Posted by Jo
on September 8, 2009, 2:58 pm, in reply to "Re: How can I help my nervous dog around other dogs?"
Hi Phoebe
Please be assured you are not failing her at all - the fact that you are pursuing ways to help her shows you aren't failing. Firstly these things really take time and be prepared for that. Keep following your instincts as they sound spot on to me - putting a muzzle on her and letting them sort it out, will do nothing to build her confidence or yours. I would take her out of the classes if you feel they aren't right for her too.
Her reactions to other dogs are stress induced and you need to find ways to reduce this stress. I have a dog that was super reactive to other dogs when I first rescued him and eventually I decided to remove him from all other contact with other dogs for awhile - this did lots of things but mainly gave me a chance to relax and not worry about him reacting with another dog, and also gave him a chance to enjoy walks without the stress of another dog turning up. It also meant we had time to bond and develop a relationship and practice our recall and walking away commands.
I then started walking in places or at times when there would be a few dogs around, but I always kept a suitable distance from them so he could observe but not feel threatened - this distance may be different for your dog than it was for mine, so to start with, make it a really big one! Reward non reactive behaviour with ball work/praise.
As you gain more confidence you can decrease this distance but continue practising a recall and a "this way" - this command just asks my dogs to follow me, not come back to me and I would just change direction to the other dog and create a safe distance for us. Again use your ball work and praise.
Also remember that is not natural for dogs to approach each other head on, in fact it is very confrontational - so when you see another dog curve around it in a big circle - this is a natural body language for dogs and helps them relax in each others company......this could be a big curve in a field or crossing the road if you are on the lead. It also shows your dog you are in charge of the situation and will help her gain confidence in you. "Calming Signals" by Turid Rugaas will help in all this.
Remember it is really early days - it took me a year of a lot of reactive behaviour from Monty to get him sociable, but it is so worth it. Shouting "no" will only increase her stress as will any other method that forces her to change.
Go with your instincts, and please don't let anyone make you feel wrong for doing that.
Hope this helps
Jo
--Previous Message--
: Hi Imogen
: Thank you for your kind reply. The reason
: that I feel I am failing my girl is that
: recently, when I approached a trainer for
: advice, it was implied that I was
: responsible for my girl's aggressive
: behaviour towards other dogs. Also, we've
: received so much conficting advice, much of
: which my instinct is telling me is wrong
: e.g. putting a muzzle on her and letting the
: dogs just sort it out. We've gone for a slow
: and steady approach, by working on building
: trust. The main problem is that we don't
: know how to help our girl when another dog
: gets too close and she responds by lunging
: and barking. We had been told to correct her
: by saying a firm No, but that's had little
: or no effect as she becomes completely
: locked on. Instead, we've been ignoring her
: when she does this but praising and fussing
: her if she ignores another dog and by
: keeping her moving. She's also extremely
: dependent on toys for security, which we had
: no idea about until she became family. She's
: extremely intelligent and doesn't seem
: bothered about the classes. She doesn't
: appear worried as the owners have been told
: not to let their dogs get too close.
: However, I do think she is bored in class.
: We think she would love to have a job like
: flyball. We are more than willing to do
: whatever it takes for however long it takes
: to help our girl, but we really don't know
: if we are helping her in the most
: appropriate way. Kind regards. Phoebe
:
: --Previous Message--
:
: Hi Phoebe,
: Firstly, well done you for rescuing your
: girl, and recognising her potential. We
: don't know what has happened to her before,
: and she's only been with you for 6 weeks, so
: the first thing I would do is re-read your
: post and see how you are beating yourself
: up! How can she have confidence in you if
: you feel like this? It is very early days.
: Take it more slowly. Does she enjoy the
: classes, or is she frightened of the other
: dogs? If so, stop participating, take the
: pressure off, and go along just to watch
: from a safe place where she won't feel
: cornered. If she enjoys participating,
: praise her for all the positives, and ignore
: all negative behaviour.
: Actually, the fact that she 'broke off' when
: you resorted to shouting is an indication
: that she respects you - dogs don't usually
: even hear when they've lunged at another-
: ok, it would be better not to shout, but she
: responded -LOTS of praise for that - GOOD
: dog!!
: Tell us more - she sounds lovely, and there
: is no way you are 'letting her down'.
: Imogen
:
:
:
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