Violent Lunging - making our walks dangerous...

Firstly sorry for such a long post! Am wondering if maybe some more experienced dog owners might be able to offer some help?

I have an 18 month old male Labrador - I adopted him from a local rescue when he was 13 months old.

He is an extremely highly strung dog who reacts to almost every sound and sight. With the help of a good trainer, I can now walk him to heel nicely but...

He still lunges violently if we see other dogs also on leash. And earlier this week, as we left the park, a horse and cart suddenly appeared - Dexter went *mad*! He lunged so badly I was flung to the ground, he went racing into the road barking like crazy at the horse.

Obviously this was really dangerous and I just thank goodness that Dexter wasn't hurt. I am covered in bruises and cuts but I know it could have been a lot worse.

Our trainer says that I need to anticipate the lunging more quickly and correct it faster - but I'm genuinely doing my best. The only time I can tell when Dex is about to leap is when I walk him on a head halter (Canny Collar).

I'm desperate to stop the lunging - any advice....?

My lab mix does this to every dog, I've stopped him lunging at lorries and bikes - the bikes was easy I made him run next to one hehee - it worked though. He also used to lunge at children and strangers.

What I did with the help of a head collar was to turn him around and stay calm - if you panic the dog panics. So what you can do is everytime you see something you know he will lunge at - don't anticipate it - anticipating will go straight to your dog and that causes the lunge, keep your head held high and walk past it with confidence - if he does lunge at it simply turn in him the opposite direction saying "Ah ah" and keep walking until he stops looking back and when you feel he has calmed down then walk him the way you were going. This takes repetition and you may have to go to a neutral place to practice with your own set up.

You can also use treats and toys to distract him from this behaviour and as a reward for not lunging also.

ClaireandDaisy can probably help you more with this.

Good luck

I was going to say what SLB said
Headcollar, turning away and rewarding when calm. But you have to be persistant.
A good one is to train your Sit behind the line of your leg. This puts you between your dog and the `problem`. If you combine this with your watch me command, it puts you back in control.
I would also recommend you find a nice quiet dog class where you can sit and watch at a distance and get your dog used to being calm round other dogs? An outdoor class would be best so you can choose your distance.
In addition, where I live there are a couple of places that do Walks for difficult or reactive dogs - it might be worth phoning round to see if there is anything similar near you?
Just watch out for people who try to make you force or punish your dog though as that will make it worse.

Thanks so much both of you; really helpful. I have just ordered a Dogmatic head collar so will follow your suggestions.

We tried four dog classes, one of which was outside. Dexter got so over excited and overwhelmed that we disrupted the entire class and so I've had to arrange one-to-one training.

Working out a dogs reactive distance and then working before he reachs that threshold is a good way to start;
i.e if the dog becomes aroused and "deaf" to it's owner at 15ft then find the distance before that where he can maintain calmness and focus on his owner - it may be 16ft, 20ft 100ft! all dogs have differing distances so find the distance at which he is aware of the trigger but can still orientate to owner take food or play with toy.

Work at that distance regularly until he begins to understand that the triggers mean rewarding interactions with "mum" or "dad"

then begin to decrease distance... every time you decrease distance work there and then go back to his "safest" distance.

also teaching lots of impulse control exercises away from triggers .. beefing up general obedience to a good level.. working really hard on a whistle recall and introducing activities wher he has to use his nose and brain can help.

Stick with headcollar for time being if it helps you control him and prevents you from beinmg further injured.
Good luck - this can be hard work but with lots of patience and practice you can get there ..
btw what has your trainer been advising?

Great advice above.

Do bear in mind that you are also working against his age at the moment. 18 months can be a very trying age with a young adolescent male Lab -- I remember those days very well! it can be a long and tiresome road, but you WILL look back on this and one day it will be a distant memory...I guarantee it. Best of luck.

Please, please, please, find a trainer that works with positive training only. Correcting your boy will only make it worse. keep every interaction positive, and never correct him. If you correct your dog for lunging at another dog, he will often see it as the dog's fault, not his, and the next time he see's a dog, he will be even more aggressive.

I just finished reading a book that will help you in your situation, I think. It's called "Click to Calm Healing the Aggressive Dog"

Thanks so much TOOMANYDOGS and LABRADORK and everyone else - really sound advice!

I'm going to find his 'safe' distance and start there as advised. I think the trainer - she is very good - is doing that with us already in the park. I just need to practise it more.

And yes, I know what you say re his age is correct Good point

SARA 'N' SCOUT:

I think I may have been unclear or maybe I'm using the word 'correct' wrongly?

Our trainer does not advocate any punishment; I would never agree to that.

When I say 'correct' I mean she tells me to tug/pop the lead and command 'heel' very firmly when Dex is about to lunge.

Is he lunging out of excitement, fear or aggression,or all of them? How is he with other dogs off lead?