows the trainer to explain the set up, get the owners used to the hall & facilities, explain that the dogs should be well-spaced out & to give some general advice on canine body language & behaviour. If the owners are less apprehensive & worried about coming to the class, it can help them settle their dogs down.

I think your last post nicely sums up what to look for in good training classes.

that sounds like the kind of class every town should have

i went to a general class with mia, the trainer knew me from taking ben there and was happy for us to be off in the far side of the class watching until we were able to interact more with the class, everyone knew our issues and even when we were more involved in class we always had bolt holes where we could back off and calm down if it got a bit too much

Hiya. For years my dog was unpredictable outside. If he saw a dog over the field, he'd be off to investigate and befriend them. After he was set upon and mounted by a larger dog, he became a bit more cautious. Then he started to seek out other dogs and chase them. For ages we kept him on a "Flexi" until he got a bit older. Walking him ended up being a "Look left look right look left again" affair. He wasn't dangerous, just protective. He'd never foot the first bite, but he'd growl. Callback would be impossible. (Being a Dally he is very stubborn anyway!).

When my Dad moved away last year, I took on our 11.5 year old Dalmatian. I have never had many problems with him - in fact, I have been quite lucky!. He is not the friendliest when it comes to other dogs initially, he'll growl and lunge if they come close, but I found out that was protection - for ME. If a dog approaches too close, he closes in on me and stands right in front of me, his sights not flinching from the other dog. If the dog approaches up close sniffs his bum, he'll snap straight away.

You know how I fixed this problem? I hold him firmly but not violently, by the collar and stroke the other dog (all dogs who approach are friendly and do not growl first LOL), cooing at my dog, petting him too, in that "baby speak" you know the one - the calmer and "Aaaaah" tones, and he's then fine! He sees the other dog is no threat. He will then either ignore the other dog, or sniff and mooch! I often catch him glancing at me as if to say "You ok with this then?? Cool, then I am ok too, but I have my eye on him"... He then gets a small treat, pat on the head, and a "good boy" then an excited "Come on then" in the other direction.

My Kerry Blue bitch was ill-behaved when other dogs walked past and was very focused on the other dog and could be vocal. We saw a behaviourist who taught the "watch me" command where your dog sits and looks at you, thus not focusing on the other dog. She then gets a high value treat such as cheese or ham which she only gets in that circumstance. Clicker training worked brilliantly and she is so well-behaved now whereas she used to be embarrasing to walk.

The right obedience class helped too-the first one we went to the trainer told me to shake her by the neck when she got reactive-unfortunately I did this and she ended up a lot worse-you must use positive training methods.

A helpful book on the subject is Emma Parsons "Click to clam-healing the aggressive dog" though I think Cherry was reactive more than aggressive.

Thanks to every one who has replied, the "boys" are 18 months old, have not been nuetered, I have had them from 6weeks old. They have started barking/growling at other dogs quite recently, I used to let them off the lead when we were walking up the mountain near our home, but I am now to afraid to do this, in case another dog comes along. I have tried walking them on a tight lead with myself in between them and the other dog but this has no effect, and as you can imagine it is very hard to hold two dogs back when they want to get at another dog. I don't think they are really agressive as both are really quite timid and nervous, ie jumps at a loud noise or a bag blowing in the wind it is just this show of barking at other dogs!!!