Over Excited Whippet (Go figure!!)

Question
Hi, I am writing because my 20 month old whippet still lunges at other dogs on walks. It is aggressive it's excitability, he just jumps and jabs his nose at the other dogs to play. he also get this same excitement when people walk past as well. I try and do the right thing most of the time. I sit him as other dogs walk past, and most of the time when people walk past I speak and use a slight correction with the leash and continue walking. The thing is he actually goes to a doggy day care sometimes during the week and he still gets this excited out on walks when he sees other dogs. Is there something I am doing wrong? He is going to be two in September, is this still due to his age?

Answer
I'm thinking you meant that it ISN'T aggressive - just excitability? Dogs often behave badly on leash because they don't have the option to interact normally. Leash interactions aren't generally what a dog would do if he had other options, but because of the leash, they can't greet properly. Still, we do have to walk them on leash. I think I would leave out the leash correction - probably that is only increasing his anxiety and revving him up more. Be aware on walks, try to keep a distance from others that he can handle. An absolutely terrific little book that I think would help a lot is "Control Unleashed" by Leslie McDevitt. I've had great luck with the "look at that" game, where you click the dog the instant he glances at an environmental trigger (could be dog, human, etc)He glances back for his treat, and soon, instead of building intensity, he's playing a game with you - "Hey, did you see me look at that big dog? Where's my cookie?" There is, of course, more to it than just that (keeping him at a distance where he can still think would be one thing, him knowing about clickers would be another). But I've used this a number of times on reactive dogs with really good success. I'd suggest you get that book and try the exercises in it. Sandy Case MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com