Leash reactivity.....

[RockyCody]

So I haven't been on BW for awhile - and I miss it. I have just been busy - but we did end up taking in another foster girl, Shelby, nearly 3 weeks ago now. Here she is with Rocky. https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

She is a sweet, loving dog. Always giving kisses, loves to snuggle with both us and Rocky - and is very VERY food motivated. One of her only flaws is walks - she has gotten better as far as not pulling - but I'm having a hell of a time with her reactivity to other dogs while we are out walking. I can no longer walk both Rocky and her (and I don't even have to hold onto Rocky's leash -he walks VERY well) - but my concern is this. She just escalates SO fast - and to a point where I can't even get her back. I can't get her attention. Nothing works......she screams and lunges and occasionally will turn and nip towards Rocky (hasn't bit him or me - but when you touch her and she's in that state she turns quick like she's gonna bite you).

I dont know what to do. If I grab the top of her harness when she goes into these fits it makes it WAY worse - the resistance or me pulling her back - makes it worse. I'm now dredding even going for walks because I am afraid we will see another dog.

HELP! Any suggestions? She didn't act this way for the first 1-2 weeks and I walked her 2x/day nearly every day. It's just been bad for the past 1 week or so.

I think she just wants to meet every dog - she loves Rocky and they snuggle all the time - so I don't think its aggression - but it sounds terrible. My neighbors are giving me the evil eye ALL the time

(PS here is a pic of them snuggling): https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

Anyway - I need help. How do I prevent her from escalating to the point that she ignores me, food, and everything around her but that OTHER dog.

[whiskers]

It's hard work. Takes a lot of patience, a commitment, and a watchful eye from you. The first part is preventing reactions from happening in the first place - like any behavior you are trying to break, every time they get the opportunity to practice the bad behavior just reinforces it and brings you 10 steps back in training. So maybe you change your walk routes to places where dogs aren't out and about, maybe you take walks at off-times during the day when others aren't out, or if you see a dog you high tail it in a different direction before she has a chance to process that there's a dog.

The second part is changing her reaction to other dogs. This for me is the hardest part. You first figure out her "safe distance" - how far away does she need to be from another dog (while she still SEES the other dog) in order to stay calm? Can she be 30ft away? 40ft? 50ft? 100ft? This is your workable distance. If she can be 50ft away from a dog without reacting, then you keep her 50ft away and reward her heavily anytime she looks at the dog without reacting. Use super duper high value treats. I use a clicker - click/treat when they turn towards the other dog. It becomes a game, and the other dog is just part of the game. Once they get savvy about the game, they'll start just quickly looking at the other dog and then right back at you in anticipation for their treat, like "see mom, I saw the dog!" If she won't take treats, then you still need to move even further away - she might not be having a full blown reaction and might appear calm, but could still be too worked up about the other dog to be able to take treats.

When it's going well at that first distance - you're not having reactions, she's taking treats and seems respondent to you and is "getting" the game - then you can start moving closer. Lather rinse repeat, keep moving closer as long as things keep going well.

Of course, that's a giant amount of work for a foster and depending on how long you have her, who knows how much progress you'll make with it. But I still wanted to lay out the general protocol for tackling reactivity... it might just be less stressful for you to manage the reactivity, and avoid walking near other dogs.

If she DOES react, just keep on walking.

[RockyCody]

Okay thank you for your reply. Yes, it is a lot of work as a foster - but she NEEDS to walk. She has energy and needs to learn not to act that way. Every time she does it I cringe and go great...i'm just making it worse. I try not to let it happen but its hard to avoid - there are so many dogs in our neighborhood. Maybe I'll walk her along the busy roads - probably won't see as many dogs that way.

its hard for me too because lately we've encountered like 10 off leash dogs - which we usually dont' - but have been lately. The funny thing is - when the dogs come up to our fence she freaks out but not quite as bad as she does when we are on walks. I spray her with the hose and she stops....whether or not that is right is beyond me - but it stops her from her crazy state and stops her from turning on Rocky. When we were walking the one time - an off leash dog came right to us - I took a deep breath and they sniffed - and she was play bowing trying to play. she is not aggressive - but just gets SO excited and wants to meet EVERY dog. I remember Susi posting Raine walked like this awhile ago - but I can't find the thread.

I will try your ideas - thank you so much. I may not have her that much longer - she's supposed to go to a doggy daycare facility - we will just be bringing her home on the weekends. Although this sounds bad - I think this might help her. I told them already they need to start 1 on 1 with a submissive non reactive dog. She is GREAT with Rocky and loves him to death - I think the daycare will help her calm down in regards to her reaction to dogs in general. Hoping at least.....in the mean time I'll do what you had suggested. I want to get her as 'good' as I can before she finds her forever home - make it easier on the people adopting her so they don't' give up on her and return her. She's honestly a great dog besides this ONE thing......

[larrygs]

You have gotten great advice!

From your response it is hard to tell how long you will have her, and wondering how committed you should be. I would suggest starting and whatever she gains while she is with you will helpful. If nothing else she won't be reinforcing the reactivity.

A few more comments from our experience with leash reactivity. The day care will not help since she will be off leash, nor will dog parks. It isn't neccessarily a dog aggression issue. Ours could be playing with dogs for awhile and then be reactive to the same dog the moment the leash is on. The issue is her keeping her head together when restrained and not act out in frustration. The need to learn to control themselve below a threshold where their brains lose it.

Each dog is different. However I need to mention that our trainer actually advised us not to have Layla go to day care or dog parks while we worked on her reactivity. She was just staying in too much of a high energy/alert status and edgy. She needed time off from dogs but with exercise and calming. Jack is different and can get back down quickly.

Also, it is very important for you to control you own emotions. They are uncanny with the ability to feel, hear and smell your tension. If you are tense, they are on alert.

Lease reactivity is not uncommon. It is just that with boxers, it make for an incredible display, plus they are bred to be on alert. I also suspect all the leash laws have gotten in the way of dogs learning to control themselves.

Good luck, the advice does work.

[Mega's Mom]

Originally Posted by larrygs

It isn't neccessarily a dog aggression issue. Ours could be playing with dogs for awhile and then be reactive to the same dog the moment the leash is on. The issue is her keeping her head together when restrained and not act out in frustration. The need to learn to control themselve below a threshold where their brains lose it.

This is Cornelius to a "T". He is great off-leash but goes bonkers on leash. And it isn't all the time and only with certain dogs so I need to watch his actions closely otherwise I'm too late. *sigh*

Originally Posted by larrygs

Also, it is very important for you to control you own emotions. They are uncanny with the ability to feel, hear and smell your tension. If you are tense, they are on alert.

I think this is the biggest problem. I'm always anticipating trouble when there is a dog walking by so he senses it. How am I supposed to act all casual when I suspect he's going to go bonkers?!

Originally Posted by larrygs

It is just that with boxers, it make for an incredible display, plus they are bred to be on alert.

Oh yes, it's quite the display - twirling around like an idiot making all sorts of noise!

I think I need to start him back to square one where he is 20 feet away no matter what dog it is.