Territorial barking at other dogs- HP assist dog

[corgipower]

Glad to hear it's progressing well.

Originally Posted by englishsp

I haven't turned my dog into a stone cold psychotic killer yet, thanks. It's an ongoing process

Ya, that is quite the process. I'm still trying to get there with my dogs. They've got the psychotic part figured out, but not the killer. I've even tried playing tug with them. Still not there.

[Brattina88]

how cute is he??

[englishsp]

Originally Posted by Brattina88

how cute is he??

He's so cute and sweet tempered he attracts major attention wherever we go. Especially young women, he's definitely a chick magnet - too bad I'm so old - but even like a contractor in line at Home Depot last weekend was fascinated by him and we spent some pleasant time talking about his dog and him interacting with Paki.

He's great with strangers and children who approach him and I've been pleasantly surprised by the positive social aspects that came with getting my dog. I doubt there's any training mistake I could make that would make him aggressive. He's so not aggressive, mostly I worry that if burglars rob the house he'll show them around the place and invite them to dinner.

[ihartgonzo]

Originally Posted by englishsp

I haven't turned my dog into a stone cold psychotic killer yet, thanks. It's an ongoing process, a few kinks to work out, mine and his, but overall going very well. Lighten up.

I apologize for trying to help... it won't happen again.

[englishsp]

Originally Posted by ihartgonzo

I apologize for trying to help... it won't happen again.

I do appreciate your help and I hope I can look forward to more of your input in the future. We don't always have to agree in order to get along.

[lizzybeth727]

Originally Posted by englishsp

I still have some concern, and time to think about a longer term method, but I'm not seeing your downward spiral into "full-blown aggression" quite yet. There's a lot of dog walkers along my road and I hear the barking from yard to yard a half a mile in either direction as they pass. Hey, dogs bark.

Aggression almost always starts as fear. Sometimes it takes a long time to build, sometimes it doesn't build into aggression at all and just shows itself as a lot of irrational, seemingly random fears.

[Doberluv]

Originally Posted by ihartgonzo

You're pushing your dog past his threshold... that is the point at which he reacts. He is a reactive dog. Work with him at the point just before threshold - 150 feet if you need to!

Physically/verbally correcting your dog is likely to take his reactiveness right into full-blown aggression, especially at his highly impressionable age! Physically forcing him to keep quiet might seem like the easiest way to correct this issue, but you are most likely creating many more behavioral problems with a rushed, confusing aproach. You are not changing how he feels when he sees other dogs and people, you are simply supressing his reaction, and teaching him not to vocalize his discomfort and fear. Instead of forcing him into silence, teach him to actually enjoy seeing other dogs and people, and view that as a consistently positive/rewarding experience. A service dog needs to reliably focus on you at all times, without needing to be physically reprimanded.

Please, follow the GOOD ADVICE that you recieved from Lizzybeth and others...

good post...good advice. Placing a dog beyond his threshold is where things go south. Desensatizing/counter conditioning starts from a comfortable place. (click to calm) Punishment of any kind in this type of circumstance will supress behavior, but as most behaviorists will tell you, it can create a time bomb. As tempting as it is to correct the rotten behavior, avoid that. Instead prevent it. Set the dog up for success and reinforce good behavior that you help create by controlling the environment. Most of the time, dogs aren't aware of their behavior, so punishment tends to be associated with whatever is in the environment and then bigger problems develop. Good luck.

[Brattina88]

I have a sort-of related question I understand thresholds, and I've actually worked with a dog who reacted to them in the ways suggested above, but I never found this one out; what do you do if, say, a stray dog appears out of nowhere obviously past your dogs threshold.

What do you do? How do you react?

[Doberluv]

Those things come up, of course. Try to react as little as possible. Don't say anything to him or make a fuss. Just really be lethargic. LOL. Make an arc as you pass the other dog if you can, rather than facing him head on and make some distance if you can between the other dog and your dog. Do the best you can and then keep practicing in more ideal conditions when possible, setting up situations if you can where there are dogs that are at a comfortable distance. Try to pick places to walk where it's more unlikely to see other dogs close up...if possible, of course. (duh...you're probably already doing that) Work at home on getting attention/eye contact. Mark eye contact, reward. Add a cue to that once he's getting onto the game of eye contact.

So, mainly when that happens, try to remain as calm as you can and self assured as you walk past, like its no big deal. Be sure to try to reward your dog before he goes nuts on the other dog. If there is one second of calm, watch for it and reward. It all takes a lot of practice to keep calm, hang onto the leash, (lol) watch the dog's body language, make sure you're steering him over to the side, making an arc, having one treat in one hand, ready to dispense at just the right time. LOL. It isn't easy.

Have you read Click to Calm? She gives lots of other good help. I like this one: if you're like me and can't help but tighten up on the leash, (that's when I had my Doberman..he was very reactive) since if the dog is lunging, the leash gets tight. So, a tight leash or a nervous demeanor on your part can actually become conditioned in the dog to mean good things, not bad. So, you practice at home, at first, tightening up on the leash, acting a tad uptight and nervous while feeding some scrumptious, fantastical treat. Grab the collar (gradually at first if your dog has a problem with that) and feed at the same time. Soon, these things = "woo hoo, yeah." LOL.

[Brattina88]

It isn't easy

That's for sure
Thank you for the post! It helps to see it all in black and white like that, for quick and future reference. It can be so frustrating when your hard work is really paying off, and a loose dog comes around unexpectedly and sets you back a few steps. :/


Omigosh - I'm such a dope! I just now remembered an exersize in Click to Calm. The one where you teach the dog that snoot handling=good things. So you can hold his snoot and keep on walking(I beleive it was something like that!).