Am I Doing It Right?

[greytluck]

Corinna has a higher prey drive then my other two had so this is the first time I've had to deal with prey drive when it comes to other dogs. When Corinna first came home she was way too interested in the cats and even lunged at them a couple times, leashed and muzzled of course. With consistent corrections and treat/praise when she ignored/looked away from them, it only took her about a week to understand kitties were off the menu. That being said I think it will be a long time yet until I fully trust her with them unsupervised.

 

When Corinna sees a small dog she immediately puts her ears and tail up, starts prancing and whining. I've been doing the same tactic as I did with the cat training. I give a small leash check accompanied by saying "Corinna No" I then call her name and when she looks at me I give her a treat. I usually continue to walk past the dog giving her treats as I go as long as she is looking at me and not at the other dog. I have to say she is very good about passing dogs now and will usually look to me as soon as she spots a dog for her treat even when they are within a few feet. When she isn't moving though, like when we wait at a traffic light or in the elevator lobby and a small dog is close by or within sight she wont focus on me or the treat and continues to look at the dog and whines and even tries to lunge(I never let her) no matter what I do. I think a lot of it is just curiosity but my neighborhood is full of little dogs, literally hundreds as I live in an area densely populated with condos. In the winter I don't encounter to many off leash small dogs but come summer our area is plagued with dogs off leash whose owners have no control of. I hate to think what would happen if a small dog actually runs up to her at this point. So that means I have a couple months to work on this before it becomes a huge issue and even though I realize the other owners should have control of their dogs I really don't want to see any ones dog get hurt no matter where the fault lies.

 

So am I doing it right? I just want to get her to the point she will ignore/not eat other dogs even if they are close by or even come in to her space (which I will try my best to avoid). I just want to note she is fine with dogs that seem to be 30+ lbs, she has meet several and gives a quick sniff and goes on her way.

 

Any advice is appreciated.

[JAJ2010]

Sounds like your doing awesome! Maybe when your stuck in one place try walking her in a circle or in the opposite direction until she switches her focus back on you? Sounds like she will improve with time and is very food motivated .

 

Your going to have to work hard to get your end goal since not very many dogs will ignore a charging off leash snack. I've been known to kick at little suicidal yappy snacks so they don't make it to my hounds. Keep that in mind also that you are there to protect her. Most small dogs we find are not friendly.