Hi all, I think i made a thread on this a few months back about Kodi barking at other dogs on walks. He had stopped doing this until a few weeks back. Now he is in fully blown mental mode on a lead when he sees another dog. Barking, jumping, growling and whining. I used to give him treats if he remained quiet the last time this happened which worked. But recently even if I shoved a hotdog right in his face he just ignores it and continues to act like a demon. He's fine off-lead and fine once he's greeted the other dog but if we're approaching another dog I already know he's going to cause a scene. I don't know if he's a frustrated greeter or just feels nervous on lead making him go mental. He's giving off the wrong impression to people and it's getting quite embarrassing. Please tell me there's a cure. Thanks.
Hi Dave, I'm not very experienced but here are my thoughts. You say you used to give Kodi treats for not barking at other dogs which worked, so it could mean you are not getting the treats to him before he gets too close and goes over threshold when he sees a dog and won't take treats. Have you considered clicker training him for every bit of attention on you? Quite a few people on the forum do this including myself with my rescue dog Charlie, every single time he looks at me he gets a C&T this has helped enormously with his focus. There is also a thread on the forum about BAT (Behavioural Adjustment Training) which we also use with great success. Sorry I don't how to link it but it's very worthwhile reading. You might have to go back to basics working at a good distance from other dogs C&T for quiet and very gradually moving closer. You could practise at the park or if you have friends with dogs that would be willing to assist you with this which will help Kodi. He could just be excited to see other dogs but also you say you know he's going to cause a scene so your anxiety will travel down the lead and tell Kodi somethings up so he reacts. It's difficult I know, but try to walk calmly with Kodi on a loose lead. I hope this helps even a little bit but someone else will be along to give you some better advise. xx
Hi Dave, I'm not very experienced but I would do as @charlie has advised or turn in the opposite direction if it was possible to gain distance then once Kodi can focus back onto you, c&t and keep this up as you turn back facing the distraction. See if he can keep his focus on you whilst asking him to sit, c&t if he can, move further away if he can't. Also work on your own thoughts and try to stay calm and relaxed. If you already know he is going to react you need to catch him before he does and c&t or use 'good boy' or whatever to gain his attention.
Leslie McDevitt's "Control Unleashed" book might help too. Oban desperately wants to bark back at the big black dog that charges the fence and barks at us but if I get working the Look at That (Who'z at dog is what I say) then he prances by, focused on me.
Good advice already given by @charlie and @Newbie Lab Owner so nothing to add. Good luck with the training
Hi there, I had to do a lot of work with my dog when he went through a really grim lead reactive stage,the 'cure' was training,training and training.I used a clicker and treats to reward looking at the other dog and I also trained a 'look at me ' cue.....this is useful for when we are walking past other reactive dogs..Dexter hates being stared at,he can't manage himself so If a dog is going crazy at him or staring I can get him to break the staring contest by looking at me. I also trained 'touch' where Dexter touches his nose to my fist....this gives him a 'job' to do if I sense him getting a bit 'skippy' about another dog.If your dog is quite food focussed but won't take food from you ,he is over his threshold and you need to work on gauging the distance he can cope with ....you are too close if he won't take food. My dog will always be lead reactive but most of the time you would never know as the training we have done helps me manage his reactions. I set up some 121's with a Trainer to practice walking by other dogs as i found it difficult to find opportunities myself ,I also attended a Reactive Rover class ( which was comforting and VERY disturbing st the same time seeing what some other poor owners are going through) is there anything similar you could try?
Is the "look at that" beneficial for a lead reactive dog? I thought "look at me" would be more useful for focussing on the owner and off the trigger?
When Juno was 'Overly keen' to meet other dogs our behaviourist work with us on finding her threshold distance and then moving a step, sitting and then c&t for any look away from the other dog, any look at me and introduced a hand touch to bring focus away from the other dog. We quickly moved on and just treated her for looking at me when passing another dog.
That's exactly what it does do. It starts out with allowing the dog to look at what it is reacting to, acknowledging to the dog that you see it but you reward when the dog focuses back on you. Below is from: http://www.controlunleashed.net/book.html How to turn stress to confidence and distraction to focus using methods that are 110% positive.Leslie McDevitt's versatile Control Unleashed® program is designed to help "dogs with issues" learn how to relax, focus, and work off-leash reliably in either stimulating or stressful situations. Whether you're training a challenging dog on your own, an instructor trying to figure out how to help dogs in your classes, or an instructor who wants to design a special program just for stressed out dogs, this book is for you. Who needs Control Unleashed®? Dogs that are uncomfortable or unable to work off lead around other dogs Dog that are easily distracted and have difficulty concentrating Dogs that are reactive or easily aroused Dogs that are anxious or stressed and shut down Dog that are unable to control their impulses when excited This training program can change your dog's life! "Control Unleashed®" received the following awards from the International Institute for Applied Animal Behavior: Best Dog Training Book of 2007 Best Dog Sport Book of 2007 Runner up, Best Dog Behavior Book for Owners of 2007
I haven't fully read about BAT as yet but from its title I'd say it may be. The click can break the focus on the trigger to bring the dog to focus on you for the treat. This then can help build up the look at you when the trigger appears.
