some show
Well-Known Member
I feel really down about it, I dont feel like I should have to justify everything with my dog being nervous. She's not massively nervous, mostly indifferent, but who would like two huge strange dogs piling on them? I certainly didn't appreciate it for myself regardless of my dog. It's making me dread walks more and more ?
I used to feel a lot like this with Joe as well. Unlike Ivy he was genuinely reactive and also not small-dog-safe, but was always on lead and with a muzzle. I used to let other owners get away with their dogs running up to him when he'd react, saying things like 'oh it's okay, he's nervous' 'he's never seen other breeds of dog before' etc, until it really clicked with me that THEY were to blame, not him. You're doing everything right SP! She'll trust in you to keep her out of harm's way.
I had to do a LOT of positive reinforcement with Joe, following other dogs at a safe distance, taking evasive manoeuvres, and lots of treats for looking/disengaging, and positive interactions. He's not reactive any more, years later (unless he gets bum-rushed or jumped on, which is fair enough) but I still give him treats to this day for good dog interactions, I think it's important to keep these things topped up and also it makes me feel happier on walks/keeps me interesting to him/balances out the bad interactions with stupid people!