Dog aggression / leash reactivity classes or trainers in Denver? (Boulder: house, tornado)

[ayoitzrimz]

Hi everyone,

My newly adopted GSD is very leash reactive / dog aggressive. She gets along just fine with my male and was told at the shelter she gets along fine with dogs when she is not on leash but when she's on a leash and sees another dog she goes kind of ballistic and I want to get a handle on it.

Can you recommend (here or via DM) either a class and/or trainer that either specializes in dogs with issues or otherwise is qualified and capable in helping us train it out of her?


Appreciate the recommendations in advance!

[mic111]

Down in your area of town we liked Kari Bastyr at Wagandtrain Kari Bastyr - Bio.

However we did a multipronged approach. We also took her through the Boulder Humane Society Grumpy Growlers class which followed alot of the principles in the book by Patricia McConnell we were using called Fiesty Fido Feisty Fido: Help for the Leash-Reactive Dog: Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D., Karen B. London Ph.D.: 9781891767074: Amazon.com: Books

We trained her to a muzzle so if were ever in a tornado shelter at a campground with other dogs (cement block bathroom in most cases) she can wear one comfortably.

We also did private training and then trained her in agility with Ana Melara of Training with Grace. Ana assessed her and felt that in the right class of dogs she would be fine and she was. The key was a group of dogs that wasn't running up to greet her. She did great in Ana's agility class.
Staff | Training With Grace

We then tried with two other agility instructors closer to home who were no good even though I had explained her need for space they were both physically abusive to her and I had to pull her out so someone like Ana who can put her in a class of dogs that fit was important and also didn't over crowd the class.

At the end of it all here is what worked for us.
1. She is never asked to greet a dog. She does not go to dog parks.
2. We put her in a working mode where she is asked to watch us when a dog is around. For instance talking to another dog walker while out and about.
3. On walks we give other dogs a wide berth to where she knows she will not be greeting.
4. We don't let her make eye contact with other dogs in tight situations (at the vet, crossing at a tight path). We use the watch me command for this.
5. We position her on the outside of our legs when passing other dogs in a tight situation.
6. She is never off leash with dogs she doesn't know. She does well at home with dogs in the yard such as foster dogs and some visiting dogs as well as our other dog.

For us, eye contact was key. No eye contact = no hairy eyeballs being thrown = a calm dog.

Right now most people who meet her don't even know she is dog aggressive. However any dog that greets her and gets in her face is usually dispatched rapidly and in no uncertain terms. If we can keep other dogs from greeting her then all is good. She will stand quietly while we talk to people with dogs, she can walk by them on the path, she can walk along a fence with a charging/barking dog and not react (if we have told her in advance we have our eyes on her - a verbal warning suffices).

Edit: I should mention that she has great bite inhibition. She has never drawn blood. Mostly she scares the other dog with noisy, painful, aggressive, non-damaging bites. They are usually anxious to run away and I've seen her twist her jaw while holding on to a flank just to teach them a lesson one more time before letting go. Yesterday she caught a baby bunny and tried to run off with it. I told her to drop it and she did. It hopped off. Had I let her keep it she probably would have killed it as she kills alot of rabbits. Normally they are fully intact as she isn't into ripping them apart. If she actually hurt another dog I would probably have considered putting her down but she has not.

[Timmyy]

Our oldest dog is very dog aggressive. We have done a multitude of things and he still loses his mind. We have now trained ourselves around his behavior kind of like what mic111 listed above. We introduced a puppy into the mix in January and it took him a few days to accept her but any dog outside the house is not a good thing.

Good luck with your training! Some dogs are just stubborn.

[mic111]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

We have now trained ourselves around his behavior kind of like what mic111 listed above.

Yep, I'm sure we spent multiple thousands on training with the best positive trainers we could find and in the end she will never, ever, like, accept or want to greet strange dogs. She is 10.5 yrs old.

One trainer at the Boulder Humane Society gave us the best advice. He said some dogs just aren't dog park dogs. He had one himself. After all that we did, I agree with him. We love our dog because she is fantastic at listening to us. She is widely admired by visitors for her house manners. She is loads of fun. She has been camping all over with us. She has been to many of the national parks. She has sat through many ranger lectures. She has hiked many trails in many states. She does well in our RV. She even behaves around our foster dogs after a 4 day or so introduction period and she knows she isn't allowed to fight in the house. Also she is gentle as a lamb with our smaller younger dog. She loved him on first sight as he was one of our foster dogs. He, in turn, followed her around in what could only be described as hero worship.

[ayoitzrimz]

Thanks for the recommendation everyone. I stopped taking my male to the dog park when he was around 1, and focused on our training and interactions. With my female, I just want to be able to take her out in public and have her ignore dogs that are leashed and passing by. I usually don't let my dogs interact with other dogs, but want them to ignore other dogs. She goes nuts, so mic111 and Timmyy as usual I appreciate your useful advice and recommendations I'll reach out to those that mic recommended

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz

Thanks for the recommendation everyone. I stopped taking my male to the dog park when he was around 1, and focused on our training and interactions. With my female, I just want to be able to take her out in public and have her ignore dogs that are leashed and passing by. I usually don't let my dogs interact with other dogs, but want them to ignore other dogs. She goes nuts, so mic111 and Timmyy as usual I appreciate your useful advice and recommendations I'll reach out to those that mic recommended

Good luck! We tried everything but Turbo is stubborn.

[mic111]

Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz

... but want them to ignore other dogs. She goes nuts,...

She'll get there. Our dog was like Kujo on a leash and the tasmanian devil when she got into it with another dog. Now she ignores them nicely as long as I have focused my energy on her or speak to her about it in advance. She does notice if I'm distracted and will make a play for it if she thinks she can on occasion. She isn't as serious about it though. The attempts strike me as being a bit half hearted and they are infrequent because I always tell her to "watch me" or my other one is "I have my eyes on you" and I use the two fingers pointed to my eyes and them aim them at her. It also helps warn the other owner that she is not friendly. It gets really old telling people to keep their dogs away because she gives out no aggressive body language at this point.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by mic111

She'll get there. Our dog was like Kujo on a leash and the tasmanian devil when she got into it with another dog. Now she ignores them nicely as long as I have focused my energy on her or speak to her about it in advance. She does notice if I'm distracted and will make a play for it if she thinks she can on occasion. She isn't as serious about it though. The attempts strike me as being a bit half hearted and they are infrequent because I always tell her to "watch me" or my other one is "I have my eyes on you" and I use the two fingers pointed to my eyes and them aim them at her. It also helps warn the other owner that she is not friendly. It gets really old telling people to keep their dogs away because she gives out no aggressive body language at this point.

My wife and I do the exact same thing. The key is to distract them from the other dogs. When we are walking him I always walk on the side that blocks his view from another dog.

[JD401]

Ever tried Cesar Milan's techniques? We got a rescue around 5 years ago at 1 year old who had some agression and anxiety issues. It sounds funny, but we learned a lot just through watching The Dog Whisperer. Specifically regarding placement of the leash around the neck, we noticed it made a huge difference when following his guidance. We picked up many good pointers through his show. Best of all, it wasn't an extra charge!

[ayoitzrimz]

Originally Posted by JD401

Ever tried Cesar Milan's techniques? We got a rescue around 5 years ago at 1 year old who had some agression and anxiety issues. It sounds funny, but we learned a lot just through watching The Dog Whisperer. Specifically regarding placement of the leash around the neck, we noticed it made a huge difference when following his guidance. We picked up many good pointers through his show. Best of all, it wasn't an extra charge!

Appreciate the input; however, I am looking for trainer recommendations in the area.