I'v always had to do this, else I'd be pulled over. Not sure whether it's the best idea, but it certainly helps me manage the situation. Shamas is learning quickly, you're doing great work with him.
If you do this you are teaching Shama that only good things happen when he walks calmly past dogs, he gets great treats therefore reducing reactivity towards other dogs. I do this even with Hattie who is 100% NON reactive towards everything, it's just good practise. Also with my rescue boy Charlie who can be reactive with some dogs, it has helped a lot. Do you use a clicker? We do with Charlie as this is a powerful tool for him which he responds better too, so to use LAT (look at that), dog oncoming = click, he looks at me = treat x
I did get a clicker, but my timing is horrible. It's medication thing- I have delayed motor reaction time. But I can react pretty quickly when I use vocal cues, so I gave the clicker to a person I know who has a dog-aggressive Shephard, and I use the horse-click and verbal praise with Shamas. My issues are minor compared to Chance, who is literally on his last chance before rehoming if she can't make the clicker training work, because thye live on a corner lot..... The last time we spoke, he had had some success, and she was ecstatic! I showed her how to use the clicker and treats to teach him "look at me" when she sees a dog.
