Dog behaving badly - what can I do?!

[newmumFeb17]

Hi all,
I'm constantly on Mumsnet but rarely post, please be gentle.

This might be long, apologies in advance!

I'm really hoping for some advice in regards to my lovely dog, I know there are a lot of dog lovers and experienced dog owners on here so thought it would be a good place to ask.

DDog - female, 2 years old approx, neutered, cross between collie and husky, previous rescue. We have had her since she was 1.5 years old. She was not socialised as a pup as previous owner was mentally ill and didn't go outside (why she thought it a good idea to get a HUSKY is another thread).

DDog has been to many obedience classes, had 1one1 training and this has been followed up daily by my partner and I. She is walked at least twice a day, around 3-4 miles as a minimum (more at weekends).

The dog's issue is other dogs. She is ok-ish with larger dogs, but medium and smaller sized, she cannot cope with at all. We muzzle her on all walks for everyone's safety, and I always walk her on the streets and try to aim for quiet times. We never go to dog parks as that's just asking for trouble.

However, we inevitably run into other dogs from time to time. If I notice them early enough, I cross the street, but it's not always possible. Today, she lunged at a dog (again) and nearly took my arm off. The trainer has said that they can't help and the only answer is to walk her where there are no dogs around. This is much easier in Winter when we can walk in the dark, but realistically it's not always possible.

I am so sad as we adore her and would love nothing more than to see her exercising in a field as all dogs should be able to.

Might be worth noting I am an experienced dog owner and have had similar breeds in the past but have always been able to work through their issues with time.

Does anyone have any advice, or successful stories of rehabilitating similar dogs, to make me feel a little more positive?! I feel that it's getting to the stage where she is not safe to take outside during daylight at all now!

One more thing, she behaved well at group obedience classes, she is very clever and impeccable in the house. She is ok with dogs once she gets to know them and has a few doggie friends that she can walk with (friend's dogs).

Where are we going wrong?!

Thanks in advance

Im afraid I have no advice but will watch this with interest as I could have pretty much written your post word for word with regards to my rescue labrador who I also suspect was never socialised.

Hi Chirrup

Thanks for your reply, even just knowing that there are people out there with the same issue makes me feel a little better!

I watch those people with their dogs off lead at the local park, all playing together, with envy!

I don't think you are doing anything wrong, sometimes it just isn't possible to rehabilitate fully. I used to have a collie X that I rehomed around 18 months. She obviously hadn't been socialised well. I did a lot of work retraining her, tried various techniques with advice from a leading behaviour counsellor and although I succeeded with some issues such as nervousness around strangers, other dogs were a problem all her life. Partly because other owners were irresponsible and we had numerous off lead dogs going for her, so everytime I made progress, it was ruined by another out of control dog. In the end it comes down to management, keeping her on lead, getting to know quiet time and places to walk. One thing that helped her when we did have to pass other dogs was that she displaced her anxiety by chewing on her lead, so I reinforced her lead so that I could let her chew it without fear of her chewing through. Another thing that helped was diet. I found she was best on Burns chicken and rice. She was noticeable more reactive if I tried her on anything else.

Thanks so much for your reply. I know you're right, I'm holding hope for some non existent cure that doesn't exist!
The off lead dogs with zero recall is a huge problem for us too
At least winter is approaching so we can go back to our night time walks in the park!
Thanks for your advice, I'll look into the food, never thought of that!
She does love a squeaky ball but it's hard to distract her with due to the muzzle, but I'll keep trying.

have you tried the "look at that" (LAT) method? It worked brilliantly for my fearfull dog and has stopped him barking and lunging at other dogs on lead/barking at or trying to chase wildlife/reacting to anything he might previously of such as skateboards bikes etc.

There are lots of resources for teaching this online if you google it.

The end result for me is that whenever we see something that might trigger him, I say "look at that". His immediate response it to look at me and he gets a treat. I repeat it as many time as necessary until he stops looking at the trigger or it has passed.

The CARE Method and BAT are both well worth a look. I've used the former a lot with my reactive boy and he's improved massively. There's also a really good FB group for owners of reactive dogs which it's worth joining, even if just for the comfort of knowing there's lots of owners in just the same position as you.

If you've not already, have a look on this site for secure fields to hire near you. There's more and more popping up all the time and it's a great way to give your dog some guaranteed stress free exercise.

Thanks so much, going to look into all of this now!

I had a very similar dog who could make friends with some dogs but wanted to kill others.

I had success with the CARE method and also attending socialisation classes, the ones where dogs are on lead so I could stand in the corner and allow my dog to get used to dogs around him.

He never improved to the point he didn't react though and sadly I did accept in the end he would never be able to pass dogs safely. I think it's important to be realistic in that she probably will never be any sort of 'normal' around other dogs and it is more management than cure.

Have you joined reactive dogs Facebook group there's some good ideas on there?

Thanks grey, I have requested to join the FB group. I'll look into the CARE method too.

Thank you!