I have a DA dog... to a lesser degree than what is being discussed here. We have done LOADS of positive reinforcement training to teach her appropriate behaviors when faced with situations that make her lose her brain.
I've successfully taught default behaviors to racing after dogs like a snarling mennace.
She knows her job, and does it well... we still practice it a lot, and it is reinforced heavily. I even feel confident enough to enter her in obedience, where she is doing sit stays and down stays with other dogs nearby.
If she is uncomfortable, she will leave. Her default behavior is front position with eye contact. She has successfully held that position while idiot John Q Public let his dog sniff mine. She held her front with eye contact even though her reaction would have been to tear into that dog without training.
She is not perfect, but I do know that she is VERY good about ignoring other dogs.
I take a lot of precautions so that she does NOT injure other dogs, and we do a LOT of training so that she can be part of everything we do. I also know her limits and don't take her to shows where crating space is limited and she will be very close to dogs all day. It is not fair to her, or the other dogs there.
I've successfully taught default behaviors to racing after dogs like a snarling mennace.
She knows her job, and does it well... we still practice it a lot, and it is reinforced heavily. I even feel confident enough to enter her in obedience, where she is doing sit stays and down stays with other dogs nearby.
If she is uncomfortable, she will leave. Her default behavior is front position with eye contact. She has successfully held that position while idiot John Q Public let his dog sniff mine. She held her front with eye contact even though her reaction would have been to tear into that dog without training.
She is not perfect, but I do know that she is VERY good about ignoring other dogs.
I take a lot of precautions so that she does NOT injure other dogs, and we do a LOT of training so that she can be part of everything we do. I also know her limits and don't take her to shows where crating space is limited and she will be very close to dogs all day. It is not fair to her, or the other dogs there.