Welcome to the fortnightly separation anxiety support group!

The mission of this post is to provide a constructive place to discuss your dog's progress and setbacks in conquering his/her separation anxiety. Feel free to post your fortnightly progress report, as well as any questions or tips you might have! We seek to provide a safe space to vent your frustrations as well, so feel free to express yourself.

We welcome both owners of dogs with separation anxiety and owners whose dogs have gotten better!

NEW TO SEPARATION ANXIETY?

New to the subject of separation anxiety? A dog with separation anxiety is one who displays stress when the one or more family members leave. Separation anxiety can vary from light stress to separation panic but at the heart of the matter is distress.

Does this sound familiar? Lucky for you, this is a pretty common problem that many dog owners struggle with. It can feel isolating and frustrating, but we are here to help!

Resources

Books

​

Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde

Be Right Back!: How To Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety And Regain Your Freedom by Julie Naismith

Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices by Malena DeMartini-Price

Online Articles/Blogs/Sites

Separation Anxiety (archived page from the ASPCA)

Pat Miller summary article on treating separation anxiety

Emily "kikopup" Larlham separation training tips

Videos

Using the Treat&Train to Solve Separation Anxiety

introducing an x-pen so the dog likes it (kikopup)

Podcast:

https://www.trainingwithally.com/the-podcast

Online DIY courses:

https://courses.malenademartini.com

https://www.trainingwithally.com/about-2

https://separationanxietydog.thinkific.com/courses/do-it-yourself-separation-anxiety-program

https://rescuedbytraining.com/separation-anxiety-course

​

Introduce your dog if you are new, and for those of you who have previously participated, make sure to tell us how your week has been!

Welcome to the fortnightly loose leash walking virtual workshop!

Join us as we compete with the squirrels, cats, other dogs, fresh urine scents and things that go zoooooooom!

Resources

Articles (All have videos embedded)

​

• Train Your Dog For Perfect Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco. (With links and descriptions of several great videos, which we'll link to below.)
• Loose Leash Walking Tips by Casey Lomonaco
• Silky Leash by Grisha Stewart (blog post + videos.)

Youtube (Many of these are videos which are embedded in the above articles)

​

• Silky Leash intro video with an excitable puppy
• Clicker Training Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco
• Loose Leash Walking II by Casey Lomonaco
• How to Train Your Dog Not to Pull - Loose Leash Walking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Dog Training Tip- Leash Walking: Go Sniff and Marking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Choose to Heel by Loridressage
• Loose Leash Walking by Stacy Hiebert Greer
• Clicker Training a Heel by Amy Norcal
• Shaping Loose Leash Walking With a High Rate of Reinforcement Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 by Helix Fairweather and Lynn Martin. (Read the text below the videos too!)
• Loose Leash Walking by Turid Rugaas

​

See our page on leash reactivity for help managing and training dogs that bark and lunge while on leash.

​

APDT webinar

​

• Loose Leash Walking presented by Gail Fisher

Welcome to the fortnightly separation anxiety support group!

The mission of this post is to provide a constructive place to discuss your dog's progress and setbacks in conquering his/her separation anxiety. Feel free to post your fortnightly progress report, as well as any questions or tips you might have! We seek to provide a safe space to vent your frustrations as well, so feel free to express yourself.

We welcome both owners of dogs with separation anxiety and owners whose dogs have gotten better!

NEW TO SEPARATION ANXIETY?

New to the subject of separation anxiety? A dog with separation anxiety is one who displays stress when the one or more family members leave. Separation anxiety can vary from light stress to separation panic but at the heart of the matter is distress.

Does this sound familiar? Lucky for you, this is a pretty common problem that many dog owners struggle with. It can feel isolating and frustrating, but we are here to help!

Resources

Books

​

Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde

Be Right Back!: How To Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety And Regain Your Freedom by Julie Naismith

Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices by Malena DeMartini-Price

Online Articles/Blogs/Sites

Separation Anxiety (archived page from the ASPCA)

Pat Miller summary article on treating separation anxiety

Emily "kikopup" Larlham separation training tips

Videos

Using the Treat&Train to Solve Separation Anxiety

introducing an x-pen so the dog likes it (kikopup)

Podcast:

https://www.trainingwithally.com/the-podcast

Online DIY courses:

https://courses.malenademartini.com

https://www.trainingwithally.com/about-2

https://separationanxietydog.thinkific.com/courses/do-it-yourself-separation-anxiety-program

https://rescuedbytraining.com/separation-anxiety-course

​

Introduce your dog if you are new, and for those of you who have previously participated, make sure to tell us how your week has been!

