To think that 'reactive' dog owners should stop kidding themselves?

[realpeopledontlikebites]

Their dogs are simply aggressive. If you've been doing everything within your power and finances to make your dog happy and it still goes for people and other animals, whilst you diminish your whole world to accommodate it..... bearing in mind most dogs WANT to please their owners and live without conflict ..... then it's time to do right thing and remove the dog from the possibility of harming anyone.

Stop kidding youself. Stop putting children and vulnerable people in danger. Stop pretending there is any other solution , because there isn't . Visit your local vet and discuss the only humane sensible thing to do.

I've been there. I've blamed others for walking too fast. For looking at my dog. For breathing anywhere near him . He was wired wrong and he was a danger and we did everything we could and we made all the excuses.

He bit people and when he tried to lunge at my baby grandson I knew we had to take him to the vet and end his life humanely.

I wish we'd done it sooner and I am so fearful of other dogs when I see them the same as my dog was. I know how dangerous they are. I Know their body language.

If you're soothing your dog constantly to stop them attacking people or you have to walk in the dark or hire a field, you own a dangerous dog and it is a liability . PLEASE do the right thing before your dog kills someone.

A lot that around these days. Unfortunately, it detracts from the good owners who now seem to be the minority.

Sounds like you failed on so many levels and the loser was the poor dog. Shame on you.

You can get aggressive behaviour as a result of fear/ reactivity, however, and it can be just as dangerous. It's all "fight or flight" response.

Your dog's behaviour is pretty common and sounds mild.

Some dogs can be soothed or trained out of the reactivity, and some can't. I think the keyboard warriors often go too far in trying to rehabilitate chronically miserable, reactive dogs.

@LandSharksAnonymous I'm so happy to hear your mum's dog found such a loving owner. He deserves a wonderful life after all he's been through. Bloody humans can be vile.

We usually take on the hard to rehome reactive rescue dogs, but we don't have children. If friend's children/family visit (not often) our RD (we've only had her 6 months so is still decompressing from being in the rescue) is put in a different room or muzzled. It's not a big deal, the kid's parents have taught them to be respectful of other people's houses and not go in rooms without asking. We can also meet outside our house, so for us it's not really limiting. I'm not sure why you'd put an unmuzzled RD in the same room as a baby.

This is the reason a lot of rescues won't rehome when there are kids in the house. Lots of dogs are or become in some way reactive (especially lead reactive on walks). If owners don't manage this correctly (and yes, 'soothing' and distracting on walks when you encounter triggers is part of it) it can develop into a bigger problem. All the dogs I've worked with have become less reactive over time as they've come to trust and learnt not to stare at other dogs on walks. Personally I don't find muzzling my dog, walking her at quieter times of the day and crossing the road when we see other dogs particularly onerous, but appreciate others may find it limiting.

I can see why owning a 'problem' dog isn't usually compatible with having a young family, but there are people without kids who are happy to work with these dogs and help them overcome their issues. The rescues I've rehomed from have always said to return the dog to them if the issues are too difficult to manage rather than PTS, so presumably their track records of rehabilitating reactive dogs is generally reasonably good.

We take on dogs that are tricky to rehome (for all sorts of reasons) too. None of them have deserved to die because they had previously been let down by disgusting humans.

I’ve learned that MN is not the place to go for sensible advice or discussions on dogs.

This is usually to warn people not to allow other dogs to approach, but a responsible dog owner wouldn’t allow an off lead dog to approach an on lead dog anyway . The ones that get annoyed usually are the ones who have no control to stop their dogs .

If you've got a dog that has got to the point that it is aggressive towards people it should be PTS, regardless of it's size or background Whether you label that 'reactive' or 'aggressive' or 'anxious' doesn't really matter. If it goes for people, it goes.

I think it's clear from the OP's use of quotation marks that she's talking about dangerous dogs and not a dog that barks...super work from everyone ignoring the quotes and asking why the OP wants their delightful family dog who once barked at a butterfly destroyed.

I also think it's a very selfish point of view from the owner. It's all about them and their feelings.

A dog which is stressed/anxious, or so highly strung that it freaks out regularly is not a happy animal. It is not enjoying life doing doggy things like chasing balls or sniffing stuff.

So for whose benefit is keeping it alive and unhappy?

This is the most sensible post I’ve seen here in a long time. Thank you

This.

Keep away jackets, but no muzzle. Muzzle the dog if he goes for other dogs/people.

TBH I loathe owners who use ball throwing in public places to exercise their dogs. It drives mine crazy and it's more likely to lead to conflict over high value toys. Also, I know so many dogs with arthritis and other issues due to repetitive ball chasing. Just walk your dog like a normal person.

If your dog is driven crazy by the perfectly normal action of other dog owners throwing a ball leading it to create 'conflict' then your dog needs the behaviour management everyone here is keen to promote.

It's not on other people to stop throwing a ball for their dog because your dog is reactive.

