Aggressive On Walks

[Guest MrRipley]

I've had Ripley for just over three years now. He is a sweet, loving, easing-going hound. He gets along with our other dog Angel, a 14 year-old chow chow. He does well with other dogs when when he can interact with them up close, as in when we cross paths with another dog or dogs on the sidewalk.

 

Unfortunately, be does not do well when we see another dog from afar. I do my best to socialize him and to ask other dog people if we may come and "say hi" if the dog is across the street or off in the distance. The problem is that by that point, Ripley has already begun to growl/bark and get up onto his back feet. This is a particular problem when we are walking along the sidewalk that borders the park and see another dog walking around inside the park. What chance do I have to bring him to interact with the dog if he is already out of control? I certainly would not want him to come and say hi to my dog if I were in their shoes. It's very frustrating given how well he does with other dogs up close.

 

I have tried making Ripley's interactions with other dogs a positive thing by offering a treat before he even sees the other dog and when he just begins to see one. In these cases I was hoping he would begin to associate seeing another dog with the positive experience of getting a cookie. He is not interested. I have also tried making a sharp correction by tugging on the leash toward me and saying "no" assertively, but not yelling. This too has proven ineffective. I have also tried just stopping and waiting. I cannot for the life of me get Ripley to focus on me and make eye contact with me if the other dog is off in the distance. All I can do is wait until the dog is completely out of his sight/mind and continue walking. I am also aware that if I feel anxiety in advance, Ripley will feel that too, and is more likely to become aggressive, so I do my best to take a deep breath and make sure that I am calm and in control if there is another dog approaching.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions that you can offer. If this has already been discussed elsewhere in the forum and you can point me to a previous discussion that would be great too. Thanks!

[RobinM]

Can you give him a small treat (very tiny treats) as he starts approaching the other dogs. Associate good things with that dog across the way.

 

We have 5 hounds and one is not other breed safe, at all. We keep him muzzled to protect us and the other 4 because he will misplace his aggression when he starts going crazy when he sees another dog. (although he has gotten a lot better, I can not take the chance of getting hurt again or worse, one of my other dogs)

 

There is always a halti harness which is for behaviorial modification.

 

This is what Teddy used to wear, but the muzzle is much easier with 4 other dogs with me. If I had just one or 2, I would have continued with this.

 

[Guest iconsmum]

If you're going to counter condition Ripley to the presence of another dog while he's on leash, you need to control the situation and the distance involved. Make sure you're way far enough away from any potential dog that you'll see it *before* Ripley does. Wait until you absolutely know he's seen the other dog, and THEN surprise him with 2 or 3 hands FULL of really special food - roast beef, flank steak, tuna, anything you don't usually use because it's too over the top great - use that now. It goes this way:

there's the dog off in the distance/Ripley clearly alerts to it/drop LOTS OF SURPRISE FOOD right in front of Ripley's nose/keep him eating, maintaining the distance or walking away until the dog's out of Ripley's sight. You are not going to approach the other dog at all - it's going to fade from view. This needs to be repeated until the sight of a dog off in the distance is his predictor for food/pleasure - it'll start looking like this:

theres a dog off in the distance/Ripley clearly notices it/looks at you for a treat/treat to Ripley, and walk on. If you give him food first or make food-getting-out motions, then the food actually becomes the predictor for the annoying/scary other dog off in the distance - food will tip him off to get edgy and scan for a dog and go into his reactive routine. When he tolerates dogs at far distances ok, then you move in closer - this needs to be totally controlled to work, and it takes perseverance - but it's based on the science of classical conditioning and it works.

[Guest Paige12]

I agree 100% with Iconsmum... might add to pivot in front of Ripley with your body so you are breaking his line of sight to the other dog. Also we have used in tandem with what Iconsmum says, turning and walking in the opposite direction(away from the dog down the street) when the dog in question starts getting wired up.

[Guest iconsmum]

I agree 100% with Iconsmum... might add to pivot in front of Ripley with your body so you are breaking his line of sight to the other dog. Also we have used in tandem with what Iconsmum says, turning and walking in the opposite direction(away from the dog down the street) when the dog in question starts getting wired up.

 

 

 

No, you don't want to get in his line of sight - the conditioning has nothing at all to do with the person on the end of his leash - it is as if, right after the dog sees the other dog, food begins to rain on him - he needs to make that full connection - you can't make up your own version of the events for this one...you can walk away as the other dog's disappearing from sight but better to position yourswelf so that you stay put and the other dog does the disappearing...sorry to be so adamant, but it's a specific thing

 

edited by me to add clarfication

Edited August 1, 2010 by iconsmum

[Jackandgrey]

I found the very best way to do this was with a clicker and LAT training or Look at That. Try a search under Giselle's posts. Jill is so much easier to walk now and the clicker is easy to handle even for me walking two dogs.

[Guest snakes]

Maybe taking your pup on group dog walks where you can be with the pack and then back off and go back and forth during the walk would help?

 

Something like a greyhound adventures walk? They are very understandable and have dealt with a lot of 'quirky' behavior dogs.

greyhoundadventures.org

 

maybe also walking behind a dog and slowly closing the gap?

[DesiRayMom]

Confusing, isn't it? I am certainly NOT the person to give you any advice. I just want you to know you are not alone.

I had a shepherd mix about 10 years ago, lived with me & 2 other dogs, was a wonderful loving boy to us all.

 

But take him for a walk, and he became the "enforcer" of the pack. It was like he wanted nobody or nothing to come near any of us.

 

He did fine with visitors, and at the vets, it was just the walk. I tell you, I tried everything, and I never did get that under

control. He got better as he aged, but it never stopped.

 

I wish you greyt luck.