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HELP: Reacting to Dogs
Wai is honestly the sweetest dog and so fun to have around although there a few things to note…we are his 5th owners. We got him from the human society when he was 11 months. He has definitely been through a lot. I have been working with him but need help if anyone is able to send some advise.
Here is the story:
Wai is reactive to dogs when on a leash, when seeing cats, in the house hearing dogs outside (the jingle sound), in the car seeing other dogs and interesting looking humans, etc. We are getting better about it in the house and car. The cats are probably as bad as seeing the dogs. Especially when they run. It recently got bad where he lunged toward another dog and badly rope burned a family member’s hand. This is not the first bad rope burn.
What I have been doing:
Currently, I am treating him for looking calmly, or looking at me when seeing a dog. I am slooowly closing distance every walk. I treat him for looking, sniffing, looking at me, walking away, etc. Sometimes, we will also follow a dog and practice checking in, ignoring, etc. He does better in the mornings and afternoons when he is still waking up and is a little more amped up in the evenings.
*Note: our housing situation consists of neighbors below me, and next to me. Almost every house has a dog.*
Most of the time when I walk him, and see a dog perhaps 25 meters away coming toward us, he looks at it, head raised and early arousal stages. I treat him for looking and not barking and will either “huli” (emergency walk away cue) or if the dog is super far away, will continue sniffing then move. Then there are those times where a dog will come out of nowhere, and Wai will lunge hard, bark and I would have to “huli” and run.
*Note: when I do the huli I usually do a little bouncy jog to invite him the other way. He gets treated for running away with me. No treats if he lunges, barks and then huli’s.*
When he lunges it does not seem aggressive. If it is a surprise dog, it looks more like shock, offensive, come play with me now and then frustration. He does get his social in every week at K9 Adventures. When he is at K9 Adventures, there is no lunge and barking. I have a feeling that he knows he is going to go and play with the dogs, hence no barking. He will pull on leash to get to the gate but no lunging. He will go up nicely and say high to dogs behind the fence. Again no barking, lunging. When he goes in the staff tell us he runs and plays very good with the other dogs. So i’m confused why he reacts on the leash in our neighborhood but not at the K9 Adventures? How can I quickly help him and my family to not get rope burns?
What are your thoughts? Any tips or tricks?
Here is yesterdays photo of Wai enjoying his Sunday Funday at K9 Adventures with dog friends.
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20 Replies
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@Keala_Wai Wai is such a beautiful dog. I think it is amazing that you took him in and working with him after 4 other owner’s!! Seriously, such a wonderful thing!
Being from so many homes and being 11 months old – it is probably hard to have a real history of his socialization etc. I personally am a dog trainer starting out, so I don’t have much advice but did want to comment on how amazing you are working with him and helping him through his reactivity! I can’t see exactly how he is reacting so that can also be hard to give advice. You say with the cats, it’s more intense when they run- so is prey drive kicked in here?
I like how you have emergency u turns installed in your training- very smart. I wonder to if you say at 25 meters he is already showing the beginning signs of arousal- you could mark and reward before these signs come into play. So you are not giving a reward when he is even engaging in a arousal state. I know this can’t be helped when a dog suddenly appears and you do a great job with a u turn! That’s something I would do too.
As for playing at the K9 center. I see this a lot in my daycare. Leashes can bring on a barrier frustration in dogs. They can’t fluently communicate- so that is probably why he reacts on one but can play freely with a group of dogs ( I am guessing they are off leash) I have seen leashed dogs lunge at another dog in the parking lot and come into my room- get in the room and play and get along. I know there are more people with more experience to give more advice on here. You are doing an amazing job. Keep up the great work.
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@pawsup ???? Thank you for all the advice! Yes there is some prey drive. Especially with the wild mongoose and cats. Although we have ???? rabbits out in the balcony that he sees every day and he is fine. When we first got him, we would have to close the curtains and had to slowly introduce by opening curtain. Now he will sleep by the door (no curtain), walk by it and not care. It is very interesting. Thank you for replying so fast. ????
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@Keala_Wai Sounds like you have some great management techniques in place!
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@Keala_Wai It sounds like you are doing so many great things with Wai – well done!