I think it shows how emotionally dependent some owners are on their dogs that they are being kept alive even when they are too reactive to enjoy a dog lifestyle.

Reactive and aggressive dogs are very different, but the feeling when they bite you is exactly the same.

I have a 40kg bull lurcher. He’s not remotely aggressive but he has a very limited idea of personal space. He goes on a lead well before he gets the chance to approach another dog because an awful lot of dogs would, understandably “react” when he comes looming into their space!

I think it's clear from the OP's use of quotation marks that she's talking about dangerous dogs and not a dog that barks...super work from everyone ignoring the quotes and asking why the OP wants their delightful family dog who once barked at a butterfly destroyed.

Any reactive dog can become aggressive if it's given the opportunity and any dog can become a reactive dog. Even if a dog has been raised well from a pup, is still an animal and capable of being unpredictable. My friend's dog randomly bit a Police man once as it had gone off chasing a rabbit and the officer decided to help catch the dog. He didn't demand the dog be PTS and that was the one and only time in the dog's life she bit someone.

My dog has bit me and my DH in my home in the early days of living with us, but will never be given the chance to bite anyone as she is muzzled in public and we keep our distance from people. She still enjoys life, plays, is affectionate, she's a happy dog that lacks confidence. She's clearly been hit by a man at some stage early in her life and it will take time for her to fully trust people.

We took on a rescue who was due to be put down because of his reactivity. The lady fostering him couldn't keep hold of him any longer due to being overcrowded but assured us he was a fantastic dog with a fabulous temperament, he just needed work, love and attention.

Reactivity in his (and a lot of other dogs) case was growling, being scared / protective / intimidated and / or barking if other dogs came close. He had / has never bitten or attacked anyone. People saying that reactive dogs are aggressive are completely incorrect.

Since we got him, we have worked hard on training him, on desensitising him and exposed him (slowly) to other dogs in different environments. Gradually we saw - and felt - him get calmer and more relaxed to the point where he would barely notice another dog coming towards him.

We now have two other dogs and they absolutely adore each other 😊We send them out with a dog walker twice a walk whilst we're working and they go to a dog sitter when we go on holiday. He is around other dogs every single day now and we have not had one problem with him.

If it wasn't for us then he would be dead. So I for one will always advocate for reactive dogs because they deserve a chance too.

@NuffSaidSam I can manage my dog's behaviour absolutely fine, thanks very much. He's a rescue with a host of breed-specific behaviours that require specific handling but he's an absolute lamb. I see other dogs squabbling over toys every single week here. I think it's tone deaf to turn up at a busy public place and over-stimulate your dog with chasing games.

It is limiting. But you're wrong in saying that they are aggressive. Reactive dogs are nervous / scared. They react because they are in fear. Most reactive dogs I know have never bitten anyone or attacked another dog or person.

In my eyes it's no different to having a difficult toddler / small child who is screaming and tantruming in public. Yes it can be hugely embarrassing and limiting (and sometimes makes you not want to go out in public!) but if you are a good parent / dog owner then you will work to correct the behaviour and it will pay off massively in the long run.

So if a person is stressed or anxious and can't enjoy life as other people can they should be killed too?

One of our dogs started barking randomly in the night a few months ago. DH went down to quiet him down / check everything was ok. The next morning we went outside and our car had been stolen.

If your dog doesn't normally bark or growl, pay attention when they do as they're usually trying to warn you about something.

It's literally the only way they can communicate vocally.

I have a reactive dog (and 2 non-reactive, too) and she will become aggressive if she feels cornered or threatened. She was put out in the street, along with the other two, by a friend of our "dog sitter" while they partied in my house, and then the friend took her home with him and tried to keep her. Personally, I think she's entirely warranted not to trust people that she doesn't know!

She will be remaining a much loved and valuable part of our family, and we keep working with her and she is continually improving.

Depends what you mean by 'pussy foot' I don't expect anyone to 'pussy foot' around, I do expect people to control their own dogs though and not expect my dog to put up with poor behaviour from their dog without correction.
My dog reacts to other dogs pissing her off because they have their mind blown by the sight of another dog and get too overexcited and behave poorly, leaping all over her, knocking her to the ground, racing around her barking and snapping in her face.
Some people fully expect any other dog faced with that to just accept it because they can't be arsed to interact with, train and fulfill the dog they chose to get so it goes in search of it from other people and dogs, but is so overwhelmed that it inevitably goes wrong sometimes.

She'll quite happily mooch around with and in the vicinity of other dogs without issue, but increasingly she's seemingly expected to take any type of behaviour from another dog because the owner screeches "Friendly!" and is then seen as the problem when she won't put up with being bounced all over, barked at, snapped at, chased, knocked around, her ball pinched etc with the owner twittering "He just wants to play!" Or worse "It'll teach him a lesson!".
No, me and my dog aren't there to entertain or teach someone else's dog anything, and if your dog hurts or harasses my dog then she'll tell it and that doesn't make her "reactive" or aggressive, it means she's a dog.

A dog isn't a person.