The squirt bottle could add to the anxiety. I found that redirecting them works really well. You're not always going to have a water bottle handy, and I have found that if Joey comes upon a dog and starts barking, I say no, and turn him in the other direction, sometimes he'll turn his head to bark, but again I go in a place where he can't see the dog. He learns that barking doesn't really accomplish much, and if he's quite, he's allowed to sit there and smell the other dog. Joey was a terror at age 1 with other dogs, now at two; he's a real pussycat. |