I seem to be spending a lot of time coming here with problems - sorry! This is what I don't understand: I took Chepi for a little walk in the local park this evening. This is where I took her when I was wearing my broken ankle boot and limping along. She saw an old dog that was on lead being walked by an old man. She had seen this dog when I was in the boot. On both occasions she has suddenly got her tail up and her hackles and fired several warning shots (barking) in the direction of the man and dog. They aren't very close, about 100 feet away and not walking towards us, just walking across our path. Chepi didn't get any closer than about 60 feet to them. I didn't know how to deal with it other than I didn't want the man or dog to be frightened so I didn't shout at her but called her loudly and firmly, not telling her off. She could hear me and almost ran backwards so as not to lose sight of the foe. She came back but it took a few calls. I didn't tell her off when she came back but tried to use a normal and neutral tone of voice. I popped her on the lead but she was still a bit wound up. Was it connected to my broken ankle? How should I have dealt with it? Poor man!
I would of called her back as you did and get her to concentrate on you and reward every time she looks at you. She could be saying 'stay away' to them or Hackles up could also mean she wants to play!
I think you definitely did the right thing. I tend to carry high value rewards. This is one of the times I would have used them.
Puzzling one! It sounds like Chepi was aroused by either the man..or the dog on leash or a combination of both. The good thing is that Chepi was able to recall back...well eventually, but she did . I think I would be looking very carefully at how she "meets and greets", what is her body language saying? Does she look comfortable? Or slightly tense. I watch mine, well Casper, like a hawk because he is reactive,particularly when he sees other dogs on a leash. I have had to become a bit of an expert in picking up those little nuances in his behaviour that give me a clue about how he is feeling about a particular situation. Maybe restricting her access to other dogs, say maybe allowing 1 in 4 "hellos". To help Chepi understand that she doesn't need to greet every dog she meets. I say this because also that Chepi is very much an adolescent, so her behaviours are evolving, and this might be what you are seeing., and that is normal. (I have been at Yoof club with Benson today...and the subject of "meet and greet" was a hot topic! ) if you are a bit concerned finding a good group class designed for adolescent dogs and that focus on controlled safe interactions with other young dogs and distractions might be useful?
She will say hello to lots of dogs or ignore them quite happily too. She's been fine with other dogs on leads and mixes a lot at day care. She's never the bossy one. As a youngster she would crouch down and be submissive then happily play. She has never stood over another dog. Her tail wags all of the time. I suspect she was protecting me and something triggered it about the dog or the man or the place. It was at the same spot a couple of months ago when a Saturday football coach appeared suddenly from behind the bushes with an enormous net of footballs which startled her and she barked at that. Luckily the coach was fine about her then coming to say hello. Anyway, I guess I need to have a strategy
What was different about the scenario compared to scenarios where she is ok? Was it particularly quiet and this man and his dog were the only thing moving for example? If you can put your finger on what it is that she is reacting to, then you can work on it. But if you can't, it's very difficult really.
It's the only dog she has reacted to in this way. It's a red setter, looks old and sedate. Maybe there's one at day care that picked on her. I have decided to avoid the little park to avoid further grief. It was dusk, maybe dogs can't see as well at dusk and she was surprised. We had been on our own until they arrived, so yes it was quiet.
Dusk can be a confusing time ... And my Poppy was also quite reactive to anyone who had anything a little different about them, so maybe it was a combo of not seeing clearly, an old man and dog with a different gait (which might seem threatening) and even being protective about you. As others have said, keep rewarding her for walking calmly by you past any strangers, eventually she will work out there is nothing to be afraid of.
I think isolated dogs (and/or people) can really catch a dog's attention in a way that just wouldn't happen if there were more going on. Charlie does this - I can keep his attention on me in a busy place better than in a very quiet place with one dog moving, even if at a distance. It's like he gets a bit "fixated" on the one thing of interest. Strange, but it is definitely a "thing". If you think it's that, then it's easy to do some set ups...
