One of my Corgis shows 'agressive' behavior when he sees another dog he does not know.  When working obedience or in therapy work, he pays attention to business, but out for a walk or at the vet he reacts terribly.  ANy ideas?

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I'm a dog trainer out in Arlington Heights, I was wondering if you could record the "aggressive" behavior. Maybe I could help you out
this dog works great in obedience. I feel this is a fear issue. He is in training classes now. I am wondering if aroma therapy oils would help.
Can you describe the behavior more?
He immediately barks and/or growls. He will lunge on the leash and become very agitated. It is definitely a "stay away from me" attitude.
Can you be more specific in what you mean by aggressive behavior? Posturing, growling, hackles up, lunging, barking, trying to bite?
yes, there is posturing, growling, barking and lunging. I am able to calm him down if I remove him from the immediate area. he has never bitten but I have never let it get that far.
My three corgis clearly demonstrate their behaviors "I am corgi! I am top dog - get back" whenever they approach other dogs. I can only be firm with a "leave it" command and rely upon my own strength and my fixed leads. I think it's because it is the three of them versus the world. All the best, Nan
In both of my last 2 obedience classes the trainers had the aggressive dogs on prong collars and I believe the training classes should help...it was amazing how they worked through these issues! "Leave it" is also a great command!
If it fear based prongs can make it works or the dogs learn to be helpless, which means we're a ticking timebomb. I feel pain from the thing in front of me thats scary more reason for me to be afraid. Going positive reinforcement is the way to go for do thats fearful.
If it's not too severe, you want to teach your dog a word that means "look at me!". You can use his name, or the word "look" or "watch me!". You want it to be an upbeat, happy thing, not a sternly worded warning.

You practice at home, with no distractions. You may already have this command from your training. If you would like an explanation of how to teach it, let me know and I'll be glad to share.

You want to use your "watch me" word regularly and pop little treats happily in his mouth each time. Sometimes ask him to watch you for one second, sometimes three, switch it up to keep him focused.

Once he is 100% at home, take him on a safe walk where you are unlikely to see other dogs. Start using "watch me" command periodically on the walk and take treats (you may need to cut his food in half during training). Every few minutes while walking, use the "watch me" command. Sometimes ask every 3 minutes, sometimes every 10 so he doesn't have a pattern to expect.

While training, randomly reward him for looking up at you on his own (without your asking first) on the walk.

When he's good without distractions, you want to try it with a dog so far away it would not elicit a response. BEFORE he even sees the dog, give your "watch me" and reward and keep him focused on you. It helps if you have a partner with a bomb-proof dog who can be your practice dog, but if not you can carefully manage random encounters. The goal is to never reach the point where he reacts. Gradually get closer to the other dog, but ALWAYS give the "watch me" BEFORE he reacts. Keep treating him, and occasionally give him a "jackpot" reward of 10 or so treats right in a row so he's really eager to watch you on command.

Over time, if his case is not severe, you can work to getting closer and closer, and every time signal him to watch you before he reacts. Chances are he will reach a point where whenever he spots another dog, he looks at you first and you really want to reward this behavior.

Good luck!

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