Hi everyone. I hope someone can help me - or recommend a behaviouralist/trainer. I live in the Greater Manchester area and have found a few numbers, but I'd like a personal recommendation if possible.

My dog Charlie is a 7-year-old crossbreed (at a guess, there's some lurcher-collie-labrador in there!) who we got from a rescue in January. He's a wonderful dog - very good in the house, quiet, friendly, playful - everything you could want. Off-lead he's great too - he comes back when called, and loves to retrieve. The problems start when he's on his lead. He walks reasonably well - he does pull, but this is improving - but if he sees another dog, no matter how far off, he barks frenziedly at it and strains to get to it. He does this in an aggressive way, not a friendly way, and if the dog is close enough he'll try and snap - he's never bitten another dog, yet, but I'm worried that that is his intention. The barking doesn't stop until we can drag him away or (more usually!) the other dog is marched away swiftly by a scared-looking owner. Off the lead, he's a different dog - he generally ignores other dogs, or goes to them and has a polite wag/sniff then ignores them again. What's really worrying me is that he's recently started barking at children in this way - again, off the lead he's friendly and playful with them, but on the lead he acts in this frightening way. I'm obviously not risking letting any children stroke him at the moment, off-lead or otherwise, as I don't want to risk an accident. I assume he feels scared/threatened when he's on the lead, or is trying to protect me in some way - how do I get him to understand that he's not in danger and doesn't need to act like this? I try to walk him away without any drama, and don't shout at him as I know that will make it seem to him like I'm barking too, and I praise him highly on the (rare!) occasions he walks past a dog when he's on his lead and doesn't react - but I'm not getting anywhere. I'd like to take him to an ordinary dog-training class to work on his lead-walking and other obedience - and I'd love to get him doing agility one day, as he's so good at retrieving and so quick - but at the moment he'd just bark all through the session and ruin it for the other dogs/owners there, so I can't. All advice or trainer recommendations welcome!

Sorry, I meant I'd like to do flyball with him one day, not agility!

I don't live in your area but have to say that i have gone through dog training classes where there have been dogs there which are aggressive and were trained on a halti or similar and the trainer was brilliant and after a couple of months of hard training by the owner he had a dog that didn't growl at other dogs on the lead and they actually let him off the lead and he was great around all the dogs and the owner said he was so good outside of the classes as well.
You know i would call a class up and see what they say, they should be open to all.
A lot of the time a dog does this when on a lead is that they feel threatened and can't escape as being on a lead. It is due to a lack of training and socialisation. I would go to classes and they may even recommend a behaviourist if its that bad as well.
It may not be a quick fix resolution but sometimes it is worth putting in the effort and over time you should see a difference.
Good luck.

Many dogs when using a headcollar are calmer, because you can direct their gaze.  It is a good idea to get them accustomed to it at home first if they are already stressed on the lead, as most don't like them at first.

Do you walk him on a tight short lead by any chance.
And have you consulted the behaviour people at the rescue centre you got him from?

Hi
One thing you could try doing is checking with your vet to see if he has any pain in his rear end/hips. Often dogs that are sore in that area become lead aggressive. Given his age he could be starting with arthritis. If that's the case you would have to be careful about agility too. Just a thought.

Thanks for your advice everyone. I tried him on a Halti but he hated it - I really persevered with it, and followed the advice about making it pleasurable for him by associating it with treats and so on, but he just wouldn't settle with it and kept trying desperately to pull it off. I use a harness now which has made walking him much more pleasant.

I've had him checked at the vet's too - his hips are fine, and actually the vet said he's in great shape and appears much younger than seven (I know his exact age as he was given to the rescue when his previous owners divorced, he wasn't found as a stray). I will ring some training classes for advice, just wondered if people could suggest anything I can be doing with him on walks in the meantime.

I will ring some training classes for advice, just wondered if people could suggest anything I can be doing with him on walks in the meantime.

Did you see my post above? I had 2 ideas that might help. Have you contacted the behaviour person at the rescue you got him from, and do you walk him on a short tight lead?

The centre doesn't have a specific behaviouralist - they recommend you contact your vet (who just suggested trainers from the phone book when I phoned them). And no, I don't walk him on a short lead - he's getting good at loose-lead walking. He does start to really pull when he sees another dog though, but I try not to tighten the lead in anticipation of this.

I use a halti harness.

Around the chest used with a double ended lead  clipped to ordinary neck collar and another clip between shoulder blades.
It is, IMO, the single thing that has had the most dramatic change on the behaviour of my dog,( a rescue). When we fitted the halti harness for the first time it was if he was saying "Thank god she got the message".
No rearing up, no pulling, no frenzied behaviour. It was an instant change in behaviour.

He really hated the halti - I really did try with it, I followed all the instructions about introducing it really gradually, starting with the dog just putting his nose in it and so on and building up really slowly until going for a walk in it. But it really distressed him - he spent the whole time he was wearing it desperately trying to pull it off his nose. I also found that when he was out in it and saw another dog he struggled so hard he was able to actually get it off his nose, which is obviously pretty dangerous. As soon as I stopped trying to make the halti work and started walking him on a harness he became a different dog. My problem isn't with the way he walks now, which is fine - it's his reactions to other dogs whilst on his lead I need to sort out.

Swallowtail,

I have also used a citronella collar on a dog who was lead aggressive( another rescue). I  was shown how to use it by a behaviourist,  (we were there for Good Citizen Training with a pup and took the rescue to socialise. Two for the price of one there)!!! This also worked very quickly. I think I only walked him 3 or 4 times with the collar and it worked.

Are you familiar with these. It works by a remote button which you carry around your neck or in pocket etc. When the dog reacts badly you spray the collar, mine was a mist of lemon juice, no other reaction from me. The dog then associates bad behaviour, ie rearing up with the spray under the chin.
As I say it worked really quickly.

A halti harness is not a head collar it is a harness that also attaches to the collar.

The only safe way to use a head collar is in conjunction with a halti link (it attaches from lead to collar) or a check or half check collar, so that should the head collar be got off the dog is still safely on the collar.

You won't solve the issue with the other dogs if you do not have control of the dogs head, whcih you don't on a harness, to get him looking at you when he kicks off .

> You won't solve the issue with the other dogs if you do not have control of the dogs head, whcih you don't on a harness, to get him looking at you when he kicks off .

Agree, we used a halti for my girl and still do when there are loads of dogs around, works wonders i felt in more control and could stop her fixating on other dogs.
Personally couldn't get on with the harness.

IMO, The harness is much gentler, the halti , even a lined one,rubbed and irritated the skin around the nose . The difference between the face halti and harness was amazing. Instead of everything being a battle he just did as I bid him too.
Taking him for a walk turned from a battle of wills, both of us all hot under the collar, me having to be constantly scouring the horizon for any dog approaching to being relaxed happy and enjoyable for both of us.

When another dog approached all I had to do was gently pull his head in towards my leg and talk to him, no yanking or pulling. I don't even have to really think about it now.
It was the perfect solution for us.

The halti harness is not just the type you see staffies etc wearing, it is hard to describe, but the double ended lead clips under the chin on the usual collar which is linked to the harness by a clip and  other end on the back between shoulder blades, so you are holding the lead similar to holding a horses reins. I use one on both my dogs when by myself as they are both quite large and strong dogs. I am tiny. I feel completley in control.