Dog becoming more defensive around other dogs

[PiggyMad]

I have a nearly 2year old, neutered male shih tzu. When he was younger he was playful, never barked and friendly with all dogs. In the past 6 or 7 months there have been 2 incidents where other dogs off-lead have come over and 'had a go at' him when he was onlead. One was a very scary incident where a great dane picked him up by the neck and was shaking him.

Now Fred is quite wary of a lot of dogs and sometimes goes crazy barking at other dogs we pass - especially if the other dog barks first. He seems quite on edge with certain dogs and sometimes dives toward them and it makes me on edge walking him incase he goes any further than barking. Is there anything I can do to help calm him and undo the damage of the 2 negative experiences?

I once read of this advice. take some treats with you and everytime you see another dog approaching - give your dog a treat.

This way (so the thinking goes) he starts to associate nice things when he sees another dog. Just make sure its a really good treat and not something he normally gets i.e. garlic sausage, cheese etc.

Hope this helps

Bat will also work very well info here

Thanks for the tips - will definitely start taking some treats out with me. Thanks for the link janeswell - I'd never heard of BAT before!

If you do a search for 'look dog' and BAT, you will find threads where the wonderful Minimuu, and probably also janeherbert, explain about these techniques. It can take time but it works really well.

I meant herbertjane .... (sorry if you are reading this)

I have been using this technique for about 18months with a very nervous jack russell who is 2 years old. She has become more relaxed, not completely reliable, but more confident. Although I suspect she will never be perfect ? she is just not a doggie person!

HW x