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My partner and I adopted Chloe, a 2 year old flat coated retriever/basset hound mix (picture a long-haired black lab on basset hound legs, and you've got it) last January. The pet rescue had found her wandering a very busy intersection, with her only puppy.
Chloe is truly the sweetest dog. She loves to be where we are. She doesn't chew on anything (well, except her food), she is content to hang out on the couch with us and watch TV, and when it's time to go to bed, she hops in without complaint. She loves to snuggle and sniff anyone who comes over.
Here's the problem. As soon as you leash her up and take her outside, she walks perfectly by your side...until she sees another person also walking their dog. Then my sweet Chloe turns into a snarling, barking beast. She yanks on the leash, won't listen to verbal commands, ignores tugging on the leash, etc.
At first, I thought that maybe she wasn't properly socialized, so we enrolled in an obedience class. It didn't help. She eventually learned to tolerate being on a leash with other dogs in that classroom setting, but once we were out on the sidewalk...bark bark bark!
We've taken her to doggy day camp many times, and when we pick her up, the workers all tell us how shy she was at first, but then how she played sweetly with one or two other dogs. This happens every time.
She is a sweet dog. She likes playing with other dogs. But put her on a leash and her whole personality changes.
What should we do? We live in an apartment complex, and likely will for another year.
Katie barks & wines at others til they talk to her. I dont like it & have yet to beable to stop it. Tho now at 3 yrs old she does sit beside me & stays. Hopefully she will soon stop the barking. I get so tired of trying to explain to people that all she want is their attention....sigh. IS this what your dog doing??
An option? Try viewing Cesar Milan's Dog Whisperer, Focus: Aggression. He discuss just that problem your having in one of the episodes. I think he was calling the root of that type of behaviour insecurity, not being mean or aggressive. Anyway, the DVDs are available at the library, netflix, etc. ~
Most on lead dog aggression is fear based - often from the dog being attacked by another dog as a puppy.
I have not personally witnessed Cesar Milan methods but there are some other books to give you perspective:
The Cautious Canine, The Other End of the Leash, Fiesty Fido, On Talking Terms with Dogs --- Trish King also does seminars on dog aggression and here is an article of hers: http://www.positivelytrained.com/edu...t_Training.pdf. This method is widely used but only if your dog is FEAR aggressive. Some dogs are truly dominant agressive. Something else - we had a dog like this - natural tendency is to snug up on the lead and tense up - that sends a message to the dog who is an exquisite judge of human character - omg something bad is going to happen!
The most success I had with a dog like this, though, was to redirect them. To desensitize using methods like the above positive training books, I was able to get to the level of a CGC. BUT to have the dog manage another dog running up to its face, I had to use obedience and put the dog in a heel command when another dog approached - the "correction" was for breaking the heel [eye contact], not for noticing the other dog. - this was a formal heel with the dog looking at your face, not just loose lead walking on the left.
Anyway - there is a lot of info in those resources to help you understand your dog. If it is fear based aggression - vast majority of the time - your dog was probably attacked by another dog during one of the critical puppy stages. For other folks with puppies, NEVER let your puppy play with an adult dog or puppy that you don't know very well! Don't let other oversized puppies rough play with your puppy either. The pup needs to play with pups roughly its own size and age and be around adult dogs who know how to properly be dogs.
Most on lead dog aggression is fear based - often from the dog being attacked by another dog as a puppy.
I have not personally witnessed Cesar Milan methods but there are some other books to give you perspective:
The Cautious Canine, The Other End of the Leash, Fiesty Fido, On Talking Terms with Dogs --- Trish King also does seminars on dog aggression and here is an article of hers: http://www.positivelytrained.com/edu...t_Training.pdf. This method is widely used but only if your dog is FEAR aggressive. Some dogs are truly dominant agressive. Something else - we had a dog like this - natural tendency is to snug up on the lead and tense up - that sends a message to the dog who is an exquisite judge of human character - omg something bad is going to happen!
The most success I had with a dog like this, though, was to redirect them. To desensitize using methods like the above positive training books, I was able to get to the level of a CGC. BUT to have the dog manage another dog running up to its face, I had to use obedience and put the dog in a heel command when another dog approached - the "correction" was for breaking the heel [eye contact], not for noticing the other dog. - this was a formal heel with the dog looking at your face, not just loose lead walking on the left.
Anyway - there is a lot of info in those resources to help you understand your dog. If it is fear based aggression - vast majority of the time - your dog was probably attacked by another dog during one of the critical puppy stages. For other folks with puppies, NEVER let your puppy play with an adult dog or puppy that you don't know very well! Don't let other oversized puppies rough play with your puppy either. The pup needs to play with pups roughly its own size and age and be around adult dogs who know how to properly be dogs.
