[-jC-]

alright, so i have a Silky Terrier... along with a whole hoard of other fluffy animals, but he (being a year old) is a mental one...very energetic, bouncy, and what not... bad thing is that when i take him for walks, he cannot stop barking at other dogs and trying to run away to attack them...

and so taking him out for walks has become a little bit of a problem...how can i socialise the poor thing without having him blow his head up barking at the sight of other dogs all the time? any suggestions?

[carang]

what is your reaction when you walk him and he barks?
is he on a leash?
how is he around the house?
does he bark his head off when there are people outside the door?

[-jC-]

he hardly barks at people walking outside the door and is usually quite well behaved at home (except when he's in a playful mood, when he goes a bit mad)...

i take him out on a leash, but when he sees other dogs, he goes bonkers and tries to run away. the only way i've been able to keep him calm is to pick him up and turn to the other side so he can't see the dog... the "no" or "quiet" command just doesn't work with him when he's barking like that...

[carang]

the problem is that when you pick him up you are rewarding his bad behaviour (just like a child).

i would strongly suggest that you head over to HMV and get teh CESAR MILAN THE DOG WHISPERER video series.

he is NOT a trainer. he is a behaviourist. he deals with problem behaviours and is amazing!

my hubby idolises him and uses his techniques every day for work. It really does work. the dogs in our care ADORE my husband and listen to him. he has dealt with quite a few puppies with the same problems you have described.

good luck!

[Libby1328]

We had wonderful success correcting minor behavioral issues by following Cesar's philosophy. We found that by modifying our behavior, as Cesar suggested, we were able to achieve rapid results. That said, I'm sure every dog and every owner is different and your little guy might not respond in the same way. Still, Cesar is a great place to start. You can find a lot of info on his web page including his basic aggression tips here.

Good Luck!

[-jC-]

brilliant! thanks for the heads up! i'll check out the dvd and the website!

[lulumay]

you may want to try a gentle leader or other similar collars.

[carang]

gentle leaders are great...but you need to know how to modify your own behaviour in order to help the dog become more sociable.

[Tanae]

What I suggest is that you fill your pockets up with treats and EVERY time you see another dog coming ask your dog to sit (hopefully he knows the basics) and give him a treat. Making him sit teaches him an incompatible behaviour to the barking and lunging. (Dogs cannot lung when they're sitting down.) Also he'll be distracted with what you're doing and not focused on the other dog. Then make a huge fuss of him and give him another treat. If you repeat this process EVERY time, he'll learn that sitting and not lunging is rewarding for him.