Rally is my 11 year old lhasa, who weighs 18 pounds, and he 'used' to be a friendly dog..I used that word because about 3 years ago while walking Pandora (my shih-tzu) and Rally in our neighborhood an off leash dog attacked them. Thankfully they were not hurt that time. The SAME dog was off leash again 3 or 4 months later and attacked them again. This time Pandora had to get stitches for a small bite. (Oh and yes, I reported the owner, and made her pay the vet bill)..Then about 6 months later, while walking in a different part of town, two dogs broke their leashes and came after Pandora & Rally. Again, no one was hurt, but the effects of this have been long-lasting. Rally has MAJOR on-leash aggression, and also aggression towards other 'anxious, excited' dogs. So anytime he see's them now, he immediately goes into attack mode. Even if he is off-leash and we are at a dog park, if another dog is anxious, or too playful, he will immediately go for them. He's okay with 'mellow' dogs..
I understand that he is scared, I understand that he is traumatized, but he is taking all the joy out of walking my dogs. I now have Payslee & Sawyer, two, year old shih-tzus, and I DO NOT want them to pick up on his behavior and start acting the way he does. If we see another dog on the walk (friendly or not) before we even get close to it, he is howling, lunging, barking, whining, crying, etc.. This of course gets the babies anxious as well, and Sawyer starts fixating on the dog too. I can usually get Payslee's attention with a 'look at me' cue, and a treat, but not Sawyer and NOT NOT Rally.
They are all 3 on Harnesses with a walky walkr, so they cannot pull..But I've tried taking him the other direction, removing him from the scene, treats to distract him, stepping on his leash and making him wait, exercising him to the point of his tongue hanging out and him being tired but..NOTHING works with him. NOTHING, and its to the point now that I don't even want to take him for a walk anymore. I feel like the little ones are still young enough that I can train that out of them, but I just am at a loss with Rally. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.
I understand that he is scared, I understand that he is traumatized, but he is taking all the joy out of walking my dogs. I now have Payslee & Sawyer, two, year old shih-tzus, and I DO NOT want them to pick up on his behavior and start acting the way he does. If we see another dog on the walk (friendly or not) before we even get close to it, he is howling, lunging, barking, whining, crying, etc.. This of course gets the babies anxious as well, and Sawyer starts fixating on the dog too. I can usually get Payslee's attention with a 'look at me' cue, and a treat, but not Sawyer and NOT NOT Rally.
They are all 3 on Harnesses with a walky walkr, so they cannot pull..But I've tried taking him the other direction, removing him from the scene, treats to distract him, stepping on his leash and making him wait, exercising him to the point of his tongue hanging out and him being tired but..NOTHING works with him. NOTHING, and its to the point now that I don't even want to take him for a walk anymore. I feel like the little ones are still young enough that I can train that out of them, but I just am at a loss with Rally. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.