Honeslty at the dog park, we dont let him interact with other dogs much. In the begining when they first get out of the car another dog does occasionally get close enough to sniff, he seems fine in these situations. We take him to a very secluded area (our dog park is 13 acres, and has many areas going through the woods and such where not many people travel) and then we get him to the lake, go to a seculed (although muddy) area and have him swim. So he doesn't get much interaction there. Most of his interaction is on the leash and at the dog park he is fine, not hair raising, teeth baring or anything. Once or twice he has played chase but for the most part he is SO OBSESSED with the ball that he doesn't pay any dogs any attention evein if they are around.

Connie,
He is definitly not fine! lol I didnt know how else to let you know that its only in these certain situations that he becomes a problem.

What do you mean by confidence building obedience work?

I am going to read up on desesitizing and marker training right now.

I also wanted to add that if you want to read up on desensitizing and marker work, if you want to note down questions, we'll answer them! :-)


ETA Just read your reply above. "Definitely not fine." LOL Most dogs can quickly learn sit. It's the proofing for venues and distraction where real training comes in. Then you end up with reliable obedience... obedience when you need it most.

Confidence-building work for me = marker training.


PS
I cannot tell you how strongly I feel about dog parks. There is no way to know the control anyone else has over their dog(s) (and the answer from what I have seen is mostly zero), and one attack can change your dog forever.

But anyway -- I truly do believe that when you read a dozen threads on desensitizing of reactive dogs, you will recognize your dog and will just think "when do I start."

Just logged back on for a sec to say:

By the way, Nicole, WELCOME!

OK so I believe he is definitly insecure and I belive the best way to help him is to focus on marker training and further establishing my role as pack leader. I think I should do this before I begin to work on his territorialness, although it may be that doing these things solves the problem. Since he is not a dominant dog (my female is defifinitly the dominant tempered one, I have always known this) I will not use the collar at this time. I do not want to make him more fearful.

Now - onto leash training, he has ALWAYS pulled. My trainer does the following: I take him out on a 20' lead and whenever he makes the leash taught, I pull him in with 3 pulls. When he passes this I begin to move around with him doing the same three pulls if he pulls the leash taught. If he passes that on the 20 ft leash I reduce it to 6' and repeat. I have tried this several times and I can never get him to focus on me. This technique worked like a charm on Madison, but Truman can be on an hour long walk and we never get more than 50' away from the house! He always has to snif, etc. Any suggestions here?

Does this sound right to you?

As you get into marker training, I think you'll find it invaluable in teaching him to walk nicely at your side.

You are going to LOVE marker training and so will both of your dogs.

Have you ever used a prong collar? NOT as a replacement to training with markers but as a tool to stop him from pulling?

Ditto on Barbara's post.

Also, yes, the territorial thing you see will respond to your leadership. The dog will perceive you as the source of cues about how to react, as well as the leader who protects and makes decisions for the pack.

When I am teaching no-pull, I make sure to establish an "OK" or "Free" command, which for me means I stand still and the dog has the length of the leash to sniff, pee, etc. When not in "Free" mode, we are marching right along briskly.

This means you, not the dog, set the pace and direction, and it means that the dog gets to be a dog, but at your discretion and not his. Win-win.

JMO!

Gentle Leaders and Gentle Lead Harnesses can also be a beneficial tool when combined with marker training for teaching leash manners. )

When Jethro is pulling, he is disconnected from me and immersed in the environment. He is not walking with me, he is walking alone (I'm this dead weight at the end of the leash). I'm finding it really helpful to play recall games with him so that whenever he looks back at me, I click and give him a treat.

The other thing that seems to help, and I don't know exactly why, is a little game of tug with the tug I carry in my pocket. I saw this on a Leerburg video, where Cindy pulled a tug out of her pocket and played with the dog as they walked along. I find I can drop Jethro's leash entirely because he is so focused on me and the tug. We play this way, giving him lots of chances to jump for the tug. Then, I put the tug away, and lo and behold, the leash is hanging slack between us.

With Jethro, the one thing that does not seem to work at all is giving him a leash correction. If anything, it makes it worse. I laugh now, but when I first started trying to get Jethro's attention when my SELF was competing with the ENVIRONMENT, I would try to follow the instructions I got: just give him a nice pop with the leash and keep moving. The thing is, that the leash does not pop. It's hard to describe, but it kind of cinches in over Jethro's thick ruff and loose neck folds. There is no pop and he basically does not feel a leash correction unless I stand at a forty five degree angle and pull as fast and hard as I possibly can. Now, when he sees me brace to give a correction because he is way out of line, he stops before I give the might heave ho. I appreciate that, because I often injure my back or shoulder with the effort.

Yeah, I'm working on the cooperative, team-based approach to loose leash walking.

Also,it's better to start this INSIDE with NO distractions.
Much easier then trying outside with new smells etc.

Once you get 100% inside then gradually move it outside.

Im not saying put up with it outside, but just realize that until he totally understands what you want, asking him to perform with distractions is gonna be difficult.

Also, when i first got Tucker, he was HORRIBLE on leash. So to make things easier on me for walking (until he got heel down) i would tire him out with a 10 minute game of fetch THEN go for a walk. Worked like a charm.

oh, and kudos to you on realizing that just because a training method worked with one dog, doesn't mean the same method will work for another dog...lol