No, I haven't; I also have not done marker training, but I will look into it.

 Quote: Steph Schneider

No, I haven't; I also have not done marker training, but I will look into it.

Even though desensitizing can only do so much in some cases, IMHO it's never a waste of time. The collateral benefits alone (bonding, confidence, focus) make it worthwhile.

In this case, I think that separating him from other dogs and working with him in highly controlled distraction-situations will be top priority.

 Quote: Steph Schneider

He knows watch me, but he doesn't always listen to it when we are outside. I need to work with him more on his excitement and around distractions.

This is a gradual process, as opposed to a sink-or-swim thing.

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

... re your guests, you most definately should step in and don't let Felix be pushy. It might take just a 'Knock it Off!' on your part, or you may want to crate him, tether him to you, or place him in a long down, if he's at that point in his obedience.

Rob makes several good points, including managing your dog's environment. You do that by not putting the dog in a position where you cannot control the outcome easily. So, for now, don't let him mingle with other dogs.

Vitally important points, IMHO.

Tomorrow afternoon I can find you some detailed threads about reactivity and desensitizing work.

And I know others will continue to have good suggestions.

Good for you that you posted. This dog needs you, and working with him is going to give you a lot of satisfaction. There isn't a lot of room for mistakes at this point, though, so managing his environment (no dog-mingling, as mentioned above) is super-important.

Steph, Connie will dig up some helpful stuff.

In the meantime, here's an article from Karen Pryor's website: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/64

I didn't read the whole thing, but from the intro, it sounds like this dog was as reactive as they come to other dogs. Part of the reactivity was an idiot trainer's overuse of the prong collar in correcting an aggressive reaction. The writer describes what she went through to "rehab" an overly aggressive dog.

...and a book by the lady who successfully rehabbed the damaged golden retriever: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/343

Come to think of it, my wife and I are providing a "temporary home" to an intact male 18 month old stray Akita mix at the moment. He postures up and reacts to every dog he meets. I'll be watching this thread closely for ideas for him as well - we'd like to get him civilized just a little more before sending him off to a permanent home. Right now, he's rather hard to market (70 pounds, dog aggressive, will eat cats for breakfast :blush
What the hell did we get ourselves into anyway???????

Check out the book "Control Unleashed" It has many ideas for training your dog to be calm.

A few of the training ideas really helped me with my reactive dog. I also have the Click to Calm book, but I liked Control Unleashed better.

The thing that helped me the best was teaching my dog a calm default behavior. It was practiced in all sorts of situations and rewarded heavily. Basically what was happening with my dog was that he got so worked up he couldn't think and that turned into aggressive behavior. When I taught him specific calm behaviors I could ask for them when he started to get stressed or excited and it would calm him down. When he was calm he could think and focus. You could almost see him breathe a sigh of relief as he learned he didn't have to worry about other dogs.

He's still got some mild reactivity issues, but it's so much better that it puts a smile on my face to see where he's at today.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

.... Even though desensitizing can only do so much in some cases, IMHO it's never a waste of time. The collateral benefits alone (bonding, confidence, focus) make it worthwhile. .... In this case, I think that separating him from other dogs and working with him in highly controlled distraction-situations will be top priority. .... Tomorrow afternoon I can find you some detailed threads about reactivity and desensitizing work.

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/251675/page/0/fpart/2

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=249885&Searchpage=2&Main=24037&Words=desensitize&topic=0&Search=true#Post249885

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=167&Number=267352&Searchpage=1&Main=25541&Words=desensitize&topic=0&Search=true#Post267352

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=253411&Searchpage=2&Main=24388&Words=desensitize&topic=0&Search=true#Post253411

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=251675&Searchpage=2&Main=24232&Words=desensitize&topic=0&Search=true#Post251675

Wow, Connie, there is some impressive behavioral knowledge conveyed in those threads. I doubt if a person could get that level of specificity for these complex problems anywhere else on the planet (without laying down cold hard $$ for it).

You either train dogs for a living, or could if you wanted to. Either way, glad you are here!!!!

What a nice compliment!

I have trained a few.

But eval/rehab of "challenging" shelter dogs gives a ton of valuable experience.

Working with other people's dogs (and the other people) is rewarding, as many members here can tell you. Even more so, maybe, is working with rescues/fosters to rehab them, and you might be surprised to discover how many folks on this board do this.

The combination of areas of dog work represented on this board is probably what makes it so valuable. I sure get a lot more than I can give here.

Steph really couldn't have chosen a better board.


eta
It's no accident that when I run into a big challenge and need help, the people I turn to in emails for ideas are all members of this board.

I bought a clicker last weekend and some smaller treats. We are working on his focus on me right now. I just wanted to know what kind of collar I should be using with him. Since he does not lunge at other dogs is it o.k. to use the prong? He has started whining and almost screaming at other dogs a few times, but not every time. I am wondering if these are female dogs that he wants to go play with because he has no problem with female dogs. The noises he makes sounds more like frustration and not aggression. So, should I use a prong or a dominant dog collar with him?

 Quote: Steph Schneider

I bought a clicker last weekend and some smaller treats. We are working on his focus on me right now. I just wanted to know what kind of collar I should be using with him. Since he does not lunge at other dogs is it o.k. to use the prong? He has started whining and almost screaming at other dogs a few times, but not every time. I am wondering if these are female dogs that he wants to go play with because he has no problem with female dogs. The noises he makes sounds more like frustration and not aggression. So, should I use a prong or a dominant dog collar with him?

(I slightly changed the title.)

Unless I missed something in a quick review of this thread, I would not have this dog around other dogs at this time.

What is the situation where he is exposed to the other dogs you mention in this post?

If you mean these are distraction-dogs (deliberate distractions), then they are far too close. Please clarify.

Beginning marker work (including focus) is best done at home, with no distractions. That's great that you got some tiny rewards and a clicker!

Distractions are very gradually introduced (all distraction; in this case other dogs are the ultimate distraction).

Did you load your marker (your clicker)? If you don't know what that means, we will be happy to explain.

About the collar -- do you mean when walking, or what? (Starting focus work at home with zero distractions would just use the usual flat collar.) At this stage, he shouldn't be in a situation that you can avoid where he is whining, screaming, or in any other way reacting to other dogs. What is that situation? Is it strange dogs on walks?