At-Home Dog Training Tips
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Oh wow... First of all let me just say that you should work with your dog, not against him. Painful corrections only make him fearful and can have long-term psychological effects. Desensitizing your dog to a bicycle is the best way to correct that particular behavior. When you see a bike headed your way on a walk, grab your dog's attention with treats and make him do commands that he already knows. (i.e. sit, shake, lay down, etc.) If he starts to react, walk him in the other direction. If you can, follow a safe distance behind the bike to show your dog that it will not harm him. Continually praising him when he is calm while following or in the presence of a bike will show him that good things happen when a bike is around and it is nothing to be aggressive toward.
As far as the barking at guests, using a removal technique is usually the best way to handle this behavior. When you have someone coming over, put your dog's leash on him and allow him to greet your guest (assuming that he is not aggressive towards people) When he gets riled up, simply remove him to another room for a few seconds until he calms down and try again. Though this method is tedious, it works for most dogs. Make sure to praise him and give treats to reward calm behavior. No dog is ever too old to learn new tricks or behaviors so long as they have a sturdy and patient hand.
Prong collars are horrible. To the person that uses them, do me a favor. Put the collar on yourself, and jerk it back as you do to your dogs. You do not want your dog to be submissive so much as you want your dog to respect you. Usually a submissive dog is a fearful dog and fearful dogs can turn into a ticking timebomb of pent up aggression.
I really hope this helps you correct your dog's behavior. Best of luck to you!
3 Secrets to Dog Training - Immediate Results
- You'll need to correct the dog when he acts in any way you don't consider appropriate. Each dog has a different reaction to a correction and only someone who interacts with the dog will know how the dog reacts, but you'll need to judge the correction and if the dog doesn't stop this time, try something stronger/harder the next time. The "correction" must be bad enough for the dog to think that it is worse than the satsifaction he would receive from doing what he wants. (Stealing food from the master's plate is tasty, but isn't worth the correction I could get)
Example1: My GSD reacts to a sharp tug against his flat collar, but is "corrected" with the same tug of a prong collar. In fact, he yelps when I do it and goes to a down automatically. I don't force a stay and he will release himself from a down to a sit when he is ready. I still have to be ready to do this in drive-thrus because something sets him off. This is a work in progress, honestly.
Example2: My lab, who has a much higher tolerance for a correction, will require a hard, sharp yank against his prong collar to stop doing something. He is much more laid back so this isn't required as often, but he does like to counter surf, and I have yet to figure out how much of a correction will keep him off the counter when there is butter present. Steak, chicken, cake....I know what that takes and he doesn't do it, but there is something about butter.
Then, once you know how to correct and control your dog, put yourself in the situation where you will encounter bikes and invite guests over, so you can begin training. You need to teach him that you are his leader and it is your job to decide when and if we react/respond to a threat. If you remain calm then he will remain calm and if his body language indicates he is about to begin barking, then tell him no firmly and force him to a submissive pose like a down/stay and wait until he calms down/remains calm and the "threat" has passed. Over time, he'll learn that you are in control AND that these "threats" aren't really threats.
Good luck.
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