Reactive dog - training problem - Page 1

I know I have posted before that Georgia is reactive to other dogs  and that her previous owner allowed her to run wild.  She does a lot of vocalizing that our schutzhund trainer said is excitement and not aggression.  Having heard her serious, aggressive bark when a stranger came on our property, I tend to agree.  It's a work in progress, and we're making steady improvements over time.

Our problem is loose aggressive dogs when we go out for a walk or bike ride.  She will ignore dogs barking in their yards, dogs walking with their owners or dogs that are loose as long as they aren't coming after her.  Today I was riding with her and my husband was along with our youngest daughter in the bike trailer.  Sure enough, we get charged by an aggressive Golden Retriever -barking, hackles up - this particular dog has done this before.  It's loose in the front yard with the owners there and does NOT return when the owner calls it.  I yelled at the dog which stopped its charging, got Georgia to sit even though she was still vocalizing, and waited for them to come get the dog.  My husband left with our daughter, which improved things somewhat - Georgia is ferociously attached to our kids.

How do I handle this?  I obviously don't have control over the other dogs, but their approaching seems to reinforce Georgia's idea that she has to intervene. 

Opal

Just asking, but why didn't you just keep on moving?  You were on a bicycle with your dog on either a leash or a bike attachment, right?  Almost always the aggressor dog - the Golden in this case  - would come flying out, totally ignore its owners, but then had you moved out of its territory it would not have kept on following you, but would have stayed in its own general area.  Let the owners worry about retrieving it.

Your yelling stopped the dog, so no contact was made with your dog - I'd say keep on going and don't stop (in THIS particular case).

In fairness to your dog, I don't know if I'd call her "reactive" to other dogs, since you say she ignores anything that isn't coming after her!

However, if she is truly reactive to other dogs when there is no need to be, I think the old Tabasco sauce on a sponge remedy some on here have mentioned sounds like it would do the trick.  I used it once - only had to use it once - on a very strong dog that insisted on trying to eat one particular cat.

 

I agree with Tess. >>  * "I'd say keep on going and don't stop (in THIS particular case)." *

I learned this when I took a class for my Class M license. They specifically tell drivers to pay no attention, don't give or take the throttle and hold it firm steady. If you hit the dog, you hit the dog. Of course this was drivers safety. lol

Depending on the age of the youngest daughter riding bike, I can see why ya'll stopped.

Glad the Golden didn't grab anyone.

I've had loose dogs bite the back tire of my Yamaha Enduro going 25 miles an hour. I wonder how many lost a tooth or two. Crazy.

We were heading right toward the dog and with the parked cars there was no way around it, so I stopped to prevent us from getting any closer.  My husband was behind me and I was waiting for him to turn around so I could go back.

We've just worked so freakin' hard to get to where she is now that I don't want to go back to Georgia freaking out every time we go past another dog.   The last hurdle to her passing her therapy dog test is being able to meet a neutral dog without overreacting, and since we've worked so hard I'm probably more upset than I should be.

I did call and complain to animal control about the dog because  it's done this twice while I was with my kids and the leash laws here are pretty strict - you have to purchase a special permit if you want to take your dog into any city park.

Opal

AK, I have a similar, but worse problem.  Drake was used to a fenced in space with very little traffic, my house was pretty isolated.  Since my separation, I've moved close to the City and it's close quarters.  I think he's confused about boundaries and other dogs, which are many.  He reacts to most, but the one next door is the worst.  There are actually three dogs there but one is aggressive (Labradoodle) and their fence is very flimsy.  I don't have a fence so I'm always on the other end of a lead and if those dogs come out, it's hard for me to pull him back.  He'll dig in with all he's got and a few times he almost pulled me over.  I only outweigh him by 10-15 lbs. at this point, he's big and I'm small.  Anyway, when we're on potty break, he's on a flat collar and it's difficult to keep control.  I've worked on focus and he's good when we're walking but this is a problem.  I think getting into a fight with my Aunt's dog last year was the beginning.  Drake was playing with her female GSD and her 120 lb. Rottie/GSD/Lab mix was protecting her so he came full steam.   Drake finished it, I got nailed in the arm and her dog needed stitches in his face.  Drake had not a scratch on him and now, if another dog is aggressive in any way, he says "bring it on!"  Making me nuts!  I think I'll be going out with a sponge of Tobasco, I'll let you know if it works.