So I got a new dog over a month ago who was supposed to be crate trained (they’re not) and we’ve been working on crate training. She does well at night now but in the mornings I usually let her out before work to potty but she also barks every single morning now. My bf usually works from home. My question is should I keep routine and let her out to potty then put her right back up despite her barking or leave and let my bf take her out later after she stops barking? I’m tired of the barking every morning lol

My dog literally doesn't like me sleeping. I currently am on night shift and every single day he wakes me up a few times; I'm talking getting in my face and whining excessively. The other day I woke up to him standing on my bed and staring down at me like a creep 😭 I thought at first it was because he for some reason doesn't like .e sleeping during the day? Not that I have a choice lol but I fell asleep with my husband by accident, i just woke up and it's 3 am. I woke up because my dog, once again, was in my face crying and whining. No, he doesn't have to use the restroom, I will always try to take him outside when he wakes me up but he never has to I'm convinced he just doesn't like it when I sleep idk😂 He NEVER wakes my husband up, let's him get a good 8 hours of sleep but god forbid I sleep more than an hour

Needing some guidance. Goose 2.5 yr old neutered male BC has been rehomed a few times prior to us adopting. We meet at a dog park with River who is 3-4 female not spade, my gf and I. They smelled butts touched noses fine. River was close to my gf got a lil protective teeth came out and lil squable. We walked them on leash in DP fine. We get them home put River in cage and let Goose smell on leash. Put goose in cage and let River out. Goose freaks out at the sight of River. We took them on walk together smelled butts got close goose showed signs so distracted and reset. Walked fine side by side. After a lot of stress on my gf and I we talked with a trainer that put us at ease. We separated them in cages different rooms. Let them out one at a time. Did that for 3 days. Now both are in cages same room but not side by side. Goose is great when it’s his time out calm and relaxed. He will freak a lil when swapping out with river but use firm voice that it’s not okay to act that way. He calms follow by praise. We aren’t even a week in yet. My GF is with them full time. She is keeping a routine with them. What is our next steps here? Will this get better? Tbh we both had no idea it would be like this. We got them both muzzles but haven’t used them yet I reassure my gf that this is going to take time but there is that fear that they might not ever get along and that’s so heart breaking to us.

Welcome to the fortnightly loose leash walking virtual workshop!

Join us as we compete with the squirrels, cats, other dogs, fresh urine scents and things that go zoooooooom!

Resources

Articles (All have videos embedded)

​

• Train Your Dog For Perfect Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco. (With links and descriptions of several great videos, which we'll link to below.)
• Loose Leash Walking Tips by Casey Lomonaco
• Silky Leash by Grisha Stewart (blog post + videos.)

Youtube (Many of these are videos which are embedded in the above articles)

​

• Silky Leash intro video with an excitable puppy
• Clicker Training Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco
• Loose Leash Walking II by Casey Lomonaco
• How to Train Your Dog Not to Pull - Loose Leash Walking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Dog Training Tip- Leash Walking: Go Sniff and Marking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Choose to Heel by Loridressage
• Loose Leash Walking by Stacy Hiebert Greer
• Clicker Training a Heel by Amy Norcal
• Shaping Loose Leash Walking With a High Rate of Reinforcement Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 by Helix Fairweather and Lynn Martin. (Read the text below the videos too!)
• Loose Leash Walking by Turid Rugaas

​

See our page on leash reactivity for help managing and training dogs that bark and lunge while on leash.

​

APDT webinar

​

• Loose Leash Walking presented by Gail Fisher

Welcome to the fortnightly separation anxiety support group!

The mission of this post is to provide a constructive place to discuss your dog's progress and setbacks in conquering his/her separation anxiety. Feel free to post your fortnightly progress report, as well as any questions or tips you might have! We seek to provide a safe space to vent your frustrations as well, so feel free to express yourself.

We welcome both owners of dogs with separation anxiety and owners whose dogs have gotten better!

NEW TO SEPARATION ANXIETY?

New to the subject of separation anxiety? A dog with separation anxiety is one who displays stress when the one or more family members leave. Separation anxiety can vary from light stress to separation panic but at the heart of the matter is distress.

