Lead aggression

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planete

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Could I be given ideas on how to deal with lead aggression, please? I am looking after a rescue dog who is lead aggressive and would dearly like to improve his behaviour. So far I have done the "watch me not the other dog" routine with treats as he is very food orientated and it has worked to an extent. He no longer stands on his hind legs yelling but has now started to suddenly lunge and snap silently at any dog which happens to get a bit too close even if they are not looking at him. I try not to get too close to other dogs but it is not always possible. Questions: should I muzzle him (he does not draw blood, quick pinch and out)? Should I tell him off (I did once go 'hah!' and yank him back, might be why he has started giving no warning)?
He has company at home and can play as much as he likes with another dog. He gets walked on a long line for an hour every day and runs free a couple of times a week (not stock broken and very high prey drive, working on it), he gets trained and is very obedient to every day commands including 'down' and 'leave'. He has got over mild SA. I am feeling a bit stumped now. The only thing which niggles at home is the fact that he will take the other dogs toys away from them and none of them will stand up to him, does this make him think he can behave as he likes with all dogs?
 
Very hard to give adivce when easier to demonstrate but half of the issue is in the handling, the way you brace yourself the way you hold your lead and the tension you place on it, the lead and training devices you use i.e half check, halti, collar, chain lead, nylon lead etc, your body language, weather you freeze and strangle him against your leg or try and use your leg to hide him and block his view or dive into the nearest hedge:D or walk on by in a "march" forward stance?.

Will he walk past dogs ok aslong as they pose no threat? or does he make a prancing yowling, scrambling commotion passing every dog?, or is it just when other dogs are in his space he reacts?
 
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Agree with Cayla, a lot of it is to do with us and our body language (unwittingly) but also wanted to say NOOO shared toys!!! This is the cause of so many problems. It would lovely if all dogs ever could sit in a nice room in a nice way and play with all their own toys and awesome if other people's dogs do this, but in reality. You also say he is high prey...so shared toys is a terrible idea. Put him somewhere else.

He has prey drive, use it. I have prey monster. He does NOT get free access to toys, they only come out in training or out on walks, they are very high value because of this, I produce them and I instigate the play, I am not just a ball dispenser who lobs them on the ground, and I take them away.
Us humans can be very boring sometimes - but my dog does not bother with other dogs because when I see them I get the ball out and I engage him with it and he watches it and once the other dog passes we have a game, which is much more exciting.
If he got the same ball all day every day in the house, well, gobbing off at the other dog is more interesting, isn't it?

Also if you are using food, make sure he is hungry and use part or all of his normal food allowance from your pockets. If he knows you are the source of food, not a bowl, and toys, which he gets whenever he feels like it, he will be a lot more focused.
 
Thank you for you replies. I really appreciate you taking the time to try and help me. You have made me think harder about what is going on. I have realised that he only reacts nowadays if off lead dogs are running around (on hind legs yelling if they come close to us). Or if we are walking with other on lead dogs (everybody heading in the same direction) and he can get close enough to them to sneak in a lightning-fast nip. This has only happened once as I am now aware he can do this while seeming perfectly calm so keep my distance.

The only other times he will kick off is if I am not quick enough to spot other dogs and grab his attention before he starts. With on lead dogs we can pass them within eight feet without a reaction if I do everything right. I only use a normal lead and padded harness as he is very fine skinned and his neck had been rubbed nearly raw when I got him.

He is prey mad but not interested in toys away from home. My own dog will do anything to have a ball to chase and it made "leave" and "come" very easy to teach even with extreme distractions. This one will run after a thrown toy but the second it lies on the ground motionless looks for the next moving thing. I can get him to retrieve in the garden three or four times then he loses interest. A moving dot on the horizon will however have him transfixed. I am lucky that treats are really important to him anytime anywhere (I do not think he was fed much in the past).

As to what I do, I must admit it rather freaked me out when it first happened. I now try to always grab his attention so avoiding the need to put physical pressure on him but I am going to watch myself more carefully. Are there any videos or books I ought to look at to try and improve my body language?

About the toys. I had removed all toys until now and they only had a toy when I played with them individually until a few days ago when I put out all the bits of rags and chew ropes (low value toys, no stag bars or squeaky toys). I wanted to see whether with a large number to choose from and always some left over it could work. Better not then. They do not fight but he takes away any toy another dog has picked up.

The only thing that scares me is other dogs off lead running at us full pelt barking and then lungeing at us with me desperately hanging onto an understandably freaked out dog. What tactics would you recommend in this case?
 
Get a ball on a rope and attach it to a lunge line. Use a flirt pole, do something to keep the toy active - make everything INTERESTING - lots of dogs don't care about a dead ball - make it active. Wind him up with it, MAKE him want it. Wind him up, don't let him have it, put it away if he looks bored, make him work for it.
Have a ball on a rope and flick it, whip it away from him etc. Like I say, my young dog now comes to me when he sees another dog because he has made the link = other dog = ball comes out = game.
 
If another dog runs up to us and I think it i will kick off i get the hell out of the situation quickly- I have a reactive dog- although with him it is not aggression and is a whole heap better than it used to be- as in he can see another dog without the yelling screaming pulling general frenzy as long as they are far enough away.

I found teaching a "watch me" and a "Lets go" (trun on hell walk smartly in another direction) really helped. Am now trying to use a toy, but when he has another dog in his sights NOTHING else is as interesting!
 
I am going to try the 'keep the ball moving' thing. I have obviously not been trying hard enough! It was much easier with my own dog who understood quite quickly that not bringing the ball back meant the end of a game he loves.

I agree with putting distance between us and dogs running loose but minding their own business but if loose dogs come running at you and your dog, barking and snarling, is it safe to turn your back on them? When it happened, all my instinct was telling me not to turn our backs and we had a stalemate until the owner finally caught up with her dogs and dragged them away. The dogs had raced straight at me and my two on lead dogs.

I watched my reactions on our walks this morning and deliberately made myself feel upbeat when we saw other dogs coming towards us, got his attention and kept walking briskly and he was very good. This was road work though so all the other dogs were on a lead.
 
Some good tips already.

Just to add, if you have to walk in an area with off lead dogs that approach aggresively consider taking an umbrella with you. You can use it to shield yourself if needed.
 
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