My dog is so bad around strangers & other animals?

Question

When we go for walks or go to the pet store or my mom's (she has cats), my dog is so bad and tries to jump on other dogs/cats & people when I'm walking him. He has been to obedience training already!!! I am sick of him trying to jump on people and dogs when we go for walks, but its like once he sees someone his ears turn off & he doesn't hear me anymore. I had a gentle leader & that was kinda workign then my lil sis broke it, should I buy a new one? But that also doesn't work when he gets really excited..plz help, its sooo annoying.

Answer 1

Please do not get a choke chain. Some people swear by these things - but they also know how to use them properly. Choke chains are not for amateurs. They can lead to choking and strangling if used improperly.

Try to get another gentle leader. Use it around the house and in the backyard, rather than in public for your dog to get used to it. My boxer is the same way - she is very energetic and loves people. We make sure that we let her run around in the backyard to cut down on some of that energy before taking her anywhere on her gentle leader. Maybe this will work for you?

Constant reinforcement of good behavior is key when training. Keep that in mind, and good luck!

Answer 2

Jen,
Beano is on the right track. Its not about the collar or your dog, its about you. Your dog is lunging because it feels you are weak, therfore needs to scare away outsiders. You need to stop spoiling your dog and give it some rules and foundation work training daily to establish you are the alpha dog. Dogs just view the humans in the house as other dogs and when not trained they appoint themselves at Pack Leader and can become aggressive.

When you begin to pass another dog, put your dog on the other side so a human is between the 2 dogs and place your dog behind you while passing by. Keep your leash short. This demonstrates to your dog that you will take care of any threats. They DO get this!

Gentle Leaders, Haltis are a bad idea. They were invented to hold a dogs head back much like a horse. Dogs heads are in no way similar to the bony long horse head. Think of it this way. How would you like it if somebody put a harness on your head, then jerked it when you were least expecting it. I doubt you would volunteer for this experiement.

Again, the tool has nothing to do with fixing the problem. Its you. Take charge, and train your dog. No treats for just looking cute.
VB

Answer 3

When another person/animal is approaching do you "tense" up anticipating his reaction? If you do then that is the start of your dogs "bad behavior." Next time you are approaching a person, try to think of other things, that is going on with you. Believe it or not your dog can sense the "negative" energy you are feeling through you leash. My g/f's dog (had) this same problem, but once he realized A) he wasn't in charge B) the other person/animal didn't concern me; he became a wonderful dog to walk with. What I do when we are passing someone is concentrate on living in the moment and enjoy the surroundings. I do not comment to the other person other then to say "Hi." This way the dog can sense "why should I care about the other person/animal if he doesn't care?" and continues walking. I do not use any special collars on my dogs, I simply use my calmness and assertiveness. They understand what I want and I understand what they need. My dogs don't even bark when passing other dogs, nor do they look at oyher dogs when they are barking at us. Good Luck

Answer 4

When you are walking him. You should put a harness leash on him. It doesn't hurt the dog. It keeps them from pulling. I don't think the harness leash can really break, because it has a collar that comes with it. With your leash, keep it wrapped up by your side so he can't get too far away from you. Keep treats on you when you go for a walk. When you see him start to jump up, keep him reared in, tell him NO, SIT, then give him a treat. Keep doing that every time he tries to jump up. But, don't give him treats every time, or he'll expect one every time. Give him treats like 2 times in a row, then do the same commands and don't give him treats for like 3 times in a row. Just pet him and tell him good boy. Hope this works.

Answer 5

ok. we used to have a dog who was just like this. got hit by a car though. :( what you need to do is buy several collars. 1) the all famed choker collar. this wont hurt your dog. it just tightens around his neck when he lunges for people. this makes him stop dead in his tracks. make sure that u release pressure as soon as he gives, so that u dont choke him. 2) the shock collar. when he barks, this will zap your dog. you can turn up the power surge that zaps ur dog. this wont hurt him either, its sorta like a spanking.
you can use both collars at the same time. just when you go for a walk, make sure that u attatch the leash to the choker collar. also, bring along a bag of treats to give ur dog everythime he obeys you.(make sure they are small treats so that he wont get fat on them) he'll break his bad habits soon enough.

Answer 6

Get the gentle leader they work good for the most part. I have a dog that tends to be like this he will not hear me unless I bust my lung yelling. But thats the trick you have to get his attention and correct him.

Answer 7

Your dog sounds high energy.You need to take it somewhere where there are few distractions for a long walk to help get that energy out.

Answer 8

get a choke chain and put it on him when ur walking and pull on the lease that is attached to the chain when he goes to jump and firmly say no. he'll get the message adventually but make sure u take the chain off and put a reg collar on when he isnt on a lease casue he could get it caught on sumthing and not be able to get free and choke himself to death

Answer 9

I dunno really 'coz my dog ain't like that but maybe u have 2 train ur dog to get used to others. I bet my answer's useless but I tried. ^-^