LesleyBrooks

Thank you so much - this is gold. I will take time to read all your links and develop a plan of action. I feel more confident already

Great questions Adrienne, and thanks for the quick response. You will see from my answers that Mac is a bit of an enigma. A trainer at Tararua All Breeds training club (New Zealand) suggested I give him a treat every time a dog is nearby to make him think dogs were good. I have to say I thought it was odd at the time as I had always understood the best thing to do is to ignore and carry on with absolutely no reaction - no words, no tightening of the leash, no nervousness (which the dog will pick up). Very keen to hear your thoughts on this. He is getting better with dogs on a leash, say up to around 10m away - much closer than that and he gets nervous. When I first took him to training he could not cope at all, and the trainer advised me just to hang around the edge of the field - he now has a Halti nose collar which he hates and has managed to take off, so I am looking at the Halti harness. I had him on a choke chain at first, but he really didn't care - he would just keep on pulling, and I didn't want to tug at him with the choke on. He is a dedicated and determined puller, when ever he pulls I simply stand still until he comes back to my side, and then we start again. Some walks are literally one step at a time. Here's the enigma - he goes to doggy day care twice a week and, after a challenging first few weeks, he is now okay with the other dogs - not all of them as the smaller dogs don't really like him - his manners are a work in progress. But as soon as his lead is put on when I pick him up he changes and gets tricky - I don't want to say aggressive cos it really isn't, but its not quite fearful either - may I'd say its like making a point. And yes, he barks at nothing at home. He always lets me know when someone comes round, which is actually quite good as I live alone, and I'm in a rural situation, but every so often he barks at ghosts - I walk him around to show him nothing is wrong and he settles quite quickly. Thinking about it its often when he rouse from a nap or quiet time. Though he barked furiously at the wood pile after it had been delivered, but he settled quickly once I walked him around it and let him sniff at the wood. He sits quite happily now as I stack the wood into the shed. No idea how he will behave when it gets colder and I set the fire (its a wood burner with a sturdy fireguard - I have a 2 year old grandson. Mac isn't my first dog - I have previously had both a spoodle (I think they are called Cookapoos in the US) and a German shepherd, but Mac is my first rescue dog. He's lovely, very loving, very intelligent and quick to learn albeit pretty headstrong, and I am sure that once I have sorted his problems he will be a fantastic dog. I have started to introduce him to agility - just a small jump in my back garden, and it took him less that 5 minutes to learn "jump" - with clicker and treat as a reward. If I think about the 3 Ds - duration, distance and distraction - he sort of loses all training the minute he gets distracted - I put that down to him still being a puppy / adolescent - and I work mostly on the duration and distance training. Still going through your Obedience 101 and enjoying the course so far - I am using the sit and down as reinforcement and have now started Leave It / Take It. The lab in him is proving a challenge at the moment - but I am the collie will kick in soon. I look forward to your response. Apologies if this is a bit of a novel Cheers, Lesley

I have a rescue lab collie cross - I adopted him at 9.5 months old and have had him nearly 4 months now. Nothing suggests he had been physically abused, but it seems clear that he had no socialisation or training as a puppy. Meaning I have a fearful dog. He is getting much better with people, and loves being made a fuss of, but he throws a fear reaction when another dog is around (hackles up, pointing, lunging, barking) - this can make taking him for a walk very troublesome. I only go to places where dogs must be on leash, but it seems many people do not follow the rules/ Other than keeping on with the walks and teaching him that other leashed dogs are nothing to worry about - I didn't use to react at all just kept calmly walking, but then it was suggested I should give him a treat every time a dog is nearby to give him the sense that rather than being scared he will get a treat. I'm not convinced and it hasn't really worked. And I continue to be concerned about dogs who are not on leash running up at him. I plan to follow your brain training through (as part collie he is very intelligent and as part lab he is very motivated by treats. Can you suggest how best to socialisation him to other dogs? He also barks at absolutely nothing, and gets very anxious when someone comes to the house. Thanks, Lesley