A bit of a lengthy ready, but it's from a professional, has videos, and links to more resources

From Crazy To Calm: A Training Plan For Leash Reactivity

Welcome back for today’s follow-up discussion on treating leash reactivity! If you didn’t get a chance to read last week’s post on this topic, you can find it here. Today, I will be breaking down …

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Have you tried looking out the window or sitting in a parking lot with both? So you can train with a bit of a buffer zone?

 

Hmmmmm, I never thought about lease reaction as both dogs are friendly when walked separately. My dog has his moments. There are two dogs I can think of that he doesn't like. They are not socialized or react first. Today's behavior normally happens when they are together. Today it happened as we walked out the door and dog was coming around the bend in front of our place. I thought maybe they were spooked as they hadn't seen him coming.

I will look at the video.

Thank you for the response.
Robin, Buddy and Suzi

 

There are a variety of specific reasons your dog may act aggressive to other canines while you're out on a walk. The most common reasons include your dog being defensive and/or scared, as well as being protective of its territory or owner. Dogs that are not well socialized may also have poor communication skills

 

My dog is socialized. The dogs he doesn't like are NOT socialized. This only happens when he's walking with the 20 lb Cocker Poodle.
The dog he reacted to was a puppy. He's met the puppy before but walked away. The puppy is way too hyper for him. When you walk out of my apartment you cannot see who's coming up the sidewalk. I think some of it could have been they were caught off guard. Not sure...

Color me confused. R

 

My dog is socialized. The dogs he doesn't like are NOT socialized. This only happens when he's walking with the 20 lb Cocker Poodle.
The dog he reacted to was a puppy. He's met the puppy before but walked away. The puppy is way too hyper for him. When you walk out of my apartment you cannot see who's coming up the sidewalk. I think some of it could have been they were caught off guard. Not sure...

Color me confused. R

2 dogs become a pack. They are strengthened when they are together. They are not viewing you as the leader so they take initiative, fuel by fear . Most aggression is born out of fear even if it doesn't look like it. It doesn't mean they are scardy cats, it's just a primal behavior to drive off new comers. Not real tough to get rid of. Most trainers in your area can help you with this.

 

Ahhhhh, okay makes sense. Neither of them have leash aggression while walking them separately.
My niece is a dog trainer, however she lives in another state. Maybe I could get pointers from her.
Thanks,
Robin, Buddy the Bambino, and Ruby Sue the Cockapoo!

 

2 dogs do not make a true pack.

But dynamics do change things. For example, your boy might be thinking he needs to protect the smaller girl and then she thinks she needs to back him up. I've seen a pair of sisters where this was happening. If I remember right, the owners each handled one dog and did the same steps you'd do of you were working one on one, each starting farther away and then coming back together slowly. And while I only have the one, she is best friends with the dog next door--who is an active alert barker. Mine is not. But what does happen is that when friend sounds the alarm, mine will hurry over, ready to back her up. She is often not sure what exactly friend is alerting about since she doesn't have the same criteria of potential threat, but she is ready to help "defend." This particular scenario has nothing to do with either dog being afraid, related, being a pack, or how they view the neighbor or I as "leaders." It does have to do with their dynamics, individuality, their socialization history, and neighbor and I being a different species.

 

2 dogs do not make a true pack.

But dynamics do change things. For example, your boy might be thinking he needs to protect the smaller girl and then she thinks she needs to back him up. I've seen a pair of sisters where this was happening. If I remember right, the owners each handled one dog and did the same steps you'd do of you were working one on one, each starting farther away and then coming back together slowly. And while I only have the one, she is best friends with the dog next door--who is an active alert barker. Mine is not. But what does happen is that when friend sounds the alarm, mine will hurry over, ready to back her up. She is often not sure what exactly friend is alerting about since she doesn't have the same criteria of potential threat, but she is ready to help "defend." This particular scenario has nothing to do with either dog being afraid, related, being a pack, or how they view the neighbor or I as "leaders." It does have to do with their dynamics, individuality, their socialization history, and neighbor and I being a different species.

2 dogs and a handler sure do. You can't compare dogs to people. Their behavior is not the same. Homonids and canines have different standards. If your dog see's your neighbors dog as a friend it also's see's it as a pack member. Dogs normally don't take well to outside pack members. Fear is what causes other dogs to lash out. It has nothing to do with looking afraid. I totally disagree with your assessment

 

This article is a good read - Dog Behavior and Training - Dominance, Alpha, and Pack Leadership - What Does It Really Mean? | VCA Animal Hospital (vcahospitals.com)


'Decades of observation by wildlife biologists of free-ranging wolf packs have revealed startling insight into the lives of these majestic canids. For instance, seasoned leaders of wolf packs actually survey from near the back of the pack when traveling, rather than taking the lead position. Also, in times of scarcity, the leaders allow the young to eat first, rather than feeding themselves first. Wolf behavior experts, such as L. David Mech, have dedicated their lives to observing wolves in their natural state. Some interesting observations include: There is an absence of reports of wolves seeking high positions over the pack, there are no signs of a leader rousting a subordinate from a desired resting place, and an alpha wolf rarely initiates pinning (a dominance behavior). These experts who study wolf behavior describe the role of the wolf leaders as parents— guiding, teaching, and caring for their pack members. When the wolf offspring mature, they do not compete to overthrow the pack leader; instead, they leave the pack, find a mate, and start a family of their own. A parent-family model better describes wolf-wolf relationships than a competitive hierarchy model.'

