Reggie is a nightmare with other dogs!!

[Mazrick]

Had our Cocker Reggie for a few weeks now and he's just over 6 months old. He's fine on the lead apart from the pulling occasionally, but is getting better like he is at most things! Apart from when out on walks meeting other dogs. He is on lead and we or a dog approach one another either on purpose or because there's no other way to avoid them, he sniffs etc at first and remains calm, then he kicks of barking and jumping towards them and when I or the other owners or the dogs remove themselves he goes crazy, literally lurching at them, almost tied himself in his lead just now! He is the same off the lead always comes when whistled, but if another dog appears he does the same and no matter what you try he will not come back and just follows the other dog / owners barking or jumping up etc! Any ideas of how I might solve this as our little Jack Russell starts shaking when he starts. He doesn't do anything like that with her, they get on great in the house and out on walks. It's 2 weeks since he had his castration so shouldn't really be pulling and jumping like that just in case.
Any help most valued 

[bmthmark]

If I am reading this correctly, it seems that he isn't doing this aggressively? or is he trying to attack them?

The reason why I am asking is because mine (he is 20 months old) will bark and lunge towards other dogs to try and get them to play, he will also bark at them to try and get them to run. He sort of goes down on the floor in a lying position. If they do run he proceeds to chasing and bark, especially if he can't keep up.
However he never does this in an aggressive way.

Recently though he is becoming much better and if I say to him 'nicely' he calms down. I think this is just due to age.
If the other dog is a cocker spaniel or a springer spaniel he will go absolutely crazy.

If I think any of it is too much I will always get him on the lead.

If he is doing it in an aggressive way you definitely need to keep him on a lead until its resolved. Others on this forum will be able to offer advice with this.

[Gazrob]

Dogs are like people they dont get along with everyone. I don't let my dog play/sniff socialise with any dogs unless I know the dog and I know they get along. He just gets himself in trouble if I let him play with other dogs all the time he goes deaf to commands and has been attacked from dogs after the owner says my dog is very friendly. He sometimes will bark at other dogs when on lead but that's only if I introduce him to dogs he's never met. When my dog is on lead I don't want him socialising at all.i want to keep him safe calm and concentrating on me. You never know what the other dogs are feeling. I occasionally will play with the ball with him which he enjoys. He doesn't need to socialise with other dogs in my opinion he's much calmer and obedient when it's just me and him. That's just my opinion though. When he wants to play I will play with him. If he's off lead and I see other dogs approaching I'll call him back and put him back on the lead.

[phoenix]

I would walk them separately, they will both be happier.
If you got him at 5 months, do you know his history?
I would recommend a few one to one classes with a trainer. It’s well worth it, I had to with my rescue terrier, even though I’ve had dogs for ever and thought I knew it all.
They will use their own well trained stooge dogs to assess his behaviour.  They will see how close he can get on lead, then you call him to return and be rewarded. Practice ,practice ,practice. Avoid close contact, with other dogs, as it sets him off.

This usually works, esp with youngsters. Load up with special smelly meaty treats, and get eye contact for treating, so that the situation is distracted before barking and pulling begins. My trainer asked me to cut out his breakfast and use the food allowance for training. Hungry doggies want you!
Do loads of training exercises , tricks and recalls.

[Mazrick]

Thanks for the replies, been a while since I checked in! In no way is Reggie being aggresive but just won't stop once started! I am now using a halt to walk him locally and when out in open places he is just back on standard training lead. The Halt is great to stop pulling but he hates it for first 5 or so minutes of every walk. With the barking I bought a small can of compressed air and seems to do the trick for very small amounts of time. He is definitely better but it's still his most annoying attribute. I have always been able to let our previous dogs off lead to a good recall, and when there are no other dogs around he too is fine, but as soon as there is another dog involved he has to be centre of attention in anyway he deems it possible!! We know his history as he belonged to my son and his partner and 4 kids from pup , for some unknown reason they though he'd be the perfect dog for them. They did absolutely nothing with him as they didn't know how so we bought him off them, as they were planning to advertise him on other sites for sale!! He has come on in leaps and bounds in all other ways and is a stunning dog and has the most loveable nature. He is now 100% clean in the house, has good recall most of the time, searches out dummie and literally don't stop until he has retrieved it. Is 100% with Jess our other dog. we also have 2 chickens and he finally met them without restraint yesterday for 1st time and was fine! I know it's probably a lot to ask but with certain neighbours we have and dog walking areas close to home that see us coming and spread like synchranised swimmers  , I'd love to eliminate it and be able to stick two fingers up at certain people if you know what I mean?
Thanks For listening whilst I vent..

[bizzylizzy]

Have you thought of a training class? To be honest, your dog‘s behaviour does sound very typically cocker,    they‘re renowned for pulling on the lead and also getting easily excited, which sometimes results in barking but a lot of the problems can be resolved with consistant, positive training. Unfortunately there‘s a rarely a quick fix, I‘ve tried all sorts of harnesses from Halti‘s to Walk Your Dog With Love, they work for a while but don‘t address the behaviour. The same appiles to the compressed air for the barking, the dog isn’t learning self discipline he‘s just been startled (or frightened) for a split second and that‘s interrupted what he‘s doing but there‘s a danger, as with all the aversive methods e.g. water sprays and the like, that the dogs reactive negatively and start displaying other unwanted behaviour, you can open up a whole other can of worms. Positive training, i.e. rewarding the good behaviour (treats, games etc) and ignoring the bad, I‘ve found at least, is far more effective. Humphrey‘s my 3rd dog, but first cocker and he‘s a completely different kettle of fish to my previous GSD‘s , we‘ve only got this far with the help of a training class (and BRILLIANT advice from people on here!) lots of patience (not my best point, but I‘ve had to learn it!!  ) and bags and bags of really tasty treats!!! Best of luck!!

[bmthmark]

My personal opinion is that the compressed air thing needs to go in the bin. This will only scare the poor dog and you will likely to get more issues.
If you think about it, he is communicating the way he knows by barking but he is being told off for doing so.

As I said mine barks and I 100% agree it's frustrating but it is normal, no need to punish him.
As bizzylizzy mentioned,  training is the key here.
What I've done with jett is trained him to bark on command, the idea is that if you can make them bark you can make them stop barking. Training videos can be found on YouTube.
It sounds like yours is just having fun, if he isn't hurting any other dog. Let him be happy and carry on, but do some training with him. This will keep his mind active.

I suspect you will then find you will have a happy playful dog that will do as he is told.

Good luck

[phoenix]

Regarding compressed air,  it has its place. I had a year of private training with my rescue terrier who felt all dogs were enemies.  Eventually the trainer admitted with some embarrassment that he felt that Jack was a stereotypical  independent little  bu**er of a terrier, and would I agree to one spray squirt. This we did,  and it frightened him.   Result six months on,  I always keep voice and eye contact, and look out for possible problems. I can just hiss with my voice at him, no can or collar,  and he wags his tail and detours well away from any conflict.  I know he’s no angel, but I think he feels more secure now he is fully aware that I am on top of his misguided anxieties, and can look after them, and him. 

Now this is with a terrier,  my sensitive cocker would have freaked out . I never dared scaring him!  You have to know your dog inside out.  I think you have received excellent advice on positive reinforcement. I just wanted to play devils advocate on sprays for dogs that have been carefully assessed for a last resort.  Your dog isn’t vicious or dangerous , so please stick it out!