Distractions

[LouCerbone]

Ok so training went well last nite (thanks Teresa and Mike)
My problems are still when training him one on one he is GREAT. This morning I went out to bus stop with regular check choke on and retractable. He was fine, my neighbor came out with her dog (small beagle kind of like one of Eddies chew toys type) and I turned to just walk Eddie back to my yard and redirect him. he saw the dog and started to get crazy, barking, hair up, and whining. I calmly said no and continued walking him back to the yard. He was still barking, I was literally dragging him back. At one point when I gave a sit command along with a "no" sit while giving the check choke a jerk as when I use the prong he turned to me and barked with a nip to his bark at me. I dont think to bite but more as to say "stop doing that or I will bite"
Mike, as I mentioned to you, on long walks his encounters with dogs have been great. It is the small dogs that drive him completely insane. I always stay calm with him.
My question is will this behavior go away with the training? Is he just still too young to realize that he should be listening to my commands regardeless of the situations?
Should I for now not put him in these situations untill later on in training?
Honestly i am just trying to keep him socailized to the outside world, lots of children in my area and dogs, So now when he goes outside its like a new world to him because he doesnt get to play with anyone else. I would love to give him some play interaction with other dogs.

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

It will be almost impossible to control him in those situations with just the check choke and flexi. a good rule of thumb is that if it seems very difficult and stressful to deal with the situation, than just keep him away from it until you can overcome it in a training environment. Eddie just started Phase 3 , so he will be able to be controlled in that situation within the coming weeks. Him dealing with those situations that way by barking, lunging, etc is worse than keeping him unsocialized until you can put him in the situation with the ability to calmly control him. for instance, I never even attempt off property training with an inkennel aggression case until the dog has a good handle on most the phase 3 execises. particularly the "heel" and "sit". bringing eddie out on a phase 1 collar and a flexi is basically an invitation for failure since u are essentially going to have to attempt the role of alpha dog without teeth.quick answer to this is just keep him out of the situation for now. you will be able to succeed in a few more weeks if u handle him like we will train him in the lessons.

[LouCerbone]

thanks Mike I figured as much. It was a harmless walk as I didnt expect to see the other dog. I dont walk him around the neighborhood on his prong. When I saw the other dog I walked away. Now this afternoon we went out in the front for some playtime. The neighbor came out later to walk his dog (the beagle) and Eddie didnt notice I kept on playin with him in the yard(on leash of course) Eddie noticed her gave a bark, I said Eddie no, sprayed the ground with spray and he went back to playing about in our yard. He didnt care that the dog was there, which she was on the edge of my front lawn near the road and her owner and some other neighbors were just talking. Eddie was great, didnt even care that she was there. So this afternoon was great.
Thanks for the reply and of course I would never want to set him up for failure as I feel that him and I are making alot of progress. I try to keep him out of those situations as much as possible. Sometimes the situations just arise at the same time as Eddies walks or playtime.

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

You can also get prong collar covers if you don't like the how the prong collar looks walking around the hood. i think herm sprenger makes them.