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Nervous Old English keeps being attacked on walks

2 replies

Pagwatch · 04/03/2021 10:55

Hi,
any advice.
my girl is 4 and energetic, happy and affectionate.
We lost her brother last year and since then shes been very nervous on walks.
Her brother was always upfront on walks, greeting and playing with other dogs first but maisie was always quick to join in.
Since he died she initially really struggled but has recovered well -slowly but well and she's happy at home, even seeming to enjoy getting all the attention.
my problem is on walks. her natural inclination to let her brother go ahead has turned into real nervousness around other dogs which is being made worse as we now constantly have other dogs quickly becoming aggressive with her.
Is there anything we can do.
It feels as though other dogs sense her nerves and and it triggers them to become snappy and get in her face. We haven't had any serious incidents but its making walks less enjoyable as we are forced to be on alert

any advice?

OP posts:
SirSniffsAlot · 04/03/2021 12:20

I think the main thing I would be doing with her is giving her much more distance from other dogs than it sounds like she is getting.

Like, 50m or more worth of distance. Whatever it takes so that she doesn't show signs of being worried about them.

That will give her experiences of seeing other dogs in a way that she doesn't have to worry about - because you're not going to allow them to come close enough to worry her and she'll never be grumbled at. So she'll relax when she sees them. In time you may then be able to reduce that distance down but go slow and at her pace.

I'd want her to really, really trust that the other dog is not going to get up in her face - so would do whatever I needed to do to ensure that - cross roads, u-turns, dive off path, walk in areas that allow me to get out of another dog's way easily etc.

Every now and again you'll get one that still comes up to her but if you keep a beady eye out and are firm with the other owner to recall them, this will happen less often.

Every now and again you'll also be forced to walk near another dog, just because you happen to have made a dash down a narrow path (for exmaple) and find yourself trapped between two walkers. You will learn how to avoid these scenerios, but if you have to then move her past quickly and brightly - no need for hellos that last more than a second or two. Straight passed and on with your walk. Damage limitation Grin

There is then work you can do with treats to try and partner the good of the treat with seeing another dog (e.g. see another dog, get a treat) so that, in time, the sight of another dog suggests a treat is coming and so the sight starts to become welcome because of the treat.

But I would focus first on distance and expect progress to be slow and a bit '2 steps forward, 1 step back' but there. The key is to give her the space and safety to feel more relaxed when she sees another dog.

Pagwatch · 04/03/2021 18:25

Thank you so much for that.
We try and give her space but the place we walk her is quite popular so we get dogs off lead coming at her from quite far away - maybe we’ll try and make sure we avoid busy times.
The idea of treats as a support when she’s near other dogs is a good idea - will try that too.

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