How can i get my dog to be less reactive to new dogs?
Aaron H asked:
My dog Roxy always whines and scratches my legs when she sees a new dog that she cant get to. She has always done this only now it is getting a little old. What can i do to make her more calm when around other dogs?Is it possible?
She is socialized she just gets fixated with new dogs during walks.
Jerking the leash is a little extreme cant that damage her neck?I think i’ll stick with the treats.
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My dog Roxy always whines and scratches my legs when she sees a new dog that she cant get to. She has always done this only now it is getting a little old. What can i do to make her more calm when around other dogs?Is it possible?
She is socialized she just gets fixated with new dogs during walks.
Jerking the leash is a little extreme cant that damage her neck?I think i’ll stick with the treats.
April 16th, 2009 at 4:00 am
It’s possible if you let her socialize with dogs.
In that case you can try giving her a treat in those cases to divert her attention from the other dog or even just give a quick jerk on the leash to keep her focus on you and not the other dog.
April 19th, 2009 at 3:24 am
Is this excitement or aggressive in nature?
Excitement- I would work on some self control training. Having her sit, and hold it until you release her. In the beginning, I would just ask for the sit, then release, then walk away from the dog. Once she was comfortable, I would release from a sit, and allow her to greet a dog. If she can be calm. The trick is to keep her under threshold.
Aggressive- I would bring out the treats. As soon as you see a dog, treats are going into her mouth. This would be below threshold. Before the other dog got too close, I would walk away, still shoveling in the treats. Then your dog will start to think of other dogs approaching as a good thing. Eventually, if you have kept her below her threshold (no reactions) you can start to slowly decrease the distance. I would also be asking for a sit during this as well.
Books to look up (I’m a little tired, so I don’t remember all of the authors)….
Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt
Feisty Fido
Scardy Dog by Ali Brown
CU- is a fav, she has a neat game called “Look at That.” Google that, I believe there are videos around showing the basics. Basically the dog looks at another dog (under threshold), is clicked then treated. So looking at the scary thing becomes a good thing.