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Leash reactivity
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Leash reactivity
My sweet 7mo old Belgian mali is a good boy but when he’s on a leash he turns into an aggressive dog that barks, lunges at dogs. He plays with dogs at the dog park and lives with a small dog and cat. He barks at dogs as soon as he lives the dog park, but totally fine with them inside off leash. He even barks at dogs the same way when he’s in a car. Also gets very defensive when someone approaches him ( on a leash )
I work on his obedience everyday outside and inside, he’s pretty obedient except when he’s already started to bark and try to lunge towards the dog.
I’ve read all the methods and tried but its not really changing him. I believe he isn’t confident, is hard correction going to fix that unwanted behavior or going to make it worse? Been doing the food distraction for 2 months and not much change. I had him for 3 months.
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1 Reply
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So I’m thinking that you may have an issue with your dog protecting you. You said that he becomes defensive when someone approaches him on leash. That also means that the dog or person is approaching you.
I haven’t seen his act but for the most part you want to avoid harsh corrections him being a puppy. We don’t want him to start to associate discomfort or negative vibes whenever dogs or people approach. You have to get him before he goes off. Once he goes off there isn’t much you can do. You will see subtle changes in body posture then “Let’s Go”. Move him, movement relieves stress. I would keep concentrating on obedience without the distractions.
I did notice that you said my “sweet” and he is “pretty” obedient. You may want to try being somewhat more assertive and demanding in the training. Even sometimes lowering your voice can make a difference.
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