Hi,

I'm a first time dog owner with a 5 yr old male Rough Collie named Brodie. I adopted him from a very good local rescue organization about a year ago. He is intense, alert, athletic, and a lot of fun to be around.

The first few months after adoption though, he began to bark/lunge/growl at most dogs. I had no clue what was causing this or how to deal with it. Fortunately, after a few months of trying to figure out what to do, I ran across Leerburg. I pretty much implemented their entire system for living with dogs and it has made a huge difference.

It's been several months now and dog-agression is way down. I did employ the technique of using a remote collar to head off any potential reaction, and now I'm now back to using a flat collar and marker word "No".

Occasionally though if a dog makes some sort of crazy lunge then Brodie might bark, and he is still inclined to assess dogs passing by the house and will whine or growl sometimes. But, once there is a bit of distance established, the vocalizations stop even if the other dog might be going nuts.

It's more of an annoyance at this point, and I've just been ignoring it rather than correcting it since it does not occur too often. The majority of the time he minds me, and does not react to what other dogs might be doing.

I'm thinking of leaving things the way they are and not trying to correct out the last bit of reactive behavior, but I'm not sure that is the right approach and would be interested in some thoughts on this.

Regards,
timc

I personally don't care if my dogs bark wildly at dogs or people passing by the house. To me, that's part of their job. Out in public with me is a whole other thing. That behavior is unacceptable & they just don't do it. If I see a dog coming my way, I will down my dogs (on or off leash) & if needed give them a 'watch me' command as the dog & owner passes by. Loose dogs are a down & leashes on (if off) & back into the truck if we are close by. If not them I am ready to yell & hopefully chase the dog off if the owner has no recall control on their dog. Loose out of control dogs have become an everyday problem for many of us these days, unfortunately.

Hi, I am with you on the whining. Mine drive me crazy with whining. I would love to hear what other people have to say about that. I choose to not address it at this point because we have other more important behaviors to deal with but it is very annoying that's for sure. I can't have them barking at home first because we live in a condo and second we have lots of people coming in and out of the house so they can't really be barking all the time. So I am really curious what people have to say.

Lenka

 Quote: Anne Jones

I personally don't care if my dogs bark wildly at dogs or people passing by the house. To me, that's part of their job. Out in public with me is a whole other thing. That behavior is unacceptable & they just don't do it. If I see a dog coming my way, I will down my dogs (on or off leash) & if needed give them a 'watch me' command as the dog & owner passes by. Loose dogs are a down & leashes on (if off) & back into the truck if we are close by. If not them I am ready to yell & hopefully chase the dog off if the owner has no recall control on their dog. Loose out of control dogs have become an everyday problem for many of us these days, unfortunately.

I do the same with Brodie out in public. Its sit or down and let other dogs pass. Same if I have to pass by a dog thats stationary and owner is unaware. I always do a sit then let the owner know that I'm coming by so they can control their dog.

Even though I'm a noob dog owner, I've already experienced all the shockingly irresponsible things people do with their dogs. I've had to chase off loose dogs, tell some dog owners to keep their leashed, out of control dogs away from mine, and I've learned to recognize trouble scenarios including extendo-leashed dogs, halti dogs, e-fenced dogs, and dangerously dominant dogs dragging their owners down the street.

 Quote: Linda West

Hi, I am with you on the whining. Mine drive me crazy with whining. I would love to hear what other people have to say about that. I choose to not address it at this point because we have other more important behaviors to deal with but it is very annoying that's for sure. I can't have them barking at home first because we live in a condo and second we have lots of people coming in and out of the house so they can't really be barking all the time. So I am really curious what people have to say.

Linda

I sometimes have Brodie go into his crate if people that are unfaimiliar to him are over and he seems anxious. When he is in his crate he seems to switch to off-duty mode and he just lounges quietly or sleeps. I usually give him a few treats when he is in his crate, then after a while I let him out.