Quote:
Originally Posted by poohbearsmom 
In the meantime, exercising him in your yard might be a better option than allowing this behavior to escalate further, and risking a mishap.
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I don't understand why exercising him in the yard would be necessary. When we are out on leash, all is GREAT. It is when he looks out the window, or the car window that we have a problem.
When we go out for walks, Dodge is super behaved. The people that don't cross the street or step around us, comment on what a nice, (and beautiful) boy he is. Even a couple of people who have had their little dogs off leash run up to us, have told me that I have a very well behaved dog. The people in the small pet stores we visit and at the vet love him. He always is polite to the the other animals there including cats.
We are going back to school May 1st actually. And Dodge will no doubt bark and growl at the other dogs or people when we pull up, and then when I let him out of the car, all will be fine.
I am REALLY limited here on trainers. We use a trainer who works with positive reenforcement, and Dodge is the class superstar when we go. She has used a squirt bottle on ONE dog who kept barking during class. but he was a lab and thought that was great fun trying to "catch" the water.
I guess maybe I should pull up a chair, sit in front of the window and reward him with treats when he comes to check things out and quiets when told.
My trainer comes highly recommended from the shelters, the rescues, and the vets, and other than the AKC classes,she is it. I will try and visit with her privately at some point, although she is ALWAYS in class it seems. Being pretty much the only dog training center around she keeps very busy.
I am also going to do some research here,and try and find the difference between reactive and protective behavior? I figured it was protectiveness because it is only the house or the car. But he KNOWS this is MY house on everything else. That is why I am a bit stumped.
It makes sense though, if her were protective of me, he would probably make a big deal of people coming near me when we are out and about.
Thanks everyone,
Sharon