Looking for advice on my 2 dogs’ behavior/training issues — especially
Brady is a 5-year-old Australian Shepherd/German Shepherd mix, and Cooper is a 3-year-old mixed breed. Both are male and neutered. We’ve had Brady since he was a puppy and Cooper for about 3 years.
Brady had some in-home training during his first year. It helped somewhat at the time, but it doesn’t seem like the training has been effective long-term. Cooper has never had formal training.
**Brady:**
\-Gets extremely excited around people and tries to jump on them. It seems to be excitement rather than aggression.
\-Gets along very well with Cooper and they like to roughhouse/play together.
\-Barks/howls at people and dogs passing the house.
**Cooper:**
\-Is much more anxious/nervous around people. He has given warning nips before but has never actually bitten anyone.
\-Likes other dogs and tries to play with them, but his play can be very rough and he tends to come on too strong.
\-Gets extremely excited and sometimes pees from excitement.
\-We suspect he has anxiety.
\-He has now been on anxiety medication prescribed/recommended by his vet, but unfortunately we haven’t noticed any improvement or real change in his behavior.
\-He also barks/howls at people and dogs passing the house.
\-He gets along very well with Brady and they play/roughhouse together.
We have an electric fence, as we have a large property and like to let them roam, and the fence helps to keep them within boundary. One of my biggest concerns is that **we can no longer trust our electric fence at all.** Cooper has run off the property multiple times after other dogs, ignoring the warning beeps and shock. At first, the warning beep from the collar would usually scare him away from the boundary, but that clearly isn’t reliable anymore. When he gets off the property, he runs toward other dogs/people, so this has become a major safety concern.
We aren’t comfortable continuing to rely on the electric fence to contain him.
Neither dog is crate trained. They are alone during the day while we’re away at work. They don’t get regular walks, but they do spend time outside roaming around the yard for exercise. (As of today, with no longer being able to trust the electric fence, they are getting leash walked around the property)
We have spoken with Cooper’s vet about his anxiety and have tried anxiety medication, but it hasn’t seemed to make a noticeable difference.
At this point, I’m really looking for advice on **where to start and what needs to be prioritized.** I’m considering getting professional training for Cooper (and potentially Brady as well), talking with the vet again about his medication, finding a safer way to contain them, and figuring out how to give them more appropriate exercise and structure.
I’d especially appreciate advice from people who have dealt with anxious dogs, dogs who are reactive/overexcited around other dogs, escape behavior, or herding breeds.
I’m not looking for judgment — I genuinely want to figure out what we can do to help Cooper and keep everyone safe.