Hard to say without seeing the dog.
I usualy reward the dog for any desireable behaviour whilst looking at the object of its reactivity no matter how small a glance at a non reactive distance.
lots of classical conditioning and lots of control work such as relaxed downs or combinations of sits downs and stands to get the dogs focus.
Also I would manage the situation by not putting myself in a situation where my dog might react.
This behaviour can be habit forming so make sure for now that you have control over dog/dog interaction.
Distraction work such as watch me or a hand touch as well.
you could also show the dog that it's reaction will not have the desired results and some trainers advocate the use of stooge dogs to show the dog the error of it's ways.
Angela stockdale is one who specialises in agression and although I don't agree with everything she does it seems to work for her.
she also uses throw chains and spray collars which i must admit i have never dablled in ,but the concept is to distract the dog and teach it that it's behaviour is unnaceptable.
As a positive trainer it's not the way i would go. This sort of positive punishment is risky and possibly a last resort only to be used by an experienced professional.
If he is lunging to get to this dog turn him around and take him off in the opposite direction as soon as or if possible before he kicks off. look for signs of arousal.
I am working on this sort of issue with an 10 month old GSD at the mo and I have him on a double lead arrangement.
One attached to a head collar and normal collar and the other double ended lead attached to a body harness with a shoulder and chest connection.
I have been doing lots of work on stays and waits when going through gates to improve his impulse control.
I'm not sure whether any of this will be relavent or useful to you, but as I say i take each dog and owner and situation on their merits and work from there.
Mark
Thanks Mark. At the moment, since his castration, his snapping is only a one dog. So I'll keep him away from Harvey for sometime and monitior how he goes with other dogs. Its not a lunging at Harvey with aggression. He came up to Harvey, and Molly the Rottie who was also there, with his usual excitement when meeting dogs after a couple of sniffs he then snapped at Harvey. I didn't see any forms of arousal at all as he approached as he approaches all dogs. I will watch him closely to see how he is when out with other dogs now just in case he takes an exception to another dog.
Habit forming was one of the reasons why I decided to castrate him fairly quickly. I've seen dogs come to training who have got into the habit of lunging and snapping at every dog and its has become a huge problem, alot of the owners have stopped any interaction with dogs which has made matters worse when their dog become confronted with another.
I do alot of training with him, just as you said with sit,stand and downs. I do them at home and while out on walks. Ands stays while other dogs and joggers for example pass. I also do lots of stays at home, and waits while I go in front through a door in my chair and they follow behind and also while out if the path narrows or their bushes in the wait he waits and goes behind me, most of the time without being asked to now. When we come home I ask him to stay at the top of the drive while I go and open the door and get my chair in, which he does perfectly. I've been doing these things from day one, not realising that they help impulse control. So I'll keep doing all of these throught out the day.
If I feel I'm not making progress I may call upon your help if thats ok?
