6 month old reactive puppy - am I being unrealistic?

[toburbornottoburb]

Hi there!

Almost 4 months ago we brought home our first dog - a 4 month old Australian Shepherd.

My partner and I love dogs - our families have had working dogs all our lives (albeit gun breeds - spaniels and not herding breeds) and we have always wanted a dog of our own but didn't have the space nor time to dedicate until recently.

We chose an AS predominantly because my partner wanted one - he wanted a dog which he could take on runs (he was hoping to do canicross) and do agility. I wanted a dog who could transition easily into being a family dog but who would be up for our long walks we do. I love spaniels, but their prey drive can be insane so was quite easily persuaded after we did research and spoke to breeders and AS owners.

We picked her up at 16 weeks due to various reasons and had made arrangements with the breeder to ensure she was getting enough socialisation which wasn't an issue as the breeder was also keeping her littermate and was going through the process anyway.

However, once we got her back we noticed she was incredibly nervous around people and other dogs. Asked the breeder if anything could have happened - answer was no, not that she could think of. Fine. We got right on training and started slow steps to build her confidence using the r+ techniques and seemed to be making some progress.

Then it all started going downhill...it started off by her becoming incredibly reactive to our neighbours (barking and lunging) when we were all out the front and then she started becoming lead reactive to other people and dogs walking down the street (previously this was fine and she ignored them). It then progressed to a point where we couldn't walk her in parks or woods as she couldn't handle seeing other dogs or people out and about.

This behaviour is completely new territory to us as dog owners, so we have been working with a clinical behaviourist to counter condition for the last month. The issue is, we don't seem to be making any progress. I'm trying to trust the process, but finding it harder as time goes on. My partner is far more optimistic but we are butting heads on it quite often.

We provide enrichment to help mitigate the fact she isn't getting as much exercise as she should - free work, trick training and games to mentally stimulate her. Plus we have started renting a field 30 mins away once a week where she can run trigger free and off lead, but this really isn't enough for her and she is constantly looking for something to "do" as we're just not meeting her needs. She is interestingly much better when walking with other dogs and people she knows - my parents' dog, SIL's dog etc. We comment how she might have been fine had she gone to a multi-dog household who already had a mature responsible dog whom she could look up to.

Our eventual hope is that we will be able to have a dog we can take to the pub, away on walking breaks with us and who can meet our friends and family members (in a quiet controlled way) for the next 10-15 years...but now I'm not sure this is realistic. This is stressful for us, but I can't even imagine how stressful it is for her and I'm worried our sub urban environment just isn't suitable.

I guess what I'm looking for is to understand if anyone has been through anything similar...and what was the ultimate outcome?

Apologies for the short novel. Thanks for reading my huge vent!

Nothing new to add to the above other than additionally , HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend starting scent work training in your home . Lots of info online - really easy to do .

This really works to bring them down a level mentally I've found and help generally with decompression - which is what you want .

Lots of sniffy time outdoors with novel scents , novel textures etc .

Kongs / licky mats also beneficial .

I'd also have a full vet check , just to see if there could be anything else going on and get a second opinion from another behaviour ish

Also you can put food in the muzzle and leave it lying around the floor to build positive association with no pressure from you - then also when in use do the spray treat / tube squirt one's into it .

I think you posted on here when your Aussie was small. If so hi!

Ok first trust the process of counter conditioning. It does take time but with a v young dog they absolutely can learn a lot. And it will go backwards some weeks because your dog is young and hormonal and learning all the time.

Two make sure your behaviourist knows a fair bit about herding breeds. Not a given. It's absolutely true at 6m the herding instinct kicks in big time and all kinds of new behaviour problems crop up in pet herders. Car chasing is common - and my dog was a beggar for it! I haven't heard of people reactivity so much abd as others said I would worry less socialisation happened than you wanted - or if the breeder lived rurally occasional visitors to the home are not the same as people walking past a suburban street all the time and your dog finds that stressful. Also aussies are notoriously vocal. If you have one in your life you are going to have to live with some barking.

Reactivity and frustrated greeting are not mutually exclusive. My collie pup lunged at everyone at 6m, but that was definitely frustrated greeting which she grew out of as her impulse control matured. Whereas the car thing we had to work on hard to help her focus on us.

I think suburban settings are hard for herding dogs. They are bred to run for miles in open country. There's a website by a trainer/behaviourist called the urban herder based in Edinburgh who has lots of ideas for how to help your dog handle the urban environment.

Don't lose heart. If I look back from adult dog to our arsehole puppy I am amazed we got here.

@toburbornottoburb just wondering how you got on in the end? Our 3 month old puppy sounds very similar, we are also working with a behaviourist but I’m feeling pessimistic at the moment