how to stop dog from lunging at strangers

You take a deep breath and head out to tackle the neighborhood. To complicate things, some dogs will exhibit frustration around some dogs (say smaller dogs who they like to play with) and fear-related aggression around other dogs (bigger dogs that they don’t like to interact with). The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers are two great places to start your search. RELATED: Training Dogs Polite Greeting Behavior. Try foods that he’s never had before or would not get on a typical day and save these treats for these special occasions. We are increasing the amount of time that your dog looks at you by reinforcing this behavior. Issue a command to your dog to sit or stay. This is the behavior your dog taught himself when barking at strangers through your window. First, I usually recommend this ONE exercise that when done properly, does three things: relaxes your dog’s emotional state when on the walk, builds a new default behavior to replace lunging and barking, AND reduces pulling. Note: it will generally take 3 to 4 days for your dog to habituate to a head halter. Founded in 1884, the AKC is the recognized and trusted expert in breed, health, and training information for dogs. The goal of this week is to give your dog a chance to practice watching dogs from a distance AND to engage in their new default behavior (looking at you instead of lunging and barking). For more training tips that might help you keep your dog from lunging, read on! She is also a Member of the Academy of Equine Veterinary Nursing Technicians since 2011. You try to move your dog away but he’s locked in; waiting for the dog to get JUST a little bit closer and then WHAM! Bringing along a high-value toy could also work to distract your dog. Next, teach your dog simple verbal commands, like "sit" and to turn to you at the sound of its name, so you can control its behavior. Don’t worry if your dog only performs the behavior a few times and resist the urge to prompt your dog; we want to capture (reinforcing naturally occurring behavior) check-ins. The best tools for training your puppy to stop barking at strangers are toys to act as distractions and treats to reinforce a more appropriate behavior. This increases attention (so it’s easier to give direction if we need to), reduces pulling (which reduces frustration and anxiety that can come with a tense leash), AND we are relaxing the physiological/emotional state of your dog (therefore are less likely to perceive threat or feel frustrated). This training tip is brought to us by Brian Burton, a co-founder of Instinct Dog Behavior & Training LLC in New York City. Your dog tenses and you see that his hackles are up (piloerection). Keep your dog on a leash while practicing this technique to ensure everyone remains safe. To prevent your dog from injuring someone else, take steps to keep him away from strangers or train your dog not to nip at them at all with positive, reward-based training techniques. Again, if your dog or puppy is lunging aggressively at strangers, we’d strongly recommend seeking professional help. This gives you much more control and will generally reduce the intensity of reactions. While there are many ways to approach this problem, I’ve focused here on easy things that you can try at home. For the first week, you only want to practice this when other dogs are not around. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Remember, lunging and barking is a stressful behavior for your dog (and you), and if taking out some treats and controlling space helps them feel better and more relaxed, it’s a very small price to pay. Provide small treats the entire time the dog remains sitting. By using our site, you agree to our. Before you can do anything, your dog perceives the tension in the leash and starts looking around with his assassin stare and spots him! Well that depends on what you mean by fix. While there are many opinions about which equipment is best, here’s what I generally find the most effective: 1) If your dog is lunging/barking at less than 50% of dogs, a comfortable FRONT clip harness is best. There are several short-term fixes, such as avoiding the things your dog likes to lunge at, blocking your dog's view of the things it typically lunges at, and redirecting your dog's attention away from those things back to you. Rather you are going to find a spot where you can safely watch dogs from a distance where your dog WILL NOT lunge and bark. Say the QUIET command and wait for at least two seconds before rewarding the dog with treats. Once we finished that up, we headed to the driveway to film a free positive dog training video on how to stop a dog from acting aggressive in the car. Chased-based lunging. This is the distance that most dogs need to start but every dog is different. What can I do? Last Updated: May 31, 2020 Keep a few stuffed Kongs in the freezer to use when needed. This is never a good idea. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/e\/ec\/Keep-a-Dog-from-Lunging-at-Cars-and-People-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Keep-a-Dog-from-Lunging-at-Cars-and-People-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/ec\/Keep-a-Dog-from-Lunging-at-Cars-and-People-Step-1.jpg\/aid9216771-v4-728px-Keep-a-Dog-from-Lunging-at-Cars-and-People-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"