How to train my dog to stop barking and lunging at other dogs?

Question

My Mother's dog is a 2 year old Boston Terrier. He is amazing with people, he is so gentle and loves to cuddle, but when it comes to other dogs, not so much. We have a 3 year Boston Terrier and a 13 year old Daschund that he gets along with amazing, but when other dogs walk by the house or come into the backyard and he can see them, he goes nuts! On walks, he barks and growls. We have tried to introduced him to other dogs and he is fine for a little and then the switch flips and he attacks, HELP. Pet's info: Dog | Boston Terrier | Male | neutered | 25 lbs

C. Rathjens, DVM · Accepted Answer

This is really tricky. Many training groups offer classes for Reactive Dogs that can help. Make sure they use positive only training, no force or punishments. The basic steps to working on this are minimizing chances for an encounter, teaching him a behavior that is incompatible with going nuts (such as watching you and eating a treat), and then SLOWLY SLOWLY SLOWLY introducing him to other dogs (you really need a good trainer to help with this portion, you have to go so slow it's painful). I would recommend not allowing him to be outside by himself so that you can remove him if he starts to bark - you may even need to keep a leash on him so you can easily get him and calmly go inside. In short, this is a common and real, but very hard to resolve issue, so I'd encourage you to find an amazing trainer or even have a consultation with a veterinary behaviorist.

How to train my dog to stop barking and lunging at other dogs?

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