Are you putting the Tabasco on the tounge?

On the nose.

You're going to be pretty limited to what you can do when riding a bicycle and holding a dog. You're lucky if your dog doesn't pull you down or over. That's happened to me. I had forgotten about it until now, but someone used to make a special bracket with a shock absorbing spring that would attach to the rear wheel area frame, and you snap your dog's leash to that. Then you have both hands to control the bike, or whatever else you need to do to keep control of the situation.

Simply identifying the houses where there are dogs with this behavior seems like half the trick. You might think about trying the following.. Take a little spinning rod or cane pole with you on your trip, and have something on the end of that which will make a loud sound or sounds, as well as a large object to present in front of their noses. I'm thinking of something like a 1 liter soda bottle with some pebbles in it, and maybe a good, loud, clang-y bell, like a cow bell. It really helps if you have a good sense of timing, but when you see that dog coming, whack them with that thing, or preferably bring it in an arc right in front of their nose. I'm not the most coordinated person, but I've had good luck with this and I've been able to run off some pretty bold dogs on a few occasions. You'd be surprised, really, how quickly they switch drives and forget what they set out to do! The cane or fishing pole with maybe a foot of rope or cord on it, then the bottle / can / bladder type noisy thing will do it, most of the time. If you can interrupt the initial charge, they usually will make only half hearted aggression, afterwards. Once they connect, it's a different matter. Then, a fight / bite situation will often result.

You could also do very well with an umbrella.. Umbrellas are wonderful tools to deflect dog attacks. For one thing, anything that an animal cannot see through, they assume to be a solid. If it is sort of rigid and not flapping around, they will rarely try to bite it. If a dog attacks you, and you have time to prepare, simply pop your umbrella open and keep it moving so that it is always between you and the dog (you will have to watch his eyes, because this tells you where they want to bite). If the dog tries to circle you, then just turn clockwise or counterclockwise to counter his movements, with the umbrella blocking the dog's line of sight.. You can substitute the umbrella with another solid-looking article.. could also be a panel or even a raincoat, held like a stationary curtain. Umbrellas are really best, because they can be popped open to create a visual startle effect, or they can also be used to thrust / poke, as well as held horizontally (while closed) to catch / block the dog.

This is really pretty much what bullfighters do.. It's only ONE of the tricks, by the way, but the way they use the cape is to give the bull something to attack, while they sidestep the charge. So, it's a bit different, really.

Well, you don't have much time to deploy an umbrella from a passing bicycle. But a good tool to have with you, nonetheless. No guarantees what a dog might do, but it could be a help. I think your best shot is the large bottles and pebbles on a cane or fishing pole. The whole trick of this is to bring it right across the dog's face as he is charging. Too soon won't work, but if your timing is good, this works wonders. If the dog has been trained to disregard these distractions (as in ring / mondio / KNPV) these tricks will not work, at all. They won't help at all, once a dog has connected and is full on fighting your dog. A tazer gun might be good for that, though..

I should also mention that if you are ever attacked by two dogs or more, then try to get your back against a wall. The reason is simply that dogs instinctively work together to double-team you, one or more in front and one or more coming from behind. If you do this, so that they cannot approach you from the rear, it gives you a good defensive advantage, and most of them will recognize this and keep their distance. That and an umbrella or panel are an excellent defense.

With most (but not all) dogs, if you get them into sort of a Mexican stand off, like this, and lean slightly forward with your arms slightly out at the elbows (like a chicken) and shoulders hunched a bit, then stare them very hard in the eyes, they will begin to lose their nerve and look away. At this point, you can really usually run them off, if you are bold enough to try. Be careful, though.. The occasional bold dog will meet your challenge and raise the stakes! Be careful not to further aggravate this kind of a dog. You won't get far by trying to stare them down! Fortunately for joggers, bicyclists and dog-walkers, they are relatively rare. This is the kind of a dog police should have... but so often don't.

You can also try putting salt on their tail.. Only kidding! ;-) I'm serious about the other stuff, though.