Train Dog to overcome barking

Am thinking about taking my 2yo lab for backcountry moose hunting trip(no to hunt but just be with me)
He is pretty well behaved on obedience, canoe, gunshots etc..
the problem that whenever he sees a horse now, just goes ballistic barking..He is clearly intimidated but a large animals.

To train him, the plan is to first introduce him to horses/moose on large screen tv. Then drive around ask for permission from horse farms in vincinity to walk around him so he gets used to horse being around.

Did anyone has run into this problem?
Any tips/pointers/methods that you can share for training?
Thanks in advance



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I might suggest using cattle rather than horses, they are less reactive and their owners might be more likely to allow you near them. When first exposing my dog to horses, some of them would actually try to stomp and play with him which made his fear worse.

You need to perform distraction training.

For the training to be most efficient you will first need to establish the following:

1. Your dogs reward, either food or a toy. This reward is only to be given during training, at no other times does the dog get this special reward.
2. Crate train. While not directly related to the distraction training, being out of the crate builds drive. Drive is the most important element of any type of training.
3. Train a 'negative' command. This is usually a verbal noise made to let the dog know you are displeased with its action, this is not punishment, think of it like telling a child to be more careful doing something. Some dogs respond well to a bark noise, this can be made in incrementally louder noises depending on the situation.
4. Start your distraction training with the dog hungry, do not feed the dog prior to training, even if it is a toy reward dog.
5. Upon a successful action by the dog give the reward and lots of verbal praise, make it a quick 'party' for the dog then move on to the next step.

Start small and be patient, its easy to train a dog to do something, its much more difficult to train it not to do something.

A visual demonstration is the best to show the details, there are lots of u tube videos so I suggest picking one you feel is most applicable.

Excellent post Marker.

Great. Thanks for the tips [emoji1]

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