My Byron is a real sweety boy. My only problem is when we walk him he goes nuts when another dog is within 20 feet. It becomes a real struggle to control him. What can I do to get him to calm down when another dog approaches?
So far, we pick him up and turn the other way to avoid!!!

Sometimes it is because they want to say HI and get excited. Turning away and then rewarding good quiet behaviour is a start- its about getting the dog to not re-act. I have 4 and its a pain. I have noone to help me get the dogs used to other dogs so I have not won this battle yet.
Calm dogs (if you know of anyone) are a good way for a positive introduction.

I dont know your breed or age of dog. Victoria Stillwell teaches techniques alot on her show about this but someone else should come along with help.

Turning the other way is not always feasible-- if the other "party" is approaching on the same path from the way I am headed, then turning around would just make us both on the same path, heading the same direction-- not to mention putting me off course from where I want/need to go.

There are a couple of things I/the other party do: 1) I might put my dog into a "wait" just off the path, and encourage the other dog and owner to pass 2) I might cross the street so we can pass from a more manageable distance 3) I might just holler out, "is it okay if they meet?" and then we proceed with the obligatory butt-sniff and how-do-you-dos, untangle our leashes, and go on our merry ways. The last one actually makes it easier to continue on the walk, once they've gotten their hellos said and done. It's kind of an inconvenient nuisance for us humans, who just want to keep burning calories/keep the heart rate up, but it does make the dogs more manageable, really.

My Husky used to go wild whenever she saw another dog. Now what i do is stop and get her to "wait", then when the other dog owner comes close i tell them Roxy is very friendly and ask if their dog is friendly. I then tell her "ok" and she will then make a fuss of the other dog. I found it was all about control, it took months for her to be good tho, it didn't happen over night. Just keep going at it! good luck x

mine is the opposite..

My male Rottie is like this. He actually whines more than pulling. It helps to put your dog in a sit and teach a new command she will love called ''watch the treat''. Basically, let her sit as a dog passes and tell her ''watch the treat'', she should look at it with her mouth watering. Once the dog has passed, drop the treat in her mouth. Mission accomplished!

PS. It only works when you use high value treats like hot dogs or freeze dried liver. Use these treats only for these special occasions. However it does not work all times, my female used to be so hyper when seeing other dogs that she would just spit the treat out! She is much better now and will sit and eat it and even ask for more!

My Jack Russell wa terrible for exactly this (usually ending a very loud rant of barking by crying as the other dog went away!!) - it's not gone away completey, but I have found that just saying to the other owner 'he's friendly' usually gets mine to be able to meet the other dog and calm down - and the more he meets the less fussed he is in the first place.

My border collie mix Albert used to be the same way. When we would go out and he saw a human or a dog he would freak and want to play. (jumping and pulling) I have noticed that the more often I take him out (for non-bathroom purposes) the more comfortable he got with unexpected interactions with other dogs and people. While on these walks be sure to reward the good behavior and correct the bad behavior. (Never give in.)

While teaching Albert I would give him a cookie every time we walked past another dog or person without him reacting. If he started to pull towards a person or dog I would immediately stop walking and make him sit down until he calmed down (The opposite of what he was trying to accomplish), then and only then would we continue the walk. If he was behaving well while approaching another dog I would let him sniff the other dog as a reward.

Excellent advice, people. Especially AF's "don't give in" part.

This is exactly the kind of information I need because my pup is way too small to play "Little Napoleon". She's probably never going to grow beyond five pounds. She needs to be socialized to be non-reactionary when other dogs are around, and your tips are good ones. Just picking her up as many small dog owners do when she gets overexcited is a non-starter for me-- that would be rewarding bad behavior, and is one of the CAUSES of "Little Napoleon syndrome". She needs to be steered away from thinking she's a little queen, and getting picked up is exactly what she's trying to "train" me to do for her right now.

These seem to be tips that a dog can understand at his or her own level... and that *I* can understand. There is a lot of advice around the Net, but you folks got down to the nuts and bolts of HOW you did it.

Right now Button is only three months old, so we've still got some work to do on ordinary "new experience" excitement, but the tips you gave are ones that she's sure to pick up on rapidly, judging from what she's learned so far and how she learned it. We're going for our first dog park walk today, and it should be fun.

Thanks for the good advice!

Originally Posted by shelley4216

My Husky used to go wild whenever she saw another dog. Now what i do is stop and get her to "wait", then when the other dog owner comes close i tell them Roxy is very friendly and ask if their dog is friendly. I then tell her "ok" and she will then make a fuss of the other dog. I found it was all about control, it took months for her to be good tho, it didn't happen over night. Just keep going at it! good luck x

Practice makes perfect.