Teach Your Dog an Incompatible Alternative Behavior
You can also teach your dog to perform a behavior that is incompatible with lunging. For example, they can’t lunge towards another dog and turn to look at you at the same time. If you heavily reward this alternative behavior, your dog will eventually choose to do it in place of lunging even when their trigger is close by. Some great choices include “Watch me” (where your dog looks at your face), “Touch” (where your dog targets something with their nose), or “Find it” (where you drop treats at your feet for your dog to find). These are easy to teach and easy for your dog to do even when they are emotionally aroused. And more importantly, they redirect your dog’s gaze from the trigger to you.
Whichever behavior you choose, make sure your dog loves to do it. Start training in a quiet environment without distractions and pile on the treats. This will show your dog how easy it is to get rewarded for the new task. Next, build distractions into your training. Then add the trigger at a below-threshold distance. When your dog looks at the trigger, ask for the replacement behavior. Shower them with treats when they obey. Finally, ask for the new behavior while slowly moving closer and closer to the trigger. If your dog reverts to lunging, you’ve moved too far, too fast. Eventually, rather than lunging, your dog will see the trigger as a cue to do the new behavior and earn a reward.
For some dogs, you might be able to work through these techniques on your own and achieve great success in a matter of weeks. For other dogs, it’s advisable to get help from an animal behaviorist or a professional dog trainer with leash reactivity experience. Your dog might also benefit from a consult with a veterinary behaviorist. If your dog is too worked up to learn, medication can control their arousal levels during training allowing them to make more progress.
Lunging on leash can usually be modified into more polite and acceptable behavior. At the very least, you can minimize your dog’s outbursts with good management. It takes patience and dedication to your dog and the training protocols, but walks can eventually be stress-free for both you and your dog.
Remember to go slowly! Ask yourself how long it would take you to get over something you feared greatly. I am terrified of spiders, and I can think of nothing you can afford that would get me past my fear.
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As a dog trainer, I get this question every week and in every class. The reason you are embarrassed is a simple one: You need new force-free tools to help your dog. Knowledge of how to fix the problem removes the embarrassment, as does understanding that you are dealing with the No. 1 concern dog owners struggle with.
Editor’s note: Have you seen the new Dogster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting room of your vet’s office? This article appeared in our April/May issue. Subscribe to Dogster and get the bimonthly magazine delivered to your home.
About the author:Annie Phenix, CPDT-KA, is a force-free professional dog trainer enjoying her mountain-filled life in Colorado. She is a member of the Pet Professional Guild and the National Association of Canine Scent Work. She takes her highly trained dogs with them everywhere dogs are welcome because of their exceptionally good manners. Join Annie on her dog-training Facebook page.
The 3 Ways to Stop Your Dog Lunging and Barking at Other Dogs:
Take your dog to the park, and train your dog to heal and relax when other people and dogs come around. When you see someone with or without a dog approaching, lure your pooch to your side and have them lay down. Then reward them with a treat while keeping them distracted until the people and/or dogs pass by. Your dog will learn that nothing but good things come from being relaxed when other people and dogs come around.
When your dog successfully completes a trip to a social scene where they encounter others while staying relaxed, reward them with off-leash play in a safe place to allow them to expel any pent-up energy that they accrued while working to behave for you. Over time, you should be able to start introducing your pooch to the people and dogs that pass by without issue.
But be patient, because this process could take months before you get the final results you want. However, you should start seeing improvements in your dog’s barking and lunging behavior within just a couple of weeks if you’re committed to practicing social relaxation techniques regularly.
There are a few special tools that you can make use of to help keep your dog from barking and lunging while out for a walk or when you’re in a social situation together. First, consider looking into the Thunder Shirt. It’s designed to swaddle your dog like a blanket around an infant to provide instant comfort and reassurance both in social situations and while spending time at home alone. The outfit will soothe your dog while they deal with the stresses of learning how to behave in a social setting. All you have to do is put it on before each walk to ensure a calmer experience for both you and your pooch.
Another tool that you can use to help keep your dog from lunging at other dogs is a no-pull harness. These harnesses will allow you to maintain better control of your dog while you walk and to control their actions better when working to calm them down when another dog comes nearby. Because these harnesses help you maintain better control, they offer additional peace of mind that will give you the confidence to walk your dog when you know that other dogs may be around.
You can also employ a professional dog trainer to help you overcome your pooch’s barking and lunging problems. Doing so can help you solve your specific training problems and allow you to better communicate with your dog. These tools should make it easier for you to minimize the barking and lunging that your dog tends to do when you go on walks together.
How to stop your dog from lunging, barking and pulling on leash
It’s never fun to head out on a walk with your dog just to fight off tension due to them barking and lunging at other dogs. In fact, the habit of barking and lunging can keep you from taking your dog out for walks at all, which is unfair for both of you. Walking is important for you because it gives you a chance to bond with your pooch, release stress, strengthen your heart, and burn extra calories, among other things.1
Taking regular walks is also important for your dog because the activity provides them with body and mind stimulation, allows them to release pent-up energy, and gives them an opportunity to socialize with other people and dogs. Walking gives you both the chance to practice behavioral training as well!2 So, it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. But to enjoy walks with your pooch, you have to get them to stop barking and lunging every time another dog struts their way.
This isn’t an easy task, but it is one that’s doable — and is sure to be rewarding when all is said and done. We’ve put together a list of tips that you can use to stop your dog from barking and lunging at other dogs. Hopefully, you will walk away feeling empowered and inspired! Here’s how to stop your dogs from lunging and barking at other dogs: