My doodle is scaring my neighbors!

[Chris & Boys]

We just moved into a new neighborhood and have invisible fence around the perimeter of our yard.  Every time someone walks by or rides by on their bikes he starts racing back and forth across the yard,  sometimes lunging as if he is going to cross the line.  Unfortunately, the sidewalk is only on our side of the street and I have noticed that when people come to our house, the leave the sidewalk and walk in the street.  Is it possible to teach him not to chase?

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Did your former house have an electric fence...or another type of fencing? I have known more than one good dog have a similar response to invisible fencing. It is generally manageable, but you really need to work with a positive reinforcement trainer to help you and your dog. Two great resources to find either certified behaviorists or no-force trainers in your area are www.apdt.com or www.petprofessionalguild.com

It is near impossible to get solid training/problem solving via internet without the person actually meeting you and your dog. Your dog has obvious triggers, but effectively managing this behavior has a whole lot to do with timing and working with your dog BEFORE he reaches threshold (seeing red - lunging, etc). At least in the beginning, you can be most successful by working with a positive reinforcement trainer or behaviorist to get you on the right track.

Wishing you the best. :-)

[Adina P]

In the meantime I would severely limit his free time outside and keep it to potty breaks and be ready to bring him in the moment you hear him bark.  If you can supervise all his potty outings, even better.  Any sort of training would require you to be out there with him, as Deb said, to catch him before he goes berserk.  Then there's always a bark collar, but that's more of a bandaid.

[Chris & Boys]

At our old house there was no sidewalk on our property, so he did chase but not lunge.  His barking doesn't bother me as much as him encroaching on the people passing by.  I think the bark has to stay as long as he is still chasing, otherwise, I may end up with someone having a heart attack right there on my sidewalk.  I was thinking if I could keep him on a long leash and try to correct him as soon as he starts to chase, that might be worth a try.  With having just moved, and my parents move in this week, I just don't have time to get to a trainer soon enough.  I will make sure he is not in the front yard without me. 

Thanks for the input!

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Chris, correcting him once he starts lunging/chasing actually can escalate the behavior. He needs to be re-directed (for lack of a better turn) PRIOR to his exhibiting the chasing/lunging. The only way this will be corrected long-term is to work with a professional trainer. Correction, fussing, etc can just get him more pumped.

QUICK "FIX" - as Adina said, until you can get a trainer to work with you, keep his time outside to potty only or supervised play. This is temporary. In your post you asked if he could be trained. The answer is yes; however, this is not something that can be resolved in a week or two. There is no equipment or special collar that will train him. This kind of reactivity will not go away by itself. If you need to wait until your parents get moved, etc before you get a trainer in, that's understandable. But after that gets settled, I sincerely hope for your peace of mind and your dog's that you get in touch with someone who can help.

[Chris & Boys]

Thanks Deb.  I will start to look for a trainer today.  What is a "no-force" trainer?  Also, I assume it would be important for the trainer to come to our home???

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

What about also having the wire for the fence moved to just include the back yard.  When we had ours put in (which we have sense replace with regular fencing) we did as large an area as possible thinking that is what we needed.  In hind sight I would have just done the back yard, not the front!

[Chris & Boys]

I considered the back yard only, but then I was afraid if he got out the front door, he may get into the street.  Well, hopefully I can find a great trainer!!