Hello Jill, Many dogs expect another dog to abide by dog social rules and may try to correct a dog when they aren't doing so. Barking loudly at nothing can annoy other dogs too when there is nothing reasonable that the dog is barking at (because they are deaf). It's not a good situation among the dogs because you don't want a fight to break out. Some very socially savy dogs will be gentle and careful with their corrections, but others lack self-control and might harm another dog. Without knowing your dogs I can't say which case it is, and with multiple dogs there may be some of both. Work on laying a lot of boundaries down for all the dogs. Teach pup's (with hand signals with the new dog) commands like Place, Wait, Out (:Leave the area), Leave It, Quiet, and Down-Stay. Use commands like those to give the dogs instructions and show them that you are managing the household and it's not their job to manage each other. Work on rewarding the new dog for being quiet during times of quietness, and rewarding your other dogs for being tolerant of the new dog (Reward them away from each other though when other dogs aren't watching so food fights don't start over treats). You want to teach boundaries, work on the barking issue with the new dog, and rewards pups for good behavior when you catch them doing well. Use treat, a leash, and your body language to enforce commands with the new dog - especially since they can't hear. Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O75dyWITP1s Thresholds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-w28C2g68M Out - which means leave the area: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Leave It method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Down-Stay: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/train-your-labrador-to-lie-down-and-stay/ Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

March 30, 2020

Hello Jala, First, don't put him in daycare, don't take him to dog parks, and don't enroll him in a typical obedience class yet. The daycare and dog parks can make it worse since that environment will add stress, lack structure and very easily lead to fights which is stressful and dangerous for him and the other dogs. A normal obedience class won't benefit him and will ruin the entire class for everyone else who is there to work on obedience with their own dogs. What you CAN do is see if there is a G.R.O.W.L. class in your city or driving distance. A G.R.O.W.L. class is a class for dog aggressive or reactive dogs who all wear basket muzzles for everyone's safety and are intensively socialized with each other while practicing structured things like heeling. If you can find one of those classes close enough to you, that would be a great way to socialize him. If you cannot find the class or would prefer one on one training, then I would recommend hiring a private professional trainer to help you. Look for someone who has access to a training facility with several friendly dogs on property where the trainer can get Milo around a lot of other dogs and work on his fear and his response in a quicker amount of time than you could in your neighborhood. Teach him commands like "Watch Me"- which means look at me. Work on teaching a structured heel where he walks behind you and is focused on you. Interrupt him as soon as he starts scanning the horizon looking for other dogs, staring at another dog, or trying to get in front of you during walks - don't wait until an outburst, catch it early if you can - notice what he is thinking at that moment. Start your walk out making him sit before being leashed, wait at the door and walk behind you - how you start the walk will effect his arousal level during the walk. Work on heavily rewarding him for obeying commands and staying focused on you - keep your energy very calm and pleasant though. When you start to approach another dog, give him the "Watch Me" command and reward him for focusing on you. Also reward him for normally looking at you when another dog is present even if you have not told him to. Reward him for looking at the dog and staying calm (not tensing up and fixating), looking at the dog and then back at you, and generally being calm. You want to make the presence of another dog pleasant for him and also encourage focus on you instead of that dog. Go to places with a lot of space, like the park, where you can control how far he is from other dogs and train where he is close enough to notice the other dogs but far enough away to still look at you for treats and stay a bit calm with your help. All of this will go much faster if you attend a G.R.O.W.L. class or hire a trainer who has access to other dogs to help you. Getting him around other friendly, polite dogs while he is wearing a silicone muzzle can also help if you have a trainer there to show you how to train his responses to the other dog. If it is done wrong if may lead to worse problems though, so do that under the supervision of a trainer. For maintenance, once he is doing better around other dogs, see if there are other pet parents who go on heeling walks with their dogs. A regular structured heeling walk with other dogs is a great way to socialize reactive dogs. His focus needs to be on you though. He is more likely to do poorly if he starts getting aroused so keep all energy around other dogs right now calm. The goals is NOT for him to be chasing and rough housing with other dogs - that actually causes reactivity for some dogs. You want him to learn how to calmly hang out with other dogs, doing things that stimulate his mind and keep his energy calm. Once he is great around other dogs, then you can consider joining an obedience class - at that point that would be a great thing for him. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Aug. 26, 2019