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What you people are describing is FEAR! Your dogs are afraid of sreange dogs so they are Barking & being agressive FIRST! Then to prove they are tuff to the strange dog they attach each other!
I would agree with this and also agree with your earlier posts about basic obedience being implemented.
One thing I would add is, until the basic obedience and fear is overcome, walking more then one dog at a time CAN create a pack mentality. Walking all three is even more likely to cause the dogs to pack, turn on each other or possibly on you.
Last edited by second right; 03-21-2012 at 03:50 PM..
Reason: added opinion
What you people are describing is FEAR! Your dogs are afraid of strange dogs so they are Barking & being agressive FIRST! Then to prove they are tuff to the strange dog they attach each other!
Yes, that's what I said:
"I know it was fear-based because of the trauma"
And I offered my suggestions for what helped my dogs overcome their fear. Hopefully it will help the OP, too. Best of luck, and keep us posted on their progress!!
I don't think it's fear. Like I said, when they are alone they behave perfectly and can meet other dogs without issue. They only have problems in the group. I am trying the same things I did to train them individually when walking them together but it's too tough sometimes to control all 3 at once. Especially if another dog surprises them.
Also, they could be flipping out in a group because they're protective of one another. That was the case for me. My boy would only flip out if his sister was there. He's very protective of her. Alone, not a peep. So I had to solve the issue by training both at the same time to not flip out at the passing dogs. Do it from as far as you need to be so they don't flip, then as they get more comfortable, get closer, than closer. They'll get there, with time.
Whether or not it's fear in your case, as is the case for my girl, having them replace whatever is happening in their puppy brains with seeing other pups as a pez dispenser is the way to go, imo. It's helped me resolve nearly all of the little quirks that nervous Chis are notorious for. Right now, clearly something is happening and they're responding. They need to convert that to responding positively. And positive reinforcement breeds positive reaction.
Keep doing what you're doing, try to never get impatient (as hard as it may be sometimes, as they'll sense your tension), give it time (possibly lots of time), and, with consistent positive reinforcement, when those other pups are around, yours (almost out of the blue, when you're probably ready to give up) will come around.
Also, they could be flipping out in a group because they're protective of one another. That was the case for me. My boy would only flip out if his sister was there. He's very protective of her. Alone, not a peep. So I had to solve the issue by training both at the same time to not flip out at the passing dogs. Do it from as far as you need to be so they don't flip, then as they get more comfortable, get closer, than closer. They'll get there, with time.
Whether or not it's fear in your case, as is the case for my girl, having them replace whatever is happening in their puppy brains with seeing other pups as a pez dispenser is the way to go, imo. It's helped me resolve nearly all of the little quirks that nervous Chis are notorious for. Right now, clearly something is happening and they're responding. They need to convert that to responding positively. And positive reinforcement breeds positive reaction.
Keep doing what you're doing, try to never get impatient (as hard as it may be sometimes, as they'll sense your tension), give it time (possibly lots of time), and, with consistent positive reinforcement, when those other pups are around, yours (almost out of the blue, when you're probably ready to give up) will come around.
I totally agree with what you're saying. I just disagree with second right and katie1's posts about the fear and obedience. They are well trained and obedient dogs alone. There's not much more I can do with them 1 on 1 in my opinion. They also do not seem to fear other dogs at all when alone.
I have no choice but to try and work on them as a group since that's the only time any of them have a problem. I know it will be a slow process, though. Even at a good distance from other dogs they get kind of crazy and are not interested in the treats at all.
I walk my three dogs together. I have 2 Siberians and a GSD/Boxer mix, about 200 lbs of strong dog. There are a lot of loose dogs in this area and many of them are not terribly friendly and will charge, even as their owner watches and does nothing. If I stay very calm (or, at least make sure to give the appearance of being very calm) and use an overly cheerful voice and keep saying things like, "it's okay, everything's fine, we're just going to walk right on by!", my three will stay right with me and often completely ignore the troublemaker. They see that I'm not worried, so they trust that they don't have to worry, either. Once the situation has passed, I make sure to tell them what a great job they did. I talk to my dogs all the time, which some people say you're not supposed to do, but it's what works for us and it works well.
It did take some practice, as both my females have been attacked by rogue dogs and for a long time were very nervous and always ready to defend themselves. The GSD mix is ridiculously strong and could pull me off my feet with no effort if she wanted to. She was really aggressive after she was attacked and I had to walk her alone because I needed both hands and all my strength to control her when another dog approached, even if it was a leashed dog far down the road. But, after we worked on it for a few months, she trusts me and always follows my lead when other dogs approach. The three of them walk beautifully together.
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