Nervous dog jacket - any good?

[fairgame84]

I've got a rescue dog who came home 3 weeks ago. He is petrified of other dogs and if he sees another dog when are out walking he goes into his 'dead dog mode' - lays flat on the floor and will not move until other dog is far enough away. He sometimes does this if there is a scent that he doesn't like as well.
I always keep him on the lead but obviously other dogs are off lead and come running up to us which I totally understand. The problem is that some people won't call their dog back because their dog is friendly, even if I've shouted over to them that my dog is scared of other dogs.
I want to keep taking ddog out and he needs to get used to other dogs but it needs to be more controlled than random friendly dogs running up to him.
Would something like this help? Has anybody used one with success?

I had a nervous collar and lead for mine and it didn't make much difference.

What did make a difference is being much more forceful. You need to protect your dog from the rude ones (and they are rude not friendly- a friendly dog wouldn't push into a dogs space who is obviously uncomfortable)

Stand in between the offending dog and yours and instruct it to go away while shouting to the owner that yours will bite/is contagious. I promise you it will work much better and will allow you to start increasing your dogs confidence. Once your dog realises you will protect him from others he will come out of his shell

Sorry I sound harsh but I speak from experience, people don't really listen to nice!

Thanks I will put on my assertive pants!
I've tried to be polite and clearly it isn't always worķing. People seem to get very offended if they think you're suggesting that their dog isn't friendly. Some owners are lovely and very understanding but others just don't get how petrified ddog is. I took him for a walk up the street today and he dead dogged as we were crossing the road. I'm sat there in the middle of the road trying to get ddog to move (he's 28kg!) and the other dog owner is stood there telling me how nice his dogs are. I had to tell him 3 times to move away before he sauntered off!
I will have unleash my feisty streak.

I'm really shy to be honest but my dog got so distressed he started to snap and my trainer told me to get more assertive and it did work.

I used to shout something along the lines of sorry my dog is aggressive to dogs (or my dog is savage whichever came first ) which usually made people move quickly and once they had them I always made sure I thanked them profusely so next time I saw them they knew.

A muzzle really works to get rid of people too but I understand nobody wants to muzzle their dog if they don't bite!

If your anywhere in the north east I have a nervous set that would probably fit you would be welcome too

I'm in South Yorks but thankyou for the offer

I got a tabard for myself which reads 'space please'. High vis.

It was less than £10. Amazon.

I had a bandana and harness says he anxious or whatever but people just lean in for a close look. Also people genuinely can't read stuff at a distance.

A tabard on you though? Eye height and unmissable. Job done.

Hi Op, I'd really recommend joining Reactive Dogs UK on facebook. I've learned so much from them since my German Shepherd became reactive to other dogs after being attacked on six different occasions. At the moment it sounds like yours is shutting down when he sees other dogs. Can you exercise him out in a field (with his yellow lead/bandana/jacket) on a long line for now? Pavement walks are usually too stressful as close encounters are likely and he won't have the space he needs at the moment. I've found shouting "NO!" at any charging dogs usually stops them or at least alerts the owner we don't appreciate their dogs up close and personal.

Thanks I'll have a look at the group.
He refuses to go onto fields at the moment and prefers streets. He was a Romanian stray so is used to pottering about on pavements. We are having small successes since the weekend. I've started standing him back up when he flops down and he will then carry on walking. If another dog approaches I get between them and stroke the other dog and then allow it to meet ddog. This worked really well yesterday as ddog then started happily following the other dog. If ddog decides he doesn't want to go the same direction as me then i stop dead and ignore him until he gives in and decides to go my way.
It took ages to walk a short distance using these methods yesterday but he was better today so hopefully I'm on the right track with him.