My puppy started to bark and raise his hair at strange dogs, and strange situations (joggers running at us, bikers, etc.) on walks at about 12 weeks and continues to do so at 16 weeks of age. I am working on correcting this with some success, but I feel he is too young for a prong collar so I just give him a verbal "no" and reward with food when he stops - depending on the circumstances he will or will not stop.

I am wondering if this means that he has weak nerves? He does not cower, or hide behind me whatsoever and always tries to go after or investigate the source? Would this be considered weak nerves, or is it an age thing or something else?

I would not give him a "no" unless you are willing to back it up in some way shape or form, otherwise he will learn that the "no" command is meaningless.

Thats a good point. I should mention that what I mean by strange dogs is usually dogs behind a fence barking at him.

ANy thought on whether or not it is weak nerves??

I should also mention that he is very social, loves people, and he loves to play with other dogs that I know (like my neighbors pitbull pup). He is a very vocal pup and whenever we go by my neighbor's yard he barks and pulls and when my neighbor's pup is out he will bark all the way up until he gets to him and then they play.

he sounds like a puppy to me :-)

If you have to correct him, use the method his mother would use, grab a bit of the neck fur and give a mild shake. But at his age I would do that sparringly. Your best bet at this point is good crate training and following the "nothing in life is free program".

If it is just puppy behavior that is great. He is completely crate trained, well exercised, and I make him sit before going thru doors, or getting his food, coming out of the crate, getting into the car, etc. He is doing great with basic obedience games.

My last dog wasn't afraid of anything when he was a pup and adult, and rarely/never barked when we were outdoors - he was a rescue shep/rott mix that could care less if a dog was barking and growling (even viscously) at him and would still gladly approach such dogs And then just ignore them if they wanted to fight, but if they wanted to play he would go at it for hours. He was also attacked twice at dog parks (I know Ed's opinion on dog parks) and this did not make him dog aggressive whatsoever and he was not a submissive dog. He never raised his hackles unless protecting his territory, so my current pup's behavior is just a little surpising to me.

I would keep an eye on his behavior, just make sure you don't enable the bad behavior. Set him up with situations where you both win, make sure you don't put him in a situation where he will fail. You might also try exposing him to other dogs in a puppy obediance class. Use lots of positive reinforcement. One important thing, do not accidentally reward the bad behavior, lots of times people will pet and soothe a dog who is behaving badly. The dog does not see it as "soothing", he sees it as being rewarded.

What exactly is it that you want from this dog in the future? What ever that is, start shaping for those behaviors now.

Hey Matt, I thought you were talking about my dog <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> , this is alot of defense drive, my dog was just like that when he was a pup, and now at 16 months, he is still very high in defense, I have learn to accept it and will try to do the best I can with him in schutzhund.

I just want him to be a great house pet that I can take anywhere!! I'll work hard to make sure rewards aren't interpreted as rewards for barking.

If it is just high defense drive then that is fine - I just hear a lot about weak nerved dogs and I have some friends who have a weak nerved dog that will snap at people and other dogs.

I, personally, would be totally embarassed to have a dog like theirs. I don't take my pup out when they come around because the boyfriend tries to wrestle and play tug of war like crazy with my pup and then he and his girlfriend offer advice/lecture me on dog training!!! He has a dog that has to be locked up around strangers and this dog has bit my wife and most of her friends from work - the guy is her boss at work.

ANyhow, I just don't want my dog to end up like this.

The problem with your question is that "weak nerves" means different things to different people.

As far as if your pup will make a good pet, let me just add that sometimes no amount of training will change your dogs personality, only control it, IMO. My pup showed similar behaviour starting at around 11 weeks, although much more pronounced than yours. Now at 6 months, the only reason I can trust my pup around strangers is because he has a really solid down/stay. When he feels threatened, sometimes with very little provocation, his growling and bark leave little doubt that he means business (or at least that's what he wants everyone to believe).

I am not saying your pup will grow up to be like this, my pup, from the sounds of things, was much more defensive than yours at a very young age. Keep socialising the hell out of the dog, and stay on top of the obedience, just in case.

If any other board members that owned really defensive puppies could comment on how they turned out, both in socialability, and avoidance thresholds (if protection training ensued) I would be really appreciative.