I will start with the history...we have a 16 month old giant Schauzer Dexter, and a 20 month pugapoo dixie...I need help with Dexter. We raised them together, we kept them seperate for most of the time growing up, have always kenneled them, and used umbilical alot, with some food rewards etc. I have to admit that i started marker training, using the word yes when they would look at me, do something good etc, but it was not a 100% effort.

We lived in a house with dogs nextdoor and across the street. Dexter would bark at other dogs here and there, and from the house if someone came to the house or walked by...not an aggressive bark, just a, hey I see someone type of bark. I wanted him to bark to a point, so I would go see who or what it was, and tell him quiet, or ok, and he would follow me back to the living room etc...he was good on walks, he would allert to other dogs and people, but would only growl or huff at other dogs here and there, for which we would say quiet and correct...keep walking...

We moved to a new house two months ago, we put a fence up and there is an older retreiver next door who is very protective of his property, He pretty much did everything but bite dexter the first couple times dexter went near his property...i let Dexter socialize with this other dog once when his owner was present...and it went ok until the other dog tried to take Dexters toy...he wouldnt have it...and I ended the session. Since then if Dexter sees this dog or hears him he will run over to the fence and he and the other dog will bark and snarl, Dexter has never shown this behavior before. He was also in a kennel for 16 days while we were on our honeymoon, which may not have helped.

During the past two months dexter has started reacting to dogs on walks and while in the car, barking etc..on walks he barks and alerts very soon after seeing the other dog...he is fine if he can meet the other dog, he is not aggressive, yet....but if I try to stop him from seeing the dog, he will continue to bark and try to pull...normally he is a medium dog, a hard correction or me saying no and walking towards him will make him almost lay down, however I do not feel this is helping our relationship or the issue at hand, as a hard correction (right now we are using a martingale type of coller) does not make him stop barking or pulling.

When he is barking at the dog next door he will come when called some of the time...but it is getting to the point my wife is scared to pull him away from the fence...he gets worked up enough that he would nip just from reacting to someone touching him when he is in that state. he is a powerfull boy when he wants to be...and my wife is pregnant so we need to train him to fix this issue now.

He is an excellant dog, very friendly with people, smart, funny, knows his basic obedience commands etc...

I do not feel a prong collar is the answer, I read some other posts and saw in one where Connie Sutherland mentioned using a prong collar for this type of situation may make it worse, the dog would see other dogs as being bad as they would get the correction at the same time etc. We do have an e collar and the DVD, as well as the 8 week to 8 month and basic obedience DVDs...I think we have to start at the beginning with the marker training and go from there. Also, we can not get him to bark or speak on command, I think once I get to that point in the marker training I will need to find a way to get him to speak, most likely by getting him to chase something i am holding (wip and squirral toy at the end etc) so that he can learn what speak and what quiet is for good. once he knows some of these commands 110% then I could start using the e collar, also I could train a command for other dogs, or simply use the watch me command etc,

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give the history...I know some of the things i have done or my own emotion has aided or aids his barking for sure...any questions or concerns are welcome...also if more info is needed let me know...do you think I have the right game plan, ie marker training from the start, build the bond better and go from there.....please let me know...thanks Brian

ps-we did let him on the couch and we would cuddle with him, we have cut this from the program....

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When he is barking at the dog next door he will come when called some of the time...but it is getting to the point my wife is scared to pull him away from the fence...he gets worked up enough that he would nip just from reacting to someone touching him when he is in that state. he is a powerfull boy when he wants to be...and my wife is pregnant so we need to train him to fix this issue now.

She is right to be cautious when he is this worked up. He could possibly redirect his aggression to her when he's in this state.

You should get some responses from more experienced trainers, but a couple of things come to mind.

Re the fence fighting, you can implement better management of the situation while you are working on desensitizing him. So, if possible, do not leave him outside for long periods of time unsupervised. If you know the other dog is likely to be out, keep a long line on him so that you can redirect him away from the fence without having to grab his collar.

Get going on the marker training. First, work with your dog in the back yard when the other dog is not out. Do some short, upbeat sessions and end with a game of fetch or tug, or whatever your dog likes to do. Once your dog is really paying attention well, you can add in some distraction.

If there is a place in your yard far enough away from the shared fence, work with him there, with the other dog out. You want your dog to realize that the other dog is there, but be far enough away that he's not reacting very much to the other dog. Again, keep him on a long line so that he doesn't get the opportunity to approach the fence.

Over time, your goal will be to move closer to the fence with him still paying attention to you.

You may always need to manage the fence situation, but I'm sure that over time you can improve how he is reacting...

thanks for the response to my long story...We dont let him outside unsupersided...if he starts to bark a the other dog or somebody walking, we go out right away...however your point of not putting him in this situation while we are working on the marker training makes alot of sense. I think we will not let him out when the other dog is out (the neighbours do NOTHING when their dog is out of control!!!) once we have the marker training going very well and he knows the commands 110%, I will take him out on leash in the yard when the other dog is out, we have a half acre so we can go to the other side of the fence and it is fairly far away...150 or 200 meters maybe....I am also in the process of finding out what a good reward is for him so he is engaged...in the house he is very engaged, I used some ham today...he will heal, sit, stand, down, he will watch me even though he does not know this command, he will sit and down when I am not looking at him most of the time however we need to proof this...anyways, I am babbling again...thanks again for the help.....

Brian, that sounds like a good plan. Remember to keep your training sessions very short and upbeat!

I am learning to keep training sessions short, too!

thanks I will keep the sessions short..a good reward does make a difference, today while on a walk...in a very unpopulated area, we cam across another dog, he only lost enagement and showed interest, ie pulling for the other dog when ten we were ten feet away, an improvement none the less.....thanks lynn

 Quote: Brian Villers

thanks I will keep the sessions short..a good reward does make a difference

A good reward makes an enormous difference in keeping your dog engaged, IMO. Glad to hear that it is going well.

PS, the situation that you just described is a good one to work on the 'watch me' command, which should be easy for you to teach since he's already giving you good eye contact. I like it beause it doesn't require the dog to stop moving in order to comply and it gets you past the distraction with the dog's attention on you.

yes, you are exactly right on that...heal or a sit stay may not work as well as he can still watch the other dog and it becomes too much....I am going to try to work on the watch me command at home alot so that I can use it while on walks etc...it is hard to do though, as he goes through some of the other commands when i say it....but I think timing is the probably the key on training the watch me command in this situation...it is also hard as he is a schnauzer so it is harder to see if eyes lol.....

You didn't ask, but I'll tell you how I taught it.

Get some really good treats in your pocket/treat bag. Then just get in front of him and wait. As soon as he looks at you, mark 'Yes!' (or whatvever your word is). If he keeps looking at you, keep marking and rewarding. If he looks away, wait until he looks at you again and mark and reward.

Don't worry about saying the command yet. He will learn very quickly that looking at your face/eyes gets him a reward. Once he's doing it frequently, add your command.

And start out in a low distraction area like the kitchen/livingroom then progress to areas that have more distraction.

Been watching this thread with some interest.
The first thing that jumped out for me was the age of the dog.
And I admit the next thing I did was check out a profile of what 'generally' makes up a Giant Schauzer (as I've only met one or two in my life).
Comfirming what I thought I knew about them.
Brian,
I would center with OB OB OB. This dog is just coming of age and I'm not sure how much BS I'd take from him at this point.
Make sure he knows the commands and enforce them if need be.
If you think it's bad now, give it another year.