my dog went for another dog at training :(

[Owllady]

And I'm a bit upset and the other owner most my is too
She has been making a beeline for this dog for weeks as it doesn't like her then today whilst we were doing off lead work she went zooming down after it and had a scrap with it, no recall whatsoever. I feel dreadful tbh. She was in a funny mood anyway today
I have visions of her having to be muzzled now
What do I do?
It's always just this one poor dog, never any bloody others

[KayVerinder]

I have 1-1 training with my springer with a lady who does 1-1 or 1-3 max.

The reason for this is that apparently a fair percentage of dogs are anxious and become aggressive in the group training situations which then starts to happen out and about.

I haven't been to group training before so I don't know what it's like but if it's not too expensive, maybe try 1-1?

I'm really sorry about the incident, I bet you feel terrible

[Ephedra]

Owllady this has happened to me a lot with my collie at training. It also happened to a lot of other collie dog owners too. There is no need for your dog to be muzzled.

This is what we did:
We used a long line for any activity that would would be off lead and any dog that I knew my collie would have a issue with were moved out of the way.
Removed my dog out of the way when a dog he hated was doing something.
Kept my collie occupied all the time so he was to busy to bother other dogs.
I watched my collies body language so I could correct/distract him before anything happened.
I kept an eye on the other dogs body language too as just because your dog makes a move you notice doesn't mean that your dog started it.

[Owllady]

I try and distract her as much as I can and I do take her outside if she gets too yelpy.
It's just this one dog
And afterwards I did the rest if the class with her lead on, though I think the trainer thought I should have just kept it off. It was agility so we can't really long line, but we can short one.
I felt like I was going to cry and spent the rest of the class trying not to

Ephedra, is it collies because they are quicker to react? I don't feel my dog is at all aggressive and the other one isn't either but he does like dogs and my dog def makes him anxious :( I don't know whether to ask to swap class. She seems to get really distracted during agility but the trainer said this is part of the learning process and to carry on as we are.

She has given me one exercise to do to keep focus, but what other exercises work well for focus work?

I have taken her a walk and she was as good as gold and seems unintended by it all, it's just me

[Owllady]

Argh, the other dog does not like dogs. This kindle is doing my head in

[Ephedra]

If the other dog doesn't like dogs then it could have been annoying your dog for weeks. Is there somewhere where the other dog could safely wait when its your go? Your trainer needs to make sure that it can't happen again and that you feel safe. If you are not happy with your dog doing agility off lead then don't do it.

My collie has reduced me to tears more than once in training and we have done obedience, agility, clicker training classes, trick training classes and rally obedience.

Collies are a reactive breed. They were bred to spend their days in fields/on farms herding sheep away from people/traffic/other non-pack dogs and they way we keep them now is not how they were meant to be. In saying that its not just collies that cause problems in classes. I have seen tibetan terriers, JRT, tollers, and many other breeds do what your dog did.

The book control unleased by Leslie McDevitt was recomended to me and its good if you can get hold of it. This is a good exercise to do and it works well even if it does seem like doing the wrong thing! (It's from the book)

[Ephedra]

Also, no dog can be expected to like every other dog in the world and two dogs having a scrap is quite a minor thing really (a proper fight is a major issue). Dogs live in the moment, we are the ones that feel guilty/embarrassed/angry/sad/annoyed at our dogs behaviour.

[Owllady]

I will keep a look out for that book (see if I can get it a bit cheaper than on Amazon!) That exercise looks good too :) thanks for talking to me ephedra, I really lack confidence which I don't think helps in this kind of situation and I feel a bit reassured that it's not unusual.

I have had two collies before, both rescues _one much more difficult than the other, but I trained them myself and I think I have completely forgotten what young collies are like! Plus training has changed quite a lot too, it's like learning a new skill. The trainer said my dog was brilliant at the end too but then I just think, well it's me that's awful then! We had such a successful session yesterday too, it does seem like it's just this one dog who is bigger than her, why pick on someone bigger than you?

[Ephedra]

No problem Owllady, if you need any help/advice/whatever feel free to pm me.

How good are you at reading dog body language? I bet you anything that the other dog is doing something. It may not be aimed at your dog and if the other dog is poorly socialised it may not even know it's doing it. I know a dog that is always picked on even when its trying to be friendly but if you look at its body language the front end says be my friend while the back end says I'm aggressive.

How old is your dog?

[Owllady]

She is still under two.
We discussed the issue with my dog/this dog last week, the trainer said he doesn't give off stay away language but obviously when a dog encroaches his space he barks/lunges immediately as a defensive mechanism. Mine will usually be told at this point, obviously today she wasn't and snapped back and they had a scrap. Immediately afterwards she behaved as if nothing had happened.

[Owllady]

I do feel like a big lumbering idiot

[Owllady]

I am not that great at reading dog body language, obviously

[Ephedra]

I don't think you're an idiot, dogs can be hard work and understanding of body language is a life long learning experience. I do ok with it but then I have had a room full of 20 dogs to look after on my own!

Your dog may have just had enough of the other dog. The only thing to watch out for is if your dog decides to preempt the other dog and has a go first. My collie does this all the time.

[Owllady]

Twenty dogs on your own, you are one brave lady :)

I will keep an eye on her, the last thing I want is it to turn into a habit.

[Ephedra]

20 dogs isn't as bad as it sounds given that they are all vetted before they are allowed to attend doggie daycare.

Your dog is still very young, my collie was an evil shit head from 6 months til now about 3 1/2 years old.

[Owllady]

:o

[Owllady]

Ephedra, do you know anyone who has watched the control unleashed dvds? I have been reading up on them and if you can endorse them I think I will treat myself as I am mire of a visual learner for this kind of thing

[Ephedra]

Sorry Owllady I don't know anyone who has seen the dvds. I do have the book, well actually a friend is borrowing the book so I haven't seen it in years as someone else borrowed it before she did!

[Ephedra]

There are a lot of videos on youtube about the exercises in the book so it might be worth looking there first before you spend lots of money on the dvds.

[Owllady]

Ok, I will order the book and then look up on YouTube. I like having a bossy friend :o

[Ephedra]

Oops! I didn't mean to be bossy!

[Owllady]

This book is brilliant ephedra! I am on page 60 (it came this morning :o) and I am seriously impressed. I really like the manner it's written in

[Ephedra]

It is a very good book. One day I will manage to get my copy back!