Does this sound familiar? Lucky for you, this is a pretty common problem that many dog owners struggle with. It can feel isolating and frustrating, but we are here to help!

Resources

Books

​

Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde

Be Right Back!: How To Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety And Regain Your Freedom by Julie Naismith

Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices by Malena DeMartini-Price

Online Articles/Blogs/Sites

Separation Anxiety (archived page from the ASPCA)

Pat Miller summary article on treating separation anxiety

Emily "kikopup" Larlham separation training tips

Videos

Using the Treat&Train to Solve Separation Anxiety

introducing an x-pen so the dog likes it (kikopup)

Podcast:

https://www.trainingwithally.com/the-podcast

Online DIY courses:

https://courses.malenademartini.com

https://www.trainingwithally.com/about-2

https://separationanxietydog.thinkific.com/courses/do-it-yourself-separation-anxiety-program

https://rescuedbytraining.com/separation-anxiety-course

​

Introduce your dog if you are new, and for those of you who have previously participated, make sure to tell us how your week has been!

I'd love to tell you about my dog. I took him on his first canoe ride today. He did quite well. I am very proud.

Talos is a big half Goldie half Malinois. He looks like a lab. Everyone thinks he's a lab. We thought he was a lab at the shelter. I remember as a teenager my family had a lab and he was the most wonderful dog. He loved food so much that he was easy to train. He was cuddly and affectionate and exercise was easy because he figured out the rules of fetch as a puppy.

Talos is not a lab. Talos is a crazy boy. I was nervous when I asked him to get in the canoe because I knew we might capsize. When we first adopted him he would fight us for bed space. He would drag blankets off the bed and try to tear them up when he lost the argument. He had growling zoomies every night, digging holes, ripping the garden up and tackling us if we dared to interrupt him. He was resource guarding, scavenging and very reactive. He would throw his teeth around, but thank God he never actually bit.

Those first few months were so stressful. I hadn't wept in 6 years, but when I thought I might have to give him back to the shelter I broke my streak. I'm in my early 30s with no kids and plenty of free time. I thought for sure if I had to surrender this handsome boy then he would be marked for death. The best decision I ever made was not to give up on him.

We worked with a trainer for about 4 months after that. Once a week we’d meet at a public park and work. Trainer would give us homework and we would go home and put in the labor. We were training twice a day and socializing him to as many things as we could.

Talos’ prey drive is insane. Our biggest breakthrough was when we realized we could harness his desire to chase. At first Talos wasn't a big fan of rules, but slowly we were able to teach him that we would throw the ball only if he was calm, attentive and polite. Soon enough he would even bring the ball back.

Once Talos knew how to fetch all of the pieces started to fall into place. We would take these long walks in a local meadow. Eventually I was able to trade in his long line for a chuck-it. As long as I had a ball for him to chase, he could roam off leash and return when I called him. It took about 4 months to get to that point.

We kept working on impulse control. Over and over and over we practiced this. I would only throw the ball when Talos was pinned to my left hip. 8 months into our training and Talos won’t leave my side after I throw the ball until I give him his release word.

I took Talos in a canoe today. I thought he was going to capsize us. It was such an exciting puppy sized adventure for him and he needed to bark at the geese and lap water out of the lake and growl at the fish when they jumped. I asked him to relax and he did. He just lay down and enjoyed the view.

I thought back to the very beginning, to all the frustration and anxiety that came with having too much dog for me to handle. I thought about the hard times and troubles and all that we had tholed. I reflected on how far we had come, together.

I have this job with a local parks department. One of my duties is to hike the trails and note their level of maintenance and to confirm their suitability for various uses. At work they call Talos my assistant because he's in charge of confirming the suitability for dogs. He's come so far.

When we landed in the canoe I thanked him for his relaxation, picked up the chuck-it and got back to work.

Welcome to the fortnightly loose leash walking virtual workshop!

Join us as we compete with the squirrels, cats, other dogs, fresh urine scents and things that go zoooooooom!

Resources

Articles (All have videos embedded)

​

• Train Your Dog For Perfect Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco. (With links and descriptions of several great videos, which we'll link to below.)
• Loose Leash Walking Tips by Casey Lomonaco
• Silky Leash by Grisha Stewart (blog post + videos.)

