Training tips?

[QUANTO]

quanto has barked now at men on leash a few times. i use a prong collar on him and have used it as a correction with variable results to let him know it is not an acceptable behavior. where do i go from here??? I do not want this behavior to continue. Training advice needed!!! THANKS

[PaddyD]

Prong correction for that might not work, only get him more excited/aggressive. Try to calm him down instead, take the tension out of the situation. Whenever possible, try to get the man/men to show him they are not anything to fear or be aggressive about.
Unless, of course, you want him to be 'protective', which this may or may not be.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Do you know why he's barking at men? If his reaction is fear based, simply correcting the behavior isn't the best idea, as Paddy said. You want him to be more comfortable around men, not less.

[AbbyK9]

Prong correction for that might not work, only get him more excited/aggressive.

^ This.

The prong is a fantastic training tool but in situations where a dog is barking or lunging at people or other dogs, it can ramp up the excitement OR get the dog to associate the correcting with seeing the dog/person and make the behavior more ingrained than it already is because now it isn't just scary person/dog, it's scary person/dog = pain.

Do you have any male friends to work on this behavior with you? You could have them come visit or meet you outside and drop treats for your dog so he starts associating strange men with yummy food. And then allow him to check them out on his own terms. Having them squat down, lean away from him slightly and not make direct, staring eye contact is a great way for them to display non-threatening body language and giving him the option to approach on his terms lets him explore without being forced.

If you don't have male friends to help you with this, it's going to be more difficult, of course. You could work on refocusing the dog before the barking starts. Remember, it's okay to look at the "scary" men but not bark - so the "Look at that" game many of the members here recommend is a good way to go about it.

When he gets focused on these men and gets barking, are you able to get his attention using a treat or toy? If so, try catching him with that before the barking starts. Again - he can look but you need to catch (and reward) him before he starts barking so he begins to make a positive association.

One thing I did with my German Shepherd when we first entered dog class (she was dog reactive when I got her) was to teach "find it" and drop a couple of treats. She would go searching on the ground for treats rather than fixate on the other dogs.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Have you been able to start up dog classes yet? Distractions PLUS the normalization and socialization aspect of classes usually help with issues like this in a few weeks. Plus you have the help of an instructor so they can help you deal with your end of the leash properly