My brain steps back from the “problem” and asks: Are there any unmet needs? – For example, you said he’s getting daycare time – that’s awesome; sounds like that’s working out well. During that time, is he allowed to play? I know some daycares keep arousal levels down and with good reason – too much and a fight could break out.
I know you’ve done a lot of training and enrichment with him… and now I’m thinking through Kelsey’s SEEDs from the presentation she’s going to give today… how’s his exercise? Is he getting enough of all these things?
He does sound frustrated. While you are working on the skills needed to walk him safely, let us know what you think about whether there is any room to increase his exercise, enrichment or downtime as well.
Regarding reducing rope burns… what equipment are you using?
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Hi @catherine ! Thank you for your response. Regarding the day care, they do have them take a break for about half hour or so and let them rest in kennels. Then they let them play again. Not sure how often they do the breaks. During the week, Wai gets walked around outside 4 times a day plus extra time he gets running around at the Stables. Regarding the equipment we have him on a martingale or a flat collar. Then a balance harness, and a 15 foot cotton leash. I’ll try to attach some pictures below. Yes I agree, he does seem frustrated.
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Lol I think it’s called a balance harness. ????
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It looks like Balance!
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Not heard of this brand “Balance” harness yet. It LOOKs like a front clip harness though, right? Like the Easy Walk one? Handsome Wai!
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???????? Hi @beaglemania, thank you! I’m sorry, I am so bad at identifying harness types. Lol ????. Yes it does have a front clip and also a back clip. ????
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Here are the photos.
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@Keala_Wai , there’s a specific leash that’s easier to grip and that reduces the likelihood of burns. Search for “super grip biothane leash” and you can see first-hand.
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Thank you @virginiad! It’s in my Amazon cart now ???? ????
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@Keala_Wai Thanks for the additional information. It’s so hard to know exactly what he’s thinking.
I can say that cotton is the most abrasive material for a leash. If you can afford to do so, you might want to check out biothane long lines. Get a wide one. They are much softer on the hands if you have to stop him.
If it’s hard for family members to hold him, I’d also consider desensitizing him to a head halter if that’s an option. A Halti or Holt may fit on his face better than a Gentle Leader.
Is he getting enough rest? If everyone is home all day, and he’s not sleeping well, having some dedicated down time may be helpful. (Kelsey emphasized that in her talk yesterday!)
Keep us posted!
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Hi @catherine yes Wai has his nap times in the mornings and sleeps well at night to. Thank you so much for the recommendations! ???? I will look into those. I can’t thank you @catherine and @pawsup enough for helping me. Thank you SO, SO much.
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Hi @Keala_Wai -I’m so glad we’re able to give you some ideas. There’s a lot to unpack…
On the sleep issue – most dogs need to spend about half their day asleep. Just like us, a lack of sleep can increase irritability. (I wonder how I’d do, on 12 hrs of sleep a day!)
With dogs who struggle with impulse control (not reacting to everything/chasing everything they see) – my favorite tool is the flirt pole. With herders in my house (Strong predatory chase instinct!) I use the flirt pole to condition attention to me in the presence of highly arousing stimuli. Maybe it would help Wai too?
Here’s a post from awhile back with a great demo by @virginiad on using a flirt pole.
Here’s the barking/reactive Sheltie training plan our community created awhile back. You may find additional ideas in there!
Please do keep us posted (and you don’t have to just report the good news!) We’re here to help!
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Thank you so much! I can’t wait to start “digging” ????
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We’re here to help!
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Hi! I just wanted to update a bit. ???? Good news the biothane leash came in yesterday… and we are LOVING it!!!! ???? ????. Today while walking, there happened to be a dog in the yard that we didn’t see, Wai did though. He did lunge but no rope burn! My family and I are VERY impressed with this leash. Thank you again for those who recommended this ???? and helped me with Wai. ❤️ @catherine @virginiad @pawsup
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YAY! So glad the leash is helpful! We’re here for you as you continue working on improving Wai’s tolerance of other dogs.
Meanwhile, I thought of you when I recently saw Grisha Stewart’s Leash Belay system. This seems like it would be a super “equalizer” of force while being humane also. Check it out.
Keep up the great work – we’re always here to help brainstorm!
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Thanks I’ll check it out! ????
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