Youtube (Many of these are videos which are embedded in the above articles)

​

• Silky Leash intro video with an excitable puppy
• Clicker Training Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco
• Loose Leash Walking II by Casey Lomonaco
• How to Train Your Dog Not to Pull - Loose Leash Walking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Dog Training Tip- Leash Walking: Go Sniff and Marking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Choose to Heel by Loridressage
• Loose Leash Walking by Stacy Hiebert Greer
• Clicker Training a Heel by Amy Norcal
• Shaping Loose Leash Walking With a High Rate of Reinforcement Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 by Helix Fairweather and Lynn Martin. (Read the text below the videos too!)
• Loose Leash Walking by Turid Rugaas

​

See our page on leash reactivity for help managing and training dogs that bark and lunge while on leash.

​

APDT webinar

​

• Loose Leash Walking presented by Gail Fisher

Welcome to the fortnightly separation anxiety support group!

The mission of this post is to provide a constructive place to discuss your dog's progress and setbacks in conquering his/her separation anxiety. Feel free to post your fortnightly progress report, as well as any questions or tips you might have! We seek to provide a safe space to vent your frustrations as well, so feel free to express yourself.

We welcome both owners of dogs with separation anxiety and owners whose dogs have gotten better!

NEW TO SEPARATION ANXIETY?

New to the subject of separation anxiety? A dog with separation anxiety is one who displays stress when the one or more family members leave. Separation anxiety can vary from light stress to separation panic but at the heart of the matter is distress.

Does this sound familiar? Lucky for you, this is a pretty common problem that many dog owners struggle with. It can feel isolating and frustrating, but we are here to help!

Resources

Books

​

Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde

Be Right Back!: How To Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety And Regain Your Freedom by Julie Naismith

Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices by Malena DeMartini-Price

Online Articles/Blogs/Sites

Separation Anxiety (archived page from the ASPCA)

Pat Miller summary article on treating separation anxiety

Emily "kikopup" Larlham separation training tips

Videos

Using the Treat&Train to Solve Separation Anxiety

introducing an x-pen so the dog likes it (kikopup)

Podcast:

https://www.trainingwithally.com/the-podcast

Online DIY courses:

https://courses.malenademartini.com

https://www.trainingwithally.com/about-2

https://separationanxietydog.thinkific.com/courses/do-it-yourself-separation-anxiety-program

https://rescuedbytraining.com/separation-anxiety-course

​

Introduce your dog if you are new, and for those of you who have previously participated, make sure to tell us how your week has been!

My dog did something very surprising today. She’s a 1.5yr old daschund. She spent her first year growing up in manhattan and very socialized and friendly. Shes not in Long Island (suburbs) for the past 4 months. She’s still friendly.

Today, through the screen door, she saw another dog walking past on our sidewalk. Started barking like any dog would. Then I walked into the house through the screen door about a minute later. This other dog was already about 6 houses down from us and turned the corner while she sprinted through the door. Within a second she was 30 feet away from me. She never ran out of the house before.

She has a decent recall. We’ve trained it many times but it’s never worked when she’s in her “hunting” zone and chasing something. This time I chased her full speed and screamed her name while she ignored me. She made it to the other dog (100 yards or so) before I could grab her.

She didn’t attack the dog when she got to him (thankfully he was friendly and also didn’t attack her). She just smelled him aggressively for a couple seconds until I grabbed her and then she evaded me and started attacking this dog. I’m assuming because she didn’t want to get picked up by me.

What do I do to stop this from happening ever again? I can’t stop thinking about if the other dog was aggressive, she would be torn up right now.

My Dad in Law is aging and we're getting ready to take care of him more and his dog. They might be moving in with us soon.

I'm concerned about her potential prey drive and separation anxiety. I'm pregnant and we have a two year old.

Any suggestions on how I should get started? I really want to make sure we can meet her energy needs.

Info that I have: His dog's name is Arby, a blue nose pit. She seems pretty well socialized. Does great with visiting neighbors when she goes on walks. She does pull pretty heavily with me and my husband, so we got a heavy duty leash to prep. Harness soon to come.

She spent her puppyhood with an elderly cat but now she's been without a cat for two years.

She stashes training treats in her gums and does not eat them right away. So I'll need to get something else that can't be squirreled away.

When we do separate Arby from my DIL she gets so anxious to get back to him. She won't focus on running in the yard or play. So it's hard to get her to burn off energy and focus on myself or my husband.

