Barking/lunging at trucks

[MiriamBrooks]

My dog is 6 years old and very well trained (CGC, Advanced CGC) with a friendly, outgoing, happy temperament. But when he sees a truck or other large vehicle (especially the Very Evil UPS Truck) he turns into Cujo. High voltage barking and lunging, the works. I have no idea where this comes from (I got him when he was 3 years old) but I have assumed it's a fear reaction. He has the same reaction when he sees a person riding a bicycle. He's very strong, so I have had no choice but to do the one thing I know is probably wrong: pull him in, hold him close and try not to get pulled under the truck myself. It's frustrating and scary. Ideas?

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums!

First of all congrats in obtaining those titles, that's super awesome! Kudos to both of you. 

With such intense behaviors, and because there may be an element of fear, I would suggest practicing some exercises at home first using the 'Look at That" exercise simply watching triggers such as bikes and UPS trucks passing by windows at a distance from which he seems less reactive. You can find this exercise here:

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

On walks, you may need to manage your dog's environment at first upon meeting these triggers, at least until he's a little more under control. This is to prevent rehearsal of the problematic behavior and reduce exposure to full intensity levels of stress. If you would therefore notice a bike or truck coming his way, then I suggest at a distance making an abrupt emergency u-turn as explained here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/

I would also suggest trying a front-attachment harness (like the Easy-walk harness, Walk your dog with love harness, Sensation harness or Freedom harness) for better control or perhaps even a head halter (this needs some to conditioning to get used to) if his pulling is so intense. If you choose this latter,  it may be a good idea to get it from a big box store that has dog trainers in the store or experienced sellers who can help you find the perfect fit and show you how to put it on. 

Here's Einstein wearing a front-attachment harness:

Then, once you are able to keep him better under threshold (read about threshold level here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/), you can try to use the Look at that exercises on walks, at a distance you know he's better under threshold. The goal here is to to take a gradual approach (desensitization) and create positive associations (counterconditioning) with these triggers and get him to act calmer in their presence. 

You can read more about these methods here: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

 If you can have volunteer people on bikes or driving large vehicles  that can safely practice with you systematically, you can also try the open bar/ closed bar method https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/ which aims to make great things happen contingent upon seeing his triggers. Once the triggers are out of sight, no more treats. 

However, a disclaimer is warranted here. Behavior modification (that is, changing dog behaviors, which is a different field than regular obedience training) comes with risks and often required the expert guidance of a professional for correct implementation. Please enlist the help of a dog behavior consultant who can help you in person if you think he may pull so much he may escape your grip and harm someone (some dogs may chase bikes and cause people to fall) or if your dog's pulling is so intense it risks putting you in the path of traffic. Also, consider that when dogs are super aroused by things, if we accidentally touch them, this can lead to a redirected bite. 

Once your dog is more comfortable around these triggers, we can then aim to train an alternate behavior. Interestingly, we just got a recent post about a similar behavior about chasing moving vehicles, but likely more triggered by prey drive rather than fear. You can find some suggestions for alternate behaviors from this post helpful too: 

 

I hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne

[MiriamBrooks]

Thank you! We've been working with a professional trainer for three years, although not specifically for this problem. I'm using a prong collar, which my dog likes and makes it easy to direct him and correct if necessary. I'll try some of your suggestions. Unfortunately, the pandemic meant that we've been unable to see our trainer for months. Whenever possible, I just change direction if I see a truck/bike coming, but it can be difficult (and he's very good at spotting them at a distance). 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome!

I am glad to hear you have been working with a trainer.  Although I used to use prong collars in the past, I would just like to point out that, since dogs are so adept to forming associations from one event to another, when a prong (or other corrective gear) is being used to deliver corrections, there are risks that the dog may come to associate the presence of bikes, trucks, etc. with the correction, which may potentially aggravate the fear. This has been proven by research. Its use would therefore defeat the main objective of changing the dog's emotional response which is what we are trying to condition here using the Look at That and Open/Bar Closed/Bar methods. 

Of course, prongs can also be associated with good things (this is why many dogs come running when they see them as they associate them with walks!) but so can negative associations come to form when the prong is used for corrections or when it "self-corrects" the dog when tension forms on the leash. 

The indoor exercises practiced by the window are meant to be used first so that we can put down a strong foundation. Since your dog seems hypervigilant to the point where he becomes reactive already with triggers at a distance, it would be important to suspend walks as a management protocol for now until we can lay this foundation in place. Then, we can move on to practicing on more foundation responses and raise criteria using set-ups under the direct guidance of a professional specializing in force-free behavior modification. 

With force-free behavior modification the goal is to use lots of desensitization and counterconditioning so that we can work on building a strong conditioned emotional response which allows dogs to build coping skills and learn to no longer react towards the trigger. There are no corrections as these risk exacerbating the fear. I have worked with many large reactive dogs using front-attachment harnesses (T-touch harnesses and Freedom both give several points of contact) and the halters/ gentle leaders are as far as I would go with aversives in favor of safety.  

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. Please work under direct supervision of a force-free behavior dog behavior professional for safety and correct behavior modification implementation. 

 

[MiriamBrooks]

All excellent points. I actually have a front attachment harness so will try that. I almost never use the prong collar for correction any more--he's very well behaved and great on the least (he actually prefers to be on the leash) so it's almost like a steering device at this point, sort of like the reins on a horse. I'll work on your suggestions.

[Adrienne]

Sounds like a plan! Keep me posted on how things go. 

Best,

Adrienne