Jonah isn't Jude!

[hey_jude]

They're pretty similar in a lot of ways- but really seeing how different Jonah is when it comes to meeting other dogs and I'm nervous now! Every time we see another dog, either on a leash across the street or at petco on another aisle, if Jonah can't go over and greet he just barks and barks and barks. Very intense excited barking- it seems more excited than fearful but it's hard to tell. He's okay if they finally greet each other- but he also still barks at them some even if they do meet.

I don't know what to do with this. Jude used to just be interested, but Jonah gets so intense. He starts puppy class very soon and although I think that will help, I also am a little afraid to bring him now.

Does it sound like he's just excited? Is he fearful? How do I encourage him not to go so nuts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Renee750il]

It sounds like excitement, not fear. What I would do is start desensitizing him and teaching him to focus on you when there is another dog, looking to you for direction on what to do. Manners, manners, manners. Sit, wait, and no one gets to meet until he is calm and a gentleman.

Using a clicker might be a good idea, too. I haven't read it, but there are quite a few people here who have had great results using what they learned by reading Click to Calm.

 

[monkeys23]

Yeah he's just being a jerkface pup. Focus work on you will help with getting him to have better manners. Not all dogs are friendly, so going to meet them all isn't the solution.

 

[Aleron]

It's excitement. IME though, you need to be careful with this sort of excitement because as the dog matures it can turn into leash reactivity. I would avoid group play settings, at least for now as that will only increase his interest in other dogs. Instead, take him places where he will be around other leashed dogs and work with them, giving lots of rewards for him focusing on you. This article may also offer you some food for thought: Sheepdog?

 

[Laurelin]

I wouldn't worry too much yet. Mia went through a period in her puppyhood where she decided she needed to act like kujo around other leashed dogs. Thankfully it didn't last long and she grew out of it without too much work on my part. I think puppy class will help as would the 'look at me' game. Just get him to realize that even though something is super exciting, his focus should still be you and he still needs to behave. Of course this will take time. But I definitely like click to calm and the look at me game.

It's funny how different dogs within a breed/family can be. Mia gets worked up SUPER fast compared to Summer and reacts to a lot more. You'll get to where you know Jonah just as well as you do Jude.

 

[Shai]

Not much I can add especially without seeing him in action, but I like the "sheepdog" link lol...wish I had read that back in the day instead of learning by experience.

You know, like the time my herder herded a wayward BC back to his handler and made him stay there...

 

[Lizmo]

Can you redirect his attention? Have treats ready?

Blaze went through a fear period at about 4 months old, barking and growling at other dogs. It was happened in a controled enviroment and the advice I got was to just ignore the growling (it wasn't bothering the other dogs, haha) and let him get over himself and see that the other dog isn't hurting him. It worked. He got over himself and loves other dogs.

I actually disagree with keeping him out of play sessions. He needs to learn how to interact with other dogs. He needs to learn how to read other dogs (besides Jude). The more you expose him to those things now, the less a big deal they'll be as he ages. Let him play, have fun, and be a puppy now. Work on little things like calling to you, lots of yummy treats, then let him go back and play. It will show him that coming to you doesn't mean leaving the fun.

 

[AllieMackie]

You're panicking again.

He's a puppy, and he is different from Jude. Not all dogs simply know how to behave around other dogs, and barking is not a "bad" behaviour. His barking simply sounds like excitement. He wants to see that other dog! He needs to express this excitement! Bark bark bark!

That said, you can curb it with training like anything else. Finn used to bark his face off when he saw another dog, sheerly out of excitement. Going to obedience classes and working on it in our dog-heavy neighbourhood fixed the problem. Being afraid to take your misbehaving dog to an obedience class is a bit backwards. It's a perfect opportunity to teach him that when he is quiet and waiting, he can visit other dogs. Tell your trainer in advance that you want to work on this issue - they'll often integrate it into the class.

Puppies will develop bad/weird behaviours, and all we can so is work with them to behave the way we prefer! Jonah isn't being aggressive or fearful, he's simply excited. That's a very good thing. Work WITH that excitement and show him how he should behave to get what he wants.

 

[Laurelin]

Puppies are funny... It was about 16 weeks when Mia went through her Cujo phase. One week she was miss angel on a leash- walking perfectly. Next week super super reactive. Week after that was back to miss perfect leash walking and ignoring other dogs lol.

 

[Southpaw]

It's excitement. IME though, you need to be careful with this sort of excitement because as the dog matures it can turn into leash reactivity. I would avoid group play settings, at least for now as that will only increase his interest in other dogs. Instead, take him places where he will be around other leashed dogs and work with them, giving lots of rewards for him focusing on you. This article may also offer you some food for thought: Sheepdog?

This is what happened to Juno.... as a puppy she just wanted to say hi to other dogs and I just ignored the behavior and assumed it would stop when she got older (one of my many training mistakes!). Obviously it didn't stop and somewhere between 12-18 months old it turned from excitement into LUNGE GROWL BARK. Would've been much easier to address it as soon as I realized other dogs were an "issue" with her.
And she's always been a dog park, daycare etc. kind of dog, I can't say that it actually made the behavior worse but it didn't make it better. Really frustrates me when people say the way to stop that behavior is to socialize her with other dogs... uh, really? (on the flipside, my completely undersocialized dog doesn't even bat an when we pass other dogs).

