Re: Over excitement/nervousness Had a look at those books Angela. The leash reactive dog looks good. Unfortunately when I thought about it my dogs aren't leash reactive they are just reactive. It doesn't matter whether they are on a lead or not. : I looked at some of the other reactive dog books and was interested to find in one synopsis it said 'Recognize how fear, aggression and excitement are variants of the same root problem'.
Re: Over excitement/nervousness Good thinking, Jen! Glad it seems to be working...so nice to have successes once and awhile....
Re: Over excitement/nervousness It's good to know that there are other lab owners with this problem. My two year old Wispa is unpredictable. Walking on the lead, one day she behaves normally and ignores other people and dogs, the next day everyone she meets is scary. I've tried treats and squeaky toy distractions with little success, but she does seem to respond to being told to 'walk on'. She's a little better off the lead, but still unpredictable. Two vets (one in Scotland, one in England) have said that she's protecting me when she's lunged towards them, barking. She looks aggressive with her hackles up and intimidates non-doggy people, even though she's friendly when she's calmed down and otherwise has a wonderful temperament. Very frustrating!
Re: Over excitement/nervousness [quote author=Granca link=topic=5380.msg68065#msg68065 date=1397456103] It's good to know that there are other lab owners with this problem. My two year old Wispa is unpredictable. Walking on the lead, one day she behaves normally and ignores other people and dogs, the next day everyone she meets is scary. I've tried treats and squeaky toy distractions with little success, but she does seem to respond to being told to 'walk on'. She's a little better off the lead, but still unpredictable. Two vets (one in Scotland, one in England) have said that she's protecting me when she's lunged towards them, barking. She looks aggressive with her hackles up and intimidates non-doggy people, even though she's friendly when she's calmed down and otherwise has a wonderful temperament. Very frustrating! [/quote] Have you checked for colourings and/or additives in her food? Some also say prairie meal can cause hyperactivity 'tho I don't think there is any proof of this. My friend had this problem and that was the cause. (Colourings in his treats)
Re: Over excitement/nervousness Have you checked for colourings and/or additives in her food? Some also say prairie meal can cause hyperactivity 'tho I don't think there is any proof of this. My friend had this problem and that was the cause. (Colourings in his treats) [/quote] Thanks, I hadn't thought of that. She's on Hills, but with puppy treats. I'll check the ingredients.