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Quote: Originally posted by Whatamess on 26/2/2014I have had a dog who is approximately 3 years old for 6 months. When we're walking, he pulls like a train, barks at everything and nothing constantly down the road, round the park. He lunges at people walking by, push bikes, prams, other dogs. He's a nightmare. For the pulling I've tried the Gencon and a Halti. The Halti was the better of the two but didn't really help. The Gencon he had off his face within about 10 yards of the house. I've got to the point where I can't cope with him any more and my other dog is now telling him off when he goes into a barking frenzy. I've tried a trainer and a behaviourist but, sadly, I've decided I have to re-home him. I think 6 months without seeing any kind of progress is as much as I can take.

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Clicker training is a complete waste of time with the sort of behaviour the OP is describing.

Finding a good trainer or behaviourist would probably be the best bet if you can afford it. It's difficult to re-train behaviour if you don't know what you're doing.

I hope you can get your dog sorted out, it's heartbreaking to have to let them go.

Nora

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Quote: Originally posted by Whatamess on 26/2/2014I have had a dog who is approximately 3 years old for 6 months. When we're walking, he pulls like a train, barks at everything and nothing constantly down the road, round the park. He lunges at people walking by, push bikes, prams, other dogs. He's a nightmare. For the pulling I've tried the Gencon and a Halti. The Halti was the better of the two but didn't really help. The Gencon he had off his face within about 10 yards of the house. I've got to the point where I can't cope with him any more and my other dog is now telling him off when he goes into a barking frenzy. I've tried a trainer and a behaviourist but, sadly, I've decided I have to re-home him. I think 6 months without seeing any kind of progress is as much as I can take.

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Clicker training is a complete waste of time with the sort of behaviour the OP is describing.

Finding a good trainer or behaviourist would probably be the best bet if you can afford it. It's difficult to re-train behaviour if you don't know what you're doing.

I hope you can get your dog sorted out, it's heartbreaking to have to let them go.

Nora

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Quote: Originally posted by bigtoe on 26/2/2014Many thanks for the advice given, it really is appreciated.

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Following Lidds and Heath63s suggestions I thought I'd have a go at the distraction and treat idea. I bought a clicker to distract him and lots of treats. We went to the park earlier and we were approached by a large Boxer. Wilbur is usually ok and normally just wants to play but it's not easy to predict. He was pulling on the lead so I clicked twice in his ear, took him aside facing away from the Boxer, made a fuss and gave him a treat. He was certainly distracted and was more interested in the fuss and the treat than the dog.This happened again with a Collie, and although he looked back at the dog it was definitely better. I hope I've understood the advice there.

The third time it happened we had two dogs approaching from different sides..eek! One of the dogs was lunging at Wilbur so I took him aside again but managed to drop the treats everywhere. Both Wilbur and the other dog had a great time scoffing the lot off the floor ,tails wagging and seemingly best of friends. So there's the definitive answer. Throw a load of treats for all the dogs and everyone's happy!

Seriously, I'm encouraged by the start but am a bit concerned that he will associate aggression with the treat rather than changing his behavior, but he did relax when I turned him away though so its seems ok for now. I'll give this a go for a while then look at other suggested ideas if needed. He's a lovely fella and it only happens occasionally, but it's got to be worth trying to deal with.

One other thing. Is it usual for dogs to be better behaved off the lead?He does seem to relax more off the leash.

Anyway Wilbur sends his sincere thanks to everyone for their thoughtful comments. Here's a pic





Post last edited on 26/02/2014 20:25:25

Post last edited on 26/02/2014 20:28:17

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