whiny dog

Question
We have a one year old neutered peruvian inca orchid male dog.  He whines the whole time we are on a walk. He  also barks at any one and everything. Without  the gentle lead he pulls to the side terrribly.Once he sees another dog or person he barks as if they are a danger to him and has a hard time settleing down long after they are gone. We have tried leash correction, exercising before the walk, gentle lead, and weighted vest. We also make sure he walks next to us or slightly behind.He is pretty calm gettin ready for the walk but by the time we get to the sidewalk he whines the rest of the way. My recent thought is it may not be so much behavior but more anxiety. We also walk him along side our other dog, a beagle/sharpei mix who is a pretty nice walker. We've tried to use her as an example for him.Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.          Sincerely,
         Karen

Answer
Hi Karen.  It definitely sounds like your dog is fearful on his walks.  Correcting him for barking and whining will only make him more anxious about the things he fears.  I'm not sure I would recommend a weighted vest for this dog.  What I might recommend instead is a Thundershirt (www.thundershirt.com) which should fit him snugly and give a sense of security.

While you're working to build confidence with your boy, leave your other dog at home.
 
I love to use clicker training for shy dogs because it helps to build confidence.  For help getting started with clicker training and fear issues, see my Resources page - http://www.distinctivedogtraining.com/resources.html.  Under the "Fearfulness" heading, there's a link to a great, inexpensive booklet called "The Cautious Canine".  I highly recommend it.  Also on that page are links to sites that can help you get started with clicker training, like the Karen Pryor Clickertraining site.  I could also recommend a trainer in your area if you'd like.

First, train him to respond to a few simple cues. I would start with a hand touch (his nose touches your hand), sit, eye contact ("look at me") and "find it" (look on the ground for the dropped treat).  Teach these skills in the house first until he responds quickly, then practice outside in your yard.  When you move outside, take better treats with you.  His dog food would be fine for training in the house.  For outside, have some good smelly, soft dog treats.  Once he's doing well in the yard, practice just outside the door you go through when you take a walk.  When you make the move to this area, have the highest value treats you can provide (boiled chicken, roast beef, bits of smelly cheese).  Your food rewards will be very small.  Cut the treats up so that they are no bigger than a pea.  Work in short sessions (2-3 minutes).

Training should be fun for him and once you are seeing quick happy responses in these places, you can begin to start to take it "on the road".  By then you should have lots of successful repetitions of these basic skills in places that he's comfortable.  Gradually move out of this safety zone - even if it's just a few steps - and ask him to respond to one of these cues.  Don't expect to go very far on this first outing.  If he stops responding and/or begins to show fear responses, stop and go back to where he's most comfortable.  Stop trying to walk long distances for now and just make the outing a short training exercise, then go back home.  Find other ways to exercise him that won't stress him so much.

For things that might frighten him outside, give treats as soon as he notices them, but before he starts to react.  Soon, he should begin to look at you whenever a trigger appears.  If he is hungry, but won't take the food, you are too close.  Do a U-turn and make distance and try again.  

Please check out this website for other ideas on how to help your boy:  http://fearfuldogs.com/

Let me know if you have questions or comments.