My dog jumps the fence and growls at other dogs. How to train him?

It sounds like Toby was frightened and overwhelmed by the dog park - some dogs don't enjoy crowded places like this with lots of other dogs. I would suggest walking him in quieter places where he's comfortable, if he has problems with barking and growling at dogs in other situations, it would be best to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate him in person and help you put together a training plan to help him learn to be more comfortable around strange dogs and people. 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'm sorry you are dealing with this problem! The first thing to do is neuter Loki. His aggressive behaviors to other male dogs could be due to the hormones produced from being intact. Intact male dogs will fight to protect their territory and for females. Neutering him can help reduce the aggressive tendencies. After that is done, I recommend getting him in with a professional behavioral expert. I never recommend owners work with aggressive behaviors on their own due to the serious risks to safety, and it is something that is best left to the professionals. A behavioral expert can work with Loki and you on his aggression, and can help train him to reduce it. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to here that Loki is doing this. He is young and probably very active so addressing this is important. For one, never encourage him to jump up on you or family. Some people do this thinking it's cute but bigger dogs can hurt kids and elderly people. One thing that worked for me in the past for a variety of problems is an aluminum can filled with some coins and taped shut so the coins can't fly out. Keep the can handy and shake the can or throw it near the dog when an unwanted behavior occurs such as jumping up. The sound alone is enough for some dogs and it gets their attention. Lots of dogs are afraid of the sound and they immediately stop what they are doing. The trouble with it is having the can handy in your hand when you suspect bad behavior that you want to stop. I used to keep them near the front door to prevent the unwanted jumping up behavior. Worked great for me and you can verbally reward and use food rewards when they obey that intervention with the can. It's worth trying. Good luck with Loki.

This is really tricky. Many training groups offer classes for Reactive Dogs that can help. Make sure they use positive only training, no force or punishments. The basic steps to working on this are minimizing chances for an encounter, teaching him a behavior that is incompatible with going nuts (such as watching you and eating a treat), and then SLOWLY SLOWLY SLOWLY introducing him to other dogs (you really need a good trainer to help with this portion, you have to go so slow it's painful). I would recommend not allowing him to be outside by himself so that you can remove him if he starts to bark - you may even need to keep a leash on him so you can easily get him and calmly go inside. In short, this is a common and real, but very hard to resolve issue, so I'd encourage you to find an amazing trainer or even have a consultation with a veterinary behaviorist.

This is a very frustrating behavior to have to deal with. Sometimes invisible fence works. Other times a tie-down or run system is effective. Another solution is do you have a trainer work with you and your dogs in your home to address this issue. Punishment is a tricky method as it has to be done immediately after the behavior in order to be effective as well as it could backfire and cause aggression.

I strongly recommend you consult with a professional, in-home dog trainer. You need a trainer to come to your house so they can see the behavior and the interaction of all the family members with Max. This is your best bet. Aggression problems need special care and it is not recommended that you try to correct this on your own. You may give him the wrong signals and make him worse. Especially with his breed you need to do this correctly and since his life start was not good that plays into his issues. This is a situation that definitely needs professional intervention. I suggest you call your vet to get a referral for a trainer or do an online search for trainers in your area. Best wishes.

Hi, It is important not to reward this behavior by having people pet him when he does this. Ignoring him and looking away will help show him that when he does this , he will not get pet or shown attention when this behavior is displayed. You can also try bringing Balto to a behavior training class. These are offered at some pet stores that may be near you. Hopefully he learns that when he is calm and not jumping, that is when he will be rewarded with affection.