Help dogs lunging on walks

[msavoie1987]

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[SIZE=medium]Hi, [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I am writing because I am desperate for help with my dogs. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]When walking my girls on leash, they lunge at other dogs to get a sniff. I can usually get control of the situation by walking by and having them tug until we get past them. I don’t acknowledge the people and dogs we are passing and just try to get by without all hell breaking loose. I lost control yesterday and was pulled a few feet through rocks and I'm pretty beat up. I am very upset, needless to say we have not been out since. I am afraid to go out. Here is what happened.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]While on our walk, we passed another dog on leash where my dogs did what they do (Bark, pull, and not listen to my commands at all). I had a hard time this time getting by, but we made it. Near the end of our walk, we came across a small dog, which looked like a Chihuahua mix and my dogs lost it. I tried to move on but they pulled me to the ground dragging me, while the owner screamed bloody murder. I kept hold of the leashes, and my dogs never made it to her dog. I had to tell her from the ground to pick up her dog and keep moving. She made a scene and attracted a crowd, and made my dogs look like monsters. The only blood shed during all of this was mine, and I am so upset and embarrassed I just don't know what to do anymore.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Miley, my rottie/retriever mix is the instigator, when she starts, Rosie my pit-bull follows.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I have spent a whole lot of money on Miley for obedience training with 2 different trainers. I have bought collars, leashes, and done so much online research that my head hurts. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Miley walks ahead, well just enough to say she is in front, her head passes my feet. The trainers have not been able to correct this even when she was in their hands.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I am willing to accept the responsibility that this is something I need to change and the dogs will follow, but I am at a loss, as nothing has worked yet. Both trainers have told me that that this behavior is caused by fear and not aggression.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I have been told that my dog needs to be put down by a lady that crossed their path because of this behavior, and those are fighting words, they really hurt.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I'm afraid that I will never be able to take my dogs out without incident, which is hurting both me and my girls, as I no longer take them out as much.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]This is no different if we are in a car, or at home inside when they see a dog. The barking and lunging at the window happens there too. At home or in the car I am not able to stop this unless I yell at the top of my lungs, and it only lasts a few seconds before the behavior continues.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I often cry about these things as I am so frustrated and scared that I will eventually lose them because of a really bad incident. My dogs have on occasion gotten to the other dog, but there has never been a bite, just barking and growling. Other times nothing at all, when they get there they want to play. But again, this all depends on how Miley reacts, Rosie will act like she does. I no longer take them to dog parks because when a new dog comes in they show this kind of behavior and I am afraid one day they will bite, especially since one is a pit-bull, people are quick to blame and judge.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I am willing to take any advice, and I will take constructive criticism as well. I just want this to work. I know they are good dogs.[/SIZE]

 

[eingana]

Hi msavoie1987, and welcome to DogForum

It sounds like you've had a pretty rough couple of days, so from one reactive dog owner to another, you have my sympathies. Unfortunately your dogs are so big and strong that teaching them to pull (which is what you've done by allowing them to pull you towards other dogs) is not an option because you're just going to end up on your front in an increasing number of interesting parks and streets. The more they learn to pull you over the worse it will get because the hormones that cause the over reaction fire off each other and they cause the superhuman strength for pulling you over, so the more it happens, the more it will happen.

In your position I think I'd try walking them separately for a little while, and work on ways to stop Miley reacting whilst you have her by herself with you. Have you tried just turning another direction with a bright and breeze 'THIS WAY' when you see another dog (i.e. before Miley has reacted)? If you've tried this then what happens?

Another option is to have someone with a stooge dog (calm and non-reactive) come and give you a couple of hours of their time and just be near your home so you can work on reactivity.

It all starts with manners as you leave the home, Leads don't go on until they're sitting calmly in front of you. If they're barking, jumping up, hassling you then you just stand calmly with your arms folded not making eye contact with them until those bums hit the floor. They will get the message eventually as long as you're consistent. I'd have Rosie shut in another room so you can work on this.

(still thinking with just Miley for the moment) As you open the door to take her out she stays seated and lets you go through the door first. Your friend and stooge dog start walking up the street, maybe 100 yards away, just as you exit the house. At the first sign of reaction from Miley you just calmly take her straight back inside the house. When she's calm inside the house your friend with the stooge dog stays at the distance they were when Miley reacted and you exit the house with Miley again. (this may take a few times before she gets the message) When she has worked out that she goes back inside as soon as she starts pulling/whining/barking/growling at the other dog and stops doing it then you can start walking towards each other.

Again, as soon as she reacts you either turn and walk the other way or take her straight back into the house. She WILL get the message that this is not what you want, if you persist with it.

Once you've got the basics of that under your belt you can start with learning to body block her with a treat over her nose. The treat over the end of the nose is important because a dog's olfactory system takes up so much of their brain that they are physically incapable of reacting to the same extent if they have a lovely smell flooding their senses, but this doesn't do the job all of the way by itself.

When you see another dog, and this is the important bit- BEFORE Miley has had a chance to properly react to the other dog, just at the phase where she's gone stiff but before a full reaction, you take her half a dozen steps in the other direction, sit her down and put your body between her and the other dog. In one hand hold her collar closely and in the other get a lovely high value treat (in my dog's case this is dried black pudding, but chicken, ham, hot dog sausages, cheese and a whole load of other things should work) and hold it over her nose with a closed fist so she can smell it but can't get at it. Ask her to sit and be calm while the other dog passes.

If you're too late and she's already reacted then this won't work so just walk the other way and wait for another opportunity to practice it once she's got calm again.

Once the other dog has passed and she's been calm you can tell her she's a very good girl and give her the yummy treat. If Miley is like other Rotties I've met then she will be eminently biddable with food, so succeeding once is all you need for most of them.

When you've got a few calm reactions from her and she's getting the message you can then teach her a 'watch me' command, which entails getting her to sit and then holding a treat up by your face and saying 'watch me' to get eye contact with her. Practice this in a quiet situation like at home, then in the garden, so you know she has the command properly, then substitute this for holding the treat over her nose. Now you're not physically holding her back from the other dog (you're still body blocking) but you're keeping her in her spot by keeping eye contact with you instead of focusing on the other dog. Again, when the other dog has passed she gets the treat for being a good girl.

I'm not sure that you can get a non-reactive dog out of Miley, but you can very probably get a dog that's following commands to get a lovely treat just for those moments when another dog passes, and once you've got Miley in hand then you can work on the same commands with Rosie just to keep her out of trouble too.

Because Miley is so big I'd also walk her on 2 leads while you get control, one on her collar and the other on a head collar like a Dogmatics (not sure if they're available where you are though) as this would give you control of a ring just under her chin to turn her away from the other dog. Turned away from the other dog, rather than pulled back, will hurt you a lot less and give you more control.

Please report back on how you're doing.

Good luck