Lead aggression

shannonandtay

shannonandtay

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My Kerry blue terrier bitch is now 7 and up until recently has always been friendly with other dogs, she was well socialised as a puppy, she went to our local dog classes up until 3 with no issues. Now my problems started after she was attacked for the second time about a year or so ago ( I don't know if I've just been unlucky). The first time we were walking past a lady who had just let her dog off of the lead and with out warning pounced on my dog and the second time we were walking past a house were the door was open and again without warning a dog come racing out the house and attacked my dog, both times my dog was on the lead an completely taken by surprise also both times by bull mastiffs??? But maybe thats a coincidence.

My issue now is that when we go for our walks any Largish type dog she sees she will bark aggressively and pull on the lead to get to them, this is making our walks really stressful as I find myself hiding behind bushes or cars so she can't see the other dog. I would be really grateful for any advice from anyone whose had a similar problem or you knowledgeable dog people as to how to make a start in stopping this aggressive behaviour. Thank you.
 
I'm no expert but had a very similar problem with my very large lab. Part of the problem became 'me', because of how he was reacting I was worried about if I would be able to hold him so would inevitably tense up making him think there was something to worry about. A friend recommended getting him a halti (I use a Gencon one) to give me a bit more control and confidence in my ability to hold him. It is a god send!! He physically wasn't able to pull or lunge at other dogs while wearing it, instead, with the help of some pieces of cooked sausage, he learnt that not all dogs are bad. I can't say he is perfect yet (sadly we don't meet enough dogs to really over come it!) but he is SO much better than he was.

If I see another dog approaching I will make him sit and get him to focus on me, talking to him all the time and rewarding him with bits of sausage. As he got confident with that I was able to start walking past them instead of making him stop. The biggest test we had was a few weeks ago while out on a walk and two loose dogs came running over (no owner in sight!), one was really barking/growling at us but other than a little grumble mine didn't react at all even though he was obviously very worried! Thankfully the sausages came to my rescue again as I felt the other dogs where blocking our path so I bribed them with a bit of sausage too! They walked with us for a bit and in the end one of them was trying to play with mine :)
 
Thank you for your reply, I definitely think Iam part of the problem as I instantly tense if I see another large dog. I will definitely have a look into the halti as I never thought of that and will definitely start trying the treats as from tomorrow!!
 
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