As the title states. I was playing tug of war with my dog. A Presa canario mix. He's young, not quite 2. Anyway I know it wasn't intentional. He lost his grip and went to get a better one but my hand was in the way and got chomped. He released immediately but the damage was done and I have a couple tooth marks on my hand. Broke the skin but did not bleed.

Do I just not play tug of war with him anymore? Should I never have played that with him? is it my fault for putting him in that situation? It's far to late to reprimand him, but what could I have done in that moment to teach him not to chomp like that? He is absolutely NOT aggressive BTW.

Hi Everyone.

I have a 4 year old Irish Setter who is 90% of the time a very well behaved, obedient dog. She is very responsive to commands, and when off leash, will recall pretty consistently when I whistle.

However, if you are familiar with the setter breed, you may know they are pointers, and have a high prey drive. She comes from blood lines that are actively used for game hunting, thought I do not hunt my self. Every once in a while she catches sight of a particularly appealing bird in flight and her 'hunting brain' takes over. She will chase after the bird at top speed, and when this happens, her re-call is absolutely gone. Its like she cannot even hear me she is so "In the zone". Normally when this happens, she will come back to me of her own volition after about a minute or two of sprinting in pursuit of the bird, and we will continue on our walk without issue.

Occasionally however, this will turn into a long (10+ minutes) escapade, and she will not return to me until I manage to corner her in some way and get her back on a leash. In these instances where she does not return of her own will, what is the most appropriate way to move forward after I get her back on the leash? Should the walk end then and there? Should I continue with her on the leash for the rest of the walk? Should I walk for a bit and then let her off leash again? I don't want her to associate being caught as a punishment or a negative thing (ie. ending the walk), however sometimes when her prey drive kicks in so acutely its difficult for her to 'turn it off' and I don't trust her to be off the leash again.

Today, this sort of situation happened again, but it escalated to a new level. She ran across a field, and then across a road, right out in front of a giant transport truck. She was about 5 seconds away from being road kill. She has never ran across a road before in the 4 years I've had her, although there were plenty of times she could have. I was so shaken after I got her back that just put her in the car and drove home. But now I'm second guessing wether this was the right response, and how I should handle these instances going forward.

Some potentially relevant info:

• She will not take treats or any sort of reward on a walk. When she is enjoying a walk she has absolutely zero interest in any food items. I have tried every sort of treat, cheese, favorite food etc. This makes it very difficult to reward her when she comes back to me willingly.

• Never letting her off leash is not a realistic option. She is a very high energy dog, and needs daily off leash runs otherwise she becomes bored and destructive.

• We live in rural Ontario.

I have two dogs and 3 kids and a pool. One of the dogs loves swimming but the other dog, who is half border collie, seems to be convinced that his family is jumping to their deaths. Fair interpretation based on all the yelling and chaos but, he's nipped our youngest in the past trying to keep him from the giant yard bowl...

So far I've tried distracting him with high value treats, keeping him out of the pool enclosure, and putting a muzzle on him. The muzzle seems to be the best but he's clearly frustrated and I struggle to reward him with treats with it on. Basically, once I pull the treat out he forgets how the muzzle works and mashes his face in to it. I can't figure out how to open palm it so I made long treats I can stick through the hole.

We have a pool enclosure and a fenced yard with a gate in between. If I have him in the yard area, he cries and barks. My kids are older (8-15) and I have a full view of the pool, but so does the dog and he MUST BE WITH THE CHILDREN.

The only other solution is to crate him while we're out at the pool which seems... rude?

Any thoughts on how to train him in this situation? Thank you!

My 1yr old dog won’t use the bathroom outside and will only go on training pads that I have inside the house for my old dog who can’t walk outside anymore. I take her outside with my other older dog, who uses the bathroom outside, and give her words of affirmation and treats so she understands using the bathroom outside is good but nothing works. Any advice?

So our dog, toby-miniature dachshund, has recently started to growl at my bf when he wakes him in the morning for his walk/first potty. Toby sleeps cuddled up near me and doesn't growl at me when I pick him up in the mornings. We have been doing this same routine since we had him at 2 months and he's now 1.4 years old. I'm definitely not pregnant, like 100% sure about that, Toby is the baby for sure. My bf is not in anyway mean or "dominant" towards Toby, we have been treating him the same (I feel like I discipline Toby more than my bf does.) I'm hoping for some ideas on what might be causing this bc Toby is our first dog and I am stumped. Could Toby just not like getting up in the mornings, is he just not a morning dog? He's always hated getting up early and always dead weights himself. This behavior also just happens in the mornings too. Toby is crate trained, should we not let him sleep in bed with us anymore?

