Calming Cap

[bikersblu]

Thank you Mattie I will read more later. there are so many posts on this site and I cant read much at a time as I have 3 kids to take care of as well as Leo (and my partner so really I have 5 kids to take care of )

[Pawzk9]

Hmm never thought of it that way...I often have to try and move Leo away from the other dog as he gets quite aggressive so I pull him away and stand in his way, but often have to cover his eyes until the other dog passes...he hasnt always been this way and it is so frustrating that he used to be fine with dogs and now he isnt

Pulling him away = tight leash = more stress. Pulling him away only increases his reaction. I would spend a lot of time teaching Leo to do emergency U-ies. Quickly turn and go the opposite direction. The dog does the turning (voluntarily) on your cue instead of you trying to pull him away. Practice this with Leo until he can turn on a dime, on a totally loose leash. Practice it when there is nothing exciting or worrying going on, until he is perfect in that situation. Then add a little distraction (maybe a dog a block away, then half a block, etc). The absolute key to success is that you HAVE to catch the potential situation and make your retreat before Leo is in full screaming reactive meltdown. If he is already reacting before you do anything about it, the best you can hope for is damage control. On your other thread, I posted three books that would be very helpful for your situation, and also an interview that was done with me - more interpretation of what I said than what I said, but still, it outlined the basic steps you need to take. Did you read it?

[bikersblu]

I did! Thank you (took me a moment to remember that your user name WOULD be different lol I read it whilst the kids were playing and fighting as boys do! so had to bookmark it and read it later on )

It sounds so very much like Leo and if he barks at the window at another dog, I give him the command quiet and then once he has stopped and peeks out from under the net curtain at me I tell him well done and give him a fuss, remembering to say "good quiet" so now when he barks on the widnow sill or starts to, I just say quiet and he stops, but sometimes he does sort of whimper a bit lol