Training my rescued Maltese

Question
Good day:

4 months ago I adopted a 2-3 year old male Maltese in Korea. He is an awesome dog and very smart. I haven't had a dog for many years and realize that I have made some mistakes in his training and I am hoping to fix them before it is too late. I just need some advice...

Basic obedience training - He really won't listen unless food is offered. In the beginning I used treats for training, but he already is a little larger than normal Maltese's so I've cut back. Now he won't sit (specifically) unless food is given. It drives me crazy!!! He is pretty stubborn and really only listens 75% of the time. What can I do to improve his behavior?

Perceived aggressiveness towards other dogs - I live in a big city and there aren't many open green spaces. I take my dog outside in a courtyard to do his business. I rewarded him everytime he pee'd, but I didn't realize that I was rewarding him when he was marking. Now he goes NUTS whenever we encounter another dog in our courtyard. He also barks at dogs away from our home, but usually calms down once he encounters them. The dogs in our courtyard he wants to attack! It is crazy. How can I stop this behavior? When I try to stop him he just doesn't listen.

He is neutered, I walk him 5x's a day, feed him twice a day, with a spattering of treats throughout. He is crate trained and only has an occasional accident.

I love the little bugger and just him to be well behaved all the time.

Any advice? Thanks!


Answer
Hi Maltese and owner!  Well, it would be very hard to re-train your baby for clicker or other training options.  HOW about you continue the treat training but offer 1/2 or smaller treats.  ( If you can find the freeze dried liver or salmon treat - they are low fat and easy to break up)

As far as the Territorial Aggression - at the courtyard area - you need to get a Personal trainer to help you on this.
Have someone come to your own home for 2 sessions - That is all you need to correct this. ( but it must be on your dog's turf....)

Going to a class for training will not fix this ...Call a trainer and pay the money for a few HOME sessions.
YOU will be glad you did....

BEST wishes to you guys

Marie Peppers