Advice for reactive dog on lead please

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NellRosk

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Jack Russell X, she's fine off the lead. Perfect example yesterday, we were on a walk and she met a husky and a lab off lead and was fine, had a little sniff then ignored them. We were approaching a field that potentially had sheep in so I put her on the lead (whilst the 2 dogs were near). The second the lead was clipped on she was yapping and straining against her harness making the worst noise. She gets walked with my mum's dog and has taught him to do the same now. Tonight I walked past an elderly lady and her aging JRT and both the dogs were just barking and yapping and trying to drag me over. It's mortifying! How do I tackle this? I think it is an insecurity thing with Ruby, she's always been fine off lead but funny on the lead with other dogs. They're both very food motivated so I was thinking of distracting them with a treat but I don't want to seem as though I'm rewarding their bad behaviour?
 
If she yaps and barks I'd stop, turn the other way 90 degrees and keep doing this until her attention was on me again - it takes persistance! only reward good behaviour.
 
I'd say ditch the harness. It only increases the dogs need to pull. Get a thin slip leap, you have far more control of the dogs direction this way, but it must be secured with the stopper at the highest point of the neck. Seeing as your dog only does this whilst on the lead, I would say the tension is most likely coming from you. Your dog should always be in a calm state and will pick up on any tension from you. I have a spaniel rescue who wasn't socialised until he was two years old. He's a big dog and very, very reactive to all dogs whilst on the lead with me. He will bite if confronted by over-excited dogs. However, with my partner he isn't. I worry that he may get loose and bite or hurt himself. My partner is not a worrier, takes things as they come and is totally laid back and the dog respects him more than me. It's very obvious who has the more control and respect of the dog. In the 5 years we have had the dog, he has become un-reactive with my partner. He will totally ignore any dogs with him. He won't with me though! He reverts straight back to his old behaviours if I take him out and he is confronted by a strange dog. :-/
 
Work on getting your dog' s attention focused on you away from distractions first by using a treat and associating it with a verbal command like "look". Do this until every time you say it the dog looks at you anticipating the treat. When out walking try and keep at a distance from other dogs, if necessary walk him where you know other dogs have to be kept on lead. The trick is to keep your dog far enough so that he is not yet reacting. Let him look at the dog in the distance, give your "look" command, reward.

This is the theory, it works but can take months and you will have blips when other people' s dogs are loose and decide to come and see you. Always keep calm, do not get cross or upset, either at your dog, yourself or the other dog and owner as it will raise the tension in your dog. To keep your dog' s attention on you it is imperative that you concentrate on him 100% throughout, this will also stop you tensing up. This will also make you more trustworthy in your dog' s mind as you will be the rock steady leader. Ideally you should be able to get your dog' s attention while still on a loose lead as tight leads convey tension.
 
lindsay1993 said:
I'd say ditch the harness. It only increases the dogs need to pull. Get a thin slip leap, you have far more control of the dogs direction this way, but it must be secured with the stopper at the highest point of the neck. Seeing as your dog only does this whilst on the lead, I would say the tension is most likely coming from you. Your dog should always be in a calm state and will pick up on any tension from you. I have a spaniel rescue who wasn't socialised until he was two years old. He's a big dog and very, very reactive to all dogs whilst on the lead with me. He will bite if confronted by over-excited dogs. However, with my partner he isn't. I worry that he may get loose and bite or hurt himself. My partner is not a worrier, takes things as they come and is totally laid back and the dog respects him more than me. It's very obvious who has the more control and respect of the dog. In the 5 years we have had the dog, he has become un-reactive with my partner. He will totally ignore any dogs with him. He won't with me though! He reverts straight back to his old behaviours if I take him out and he is confronted by a strange dog. :-/
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Unfortunately she has to have a fancy Ruffwear harness that is akin to a straight jacket. She has a big neck and a pea head and can slip any collar in seconds if she wants to. I don't want to disagree with you but I'm pretty chilled with her, I think she just feels very insecure and 'defensive' on the lead and her first point of call is to attack if you know what I mean? She's always been like this to a certain extent on the lead but has got worse since the arrival of my mum's dog because now she has a buddy she can use to gang up on others with. Also my partner is more laid back than me with these things and she's just the same with him too. She just has small dog syndrome :(
 
planete said:
Work on getting your dog' s attention focused on you away from distractions first by using a treat and associating it with a verbal command like "look". Do this until every time you say it the dog looks at you anticipating the treat. When out walking try and keep at a distance from other dogs, if necessary walk him where you know other dogs have to be kept on lead. The trick is to keep your dog far enough so that he is not yet reacting. Let him look at the dog in the distance, give your "look" command, reward.