I haven't got round to reading the Grisha Stewart book yet, or Leslie McDevitt come to that, but my general understanding is that you are either helping the dog to look at the object that causes a behaviour and then back to you or to look away from the object and focus elsewhere/on you. Either way it all sounds like a way to work with a dog for behaviour adjustment/management/change
Thanks everyone, I tried using the 'look at me' today. I'm finding it difficult to find out his threshold. First dog was across the street and look at me worked. But then the 2nd which was almost a dot as it was so far away and Kodi decided to go crazy. 3rd was same distance as the 1st and he looked at me for about a second, before I could even click he decided he'd rather bark. Am I supposed to make him look at me while we're moving or do I make him stay in one place and look? This is so confusing to me. That reactive rovers class would definitely help but the only class I can find is in reading 5 hours away. Longest kodi's been in a car is a 20 min drive to the beach. I'm going to persevere with look at me and see what happens. If not maybe "he'll just grow out of it" like people on my street keep telling me ha!
I used to get Juno into a sit and if I couldn't get enough distance would stand partly in front of her to obscure her view. As soon as she looked away from the other dog, even fractionally, I clicked and treated - you do need go make sure you have some high value treats to keep their attention. I didn't ask for a look at me, just C&T'd when she looked away from the dog and from there would ask for a hand touch which again was treated. If you're struggling to find out Kodi's threshold distance could you perhaps go to a park and sit down with him for a while and when ne sees a dog work on the look away/look at me C&T to practice? Yep, that's going go happen , perhaps in your dreams
I too have a boisterious reactive dog. They don't grow out of it. We teach them to remain calm(ish) Molly is now 2 years and eight months old. I have taught her the 'with me', this means you walk by my side (loose leash) and pay attention to me. This has involved LOTS of repetition and lots of C&T. Stationary, I use 'at me', where she has to look into my eyes until I release her. Both work tolerably well, much is to do with the distance of the other dog. We are able to control ourself nearer to other dogs than in the past. There are some we can even walk past. It is all down to dogged (couldn't resist the pun) determination on the part of the owner. It doesn't seem like you are getting anywhere but one day you will realise that the nut job on the end of the leash is no longer an embarrassment.
Hi Dave, Before I give you the help I can with lead reactivity , you might need help from a professional to help you understand exactly what is going on ..... [QUOTE="Dave201, post: 225364, member: 3228] Am I supposed to make him look at me while we're moving or do I make him stay in one place and look? This is so confusing to me. [/QUOTE] It will take a while for you to get it on a walk.....you need to start off really small.I started off with a bowl of treats and a clicker sitting on the sofa and did about 3 sessions a day of clicking and treating for Dexter looking at me. I always had a few treats about my person so I could reward any attention on me if an opportunity came up during the day.I made sure Dexter was looking at me before he was 'allowed' to do anything ...this was an epiphany to me as it made me realise how slack I was in actually looking at HIM when I was giving him an instruction.So,as well as sitting to wait for the door to open he had to look at me before he went outside,if we were getting in or out the car he had to look at me beforenhe was released or told to get in.Before long you realise you are concentrating on each other a lot more. When we got out on walks I really upped my treats ( sardines) and we just used to go and sit on the park bench and practice there .....there's more going on in the park so I had to point to me eye sometimes to get his attention on my face...... At the time when we were at our worst Dexter wasn't able to sit and let a strange dog go by him.....at any distance .....If I stopped and sat him up,he would peer round me and start his heavy breathing : roll eyes: we coped better by keeping moving ,that was why I used 'touch' he had something else to think about ......oh I also used to have a rabbit skin dummy about my person for if we had a 'situation' like the very starey ,reactive Malinois we meet. The dummy can send him into a trance and is all he can think about .....it's a bribe rather than training if I'm honest but it got me past trouble! I Do you have any friends that could help out that have friendly dogs? That's what I paid to do at the 121's I had....I didn't have anyone that had time to just walk up and down for me ...... Getting that practice was pivotal for us....it helped me as much as Dexter, it helped me understand his comfortable distances ( I sympathise with you because this can be very fluid depending on several,factors,the space,the dog,past experiences .....) Once I got confidence ,everything got much better.....I was starting to feel really anxious about it and that was translating to Dexter. Also,if you are struggling judging the distance that Kodi is comfortable with ,training an about turn could help you.....that way you just set off in the other direction to the dog that is bothering him.... Get practising your 'look at me' in low distraction areas like the house and garden and quickly it will start helping you out on a walk... Hope this helps out a bit,sorry I'm learning 'on the job' with my first dog!
