I've admitted defeat and contacted a behaviourist... Just need to find the money now!

[JulietBravoJuliet]

I have a 6yo collie x bitch whose behaviour has always been a bit unpredictable; she's fine with dogs she knows and likes, but is very reactive with strange dogs, particularly on the lead. She fixates on dogs in the distance, and will just freeze and stare. She's not food motivated in the slightest, so not distractable, and she's very, very dominant with other dogs; wanting to herd them and make them do what she wants all the time! Away from dogs, she's 100%, has great recall and walks to heel all the time. I've tried everything but I cannot pass a dog in the street without her lunging and growling, and it's impossible to avoid dogs, as out of 65 houses on my street, 12 don't have at least one dog!

I also took on a pup a few months ago; a JRT boy who is now 25 weeks. He's a lovely little chap, housetraining is cracked, he's great in the house, but he's as nervous as hell with traffic, noises and other dogs. He barks ND growls at everything, and this sets big dog off. It's a bloody nightmare, and, in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have got the pup, but it's done now and I need to deal with it!

Sent an email to a behaviourist and she's just responded saying it'll be £50 per dog for initial consultation at home, but she feels the pup would benefit from her group classes, whereas big dog will need some work before integrating into classes. It's going to cost me a fortune :(

After a lifetime of owning well behaved, well balanced dogs, I seem to have ended up with two delinquents! What am I doing wrong??? Hopefully this will be a step towards sorting it though!

Is she definitely a properly qualified behaviourist rather than a trainer interested in behaviour? I hate to say it but £50 actually sounds suspiciously cheap!! We were quoted £400 for a home visit and phone follow-up from a cat behaviourist. Have you checked if it's covered by your insurance?

Good luck

Yes I got her details off the APDT website and she's the most local one to me. Didn't think about insurance but I'll check my policy :)

If she was off the APDT website she could well be a decent trainer, but she doesn't have to be a qualified behaviourist. £50.00 does sound very cheap.

I would go via the APBC or CAPBT to find a suitably qualified behaviourist.

It's well worth checking your insurance, as you will need a vet referral to access an APBT or CAPBT behaviourist and if you go through the APBC some insurances will cover a proportion of the costs.

I would not go near the"behaviourist" you have contacted. To suggest a nervous dogs needs to go into a group class without an assessment is wrong just wrong and also unprofessional.

APDT are trainers not behaviourists. All qualified behaviourists will need a vet referral.

PS it is not admitting defeat at all - you are just getting qualified advice for a problem that you have not encountered before - hats off to you - I wished more owners would do this

I don't know if you have tried this (and I know it will be a hassle) but have you tried walking them separately?

With the collie x you could keep her on lead on the road and when she stiffens on seeing another dog immediately go in the other direction to snap her out of it. And then when she is calm (she prob won't eat it if anxious/on high alert) give her a really high reward treat like roast chicken (ordinary treats might not do it, but I bet she would go for something really tasty). And turn back, rinse and repeat until she remains calm.

If the behaviourist is good she/he will be worth their weight in gold :)

I've tried the whole walking the opposite way with her etc but, unless we walk at midnight every night, there's bloody dogs everywhere in this village and it took me 20 minutes to get out the gates without there being a dog going past! She is not food motivated in the slightest; I've tried chicken, raw liver, cheese, bacon, sausages... She's more interested in dogs than anything else in the world! I hoped having the puppy would focus her obsession on him, but she seems to have got worse in every way. There's a group of dogs we meet up with in the mornings which she is great with, but I have to watch her with strange dogs, and she's back on the lead as soon as one I don't know comes into view. Strangely, if we go walking somewhere new, she's nowhere near as obsessed with dogs, but, locally, she is. She's always been an odd mutt

Pup just needs to get a bit more confidence I think. Food does work with him, and we're making some headway with distracting and treating when something goes past that I think will trigger him off growling, or make him scared. I have been walking them separately, which helps pup, but big dog has been walked on her own for the last 6 years and is still a bit loopy!

Hmm that's tricky...

The only other thing I can think of it getting a large jar of pennies/whistle or something noisy to snap her out of it and very quickly while she is looking at you praise her for calming down. She might learn the whistle/jar means calm down??

Hopefully the behaviourist will be able to solve it! Good luck :)

The only other thing I can think of it getting a large jar of pennies/whistle or something noisy to snap her out of it and very quickly while she is looking at you praise her for calming down. She might learn the whistle/jar means calm down??

I certainly wouldn't go down the road of making unpleasant noises to distract her, that's more likely to increase her anxiety around other dogs not reduce it. You want her to learn to associate other dogs with nice things, like praise, attention or her favourite toy. Aversives like rattles and whistles are not the way to go for any success. What you might like to do (although it takes time) is to sit quietly in a park and watch as the dogs go by for a while. You don't want them close, but you want your dog to get used to them without any excitement.

You might find it a good idea to ask on a dog-specific forum in the their Training and Behaviour section. Petforums is a good one with a few good qualified behaviourists who will help.

I would agree with dotdotdot. She needs to start associating other dogs with good things happening not something aversive or scary.

Good advice to perhaps drive somewhere quieter, with less dogs around, work out the threshold at which she will react and then sit just outside that point. If she will take treats when she's under threshold you can then 'treat bomb' her every time a dog comes into view. Basically you keep feeding treat after treat (so you need to cut them up quite small) for the whole time the dog's in view. The idea being that she'll eventually start to see another dog and having made positive associations with their appearance, immediately look to you for her treat.

I have a collie and she sounds exactly the same as yours. I try to avoid other dogs, especially our local dog walker who often has 10+ dogs with her.
If I can't avoid them I clip on her halti and walk quickly past.
I have previously tried putting her in a down which worked ok (she now annoyingly lies down in the middle of the path if she sees another dog!) but this is NOT a good idea if the other dog has no recall and jumps all over her which happened several times before I abandoned that approach!

If she doesn't have a halti on she whirls and spins and jumps and is really difficult to hold. If any dog comes close enough she will snap. Fortunately she is quite obedient and comes back! I have 2 other dogs who don't react at all which makes my life a lot easier as I only have to grab her!
Will be interesting to see what your behavourist says, my collie is just scared and would rather bite first for fear of getting attacked.
Good luck I know how frustrating it is!