I have had a rescue dog act in a similar manner, and by using the tips and resources recommended above, I was able to eliminate the leash-aggressive behavior. "The Other End of the Leash" and "The Cautious Canine" by Patricia O'Connell are reasonably priced and are available on Amazon. I found both of these books to be very helpful, not only for this problem but for other types of behavioral issues.
let me know when you find out. We've gotten better but I have to say "go go go go" and he starts going forward rather then looking around. I figure if he's on a mission we will have less time to watch and bark.
we taught him "go go go" for when we kick a ball or toy ..its a move forward now fun command.
Also when he does bark at other dogs .....he picks which dogs he will hate and which he will love depending on the other dogs vib and energy.
My dog had a similar problem and like Katie it was really an overly aggressive attention seeking issue (however the recipient of all that barking and lunging seldom recognizes that behavior as "let's be friends"). I was successful in teaching him the command "Ignore". I start saying "ignore,ignore,ignore" as soon as I see him zero in on someone. He knows that that means just keep on walking. I taught it to him by rewarding him for ignoring a distraction like a toy or a treat with an even better treat. He is pretty consistent now.
You'll get there - it just takes lots of teaching and training!
Thanks so far, everyone! I agree -- she was probably either attacked as a puppy or abused in some other way. She isn't dominant aggressive -- when off leash around other dogs, she is usually very shy at first, and never plays aggressively. It almost seems like she's feeling the situation out before she plays at all.
I've tried to distract her with treats -- for whatever reason, she will not play with toys, and has never been interested in them. The treat distraction works, to a point, but only occasionally and only if I see the approaching dog before she does (my apartment is directly off a very windy path which makes visibility an issue at times).
I am going to try your suggestions, to see what helps. Thanks so much!
Dogs that are sweet other than on the leash suffer from "Leash Frustration". What happens is the dog gets excited, hits the end of the leash, starts pulling, and then your response pull back. This is totally natural in an attempt to control your dog, but much like us, if you are fighting to get to something and someone holds you back you fight harder. When your dog gets that pulling sensation from you they get frustrated and begin acting out. The solution??? When your dog begins pulling use your leash in a popping manner while moving away from the other dog , putting tension on the leash for a brief second to guide your dog in the direction you want him to go (away) and quickly releasing so your leash becomes loose again. You can repeat again if necessary, but the important thing is not to keep continuous pressure on the leash. No constant pressure makes the amount of frustration go down. You can practice this method with or without treats. But when you speak or treat is also important. Excitement creates excitement. So saying no, no,no,stop just makes the situation worse. The appropriate time to use vocal praise or treats is once the dog is in the opposite direction and ignoring the other dog. Thus giving a clear picture of what is correct. Once under control turn around walk back towards the other dog, at even the littlest sign of pulling go back the other way again remembering to keep a loose leash. You will be able to get closer and closer and eventually walk by. Do not rush this. Your dog should wait for you to allow him to see people or other dogs. This is for your dogs protection...remember not all dogs or people are nice even if your dog is the sweetest thing ever. Letting your dog see people or dog is something you release them to do. Work your way up toward the other dog/person. When your dog sits or stands nicely for around thirty seconds you can then let him see the other dog by saying something like okay go see them and guide your dog towards them keeping your leash loose. Your dog should never be allowed to run directly up on another dog or person without your say so. Remember no tight leashes... and consistency is key. Good Luck!!!
I start by putting Ringo at a heel when another dog is approaching and I can see he wants to lunge. We focus on moving forward and walking quickly by. I give him a treat whenever we pass our neighbor's dogs and he ignores them or walks by without growling or lunging. Now, when we pass one little dog - that dog is going crazy barking and growling at Ringo . . and Ringo will just ignore him and keep walking because he knows he will get a treat if he does so. It took a lot of work and redirecting of his attention from the approaching dog to me and the treat. Most times I don't even have to take treats with me anymore - he just knows not to growl or lunge. It's made walking a whole lot easier especially on trails, etc. I think now when he sees a dog - he thinks 'treat' instead of thinking that an approaching dog is a bad thing. But, still, if someone has a big dog on a long lead and allows that dog to come too close - then Ringo will go off. Usually, I just tell people 'he's not friendly'. I hate doing that - but we learned the hard way when he was a puppy that not all dogs are friendly and you shouldn't let your dog meet and greet every dog you come across. I think this is how we got started off on the wrong foot. I let him greet and sniff every dog we came into contact with and he got jumped a few times and . . . then we had to undo some damage.
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Leash Frustration
