Any Ideas?

[sarar]

Obie started obedience classes last night, and it was a nightmare!!
He totally went nuts when he saw the other dogs on leashes, and was almost uncontrolable. Luckily I am fairly strong, because if I were not, I would not have been able to hold onto him.

The first half of the class was spent with Obie in the back office being fitted for a "gentle leader". Then, the second half was spent with Obie pouting on the floor, refusing to do anything.

Now, at home, Obie is obedient. He knows to sit, and shake, and walk calmly on a leash. But, when he sees another dog on a leash while he is on a leash, all bets are off.

What can I do? I am almost too embarassed to go back to the class next week.

[tingoddess]

You need to desensitize your dog to distractions, like other dogs. You can work on this outside of class. Start with a nice quiet place and teach your boxer a command like Watch or Watch Me. My obedience instructor is working on this with my class now. It's about getting the dog to focus on your face, basically looking "to you" for what you want him to do. Once he's doing it you can move to an area with light distractions. If you see a dog in the distance move towards it right up to the point where he notices the dog but doesnt start to go wild on you. Give the watch command and praise and treat for a correct response, over time the distraction of other things will become secondary to his attention to you. You are basically teaching y our dog that "all good things" come from you. Dogs are hedonist creatures who do something because it gives them pleasant gratification. If you become the source of this stange dogs or people won't be the distraction that causes disruption on walks or in public places. You will also want to teach him that people are good. Teach him to remain seated or in a down position when people say hi to you, have them be very casual with the dog, no squealing and high pitched greetings, encourage them to pet the dog on his body, not the head, which believe it or not most dogs don't like, especially from strangers. Keep up with obedience class too it will help you tremedously. Make sure to talk to the instructor about this, but harsh methods should be avoided so it's nice to see them encouraging the gentle leader. Good luck.

[sarar]

Thanks for the ideas, but...

Obie does pay attention to me, he does follow commands, even with other dogs around. It's just that when he comes into contact with another dog who is on a leash, Obie gets very territorial. He's not like this if there are no leashes involved.
For instance, I have three foster dogs in my home, two puppies and an adult, altered male named Barron.
Now, when Obie and Barron are playing in the yard, the house, whatever, they get along great. No fights, no squabbles, nothing, ever.

But, when Obie is on his tether and I walk Barron by on the leash, it just hits the fan. Obie gets very aggressive and confrontational. Only when they are both restrained by leashes. It's really weird, but I never thought it could be a big problem, until last night.

[Renee&Jake]

It sounds like what you are describing is known as 'leash aggression'. Very common.

I would, and have solved this with the attention exercises. What you are trying to accomplish is a dog that does not lunge or become aggressive while on lead.

When you focus your dog's attention back to you, he doesn't need to 'prepare' for a potential threat, because he knows you will take care of it (with you as 'alpha' ,if you will). Distract him with a sit-stay and just teach him to ignore other dogs for a while. Praise him as he gets better and better.

Evantually, the distance a dog may approach you gets closer and closer. Don't expect him to make a full-frontal greeting, just keep working it. Obie will let you know how he is coming along with posturing and body language, and when he is comfortable with progress.

I would discuss this with your trainer in detail, possibly before the next class. The gentle leader may help, but it will only help you restrain him, not to teach him what to do. ( I'm not a big fan of gentle leaders, I think they can be as dangerous as anything else if used improperly) If your trainer is any good, they should be able to walk you right through this.

I know all too well about leash aggression. Jakob and I had a big problem with this, but overcame it. It can be done with ALOT of patience (it may take weeks before real improvement shows through). The main thing here is reading your dog, so that you don't push too fast.

Clear as mud? You might also search here or elsewhere in the internet for "leash aggression", however, I would stay away from any aversive training for this without seeking a highly-qualified trainer. Suzanne Clothier at 'flying dog press' has some excellent articles about this.