My dog dances and woos at strangers on walks. What should I do?

I'm sorry that you're having this problem with Sadie! Without more information about her behavior, it's hard to say for sure what might be causing this - but I suspect that she may be somewhat afraid or uncomfortable around strangers, and may not want them to approach and pet her. It's important to realize the some dogs, just like some humans, don't enjoy being touched by strangers - this isn't necessarily abnormal. In that case, the problem is best addressed by simply respecting Sadie's wishes and not allowing people to approach and pet her. You could ask people who show interest in her to toss her a treat instead (carry treats with you for this purpose), or simply tell them that she doesn't like to be petted by people she doesn't know and go on with your walk. If she also has problems with barking or lunging at strangers, or if you want more information on how you might be able to encourage her to be more social, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate her in person. He/she can help you put together a detailed plan to work on her issues so that you can both enjoy your walks more :)

When going to the dog park, I recommend that as soon as she starts to pull, immediately turn around and go away from the dog park for at least 10 steps, then you can turn back and try again. When she starts to pull, once again turn around and take 10 steps away. Give positive reinforcement with treats when she walks by your side where she is supposed to. The goal is to teach her she will get to the park faster if she doesn't pull. Blowing leaves are often a big trigger, and dogs want to chase them. This can be harder to directly train for because the wind is unpredictable. One thing you can do is give Sie a command to look at you. This can be "look", or "Sie", or another word you choose. She should look at you, and not at the treat. She only gets the treat when she looks at you. But if she can learn to stop what she is doing and look at you and away from whatever she finds interesting, this can help with many issues. Then on windy days, you can ask her to sit as the leaves blow by, and stay focused on you. Any training issue requires time and dedication to fix. Be patient and consistent, and over time it should improve. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Many dogs have this problem - it's called leash reactivity :) It happens because Laika is so excited to see another dog, and frustrated because she can't immediately run over to them - which leads to barking and lots of crazy, uncontrollable behavior. Fortunately, this behavior is usually very treatable with a good training plan. Normally, a training plan for these dogs involves using very tasty treats to reward calm behavior at a distance from another dog - it's critical that you're far enough away that she can be calm and take treats, which means that you may need a lot of distance at first! Once she understands the game and is doing well, you can gradually move closer. It can be hard to do this on your own at first, so I would really recommend getting in touch with a good reward-based trainer who can help you in person. He/she can help by setting up controlled training situations at first with a calm "helper dog" to help both of you get the idea of how to work on the problem, until you're ready to transition to real life scenarios like passing another dog on a walk.

It sounds like Noble is not very comfortable interacting with strangers at this stage, so I would stop allowing people to pet him. Instead, you can stand at a distance and just observe people - praise and reward with a treat every time he sees someone walk by. This way, he can learn to associate good things with seeing people, and will also learn that he won't be forced to interact if he doesn't want to. Later on, as he gets more comfortable, he can say hello to certain people if he offers to approach them himself.

Poor Mia! If she is too upset to take treats, this means that you need to be further away from the things that are scaring her. Some dogs need a lot of distance at first! When you are far enough away for her to be comfortable, you can praise and reward her for calm behavior, then gradually work on moving closer as long as she's doing well. It can be challenging to do this on your own at first, so I would recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can work with you in person. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here (www.dacvb.org) or a qualified trainer here (www.ccpdt.org).

I highly recommend getting in touch with a dog trainer in your area that can work with you on something called desensitization training. Basically, this helps your dog get used to things that scare/agitate them, such as cars or bikes going past, and gradually gets them desensitized and eventually ignoring it. Working on other techniques with a trainer such as loose-leash walking can also help with the random stopping on walks. A good first step, until you can get in touch with a trainer, is to bring a high value favorite treat with you on your walks. Any time Hermione is doing something you like such as walking nicely, ignoring something, etc, give her a treat and praise. If she gets over excited or barks at something, walk her away until she is calm, and then praise her and give her a treat when she is calm. These can help start on training until you have a plan in place with a professional.

Hi there. It sounds like Bea is having some trouble with her focus. While much of that is just being young and full of energy, I feel you would benefit from clicker training (a treat and reward system) as well as a well organized puppy class. Puppy classes are often offered at your local pet smart as well as through several trainers as help puppies to develop a sense of ability to socialize without being distracted enough by their surrounds that they ignore their owner. To many puppies-they see this as an exciting time to meet new friends and play with their owners. For us it is a wonderful area to help the puppies feel safe and bond with us over respect and learn boundaries. She is likely just reacting to stimuli (things she doesn't often get to see) and doesn't realize she's being "bad" as well as being full of energy. This will take a lot of patience and treats on your part when she performs or listens to you. She will get there, it is just a learning process.