 

This article is a good read - Dog Behavior and Training - Dominance, Alpha, and Pack Leadership - What Does It Really Mean? | VCA Animal Hospital (vcahospitals.com)


'Decades of observation by wildlife biologists of free-ranging wolf packs have revealed startling insight into the lives of these majestic canids. For instance, seasoned leaders of wolf packs actually survey from near the back of the pack when traveling, rather than taking the lead position. Also, in times of scarcity, the leaders allow the young to eat first, rather than feeding themselves first. Wolf behavior experts, such as L. David Mech, have dedicated their lives to observing wolves in their natural state. Some interesting observations include: There is an absence of reports of wolves seeking high positions over the pack, there are no signs of a leader rousting a subordinate from a desired resting place, and an alpha wolf rarely initiates pinning (a dominance behavior). These experts who study wolf behavior describe the role of the wolf leaders as parents— guiding, teaching, and caring for their pack members. When the wolf offspring mature, they do not compete to overthrow the pack leader; instead, they leave the pack, find a mate, and start a family of their own. A parent-family model better describes wolf-wolf relationships than a competitive hierarchy model.'

Every scientist"analizes data differently because of variables.You see this in the global warming arena. We can measure the temperatures but we don't know why the increase because temperatures have been rising and falling long before man was around. I agree with some of this and understand why some of it is someones interpretation about pack dynamic

 

This mostly happens when he's walking with another dog he loves. I take care of my friend's dog. My dog is a 55 lb Shep-Blue Heeler mix, She's a little 20 lb Cocker-doodle. When they come upon a dog they don't know they often go crazy. Crazy = growling, pulling, lunging, barking. Today I got caught off guard and got pulled in to a wall trying to control them. 75 lbs = 150 lbs of pulling on my 98 lb body. (OUCH) Walking them separately is fine. Put them together and they go nuts. It's only with dogs they don't know. I'm at a loss. Help please.

Robin
Buddy and Ruby - K9s

When dogs are performing unwanted behaviors, particularly behaviors that put themselves and their guardians or others at risk of injury then it is time to re-evaluate what we are doing, and take steps to prevent the unwanted (and risky) behavior from occurring. In this case, 'why' the dogs are doing this, (though I suspect it is anxiety/stress related and they are 'feeding' off of each other) is pretty much irrelevant- the reality is that walking them together puts all involved at risk of (physical or emotional) harm.

Keep in mind, when dogs practice a behavior, whether it is appropriate (from our perspective) or not, it is rewarding to them, the more engrained that behavior becomes and the more likely they are to repeat it in the future. Far safer to avoid putting them in an avoidable situation where they are known to react than to keep walking them together, allowing them to practice 'going off ', and hope nothing goes seriously wrong.

 

When dogs are performing unwanted behaviors, particularly behaviors that put themselves and their guardians or others at risk of injury then it is time to re-evaluate what we are doing, and take steps to prevent the unwanted (and risky) behavior from occurring. In this case, 'why' the dogs are doing this, (though I suspect it is anxiety/stress related and they are 'feeding' off of each other) is pretty much irrelevant- the reality is that walking them together puts all involved at risk of (physical or emotional) harm.

Keep in mind, when dogs practice a behavior, whether it is appropriate (from our perspective) or not, it is rewarding to them, the more engrained that behavior becomes and the more likely they are to repeat it in the future. Far safer to avoid putting them in an avoidable situation where they are known to react than to keep walking them together, allowing them to practice 'going off ', and hope nothing goes seriously wrong.

I live in an apartment complex. We often walk by other dogs. Some they know some they don't know. Once again they are fine walking separately. Went together they can go off.

 

Alright,.since it sounds like you only have one pair of hands, I'd actually start at the window. I'd work on Look At That training for the girl, but, in the moment before your boy gets wound up--reward the quiet. So it'll look something like this: Girl rushes over to bark and boy looks up. You toss a treat at boy before he gets wound up and mark/verbal reward. Girl likely gets distracted by this, you snag the moment and switch to LAT with her. Doing this inside helps build a foundation.

Sounds like you might have a balcony? When you and crew are ready for the next step, step out onto the balcony and repeat the procedure. Then in the car or in a parking lot--distance is you friend. Then the hallway. By doing this, you are generalizing, practicing good behavior, and building foundations. But also setting yourself up for growth.

Simultaneously,.I'd start charging an interrupter. It can be any odd noise, like pspsp for cats--the point is to attract attention. I'd build by making the noise whenever I'd feed them/place their bowls and randomly paired with a treat. The goal at first is to build an association and tension that tuning into this noise=good things, worthy of attention. Once that's been established, for example if the dogs are lounging in a room away from you, you make the noise and they come the minute they hear it, you're ready to incorporate it.

This would look something like: you're on a walk, see dog in the distance. Your dogs are looking but not barking, lunging, etc.; you make the noise, they look at you, you treat and change direction or practice basic manners. When they look back, the other dog is usually gone by then. And, oh lookie! Not barking and lunging can also make the other dog go away!

By while you are laying foundations, I'd recommend walking them separately like @CachetheBC says so they are not practicing the behavior and setting your progress back.

 

This mostly happens when he's walking with another dog he loves. I take care of my friend's dog. My dog is a 55 lb Shep-Blue Heeler mix, She's a little 20 lb Cocker-doodle. When they come upon a dog they don't know they often go crazy. Crazy = growling, pulling, lunging, barking. Today I got caught off guard and got pulled in to a wall trying to control them. 75 lbs = 150 lbs of pulling on my 98 lb body. (OUCH) Walking them separately is fine. Put them together and they go nuts. It's only with dogs they don't know. I'm at a loss. Help please.

Robin
Buddy and Ruby - K9s