excitable barking

Question
Hi, We have two beautiful minature Jack Russell girls, 11 months old, one of them does not bark at all and the other one barks at people passing,and  other dogs,!!! when taking her for a walk and other people and dogs are approaching, she pulls on the lead and barks like crazy until she can get over to them, this is purely excitement and  is in no way aggresive !!!!( she is such an affectionate wee thing, they both are !!!)when she does reach the other dogs, if the owners allow, she quite often will "pee" herself, but she is so happy to meet them !!! Can you please help with this problem as apart from the above , they are the most loving, happy , little girls and have brought so much joy into my mine and my husbands lives  Many, many thanks     Catriona

Answer
Hello Catriona,

It's time for one on one attention for the barker! There are very specific training methods you use to curb this behavior. I suggest reading any of the great books by Victoria Stillwell but in a nut shell - you need to expose the dog to other dogs, people and the business of living life in a hectic place. The trick is to distract her while walking and other people/dogs approaching. Use cheese bits or chicken bits or any other treat and as the other dogs are walking by bend down and have her focus on the treat. Make her sit and focus on you and the treat and when she ignores the other dog/person walking by, give her praise and the treat. You have to repeat this over and over and over until eventually she understands that other dogs/people are not a threat (she may seem  happy when she meet/greets people, but the peeing is an indication that she is intimidated and nervous, even if that tale is wagging).

Eventually you will continue walking past the other dogs/people and give her the treat while walking by them and she should basically ignore them and want the treat.  After mastering this, you should be able to walk right by dogs/people without incident.  Practice makes perfect, but it takes time.  

Best of luck!!!!!