Reactive towards other dogs

[JennyHarley]

I have a had a 5 year old rescue dog for a year and he is very reactive to other dogs .He makes a vey high pitched noise and lunges forward .he does this even from some distance .

I am only taking him out down our street so not to come across too many dogs.

He also is very pully when on the lead so to try and get him to focus on me I give him treats is the right thing to do?

Please can you give me any suggestions to stop him from reacting ?.He is a very lovable dog and well behaved at home.

Jenny 

 

[Adrienne]

 

 

Hi Jenny,

Welcome to the forums!

Yes, giving treats is the right thing to do, but if you want to work on the reactive behavior you want to make use of them to your advantage. Do invest in high-value treats and make them contingent upon seeing other dogs. 

Now, his behavior may be due to barrier frustration which occurs when dogs want to meet other dogs on leash, but are frustrated because they can't and therefore their frustration builds up to an "explosion" of lunging, whining and barking when seeing other dogs. These dogs are normally friendly with other dogs off leash, but struggle when they are leashed. If that's the case, you may want to train an alternate behavior to engage in when walking (such as doing several steps of attention-heeling). 

You can read more about barrier frustration here: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/barrier-frustration/

And here are directions for training heeling/attention heeling:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/

Another cause of the behavior you may be seeing is fear-based reactivity, defensive aggression often seen in dogs who weren't socialized much to other dogs or who have undergone negative experiences, or who are simply fearful, in which case we may want to start  just by feeding high value treats every time your dog looks at other dogs. You can start from a window in your home and then progress on walks, maintaining distance. You can read about this here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

Important when addressing reactivity is ensuring the dog is under threshold, here is a read about threshold levels in dogs: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

Here's a summary of the process:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/attacking-dogs-walks/

and a case study; 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/03-homer-homers-reactivity/

You may also find it helpful to read other threads about similar problems so to view the process from different angles and employ strategies that can help (you can find many more by searching)

 

You may also find it helpful to use a front-attachment harness (Easy walk harness, Walk your dog with love harness, Sensible harness) for more control versus a regular buckle collar especially in the initial training phases. 

Now, a disclaimer is warranted here, behavior modification comes with risks. When dogs are over threshold or in a highly aroused state,  dog owners are at risk for a re-directed bite (sometimes just from being touched!) and other people/dogs around can be at risk too if not enough distance is taken or should people come too close or should the dog lunge forward or escape. For safety and correct implementation of behavior modification, it is therefore best to enlist the help of a dog behavior professional for in-person coaching and to ensure the dog is kept under threshold and not exposed to stimuli/situations that may be too overwhelming.  

I hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne