Alright....I need some training help! (Little Uppydate)

Jack is my most outgoing and friendly dog....a bit too friendly actually. Since I've gotten him (he was 3 months) I have taken him to new surroundings and tried to socialize him with as many dogs as possible. We still go to the pet store every weekend where he gets to meet new people and dogs. He used to bark at other dogs and I worked hard to get him to stop that, then he would bark at men, we worked on that. I taught him "quiet" and has been doing great with the whole barking thing.
A new problem has come about. He will heel beautifully in the house and hard and pays attention really well. So I moved out to the sidewalk in front of the house, great still. Okay, so he does great with no distractions. My problem is getting him to pay attention when there are distractions, even with little distractions present (a bird on the other side of the street on the ground...or an ant on the sidewalk...okay maybe not but you get the point) he will totally blow me off and not pay any attention. Even if I have treats he acts like I don't exsist. When we are walking down the sidewalk and a dog barks at us from its backyard Jack goes nutso and he thankfully doesn't bark anymore but pulls like crazy and I literally drag him past. There are some houses that he is worse at then others but for the most part he is horrible!! I want him to stop this behavior and I would like him to be focused on what I am trying to tell him and pay attention!! As you may know I plan on doing agility with him. I can't have a dog crazy dog in agility! I am hoping some formal obediance will help this, I am currently checking out a few local places because I want to get his CGC before we start agility next summer and I think that being in a class with distractions will help a lot more. But what should I do? I do have a halti for him but he absolutley hates it but I think it could help in this situation...I am open to suggestions ;)
Thanks,
The crazy rotten black dog :p


UPDATE....(DEC 2nd)

Well Jack has been in Obedience class for 4 weeks now. At the first class he was AWFUL, he was barking, really stressed and making all sorts of Jack-like noises (exessive moaning, "arfing" like a seal...etc.) But after 4 weeks he is at the top of his class!! I really didn't think it would be so beneficial. I did teach him the watch command as you two (Erica and Dixieland Dancer) suggested and it is AMAZING!! We have gotten to the point that whenever I tell him to watch me he looks right away...even with distractions, I love it!! The club that we are doing obedience with also does CGC testing and I would love to do it this month. There is one Dec. 9 but I think its a bit too soon, we'll see. I'm sorry, I doubt that anybody cares, lol but I am just sooo proud of Jack! They also have been pulling out a few agility obstacles each class, I can not wait to start agility with this boy! He tends to get bored with the obedience and always doing the same thing over and over but once he sees the equipment coming out he gets soo wound up!! He was the only one to fearlessly jump through the tire or go through the tunnel (he has never done either of these things and acted like hes done it before!) Oh man, I'm excited, can you tell? lol...Okay, thats my uppydate on the "Crazy Rotten Black dog". Oh, he is much much better with some of the houses he was terrible at before, thanks to the watch command he is progressing so much. We still have a long way to go but I think we're off to a good start :D

yeah, I had basically the exact same problem when Gonzo was younger :) except, he would just lay there and stare down anything that was moving past us - bikes, people, dogs, squirrels, cars, etc. First, you should try to set him up for success. Avoid houses he's really bad with and continue to work mostly on healing in undistracted areas. In areas with distraction, concentrate on getting him to focus on you before you try to get him to heel and obey other commands... a REALLY priceless command is "watch". It's one of the first things we learned on OB classes. Start by sitting with him in a quiet room inside, with a million little tidbits of cheese or chicken/liver. When he looks at you, say "watch" and give him a little treat and say "good WATCH". Trust me, after a few days of this he will constantly be looking at you. Move on to another room in the house, maybe with more activity, and reward him every time he looks and you. Now, move on to telling him to "watch me" several times during the day, when he does he gets a good treat every time. Practice it in the backyard for a while, then out in public once he becomes REALLY good at watching. "Leave it" is also a VERY good command to teach when the dog is pulling/barking at something.

meh... anyway, Obedience sounds like a total MUST, and I'm sure Jack will do great in classes! ^.^ hes a smart little Labby boy. after 6 months of going through advanced OB, Gonzo was insanely solid with distractions and he is 300% better with dogs running around him. He knows that I mean it when I tell him to watch me, so staring down everything that moves is not a problem anymore ;).. good luck!! Agility dogs do need to be very solid and focused on their handler with tons of distractions, so it'll be a LOT of work but it will be worth it.

The "watch" command is invaluable but once the dog has an idea of what you expect, you need to increase the stimulation he receives in order to get the reward. First the dog should have at a minimum 30 seconds and preferrably 1 minute watch without distractions. It needs to be 100% consistent. Once this is established (don't move onto distractions unless it is) then you move onto distractions. Minor distractions at first. Perhaps someone walking by or making a loud noise. I even move parts of my body but give a UT-OHHHH sound if the dog looks away. Then I break out and start over. Distractions in the house must be 100% before moving them outside. Remember to up the stimulation as he learns and progresses. Perhaps a favorite ball bounced in front of him or someone saying his favorite word. Don't rush moving outside before he is ready. This is a very gradual process. When you do go outside, you need to up the reward to something even more appealing than you used in the house and more appealing than the distraction. Verbal praise as a reward needs to be exstatic! I tell people if you aren't making a fool of yourself when you praise your dog (especially in private) then you are not giving enough verbal reinforcement and praise.

You are on the right path with doing formal obedience but working at home, one on one, is the best practice. Remember, when you start, your number one goal is to set the dog up for success. In order to do this you need to start small and work your way up too big. I'm sure you can do it since you have accomplished so much already with Jack! Happy Training! :D

Thanks guys!! I will definately spend more time on the "watch" command!

~*gentle bump*~

I just read your thread and update...good job. It take lots of hard work to have a well trained dog. You should be very proud of yourself.
Agility is great fun, I have been doing it for 5 years with my beagle. I am starting to train my Golden to do it. Have fun. Keep up the good work.