[shihtzusandwich]

Well as most of you know I've been trying to tackle Rally's On-leash aggression when we are walking. (For those of you who don't, Rally was attacked by 3 dogs off leash while he was on-leash, and he is now reactive).. We make progress on the days when we can control the situation, but we have had MAJOR setbacks when people are letting their dogs run Off leash..

A few days ago a Boxer was running in her front yard, saw my dogs, and immediately came over to check things out..Well of course this sent Rally into a tizzy, lunging, barking, crying, screaming, etc.. Then yesterday there was a German Shepherd in a front yard, also off leash that ran over to us..Neither dogs were aggressive, but those are the types of situations in which Rally goes NUTSO! So my question is, Are there any tips on how to handle this situation when its going on? I'm working on the training things at the house, but we still have to walk everyday, and it seems that this type of thing is going to happen..

Should I put him on his side? Should I tell him no? Should I block his view? Treat him? Any ideas? Because I'm all out..He's so crazy in that state that NOTHING gets his attention..If you try to walk the other way, then all he does is basically try to break his neck into trying to look at the dog..Should I just pick him up where he has no power? I don't want to quit walking him because its his favorite time of the day, and he is so happy to walk, so I don't feel like not letting him have outside walks is fair, but its such a pain in the a** when people have their dogs off-leash!

 

[Brittany]

Can you redirect by asking him to do something? How have you controlled the situation? Are you working with other dogs?

 

[shihtzusandwich]

I have all 3 of them walking..I can always get Payslee's attention and redirect her, I can sometimes get Sawyer's attention and redirect..I can NEVER get Rally's attention, so its impossible to redirect. Its like he's in a ZONE and nothing else matters but the other dog.

 

[Brittany]

That is EXACTLY how Kimber is except his obsession is balls. Crio suggested I carry a ball around with me to give him on walks when there are other balls around us. That has worked for us. I bet others will have great suggestions for.

 

[fawkese1]

Should I put him on his side? Should I tell him no? Should I block his view? Treat him? Any ideas? Because I'm all out..He's so crazy in that state that NOTHING gets his attention..If you try to walk the other way, then all he does is basically try to break his neck into trying to look at the dog..Should I just pick him up where he has no power? I don't want to quit walking him because its his favorite time of the day, and he is so happy to walk, so I don't feel like not letting him have outside walks is fair, but its such a pain in the a** when people have their dogs off-leash

putting him on his side will only put him in a more vulnerable position when he is already feeling fear... it won't help the situation, blocking his view is a good idea, and walking the other way.... until he is no longer fixating on the other dog is probably the best, then you can try treating him... heavily, with whatever you can get him to take...

 

[Mikey]

As an aside-how come all these dogs are off leash? This isn't an off leash park is it? I think you mentioned your yard?? How are these people not getting fined-or are there no leash laws?

I think the suggestion to distract, redirect and not allow the interaction is good Your buildling up to that day when a dog can run up and he'll be OK-but for now-that's too much for him.

And here's is what Crio told me (my parent's dog mandy is very similar, attacked a few times, however aslo improperly socialized when young-so she is very fearful aggressive and we cannot allow any dogs near her)
Anyways she said when you are correcting or saying no, or leash jerking (when you give a jerk on the leash to get his attention) or basically ANYTHING that's not positive-the dog is connecting it differently then you intend it to be.

So instead of the dog going-"I was growling, mom said no so I should stop" which is what your intending...
But they think-"I'm scared of that dog, and x thing happened when he was here that was bad so now i am more scared/fearful/mad at that dog' (x being saying no, correcting whatever)

And I have to say that's how the majority of corrections are associated I believe-like rubbing a dogs nose in pee if they wee in the house; they don't think they shouldn't do it, they associate the bad thing (correction) with you instead-because that's who's there at the time

So try to avoid it-and if that's not possible-redirect and reward. If he's little-can you scoop him up to get out of the area if a dog is off leash?

 

[shihtzusandwich]

He's about 20 pounds, so I can scoop him up..and yes, I'm guilty of tugging on the leash and hollering..because I feel like a dirtface standing in the middle of the road with a psychotic dog..lol..I'm reading the control Unleashed book and it offers a completely different perspective, but I'm going to have to post that on a diff thread asking for Crios help!! lol..

 

[Criosphynx]

personally I would care less what my dog was doing if an offleash dog charged up to us..lol..forget what hes doing and focus on either getting yourself out of there, or defending yourself and your dogs. Personally I have zero tollerance for such nonscense and am not shy about putting a boot in the loose dogs face if it comes up to us. You can never know what the loose dogs intentions are, and when you own toy dogs, it just takes one bite and shake and your dog is dead. I personally take no chances at all, no matter how friendly it looks friendly changes on a dime.

once your dog has seen you step in and protect him, he may feel less need to protect himself (his outbursts) Stomp, yell, body block, scream, throw rocks, scream at the owner to come get their dog NOW(if they are present) do whatever you have to to make that dog go away, or do whatever you can to get away. I use my body and stomping way before I use sound...sound can som'times escalate it, so try to make it count.

throw training attempts out the window and work on exiting the situation. You can't teach anything in that kind of situation until much much much later

i have the same problem in my neighborhood and I now walk my dogs singly because its to hard to manage multiple dogs when you fending off a 60lb loose dog that may or may not want to eat yours

 

[TashaHope]

Stomp, yell, body block, scream, throw rocks, scream at the owner to come get their dog NOW(if they are present) do whatever you have to to make that dog go away,

On the other hand I'm too nice like that and would not want to cause any behavior problems in another dog. Tasha is really really friendly, but if someone did this to her it'd absolutely kill her. I know that I'd have several weeks of rehabbing ahead. :/ I think just picking him up is enough protection and then get yourself away.

