How do I teach my dog to be neutral around other dogs?

When your dog sees or approaches another dog, you want him to behave in a calm, friendly, confident manner. It is natural for him to be interested in the other dog, but not to rush into the other dog’s space, or vocalize excessively, which another dog may perceive as threatening, and can result in aggression. Teaching your dog to be calm around other dogs and making meeting other dogs a pleasant experience may take some time and insight on your part, to address the underlying causes for your dog's excitement. Many dogs who get overexcited are actually anxious, and addressing anxiety issues may need to be part of training your dog to be calm. You will need to find other dogs to help teach your dog to be calm when in the presence of another dog. Find a mature, calm, well-balanced dog to help. Have treats available to provide positive reinforcement for calm behaviors. During training, avoid letting your dog have access to other dogs when not in a training session, so that exited behavior does not occur, and is not reinforced. Provide lots of high quality treats in small amounts to distract your dog and keep him focused on the get it game and not the other dog. Gradually move the “get it” game closer to the other dog, providing treats to distract your dog, and providing an alternate behavior, so he does not get excited by the other dog, but remains focused on his “get it” treat game.

Dog owners can use positive body language and treats to teach a dog how to sit and stay when called and to obey you when around other dogs. You can train a dog to ignore other dogs by following these steps: 1. Prepare the right equipment. Use a collar and leash with which the dog feels comfortable. Have treats your dog loves and a clicker for helping your dog know when they have done something right. Take a walk with no distractions. Begin by taking a normal walk with your dog where there are no other dogs around. Practice rewarding your dog when called. Every so often, stop and call your dog’s name. Reward your dog and use your clicker if they look at you and remain calm, but turn away and withhold the reward if they don’t. Start walking at a distance from other dogs. Once you have trained your dog to stop, calm down, and leave objects alone while on walks, you can begin slowly walking around other dogs at a distance. Gradually move closer to other dogs. Over the course of multiple days and dog walks, begin moving closer to other dogs while still using positive reinforcement to bring their attention back to you when distracted.

Teach them a Watch Me Do this randomly throughout the day. Start where there are no distractions, and your dog isn’t doing something else. Say their name enthusiastically and when they look at you reward them with a high value treat. Once you can do this at home, you can progress to the garden where there are more distractions from sights, sounds, and smells. Once you’ve mastered that, you can start going out and about – but stick to quiet places where you can avoid other dogs until you and your dog are experts at this. Distract them when meeting other dogs Once you know how to get your dog to start responding to their name by giving you their attention, you can start using this technique in the presence of other dogs. Start off a long distance from them – beyond the point where your dog would usually react. All you want your dog to do is look at you, and you will reward this. Slowly build this up to being able to do it at closer proximity but never too close that your dog feels that they need to react to the other dog. Always use high value treats to reward them for paying attention to you and not the other dog. Practice is key, remember that patience is very important when training any dog and you shouldn’t expect instant results. If your dog has been barking at other dogs or being reactive for a long time, it will take time, patience, and consistency to break the habit or change the behaviour.