How do I desensitize her to other dogs/people?

[Tuff Love]

I'll cut right to the chase- Thora is a monster in public. She is extremely dog and people reactive and for the life of me I don't know what to do about it. We take her out to the park a few times a week and in between we either walk her in the neighborhood or she runs around on the lead we have outside (which isn't great, but she still gets exercise). The park we take her to has a dog park but sadly we can't get her anywhere near it because of her bad manners. So instead we run her around the rest of the park on the retractable leash to tire her out (she will literally run 100 circles around me while I stand in the middle watching). Whenever we get anywhere near another person or dog though she goes nuts! I know that she probably would have been a lot better behaved if she went through puppy KG, but she was so sick for a while that I had to cancel 2 signs ups, and when she was better, the next 2 classes I signed her up for were cancelled because of lack of enrollment & by then she was almost 5 months old :/ So when she was little I did the best I could and took her everywhere with me that I could to expose her to all kinds of people. We had lots of people at the house and friends always brought their dogs over and we made the experiences as positive as possible... so I thought I covered the bases pretty well, but the way she acts you'd think I locked her in the house for the first year of her life and just now let her out to see the world! What on earth can I do to try to get her to calm down and act more appropriate when other people and dogs are near? Treats do not get her attention and neither do toys or balls- once she is locked on something or someone, nothing else exists to her. I can't get her to sit or calm down in any way shape or form. I recently purchased a new gentle leader to see if that helps control her behavior a bit (more so for walks), but haven't tried it yet. I know she'll hate it, but the harness just isn't enough anymore. Can anyone offer any tips on how to calm down an unruly pup around people/dogs?

[sandy's mom]

Napoleon was that way when he first came to my house, he was about 7 months old and had been treated badly, so he naturally thought everybody was bad and he had never even seen another animal.

Trips to the park were out of the question, he was so unpredictable. I couldn't even do obedience with him, he was terrified of everybody.
dh and I started taking him everywhere. Especially places like petsmart or the hardware store, flea market, etc. And, we would encourage people to pet him while we gave him treats and lots of praise. It took almost a year to get him where he wouldn't lunge at everybody, but eventually he came around. He also gained a lot of weight that year, but it was worth it. It was very hard not to get tough with him when he was bad, but we really highlighted the good instead of the bad.

Good Luck.

[Tuff Love]

I don't know if the same approach would work for Thora. She's not afraid. With people, she's overly excited and happy. With dogs... I'm not sure actually, she just wants to be where they are ASAP! Sometimes at the vet when I have no choice but to walk her by another dog, growling and barking ensues with both dogs and I have to drag her away. I already know I can't trust her near little dogs, but she's usually good with larger dogs in a more casual atmosphere (off leash), just very playful and, well, you know how boxers play. When in a leashed scenario, that's usually when the barking and growling occurs (sometimes it's her, sometimes it's the other dog, who was previously calm).
It's hard to encourage strangers to come near her or let their dog near her when she's acting this way. And if they do make contact and she acts poorly by either jumping or lunging or barking, I can't very well reward her for it. What do I do when she does that other than remove her from the stimulant and walk her in the other direction? This is what I currently do and she doesn't seem to connect this action as a direct result of her behavior. I mean, I've read a bunch of great training books and the approach is usually to end the [thing] that the dog is trying to achieve if they don't behave appropriately and they will eventually connect the [end of the thing they want] with the removal and learn that they have to act appropriately to get what they want. Simultaneously of course you have to reward them when they do that correct thing (which we do with lots of verbal praise if treats aren't at ready). She has yet to act appropriately though in encountering another random dog....

[Gatorblu]

Start rewarding at a distance. What I mean is, If Thora sees a dog at the end of the street. Make her sit calmly while she watches the dog, then reward her. Then work your way closer. Keep rewarding the calm behavior. Once she acts up turn and walk in the other direction. Make sure she is calm before you start again. It will take time but it can be done. It has worked with Arabella. With have had some things going on since late summer last year and we have fallen a few steps back, but I don't think it will take that long to get her back on track.

[larrygs]

Originally Posted by Gatorblu

Start rewarding at a distance. What I mean is, If Thora sees a dog at the end of the street. Make her sit calmly while she watches the dog, then reward her. Then work your way closer. Keep rewarding the calm behavior. Once she acts up turn and walk in the other direction. Make sure she is calm before you start again. It will take time but it can be done. It has worked with Arabella. With have had some things going on since late summer last year and we have fallen a few steps back, but I don't think it will take that long to get her back on track.

