Please don't tell me off I was horrified. I think ddog bit a shi tzu on a walk. Or the shi tzu made a huge fuss because ddog barked at him I can't be sure. There was no blood and the dog was white
He may have nipped him rather than bitten.
My show cocker is 5 and the last couple of years has become more hostile to other dogs. We had him from a puppy and went to puppy classes etc. He is fine with other dogs he knows well though
Many dogs at adulthood only really like to socialise with those they know.
Much like us.
If he is off the lead and nose to the ground sniffing and a dog comes up behind him he hates it and barks a lot
Mine would also hate this, if a larger dog or a group she'd likely growl/lip curl.
Recall immediately the second you see that other dog would my advice here.
If other dogs approach him and he can see them it's not always this reaction. Sometimes he lies down and wags his tail and plays
Don't fall into this trap.
With my dog I didn't act anywhere near quick enough because it wasn't every dog at first and people kept telling me crap like 'ah she's just setting boundaries' or 'oh don't worry he needs telling off'.
Pretty soon it became every dog, any breed, any size, any age, at her worst she would get tense at old people in popular dog walking areas with walking sticks (I think she thought at distance the stick was a leash) and the occasional growls off leash turned into air snaps and super tense, confrontational body language on lead at the sight of any other dog at considerable distance away.
Your dog needs time to decompress and relax.
Then he needs keeping away from other dogs otherwise it will get worse and worse.
I'm at the point of considering a muzzle
Two things, first of all muzzles only stop bites.
Dogs can still punch with a muzzle on and on a small dog that can crack ribs.
Secondly, you'll find public perception very different.
I tried one briefly when my dog was at her worst, I was totally unprepared for the level of fear from people.
Plus dogs hate them, they need careful desensitisation training to wear them.
He has always been fine with humans and is very loving. He just isn't sure about other dogs
Mine too.
What can I do?
I have tried pretty much everything.
CARE I do not recommend.
She got worse over time not better.
I don't think she ever actually really connected the food and started feeling happy and anticipatory as expected.
The food was a distraction not a cure imo.
I have tried 'balanced' training/corrections.
Also would not recommend.
I found this eye opening:
theiscp.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Linda-Cooper-Thesis-2a.pdf
For a couple of weeks I didn't walk my dog, nor play any stimulating/exciting games.
She just mooched around bored.
When I did take her for a walk, something amazing happened.
I was tying her up to the gate (school run) when out of nowhere I saw another dog touching noses with my dog.
Someone had a cocker on an extending lead and thought it was a good idea to let them meet (WHY?! My dog sitting tied up to the gate, narrow path, noisy schoolchildren absolutely everywhere, my 5 year old stood right next to my dog 🤦🏻♀️)
She should have gone absolutely ballistic but nothing happened.
Since then I have walked past at heel every loose dog on a path with no incident and when it comes to off leash, I recall her if it looks like another dog is going to approach.
She has so far had one out of control dog race up to her off leash and I wasn't able to recall quick enough.
She did have a raised tail when they met which made me anxious (her body language with other dogs is often very confrontational) but she met this dog very politely, even play bowed and tried to invite chase then got a bit sad and whiny when it decided to ignore her and jump at me instead..
We have also met a dog out of a group of three dogs her size.
I would never normally have let them interact, she is particularly uncomfortable with groups of dogs but I felt unwell and needed to sit down on a bench and these three were approaching on the path.
The other two walked past her while the other one wanted to say hello.
They interacted fine, no problems whatsoever.
I absolutely wouldn't risk letting her freely interact with other dogs, I don't consider her 'cured' but keeping her off walks for a period of time and keeping her away from others appears to have reduced her stress levels to a point where she can cope and interact nicely now with the odd unexpected dog.