Our dog has started to be aggressive to other dogs (when on leash) - help?

[nicenivea]

We live in Dubai and have a two year old saluki (cross with something). She was a rescue, when we got her the vet thought she was about 8 weeks old.

We love her to bits . She is brilliant with our 13mo DS, very gentle and up until recently she has been great with other dogs. Dubai isn't the best place for walking dogs (pretty much nowhere in town where they can go off leash) so to make up for the lack of "play" time with other dogs we have (since about 4mo) taken her to a doggy daycare place where she plays with loads of other mutts for a couple of afternoons each week. She has about 1.5 hours of walks a day and generally spends most of the remainder of her time curled up on the sofa. I think she has a happy life! The daycare staff love her and she only gets good "reports" on her behaviour when at -nursery- daycare.

Alas, just recently she has started to get aggressive towards other dogs when on the leash. I THINK this may have coincided with the weather getting cooler - now we are all comfortable outside we have taken to all going for her walks together (with DS in his pushchair) - when we were in the hot season DH walked her alone. I THINK she is being protective - certainly none of the other dogs she has snarled at have given her reason to...her hackles go up the moment she spots them from afar. She was particularly nasty tonight. It makes me really sad - she's been the perfect dog up until now. What can we do?

Lots of dogs feel threatened when they are on a lead and sometimes when they see other dogs on a lead. It is important to remember and re-enforce that you are the leader of the gang. You might be able to do this with treats or a game, and train your dog that when she sees another dog, it's a game/treat opportunity so there is nothing to fear.
I have been taught a method which works very well for one of our dogs. We took him to a sheepdog trainer. I don't know enough about it to say that it would work for your dog. I think sometimes, training a dog is a bit like riding a horse, and when the animal is not concentrating on you, it helps to have tricks up your sleeve to bring the situation back under your control. Can you teach her to sit, or lie when she sees another dog, and then you can reward her? One of our dogs hated seeing other dogs especially on leads, and we are more-or-less on top of the situation through distraction techniques.

If you try to protect your dog against a percieved threat, you are teaching them that they have something to be afraid of, so you must be bold! You are the one who decides whether you are going into battle or not! Also make sure that you and your dh are reading from the same script. Consistency is very important.

Thank you for responding silent. DH walked her this morning and said she was fine when they passed another dog so I guess the issue really is her feeling protective of DS. I'll defo take some treats next time and start working on distraction, that's a good idea. Thank you.

Are you sure it's not just that you pass on your own nervousness that she is going to be worried by the other dogs down the lead? We have similar issues when my hubbie comes back from a walk with the dog and she doesn't react at all with him, but when I take her out she is a jibbering wreck!

When I had our dog trainer all to myself for one lesson, we did a lot of work on my body language and I was shocked at how much the dog was picking up from me, even when I thought I was exuding confidence!

You can get into a vicious circle when you think 'Oh god here comes a dog, our dog is going to go nuts' and the dog gets messages from you that there is something she needs to be worried about.