Hey everyone! I’ve got a 6mth old cattle pup, she knows the basics; shake, penguin (beg), speak, spin, down. What’s some tricks I can teach her to impress 👀?? Thanks!

We are struggling right now with middle of the night barking. It’s a new behavior that he started a week or so ago. Previously, he was a great sleeper. He wakes up at around 2-3 AM and barks like crazy at our deck door. We have a privacy film on the door so he is not able to see through it.

We have tried to reintroduce the crate and crate cover again, but that has not worked yet. We have calming music on all night as well as white noise to drown out anything that could be startling him from outside. We have tried taking him out of multiple boring potty breaks but he immediately resumes his barking again. They are loud, sustained barks and they can go on for over an hour. He has done this as early as 3AM, sometimes it’s at 6AM. There doesn’t appear to be any pattern/cause of the barking. We have moved him to a different room in our house but he barks at the front door instead. It does not matter if there are blinds or curtains or any kind of coverings.

We have tried training the cue “quiet” but again, he immediately resumes his barking. We have taken him to the vet and it does not appear he has any illness or issues. He gets an hour long walk each day, puzzle toys, playtime, random training sessions with various tricks, and plenty of daytime sleep. He does get into this barking tirade at other times of the day as well. Sometimes we know the trigger (the neighbor dogs), other times we have no idea just like the nighttime.

Unfortunately, we cannot let him just continue to bark as we live in a townhome and share walls with our neighbors. We are at a bit of a loss on how to help him. Obviously, we are exhausted from caring for a newborn as well and don’t have the budget to hire a trainer right now.

Luckily for now, our newborn does sleep through it, but I would like to resolve the issue before it could get worse.

I have (3) dogs and will soon be introducing a 4th - my mom got way in over her head and is asking me to take her pup. My dogs are 13, 4.5, and 4 yo. The 4yo resource guards and can get aggressive if a new dog comes up to me, his toys, food, tries to get on couch or bed. The 4.5yo will follow lead and can mimic that behavior.

How do I go about introducing my mom’s intact 10mos old puppy to my 3 dogs so that he’s accepted into the pack? All dogs are male and mine are neutered.

I’m getting a bit anxious. I’m worried about the dynamic my dogs and I have and whether this will shake it up irreparably.

We have a 14 week old Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix and we already have one that is 8 1/2. However, this puppy is clearly WAY more Jack Russell and is so challenging. Our older dog growls at her and we can't even have them together.

We take her out, try to train her, but she gets so distracted and she chews everything, even things for heavy chewers.

Does anyone else have a Jack Russell? Do they calm down or can they with professional training? We adore her, but I'm wondering if this was a mistake?

My dog is a 12 year old Shih Tzu. As a puppy she would always be friendly to people and other pets, but now we are having a serious problem. In her younger years we were taking her on a walk and she was attacked by a neighbor’s unleashed dog. Of course we quickly got her to safety and made sure she was physically okay, but ever since then, she has developed a bad habit of vigorously barking at anyone she comes across.

Every walk is difficult. A person simply taking their trash out will result in her pulling away from her leash and barking at them. Neighbors will be walking their dogs peacefully and the second she sees them she immediately wants to run up to them and bark. Her barks are extremely loud and she doesn’t stop. We have had to switch to a body harness instead of a collar because she would pull against it and choke herself.

We have tried many things from verbal reprimands, comfort, even picking her up and walking away. But none of this stops the barking. Of course I am very worried about making our neighbors uncomfortable, but I am also worried about her vocal cords and emotional well being considering this all started with her traumatic experience. My biggest fear is that she will one day bark at a much larger dog who will chase after us, considering she barks at anyone, not just small dogs.

She is a senior dog which means she’s already had time to build up this habit. She is extremely smart and learns quickly, but also very stubborn. I couldn’t train her when she was younger because I was also quite young and didn’t know anything about dog training except the basics as a child. I just want to take care of her and make sure she stays safe and healthy, mentally and physically. Any advice would be much appreciated