This is very much how we are currently working with Jack. The key is to desensitize while keeping below their threshold to go crazy. Once they lose their puppy brain, they cannot hear you. You need anticipate and turn around BEFORE they act up, get a little distance, then reward for being a calm dog. Be patient! Many short cycles over time works. We started walking Jack near in the parking lot of an outdoor mall FAR away from the building. 5-15 minutes every Sat and Sun. It has been a few months and we are now walking past people. He has figured out that if he stays calm, we will walk around. It is a huge positive reward for him. Otherwise we wait in the car until he is calm.

If they do react, immediately get distance and regroup.

I have not let Jack meet anyone when cycling yet, however soon. Many people have wanted to visit, however I yell out to them we are in training and head the opposite way before Jack goes crazy.

ALSO, do not use an extendible leash! It gives them far too much room and freedom to react. We use a 6 foot leash that is doubled over so it is only 3 feet. We walk with a loose leash, occasional light finger control. However this still provide immediate feedback and control. The moment there is any pulling we stop or reverse directions.

Layla was a whole different level of reactivity and the path needed to start differently, before moving to cycling. There is much on this forum about more difficult reactivity. However she is now walking with me inside of Petsmart.

Good luck!

[Sansal]

Seems like a lot of us have that problem..... Maybe there is a dog training class offered in your area for reactive dogs? That is what I am signing up for. Our trainer has been in touch with the author of "control unleashed" (awesome book btw, I'm guessing you already have it, lol) and is creating a class similar to what is taught in the book. I hope that working in a controlled environment will help...
The other thing I noticed is it takes time and lots of energy and patience. I have to applaud larryngs for being so diligent and spending so much time training and desensitizing! I wish I could somehow find the time and motivation to be so consistent!!

[Tuff Love]

Thanks for the tips guys! Sounds like I have the right idea but need to refine it a bit. When we go out to the park we only use the retractable so she can actually RUN around and burn off steam, but only when we have her in a clearing. When we are walking to and from said clearing, we retract the lead all the way so she is on a 3 footer. I should note however that she is still bad on the leash, so maybe we have to concentrate on improving her leash walking before tackling the dog/people desensitization? I'm going to have to revisit my books I guess, lol. I actually don't have "control unleashed" but I have a ton of others.. culture clash, if bones rained from the sky, etc etc. I'll have to look for that one. I read them all before we got Thora so maybe I need a tune up on my techniques. I planned on looking for a trainer that might be able to help us. We were so busy with the house for a while and then I got bombarded with freelance work and couldn't commit to any one specific day of the week. The people that offer the puppy KG near me only have level classes with other dogs and I think Thora might need some 101 first because she'll just be disruptive in class lol. Private sessions can be pretty expensive unfortunately :/

[TysonsMyBoy]

Tyson is the exact same way when he sees other people or dogs it's just insane
Now that the nice weather is here there are so many more people out, and walking has become an even bigger challenge for us!
It's very stressful, especially when my dh does the opposite of what I am trying to do!

[furrykidmom]

I don't get it either. We socialized Woody as a puppy. He went to puppy class and basic obedience. He spent his first year in and out of daycare. He does open cage boarding at his daycare. But about two years ago he became leash and small prey aggressive. We have also been working on it. I try to divert his attention to me. I taught him the term "watch me". When I say this I hold a piece of food near my eyes. When I get his attention I treat him and continue to keep him looking at me not the other dog. It has been a difficult process. If we are on a walk I can usually get his attention but if we are at the vet it is almost futile. Otherwise he is a perfect gentleman. He is great with people.

[LILYLARUE]

Hey Tuffy, where are you in PA? Are you close to Jersey?

[Tuff Love]

SEPA, about a half hour from Phillipsburg. My Dh's entire family is from NJ. It would be a little too far to travel on a regular basis for training though if you were going to suggest a trainer there. I actually have a friend who works at a boarding/training facility somewhere in NJ (Janry) and she keeps bugging me to take Thora there, but it's so out of the way from us.

[LILYLARUE]

Do a search for "feisty fidos" and you may find one in your area. That term is used by Pia Silvani, who has a trainer program and several training videos on the subject. Dogwise has all of her videos if you want to try on your own. She is excellent at teaching in the videos. I highly recommend them and have used them on our rescues. She also has instructors running courses through St. Huberts Animal Center, the one I would have suggested in NJ. That runs 8 consecutive weeks but still based on her training course. You could give it a whirl. If anything, the videos will give you some insight and some methods that you can work with. I think she may have even worked with Patricia McConnell in the process of the videos. They are close friends and often co-author or co-produce training courses and videos.

Of course, these videos are based on those who know all the basics and terminology, but should still be very informational to those with limited training experience.