Dog help

[Plant2628]

I've a young small terrier mix who my children adore (that makes this harder). He loves them too. However, he's become more and more lead reactive to other dogs. He will not sit quietly whilst having a picnic, on a bench etc and has barking outbursts - then settles. Inside the house, deliveries set him off but I'm attempting to crack that by installing an on the wall post box. He doesn't like unknown friends' or family dogs coming in the house either so we avoid unless he knows them well.
I'm awaiting a vet behaviourist referral but looking at weeks away.
We got a dog to enjoy life with us - camping, holidays etc but he makes things stressful at times. You can't really relax in busy places.
I regret neutering him but I can't see how that could have made him this way completely and when I think rationally even if it did exacerbate I imagine determining the extent is impossible and he was probably predisposed anyway. No point going over that, he's well socialized from a pup.
Am I kidding myself we might be able to 'fix' him?
Are there any calming treats/pills that have helped before walks?
Success stories needed!
Thanks!

Following cos my dog is also being quite reactive!

Lead reactivity can be improved, but it takes a lot of work and patience as it can take a lot of time. Although it can improve, if you are hoping to be able to take your dog anywhere without problems then you might be disappointed.

Our dog was attacked when he was on the lead by an off-lead dog, since then he has been reactive to other dogs. At first he would bark at most dogs even if they were quite a distance away, it has now improved to the point where he doesn't react at all if he sees a dog which is not close to us, we can also walk past some dogs without a reaction, but he does still react to others. This improvement has taken 18 months and we are still working on it.

We were able to take him to a pub garden last year, but it wasn't that busy and we sat at the table furthest from the pub, we wouldn't do this if there were lots of dogs in the garden because we know being close to them would stress him out.

Terriers do this. Did you check out getting a quieter dog before you got yours? You've essentially bought yourself a barker and then are considering medicating it out of barking. If it isn't barking all the time, and only now and then when out and about, and when the door goes, I think you're being a bit unfair. You can't expect a terrier to be silent, any more than it can expect you to be silent.

Yes you can fix it but will need professional help not random advice off mumsnet

speak to your vet and see if they have any recommendations for behaviourists

Yes I got advice off a vet before purchasing. I think we just unlucky. We did everything 'right'. I'm not looking for professional advice on here, just success stories. Let's be honest the professional advice realm is a bit of a nightmare to navigate.

And...I don't expect silence, sorry if it came across that way!

Success comes from your dog knowing you are in control or going to advocate for them and they don’t have to do it themselves. Take a few steps back to things they can cope with-if they can’t cope sitting on a bench, put them in the boot of the car, then open boot and then the bench. You will get there

What do you expect, if not silence? Your dog's barking doesn't sound excessive from the way you've explained it. In what way do you think you've been unlucky? It's not unlucky to get a terrier that barks, is it?

I dont think you can just accept the barking because he is a terrier as other posters are saying.

OP I think you are right to get help. It does sound from what you have written that your dog is reacting to things and his barking therefore is a sign he is over threshold and over aroused.

A professional should be able to direct you in ways that keep your dog under threshold and hence less barking.

I do agree that some terriers bark first and think later but your guy does should anxious and yes you can do things to help that.

Unless I've missed something in your post, which is very possible, you don't say how old he is, so not sure what 'young' means.

Tbh from what you've written his behaviour sounds pretty much par for the course for a 'young' terrier, or any young dog, come to that.

Training takes time and patience. Perhaps you're expecting too much too soon.

Things like barking at deliveries are to be expected and it takes training to show him how to not bark in those circumstances.

Bringing strange dogs into his home and expecting a young terrier not to react is asking too much of him.

He won't just sit quietly when you want him to, this all needs to be trained into him.

You don't need 'calming pills' for him. You just need a calm atmosphere for him.

You are very much doing the right thing to find someone who can advise you on behaviour and training; for you and for your dog.

It sounds highly unlikely that you've been 'unlucky' with your dog.

Most dogs are trainable.

You can't sit and have a picnic with him, at the park or school gate. Another dog comes by and 50% of the time he excessively reacts with barking and pulling on the lead. That's not something I expect most dog owners would put up with. You can't relax. Hence training. Thanks for the constructive replies.

I ve had many terriers over the years, non have ever barked much, its bloody annoying, our distant neighbour has one, poor thing is locked up most days and goes out for a 30 min walk once a day, no wonder he has so much pent up frustration.

The OP is right to get professional training, knowing how to train a dog isn't something anyone is born with & i'm sure they'll both very soon be getting on famously.

We have had terriers (among others) for generations and (fortunately) have access to land for them

Thanks all - do terriers 'calm down '? Really hope so, gives me hope! He's 2

It sounds highly unlikely that you've been 'unlucky' with your dog

I agree. Terriers are reactive. Some aren't, but many are, and if you didn't want a reactive dog, you need to take responsibility for making an unwise decision and getting yourself a dog with a high likelihood of being reactive.

My terrier has calmed down a lot since she was about 6, but she still barks at some other dogs, especially when on the lead. She still barks when the shopping is delivered. She still barks when there's a knock at the door.

You have very high expectations of a young terrier and I think the training will be a compromise of partially calming the dog, and partially getting you to understand how these dogs work, and what realistic expectations are. You can't expect to sit in a park with a young terrier, eating food, and expect it to be quiet.

Watchkeys : "My terrier has calmed down a lot since she was about 6, but she still barks at some other dogs, especially when on the lead. She still barks when the shopping is delivered. She still barks when there's a knock at the door".

I can handle all the above. I can't just do nothing about him going into a barking frenzy when he sees another dog whether we are walking down the street, sat down/stood still etc. That's reactive behaviour which I'm pretty sure not all terriers demonstrate. He's anxious and it needs training.

I was just looking for personal experience, hopefully this one will, alongside training, become less reactive with age like you seem to have experienced.

I have a pair of barky dickheads so I know how annoying it can be, but the Facebook group - dog training and advice is really useful.

You need to join and read the files - they won't answer questions if you haven't, but they are very knowledgeable.

www.facebook.com/groups/dogtrainingadviceandsupport/

Oh, I see. You made a detailed list of common terrier behaviours in your OP, but don't seem to mind them.

All the best, for you and your dog.