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Reactive Ridgeback

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Harper & Debs

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Hi - I have just joined my name is Debs and my dog is Harper an 18 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback who is the most loving affectionate dog i have ever had she's perfect until.. She sees another dog and then turns into a complete lunging barking menace who i don't recognize!! I have booked a training session with a dog trainer in a couple of weeks so i am praying that she can help because walking harper is getting to be a nightmare. Would love to hear from anyone else who has this problem.
 
Welcome to the forum. We have an article on dog reactivity here, but don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions: Dog Reactivity

Please bear in mind that if the trainer advises any form of correction (saying 'No!', jerking on the lead and so on) and tells you that you need to be more alpha, they are using ineffective old-school methods that have been shown to be ineffective. You don't want Harper to suppress his emotions, you want to change those emotions.
 
Hello and welcome to you and harper - what a lovely name!

Do have a read through, and come back with any questions. JudyN gives sound advice re. choosing your trainer if this one doesn't fit.
 
On the offchance that you might be in the central belt of Scotland, there's a fabulous trainer who has loads of experience with RRs.
 
Hello and welcome (I'm a returning member and your post title grabbed my attention, you'll see why). We adopted a rescue dog, Jimmy, just over 6 years ago and he was exactly as you described. Although we witnessed him in the company of many other dogs before adopting him, once with us and out and about he would go mad in the presence of other dogs, even if they were some distance away. With people of all ages, he was an angel - loving, caring and just adorable.

We had several training sessions of try and address this. The first was with an ex-Police Dog handler and involved techniques that @JudyN described. Jimmy was our first dog and we didn't know any better. We then went on to another trainer, had two sessions, and whilst in the training environment with other dogs was successful, out in the real world his behaviour returned. The trainer seemed kind of resigned to not being able to much more.

As he got older, he seemed to mellow. A bit! What really helped him was my sister-in-law got a smaller dog and we went on walks with them, and whilst initially he was fussy, after a walk or two he completely ignored this other little dog. She even came round to our house on many occasions and Jimmy wouldn't bat an eyelid. It was lovely as they mimicked each other's behaviour and I think Jimmy had taken to being a bit like a father figure to her (we observed this before we adopted him).

This behaviour seemed to carry over to most situations and Jimmy was now able to walk near and meet/great other dogs of all sizes. Occasionally he would bark at another dog for no reason we could see, typically these were smaller dogs but on the whole his behaviour was great.

I can only speak from my experience with this one, wonderful dog, but trying something similar might be worth a try. I hope this helps.

(Past tense about Jimmy - lost him last week).
 
Thanks for the advice - i will see how the training goes - apparently Ridgebacks do mellow when they reach 2 years old - here's hoping.
 
Oh dear, I was very sorry to hear your dog died; that's really sad.

I agree that for a dog to have a wise and kind canine friend often achieves more than all the training in the world!

It's an absolute joy when you see dogs that are really good pals to each other.
 
Well training didn't go to well with Harper she has another session this Saturday - It's not a quick fix i'm afraid so maybe a canine friend for her would be the way forward - Have been thinking about another dog for a while now.
 
Harper & Debs said:
Well training didn't go to well with Harper she has another session this Saturday - It's not a quick fix i'm afraid so maybe a canine friend for her would be the way forward - Have been thinking about another dog for a while now.
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Oh, I really would give it time before bringing in another dog - it could be a total disaster for everyone! You have enough on your hands with an 18-month old Ridgeback, I would say.

In spite of what I say above, I have never brought in a dog to solve behavioural problems, just that sometimes an existing dog has turned out to be a really good friend and mentor to a new dog arriving in my home.

Can you tell us more about your training session? What happened, and how did Harper seem around the trainer? Did she seem comfortable and curious, or a bit stand-offish? Was food used, and if so, how much and how?
 
Feverfew said:
Oh dear, I was very sorry to hear your dog died; that's really sad.
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Thank you. It'll be three weeks tomorrow since we lost him, and our sadness hasn't eased at all.


Harper & Debs said:
Well training didn't go to well with Harper she has another session this Saturday - It's not a quick fix i'm afraid so maybe a canine friend for her would be the way forward - Have been thinking about another dog for a while now.
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From my experience you're right, it definitely isn't a quick fix unfortunately. As I said earlier, in our later training sessions, Jimmy was fine in the training environment with other dogs, but reverted to his old behaviour when out and about. We resorted to a lot of patience and introducing him to my sister-in-law's dog was a definite turning point. Perhaps if you have a friend/relative with a suitable dog, you could make an introduction and see how it goes. Obviously all dogs and their owners are different, I can only talk from my experience.

Keep us posted!
 
Its very strange because when Harper is off lead and meets another dog off lead she is fine no barking at all just wants to play - so I think its pure mad excitement when she's on her lead and sees another dog. I will see if I can introduce her to another dog slowly. I know she is missing her mate - we have lost our Boxer dog so are thinking about getting a new friend for her.
 
It's not uncommon for dogs to cope better when they are off lead. The use of a lead can limit their ability to express their body language fully, and can also mean a dog feels trapped by the restriction of the lead and unable to remove herself from a situation quickly if she needs to.

The answer is not to abandon the lead altogether, but to think about how you can adapt your lead handling to make life easier for her. For example, is the lead attached to a harness or a collar? The former is far preferable, because pressure on the neck can be very painful and damaging to a dog, as well as making some dogs panic (not all dogs figure out that pulling away from the lead makes it worse, and they pull to escape the discomfort). You could also think about using a long line (I always use a soft 8-meter lead) so there is less risk of it going really tight, but you can keep a gentle, even pressure on the line so she knows you are there and you establish the line as the connection between you (ie, it is a support, not a restriction).

A strategy I sometimes adopt is to find an owner with a sensible older dog we can follow at a distance, and avoiding very high intensity situations, such as groups of dogs, very young or inexperienced dogs, or dogs chasing balls.

Just to add as well that if the lead is only ever used for road walks (which tend to be more stressful for some dogs) and never with more relaxing walks in green space, you could be setting up an expectation that the lead is only ever associated with traffic noise, less space, strong exhaust fumes etc.
 
Good advice. We used a soft 6m lead for Jimmy in fields and places away from traffic and other hazards. He always had a harness, but we'd put on a shorter, "normal" lead when walking in streets. Fortunately, he wasn't much of a puller on the lead, unless he was keen to get somewhere!
 
arealhuman said:
Good advice. We used a soft 6m lead for Jimmy in fields and places away from traffic and other hazards. He always had a harness, but we'd put on a shorter, "normal" lead when walking in streets. Fortunately, he wasn't much of a puller on the lead, unless he was keen to get somewhere!
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I just had a peek a Jimmy on your other thread, and had to add that he looks like the absolute epitome of my perfect dog - a leg at each corner, a dear, sweet face, a dog you can put your faith in entirely. I am so sorry for your loss.
 
Many thanks @Feverfew. He certainly was a looker, and people we passed out and about would often comment how handsome he was :) We miss him terribly. Sorry to hijack your thread a bit @Harper & Debs.
 
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