Barking At Barking....

[fbaudry]

This topic has probably been covered elsewhere but I couldn't find the thread.... apologies if it is a repeat...

I've had for 2 months now a cocker spaniel who's now 6 months. Prior to me getting him he was at the breeder's, in a kennel/country environment with no exposure to the big wide world, and contact only with the breeder and lots of other cockers.

He's improved a lot in terms of socialisation / adjusting to life in the city, in the house with only one other dog, graduated last week from puppy school and goes on a weekly basis to general dog obedience.

However there is an issue that he's had from day one and that I can't seem to eradicate; the sound of another dog barking sends him off in a barking frenzy, running around to check what the barking is about or lunging on the leash and running around is is on leash. If he is off leash (at the park) he will run up to the dog barking and bark at it, then come back...

I've never had a barking dog, and Olaf, my other cocker can walk past houses where dogs bark at him and absolutely ignore them, but Archie (the puppy) just goes off his head and drives me insane and I do not know how to get his attention in a positive way to get him to stop.... I have tried distracting him by putting a treat in front of his nose and giving it to him when he turns around and looks at me, but that only works sometimes and only if he's on the leash...

Ideally I would like him to be completely immune and just ignore the barking but at the moment, the minute he hears the beginning of a bark he goes in full alert mode, tail up and ears forward and starts looking around for where the bark came from...

Does that mean he's going to turn into one of this aggro dogs I sooo hate seeing around?

Any help / tips will be more than welcome, I am a bit at my wits end with him at the moment...