Help Needed

Heya guys have a few quick questions Cody is now 19 months and hes still wary of other dogs espically when they come up to sniff him he puts his tail between his legs and if the dog doesnt back up or goes towards his head he snaps : do they grow out of this as have been told a few times its a teenage stage and will grow out of it when he turns 2 : also how do i stop him barking at next door dog recently moved to a new house and next door have a small yappy yorkie/cross and he never stops barking so cody decided hes going to lunge at the fence and bark back but has such a visouos back dont want neighbors complaining x Please help xx

Hmm not sure what to do about the happy dog next door but it is possible Cody will grow out of the defensive thing or at least calm it down a bit. Have you tried socialising him with lots of other dogs and see how he gets on ? My Flo us a bit like Cody unless we walk with another dog on lead first, then she's fine.

Hi Kia,

You're very wise to try and resolve these issues now as they can escalate. I'd suggest looking at the BAT method because I think it'll help teach Cody to relax. There's a thread on it here:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t64420-bat-training-for-dog-on-dog-aggression-and-other-things

The goal is that he can simply relax near, then next to, another dog. Until he can do that (if indeed he can at all), I'd quite strongly suggest that you discourage other dogs from coming closer than he's happy with. If he snaps, quite honestly it's not his fault, it's the fault of those that let their dogs get that close to one who is clearly showing he's not happy with the intrusion. He doesn't have to put up with it, any more than I feel I need to put up with strangers standing really close to me - something I hate.

For now, I would simply ask people to make sure their dogs give Cody a little space as he's not keen on close up dogs. At the same time, call Cody away from the approaching dog and give him a treat when he comes.

On the fence fighting (that's what it's called) you can use the same BAT method of relaxation. Have Cody on a loose line just the distance that he starts thinking about reacting to the yorkie. Throw some treats on the floor and let him eat them. Then call him away a few paces. Repeat and repeat - you should find that he becomes less interested in the yapping yorkie, and more interested in the treats. Because they are on the floor, his head will be in a down = relaxed position. Remember to tell him how totally brilliant he is for not responding.

If at any point he does stiffen or otherwise react, just back off a few paces, calling him to you, make sure he's settled and go back but not so close.

I'd do 3 or 4 repeats each session, especially to start off with. You want to keep him interested in the treats but still aware of the other dog, so that he is learning to pair the two and to understand that relaxed in this situation is good and something he can do. More short sessions is better than longer ones.

It might take a few sessions to work through this but it is absolutely do-able. We have dogs next to us who are out all the time, charging up and down the fence line and barking when we let our guys in the field. Chaos used to get really worked up by them. I think it took 4 or 5 sessions, but now he will ignore them.

What would be the best lead to get as when cody sees a lead he gets super excited and whines xx ( sorry for the late reply been really ill ) xx

I'd go for a long one, it gives you lots of flexibility and space for him to chill in. I use a 5m one like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262225706542?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=560980220455&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

If he gets excited by it, I'd work to reduce that by getting the lead out at random times and doing nothing with it. Walk around with it in your hand, put it down, pick it up. The aim is to break the association of the lead ALWAYS being for fun things. I would also ask him to sit quietly before it's clipped on and, if he gets excited and whines, put it down and walk away. In other words, the fun stuff happens only when he's quiet.