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On lead barking, growling and lunging
We adopted a stray lurcher which is a Whippet/Bedlington Terrier (the best guess of the dog shelter and others we've consulted) 2 months ago. At first he was understandably reserved, shy and clingy but he's got a bit more at ease now. However, in the last 5 weeks or so he's got increasing tendencies to bark and lunge at random dogs when we're out walking. These can be on or off lead, there's no particular pattern but he's now going for approximately 1 in 3 dogs we meet on some walks. We cannot figure out if it's fear or excitement that motivates him and we're going to consult the behaviourist who runs our obedience classes. I was just wondering if anyone on here had any thoughts. I have read that Beddies are known for aggression towards other dogs. He is a joy with people.
We cannot let our dog off the lead because he gets extremely focused on little creatures such as squirrels and we would just lose his attention completely in a chasing situation. His recall is too unreliable when there are distractions around. I have heard that Lurchers can be a real danger to themselves and others, and the parks we visit border on to very busy main roads though they are in a countryside setting. We have a dog park where dogs are safe off the lead, but given the apparent aggression our dog shows to other dogs it could be risky having him loose among others where he might injure them. It's a shame, as it would probably do him a lot of good to be able to run around and let off steam. We try to make up for this by having him on a long training lead chasing a ball and running around with us. I go running so maybe I could have him running with me on his lead and letting off steam that way.
On another note, we have 2 cats. We are very encouraged by the way they and the dog have adapted to one another. The situation isn't perfect, but we've gone from having a very excited dog who is beside himself when there are cats around, to a dog who is curious and would like to play but is also much calmer around the cats.
Any thoughts anyone?
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