I agree with more focus/obedience work around other dogs, an obedience class will be GREAT!

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

Puppies are funny... It was about 16 weeks when Mia went through her Cujo phase. One week she was miss angel on a leash- walking perfectly. Next week super super reactive. Week after that was back to miss perfect leash walking and ignoring other dogs lol.

Take a look at 16 weeks on this chart

hehehe...

I would honestly stick with the puppy class and use it as your own personal focus building class. Every so often in play you recall the dog to you and throw a huge party.

The behavior could easily develop into a dangerously bad behaved dog but with early intervention you'll be fine.

 

[hey_jude]

Haha you guys always seem to think I'm like in panicked mode! I'm just a passionate 'talker' I guess- i'm really not like freaking out over here- just want to make sure that I get this figured out soon before I end up with one dog that has to sit home while the other one can go to daycare / dog parks. I've been so much more lax on getting Jonah all socialized so I'm kind of seeing the results of that and now I'm scared it's going to be a lot harder since I waited longer.

So you guys think no dog park / puppy playtime right now and only on leash work? That's going to be hard for me because he'll be done with his final round in two weeks- haha I had wanted to take him! If you think that's best though.

I can do the treats thing- I was just nervous it would seem like I was rewarding the barking. Would it?

 

[Renee750il]

Don't reward him until his attention is on you. As soon as it starts to go back to the other dog, get him back to his focus on you.

And when he DOES focus on another dog without being a maniac, you reward that.

 

[hey_jude]

Okay I will try that today! Thank you everyone! Will update.

 

[Beanie]

I wouldn't say no dog park, personally. Just don't take him there and have him excitedly exploding on his leash and then take him off while he's flipping out - you'll be rewarding him for his excitement AND reinforcing it with "freak out on the lead and you get let off lead to go play!"
He just sounds like a normal excited puppy to me. => I wouldn't worry too much about it, just make sure you start working on his focus!

 

[RD]

No, I think puppy playtime is VERY important now and so is puppy class. Puppy class will give you a lot of extra help with controlling his impulses. His pulling, barking and flipping out is an impulsive behavior based on excitement.

Do what Renee said, keeping in mind that allowing him to move forward or taking him off the leash is a reward to him.

 

[Southpaw]

And when he DOES focus on another dog without being a maniac, you reward that.

I just want to put an emphasis on this!! By far the thing that has worked the best for Juno's reactivity, and it's easier than trying to get them to NOT look at dogs. They get to look around and be aware of their surroundings all they want, but they learn to do it calmly.

 

[Lizmo]

I wouldn't say no dog park, personally. Just don't take him there and have him excitedly exploding on his leash and then take him off while he's flipping out - you'll be rewarding him for his excitement AND reinforcing it with "freak out on the lead and you get let off lead to go play!"
He just sounds like a normal excited puppy to me. => I wouldn't worry too much about it, just make sure you start working on his focus!

^that! You can work around the excited barking without cutting everything out. Just let him off in that split second he *relaxes*. Or, stand by the fence before you go in and wait till he gets all his wiggling/pulling/barking/crying out THEN walk into the fence when he's cooled his jets, lol.

You can do this.

BTW, didn't I see something about swimming somewhere? How'd he like that?

 

[hey_jude]

Thanks everyone! wonderful tips and I will apply them and update. Hard to know what is right and wrong with puppy raising to be honest!

Jennifer- He can't go yet Needs his final round!

 

[AllieMackie]

Haha you guys always seem to think I'm like in panicked mode! I'm just a passionate 'talker' I guess- i'm really not like freaking out over here- just want to make sure that I get this figured out soon before I end up with one dog that has to sit home while the other one can go to daycare / dog parks. I've been so much more lax on getting Jonah all socialized so I'm kind of seeing the results of that and now I'm scared it's going to be a lot harder since I waited longer.

Haha, I didn't mean it that way! Just poking fun. It's definitely important to nip this, in the off chance it escalates. With Finn I did the "reward when giving me attention" and it worked swimmingly with some time and consistency. It can definitely take some time - barking can be self-rewarding and relieving for them when they're excited, so it's important to remain consistent.

With Finn it took a few MONTHS. He slowly got better, though. I kept seeing small improvements until we were finally at a point where he gave me good behaviour. I still reward him with a treat for good behaviour on walks when we encounter other dogs, whether he meets them or not.

Funny side story: Since he's getting over kennel cough, we don't meet other dogs on walks now like we normally do. My neighbourhood's cool with the "is he friendly? can they say hi?" thing before rushing over with their dog, so lately I've had to do the "not today, contagious cold" thing. Poor Finn. I'd keep walking and he'd keep planting his but down and staring at me, with a bit of silent whining here and there. Then he'd dance about a bit. Then sit. Stare. Fidget. I just kept trying to walk and he was trying to please me to meet the dogs. :rofl1: