Cockapoo - horrible to other dogs

[leopardprintpants]

I have a 2 y/o cockapoo who is the softest little thing UNTIL she sees another dog.

She will bark and try and get to them. She once got out and was snapping at the faces of two old greyhounds being walked in my street.

She snaps at other dogs and barks to try and get to them.

But is perfectly lovely to adults and children.

I of course, can't say to someone bring your dog round so I can see if it bites it. So I have kept her away from all dogs and not sure if this has made it worse 😳

I don't know if she wants at them to play but I can't run the risk of her attacking them.

She was good with another dog at the groomer who's appointment times crossed. Think she may be because it isn't "her" territory.

Please offer me some advice.

She might either be fear reactive of dogs, dog aggressive, or a 'frustrated greeter' ie she really wants to meet & play but can't as she's on a lead & doesn't know what to do anyway, lacking in appropriate social skills.
Get advice from a recommended trainer 2-on-1 who can teach you more connection & control, or behaviourist who can help you understand what's going on in her head.

Thankyou I will look at a behaviourist.

She seems like a horrible dog to other dog owners but She's really, really not.

You may have a friend with a placid fog with very calm energy who might be willing to go on a very socially distanced on lead walk? If you can get her to walk nicely to heel, focused on you & being obedient whilst the other dog is around you might be able to establish her trigger distance, ie how close another dog can get before she goes off. Then gradually with calm & focused on lead walks you can reduce that trigger distance till she tolerates/ignores other nearby dogs.

Lots of dogs treat humans & dogs very differently so she might be very much a people dog, but be horrible to other dogs.
It's truly individual - an experienced behaviourist can help you understand her language & know what to do to modify her behaviour. Good luck, it will give her a happier life too

@Ihaventgottimeforthis

You may have a friend with a placid fog with very calm energy who might be willing to go on a very socially distanced on lead walk? If you can get her to walk nicely to heel, focused on you & being obedient whilst the other dog is around you might be able to establish her trigger distance, ie how close another dog can get before she goes off. Then gradually with calm & focused on lead walks you can reduce that trigger distance till she tolerates/ignores other nearby dogs.

I will have a think about this Thankyou

@Ihaventgottimeforthis

Lots of dogs treat humans & dogs very differently so she might be very much a people dog, but be horrible to other dogs. It's truly individual - an experienced behaviourist can help you understand her language & know what to do to modify her behaviour. Good luck, it will give her a happier life too

I think she is a people dog, this makes sense

I have exactly the same problem with my cockapoo too. It's no longer enjoyable taking him on walks as I am constantly scanning the horizon for other dogs. I now walk him on the lead. My friend has a labradoodle who is exactly the same. Perfectly fine with humans but hates other dogs.

As another poster said, she's either a frustrated greeter ( is she fine off lead?) or , more likely, a fear reactive girl.

Mine is one too. You can improve it massively (she may not ever be a 'love all dogs' girl.. and that's fine.. do you love everyone you meet.? but you can help her not to NEED to react so that other dogs are just 'meh'!

Have a read here :
careforreactivedogs.com/

Also join RDUK on fb.. huge source of info and support!

AND find an accredited positive behaviourist. NOT one of those 'I can fix your dog in 20 minutes' that you can find on Youtube who invariably use a slip lead and 'corrections' but a real force free behaviourist. It's expensive but worth it because they will help assess your dog to see exactly what her 'safe' distance is from other dogs (where she absolutely isn't bothered..it will be further away than you think) and show you how to use CARE principles accurately. It's a slow fix, but it changes how your dog FEELS as well as behaves.

Mine has improved so much from 'GRRRR GET AWAY!' to mostly 'meh' and sometimes 'Hi can I sniff you?' :)

Keeping her away is the RIGHT thing to do for now.. making her face her fears (and thereby snapping etc) will only reinforce that behaviour, so walking her quiet places..as dog free as possible helps keep her cortisol levels down. And it's ok to not walk your dog.. if she's had a bad day and encountered lots, give her a day off.. entertain at home.

Sorry that's a long post, but having a reactive , and wonderful dog myself I am passionate about positive behaviour support.. it WORKS and actually you end up with an incredible bond with your dog once you learn their language and work with them. And it makes walks ..initially difficult because you are looking for triggers, watching your dog for tiny signs of stress (yawning, licking lips, staring... over threshold and definiely anxious) and then as y/ou get better at avoiding, spotting the signs, coupling scary things with high value treats... you start to win.. your dog relaxes..and it improves slowly but surely.

Have a read, find a trainer .

Also 'Your end of the Lead' (Amazon) is a fantastic book which helps a LOT!

We have a frustrated greeter who has to be on lead most of the time due to terrible recall (we adopted him at 9 years old and you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks.)

He will bark, strain and often howl if other dogs are in the vicinity. We treat for good behaviour, do lots of 'eyes on me' type commands and, where appropriate ask owners whether he can say hello to their dogs. He is only allowed to do so when we use the 'say hello' command and is rewarded for calm behaviour. He's not remotely aggressive once he is up close and becomes a calm waggy boy.

I second the pp advice to get a force free trainer. We didn't get one specifically for our current boy but I've worked with one before and am adopting a lot of the same principles.

You need to get some professional advice from someone who can see the behaviour in person, as what you describe could be caused by all sorts of things.

• she could be a frustrated greeter
• she could be lead reactive
• she could be scared
• she could be aggressive
• she could just be poorly socialised due to COVID and the lockdowns.

But all of those issues need treating in different ways so it's really important that you get to the bottom of the reasons behind her behaviour in case you accidentally make things worse

Your vet should be able to recommend a behaviourist or you could look on APDT to find someone in your area - good luck!

The dog is dog aggressive, it happens

You need to muzzle it in public and try your best not to put the dog in stressful situations

I had a DA Staffordshire bull terrier , I walked her in quiet areas and with a muzzle on and it was fine

I thought our dog hated other dogs too, but it now turns out that he doesn't- he just really really really wants to get their attention so they play with him in a "frustrated greeter" way. Yours sounds very similar to ours

What is she like off lead ? Our dog is reactive with dogs bigger than himself when he’s on his lead but off lead he’s perfectly ok with everyone ( except husky types) , he will never be a dog that runs and plays with others but he sniffs politely and moves on .

Our little white fluffball (Maltese cross) is also not very nice to other dogs. He is almost always on a leash, but he barks his silly head off when he sees another dog.

I can make him stop by having him sit and talking quietly to him.

With humans he is absolutely lovely. He loves children, and basically thinks we are all in this world to love and fuss him.

He is very possessive of me which might be part of it. A friend's dog jumped up onto my lap and he took one look and lept up on my lap too growling and snarling. I made him get down and ignored him for a while.

I guess my lap belongs to him.

I understand he was attacked by a big dog as a pup so it might be fear. We have another small dog in our building who is black. He hates our dog and has gone for him before. The owner says her dog hates white dogs. I think mine now hates black dogs.

They are complicated little creatures.