 

[shihtzusandwich]

once your dog has seen you step in and protect him, he may feel less need to protect himself (his outbursts) Stomp, yell, body block, scream, throw rocks, scream at the owner to come get their dog NOW(if they are present) do whatever you have to to make that dog go away, or do whatever you can to get away. I use my body and stomping way before I use sound...sound can som'times escalate it, so try to make it count.

Oh your right about that..and Yes, I've done that many times, and screamed at the owners as well..I guess I should clarify..The Boxer & the German Shepherd that were off leash were being chased by their owners at the time..So I knew the dogs were 'okay' and not going to eat mine..But you are EXACTLY right, with shih-tzu babies, I take NO chances in offensive dogs coming up to mine. I actually have wasp spray that I carry, which is much like Pepper Spray, but it squirts VERY far away. I haven't had to use it thankfully..but I do have it if needed. And yes, if I think the dog is offensive I will scream out "MY DOG IS AGGRESSIVE" (talking about Rally) because I know he is reactive and will jump on whatever dog comes close, nice or not nice..

Its like you said though, when walking 3 of them, its a bit hard to keep the situation under control, because there are so many variables at play. Especially if I'm on Rollerblades!! . But rest assured, that If I sensed a dog was a threat to mine, they would all three be scooped up in a heartbeat and taken out of the situation. The German Shepherd was a puppy, so I cut his owner some slack..and The Boxer has actually escaped before and ended up at my house, with me driving him back to his..So I cut her some slack..But I"m like you, I have ZERO tolerance for stuff like that, especially since My dog-babes have been attacked in the past.

A few years ago (When the dogs attacked Rally & Pandora)..the two dogs came after mine (they had broken the leash of their owner at the time) and when she got them under conrol she said, "I guess I'm just going to have to put them to sleep" and I went on to tell her that it was HER fault that her does were acting that way..We talked for a bit, and she told me she never walks them, never socializes them, and keeps them mainly in the yard all the time. I said, "Please don't put them to sleep..its not their fault, just promise me that you will start walking them and working with them daily, and I promise you will see a change in their behavior".. Attitudes like that make me so sad, because those types honestly believe that they are being good dog parents, which in all truth, they are being lazy owners..

 

[Criosphynx]

On the other hand I'm too nice like that and would not want to cause any behavior problems in another dog. Tasha is really really friendly,but if someone did this to her it'd absolutely kill her. I know that I'd have several weeks of rehabbing ahead. :/ I think just picking him up is enough protection and then get yourself away.

is your dog running loose and running up to people with their dogs?If not don't worry If my large loose dog ran up to som'one i'd be thrilled they yelled at it instead of a possible lawsuit from a fight or them jumping on people.... Many people, even other dog owners are TERRIFIED of large dogs. I have had people run away from my small dogs. Personally I care about my safety and my dogs safety waaay more than som loose dog that probably never leaves its backyard anyway unless it excapes...I think once your dog is attacked a couple times you wont care so much about how the other dog feels

picking the dog up is only going to make the loose dog MORE interested and now your hands aren't free and i guarantee the loose dog is going to JUMP on you now. There was a little girl mauled by a loose dog because she did exactly the same thing...picked up her little dog. Your dog CANNOT defend itself properly in your arms and you can't either with your arms full. Don't pick your dog up unless the loose dog is small enough it can't get to it.

I have picked my dogs up before, but its not a cure all...it really really depends on the size of the other dog and the situation. But more often than not, its a bad idea.

 

[Criosphynx]

cool thanks for the clarification...in that case I guess my point is, that your not going to get any training done at that point so just exit as fast as you can.

I stopped blading as much after Kiwi was attacked and I was too clumsy on the blades to protect her. AC got a call that day.

 

[Mikey]

On the other hand I'm too nice like that and would not want to cause any behavior problems in another dog. Tasha is really really friendly, but if someone did this to her it'd absolutely kill her. I know that I'd have several weeks of rehabbing ahead. :/ I think just picking him up is enough protection and then get yourself away.

I am guessing you have never been approached by an off leash large dog who's body language was not friendly?
I have to disagree with your advice here completely-it's dangerous advice. Like Crio said you have to scare the dog off.

Your advice is fine-if the dog is well known, or is at a dog park where obviously an off leash dog is going to approach and the body language is friendly. BUT not the thing to do at all when an aggressive or unreadable dog is approaching. Make sense?

 

[shihtzusandwich]

Good advice here..I would suggest all of us who walk with dogs who might be in contact with naughty off-leashers to carry the wasp spray..It won't harm the dog, but it will get them to back off, and it shoots a far distance to stop the attack in progress..I didn't know about it till another dog person told me about it, and its a great backup in case we get into a sticky situation..

 

[TashaHope]

Yes I'm not at all saying to put yourself in a dangerous situation (that would be stupid), what I mean is: if you know the dog and it's nice/friendly simply pick up the dog. No point in scarring another dog if it's not dangerous. Sorry if I made you think you shouldn't be careful.