This is the theory, it works but can take months and you will have blips when other people' s dogs are loose and decide to come and see you. Always keep calm, do not get cross or upset, either at your dog, yourself or the other dog and owner as it will raise the tension in your dog. To keep your dog' s attention on you it is imperative that you concentrate on him 100% throughout, this will also stop you tensing up. This will also make you more trustworthy in your dog' s mind as you will be the rock steady leader. Ideally you should be able to get your dog' s attention while still on a loose lead as tight leads convey tension.
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This sounds like a good plan because she's extremely greedy. I think I'll try this by herself for a few weeks before she goes out with my mum's dog because it'll be harder to control 2 than 1!
 
Sounds like another dog that needs to learn "Leave". Another who would advise ditching the harness, but if that cannot be done, attach a collar and lead, then a short slack extension from the collar to the harness as a fail safe. A sharp jerk on the lead with a "Leave" command, PLUS walking smartly off in the other direction, should have reasonably quick results. Repeat if the dog shows any inclination to repeat the undesirable behaviour, like looking over it's shoulder or dragging in the direction of the cause of the problem, but praise and caressing when he behaves. But then I'm old fashioned and gave up using methods that don't work a few decades ago. Not all training problems can be solved by diverting the dog's attention with treats!
 
As above...(re dry rot) ...plus try a fishtail collar ,like you would use on an Italian greyhound or whippet,for dogs with slim necks and heads...can't slip out of one of those.

My little schnauzer was very reactive to other dogs,but we used leave it....and walked past swiftly....verbal praise as treat..
Later we graduated to standing within a comfortable distance without barking..
I also used Flooding technique...i.e. busy Italian market and moved through with less and less reactivity.. These days she's pretty well calm(. 14 m ) but I've worked on this every day in various locations.
 
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Bellasophia said:
As above...(re dry rot) ...plus try a fishtail collar ,like you would use on an Italian greyhound or whippet,for dogs with slim necks and heads...can't slip out of one of those.

My little schnauzer was very reactive to other dogs,but we used leave it....and walked past swiftly....verbal praise as treat..
Later we graduated to standing within a comfortable distance without barking..
I also used Flooding technique...i.e. busy Italian market and moved through with less and less reactivity.. These days she's pretty well calm(. 14 m ) but I've worked on this every day in various locations.
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I don't know what one of those collars is but will look into it and try Dry Rot's method, thanks :)
 
NellRosk said:
I don't know what one of those collars is but will look into it and try Dry Rot's method, thanks :)
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I am afraid not all training is accomplished with kindness! It probably sounds nicer if you call it negative reinforcement or something technical.:) The fact is, the dog is getting a buzz out of what it is doing now. Remove the buzz and the problem will probably disappear. You are in charge, not the dog.

Same thing with horses which is why we use metal bits, rope head collars, etc. Just be aware of what you are trying to achieve and don't be vindictive but disapassionate. It is the act that the animal now finds uncomfortable, not you. Immediately the desired effect is achieved, you should then IMMEDIATELY re-establish your amiable relationship with the animal -- so lots of praise, caressing, and kind words when they do the right thing. You can change between inhibiting the undesirable behaviour with a sharp jerk on the lead and a "NO!" or "LEAVE!" to making friends again in a couple of seconds. Dogs respond that quickly.
 
The majority of reactiveness in dogs is fear based, being on the lead takes away flight as an option and can make some dogs very worried.

I would start with rewarding calm behaviour near other dogs, starting at a distance where she does not react - rewarding when she looks at the dog and does not react - good things happen when you see other dogs. I use a harness and a headcollar with a double ended lead for training, the headcollar only comes into play if my lad reacts and then it gives me more control to encourage him away from trouble. Look up BAT and LAT, both methods are very successful.

Making her face it ( flooding) or admonishing for reacting will not solve the problem long term, you need to help her feel less stressed around other dogs on the lead.
 
My advice would be to work on building up the dogs confidence so it feels able to cope better with meeting other dogs ☺️ no five minute fix will work, but hard work will pay off!

With an already reactive dog, avoid any negativity, force and punishment, it will make it worse.

Recommend this:

• Harness and lead with two clips (with front ring as well as back, like Xtra Dog). This balances the dog. A collar will heighten the dogs stress if it's lunging etc.

• Keep as much distance as dog needs as others have said. Praise dog for paying you attention ("look" command). Start by treating the dog for looking, then add the command once it's showing the behaviour.

• If dog becomes upset, more distance is needed. As dog takes more confidence from you, you can reduce the distance.

• Walk individually - be much more successful training your dog on their own

• Set yourself up for success! Avoid walks with narrow passing spots and lots of dog walkers.

Hope that helps! :)
 
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