My dog is well behaved indoors not outdoors

[gwen]

I have an 3/4 alsation dont know what the other 1/4 is called Puppy, he is 11 months old and I've only had him for a month. He is quite large but indoors he is well behaved and obedient and a pleasure to be around. But as soon as we get out of the gate he becomes deranged!! He is just about manageable to walk but as soon as he sees another dog he goes crazy. He is very respectful of me in the house but ignores me totally on walks. Walking him is becoming very stressful and embarassing as every other dog we encounter seems to be so well behaved.

Anyone got any ideas they would be so appreciated :

[angelchampy]

He needs behavior modification. My vet gave me some papers to follow. You need time and patience for this. It goes something like this. You put your dog in a position (like sitting) in your room. You back up a few steps and tell him to stay. When he does you go back to him and give him a treat. (Make sure these treats are small, you go through alot of them). You do this for so many repetitions. Another time you go in a circle around him and make him stay. Another time you go toward the door with your hand on the knob (but don't leave yet), return and treat. After so many weeks, your dog learns to stay while you're moving around him, dancing, leaving, whatever. Then you take this outside and do the same in your yard (with the distraction of cars, people, etc.). Like I said, it takes some time but it really worked with mine. Towards the end, I got her to start walking toward me, stop when I told her to, then continue. I still have all the papers. If you want to message me with your mailing address, I'd be happy to send them to you. I thought my vet was crazy when she gave these to me, but they really worked.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Would strongly recommend you try a Gentle Leader headcollar. I've just bought one each for my two terriers and its like walking with two different dogs!

[Canis-Lupess]

The ideas in the first reply were good ones and you can use others alongside such as teaching him to play with a particular toy with you at home. Get him to the point where he loves this toy and loves playing with it with you. Only let him have this toy when you are playing with him then take it away and only play on your terms, not his.

When you go to pass another dog, he acts aggressively because he has learnt for whatever reason that other dogs are bad news and they need to be driven away. Shouting at him, yanking his lead and all that only reinforces his belief that the other dogs are bad news and need to be driven away and his behaviour would get worse. Maybe his previous owner did this which is why he does it with you.

What you need to do is change his perception about other dogs by making the act of passing them a pleasant experience rather than a negative one. Destracting him with his toy you taught him to love is a good thing to do. He'll keep his eyes on that and you can encourage him to want to play with it as he passes the other dog. If he likes playing with his toy enough, chances are, he won't even notice the other dog because he'll be too intent on his toy. Once he has passed the other dog without trouble, you must praise him and tell him how good he is and let him have a game with his toy. If he pulls at the other dog, don't yank the lead back or shout or tell him off in any way. Remain calm and just keep a firm hold on his lead and don't use anything like a choke chain that may cause pain if he pulls. Again, this can make him blame the other dog because the pain only happens when they come along and he pulls to get at them.

As for the general pulling, when you leave to go for a walk, make sure you go through the door and gate first. Don't ask him to sit and wait to let you through first, he should just stand back and let you go first and you can teach him this by slamming the door or gate shut if he tries charging through first...being careful not to trap his nose mind. After a few repetitions, he'll get the message that you go through first.
Once on the street, only move forward whilst he is at heal. If he goes to pull, STOP!!! Make him come back to heal and once he's there, resume walking and stop again if he goes to pull.

Dogs pull because they think this is what keeps you moving forward. If you teach him that pulling makes you stop and that walking to heal is what makes you move foreward, he'll start walking beside you. It can take a little time and patience but I always prefer for the dog to actually be trained not to pull rather than forced not to pull by using gadgets and such because if you took those gadgets away, they'd pull again because they haven't effectively been trained not to pull.

Asserting your dominance and making sure he knows he is the underdog is another thing you need to look at. In the end, a subordinate would not think he should be walking in front. It is the alphas that lead.

[gwen]

Hey thanks for some more replies, I bought a gentle leader and it has changed my life, he doesnt drag me around any longer and although the sight of another dog gets him excited I am able to control him and once he realises he cant get to the dog he chills out. We went to a park today, something before I got the gentle leader would have been my worst nightmare. We stopped and chatted to other dog owners and we walked past about 15 dogs its early days but Im very hopeful that in time he will chill out and be nonchalant about other dogs.

[whalelover]

Sounds like you're on the right track with the gentle leader. As for the excitement of the other dogs, walk him by your side (not in front) and when he begins to get excited (the first sign is the ears perking up, right at that moment) you do a quick, firm jerk of the leash to the side. This results in him snapping out of it. You can also tap him in the side with your foot, which works well also in getting him out of the unwanted zone. (note-this is not a kick!).