Success stories of dog reactive dog anyone?

[caninecalamity]

I've posted before under another name but my dog is getting worse.
Ever since another dog went for him (ironically a rescue who is reactive because she was attacked) , he's become fearful of a couple of breeds (Husky, rough collies, german shepherd/ Alsatians). He's better off lead than on but it's escalating now to barking/ lunging snarling and snapping of dogs approach him.
We've been to friends this Christmas and their small dog minding its own business can for a cuddle and he snarled and snapped at it like a warning.
I'm resigning myself to no off lead walks/ quiet walks where I keep him away from other dogs and dog fields/ no longer visiting friends with dogs, but I feel so sad. It's making me wonder if they can ever be helped get past this fear aggression (if that's what it is- I'm also taking to vet to get checked out )
For context we've visited here before and there are two more dogs here. One he's been ok with and one (known for 3 years ) he was initially playing with then started growling at. I love him to bits (he's 2.5 by the way and neutered at 9 months advised by vet ) and want him to be happy and able to run free but every walk is traumatic right now. Thank you if you read this far.
I should also say he's had puppy training, all reward based and I'm not into anything that attempts to dominate him.

So my girl is reactive because of numerous attacks by 'friendly' little off lead dogs. Because she is big and powerful people find it funny.
I've spent 8 months working on walking past and reward and the ignore and reward, she just spent 2 days with my mums dog and ignored all his bad behaviour and did brilliantly, we had 2 incidents but both I stopped and redirected her firmly to me and rewarded her. May not sound like much but it's a huge step forward for her. My advice is keep training and they will get there.

Did you follow any particular programme ? I think ignoring other dogs full stop might be the way forward as he loves a ball chase/ sniff

It is hard, as when you have a reactive dog you do tend to grieve the dog you thought you were getting. Then owners want to "cure" their dog and sometimes have unrealistic expectations.

I am an introvert no amount of training will make me an extrovert - it is the way I am. However I have learnt to enjoy social events etc but I am still an introvert.

Your dog will feel the same way. he may learn to cope with some situations but some will just be too hard for him. However life gets much easier for you and him if you are able to see what he can deal with, what he can handle and have other plans for situations he finds hard.

Just by only putting him in situations he can deal with makes a huge difference to dogs, they relax and become less hypervigilant and over time you will see that their tolerance levels grow.

if he continues to encounter situations he finds hard then his vigilance will get higher and his tolerance shorter. So you can not "cure" him by making him face his fears - this will just increase his fears.

Without sounding patronising try to enjoy what he can do, find areas he likes walking, mayeb secure fields, or explore quieter walks, get a good dog sitter who will look after him if you want to socialise with other people with dogs. Work on giving him a chilled 2023 and you will have a happier dog who may then be able to be less fearful. He may never be totally happy with other dogs but if he and you can work out a good balance anyway ironically you will find it more likely.

Yes we found she was happier ignoring other dogs all together rather than sitting or not reacting whilst around them, ball chasing is excellent. My girl has a high prey driv aka squirrel response so can't be of lead but enjoys playing find it with treats/toys so will ignore completely until the other dog is too close, at which point my job is to remove us or the other dog. And it's not that she isn't a friendly dog, she has learnt to be selective, so if the other dog has no manners or boundaries she selective thinks they and therefore the owners are morons.

My dog is becoming more reactive so I’ve started a two pronged approach to try to help her.

1). Avoiding too many dogs for a little while, to try to reduce her exposure and reduce the adrenalin rush. I do this by giving a wide berth to other dogs or making a u turn if necessary.
2) working on “pairing”, whereby when we do see other dogs I attract her attention and keep feeding her treats. The aim of this is to “pair” the good thing with the scary thing and gradually reduce her fear.

This is all done on lead, though I try to let her off lead in places where I have very clear vision so can recall if any other dog appears on the horizon.

I’ve only recently started this, as we’d been having a very good phase, but she is definitely giving me more of her attention for the treats when other dogs are around and is thus reacting less. I’m not sure she’ll ever be totally relaxed and I think she’ll always be reactive when we meet another reactive dog but I’m optimistic currently.

Best of luck.

We had a good walk yesterday where I kept him on lead the whole time if another dog was present even if not close and he had a wee run around in the woods which were deserted.
Today he lunged and snapped/ snarled at a lab puppy. It was awfully upsetting and unprovoked. DH was holding him and I had gone to stroke the pup who'd approached me tail wagging / keen to greet us. He didn't make any contact or get too close to pup as DH held him back but was not nice.
A later walk saw hi lunge towards a spaniel but we talked him back to focus on us. Then he walked immediately behind a "poo" cross of some sort/ no reaction / wagging tails. Maybe he just senses something in some dogs and is fearful? I've been looking at "nervous " leads/ coats but not sure if it'll help. We'll see. But I'm so grateful to read all of this and quite prepared to do early / late/ quiet/ distanced walks. Weirdly he's fine with his dog walking gang (goes once a a week ) and on the videos he is so happy.
I do indeed feel I'm Grieving for the dog I had before the other dog went for him. He's changed only since then and was so so friendly to people and other dogs before then. Sigh. It's hard work. But then he comes and plonks himself on my lap with a happy sigh and I love him even more

Have you thought about contacting a trainer/behaviourist for help? My dbro is one and has had success with dogs that are reactive following attack by other dogs and with rescue dogs with trauma. Have a look for an IMDT registered trainer to be sure you are getting sound advice but it might be worth a try

Join ReactiveDogsUK on facebook... honestly it's a sanity saver... huge amounts of professional force free advice, and a very supportive community.
And they will point you in the direction of a recommended force free behaviourist in your post code :)

Also have a look here:
careforreactivedogs.com/start-here/ Have a good read.. this is basically the approach you need (and it's a bit more in depth than see a scary dog, pair with treat, because distance and timing is crucial)

And... don't despair! My girl is 3.5 years old now. At 1, after a bad experience she became very very reactive to pretty much all dogs (inc her previous puppy friend), any men in black, anyone coming to the house... there was a long list, which grew every day. I was so upset that my previously happy girl seemed terrified of everything.

Several things helped: RDUK, CARE protocol, and time and space... lot of opportunity to NOT need to react: so we did long country walks, we handled visitors carefully and practiced having people knock at the door.

Now she's not perfect... there are a few breeds she reacts to(huskies, Italian Spinones and most spaniels!) but she is 90% better than she was even a year ago... she has matured and she has learned to trust me, do a swift turn and take a treat while retreating if we see a dog I know she might react to...and the rest she manages to pass or ever say hello to!

Like yours, mine is fine with her dog walker's gang.. (even a husky.. she has great play chases with him) because she knows them, so they are predictable.

I really thought mine would be uber reactive forever, but now she's just a bit of an asshole at times, which is a huge improvement.

Good luck :)

@StillMedusa thank you so much! I've had a read and will join that group You've given me hope