Barking and lunging

[LivelyMintViper]

We could really use some advice about this. Six year old bichon spaniel lunges and barks at other dogs. And this is getting worse. Originally she would only behave this way if she was very close to another dog but now she reacts in this way even if they are up to 40 feet away from her. She is really not food motivated. Although at home she will happily accept treats like chicken when out she is not interested. We do not know anyone else with a dog and so it's not possible to introduce her slowly over time. All the training we have found depends on rewarding her for not reacting by giving her food treats. But this does not work with her she is not interested in the food she wants to bark and lunge. Does anyone have any suggestions for how we can train her out of this , please?

How long have you had her?
You need help from a qualified force free behaviourist.
I would also have her checked over thoroughly by a vet AND physio.
Dogs become reactive for lots of reasons but pain and fear are the most common.

Have a look at this webpage

reactivedogs.uk

We've had her ,6 years and she has been checked recently by a vet.

She has never been attacked or hurt by another dog

She sounds incredibly stressed and frightened - I think you need to pay for an
accredited behaviourist to come to your home and work with you in person.

This isn't something you're going to solve with treats or advice from strangers sadly - you need to change her whole frame of mind around dogs and that takes a lot of time, patience and expertise.

My dog has started this after a dog attack but I know it's because he's sensing my anxiety. I'm really struggling to walk with him since it happened I'm working with a dog trainer but it's going to take time I was injured quite badly and it's given me nightmares etc. he used to do this after a near miss when he was a puppy I trained him out of it by turning him around away from the other dog every time he did it so he couldn't see it stand in front of him be calm and confident they sense it, it took months. So every time you see a dog you think she will bark and she does. What lead do you have? sometimes a harness helps but any feelings you have go down the lead. Is there anyone else who can try walk her see how she behaves? Go to a dog field we go to a friendly dog park we pay for play dates basically and meet other friendly small breed dogs. It's building his confidence and he has a dog walker one day per week he is great for her.