Rescue Saluki lurcher suddenly reactive to dogs on walks, really struggling. Help!

[Changeychangeit]

Looking for a bit of advice! We adopted a Saluki lurcher from a rescue. Maybe 3-4 years. In the house she is fabulous.

However, on walks, she has started to go mental when she sees other dogs- barking, leaping, scarily hard to control. Started to happen after she saw a fox early this week and DH didn't catch it in time. I have had to take her on every walk since as DH won't now have anything to do with her- he apparently hates her (I realise this is his anxiety speaking) so I have had to try to fix the behaviour.

It's really getting me down, and DH is talking about sending her back to the rescue, which will break DC's heart. I am terrified something will happen as I struggled to control the last incidence. We can't avoid dogs as they seem to be everywhere where we live.

I have started to contact dog trainers to put a plan in place, but there isn't much availablity for a couple of weeks.

I need help, suggestions, success stories. Please. Anything to help.

Thank you all! It is feeling a bit more positive right now. I am totally up to be told what to do by the dog trainer next week.

We managed to leave her alone for a short time today with no issues, and she slept in her own bed downstairs without us (we are doing a gradual retreat- we slept in a different room downstairs) last night.

It seems that reducing the pressure and parking back walks (something the dog trainer suggested) has been helpful. DH took her out today and said that the barking was less intense the one time she did it today, and that she managed to pass a dog with no reaction...all of which is an improvement.

We have definitely come along a bit since my initial post, which is a good thing. I guess we'll just keep chipping away at things.

That sounds promising. Do bear in mind it won't be a straight, upward line of progress. There absolutely will be setbacks and plateaus. But stick with regular training and do what your trainer tells you - even if at times you think it's not getting better - because in the end, it WILL work.

Training classes rather than 1:1 training. Some trainers do both. Your dog can learn to socialise with other dogs under supervision. A minimum of 6 weeks is needed. My dog has done over 3 years at training club. He moved through various classes and is now moving on to other things. It eventually became a social evening for all the owners and dogs.
Research your trainer carefully - experience and qualifications, how long they have been in business, methods used. I personally prefer obedience training to clicker training.

Meanwhile, do you have dog fields to rent anywhere near you? You can rent a well fenced field all to yourself with no other dogs around.

Im pleased to read a positive update and glad reducing the pressure on everyone has helped. We did similar at one point with our reactive rescue and decided we just needed to take the stress of all of us for a while.
Totally agree not to expect an upward trend of progress. We find some days we marvel at how far shes come, whereas others can definitely feel like a step back. I’m realising too that staying calm is important and not feeding in to their anxiety. I think my DH panics a bit if we’re walking along and another dog appears and she picks up on that and reacts a bit more whereas we need to give her the message it’s nothing to worry about.
Love to hear an update after you’ve seen the trainer to see what they suggest.

I think salukis are particularly prone to being reactive. Their instincts are to be always vigilant and on the hunt. I've had 2 salukis and with both it's been hard work to keep the reactivity under control on walks. I'm not sure a rescue saluki will ever get to the stage where they'll be totally well socialised and want to say hello to unfamiliar dogs on walks, but with perseverance, you can teach them to be calmer. I'm glad to hear things are starting to go a little better and you're feeling more positive.

My current girl, I've had almost a year now and she's still prone to being very reactive. We tend to go out early in the morning as she's easily triggered by anything and everything, cars, dogs, birds, people. The trick is to keep as much distance as you can from people and dogs and reward/distract with treats when they don't bark. You'll start to get a feel for the critical distance your dog is comfortable with before they start to react. Over time, you should be able to reduce the distance.

You may need to be ready with a dozen or so small treats to successfully walk past someone on the opposite side of the road. (They also can't bark as easily if they're eating!) Speak calmly and reassuringly to them as soon as you clock another dog. I tend to offer the treat slightly to the side, so my dog has to look away from the other dog to get it. This encourages them not to lock on and stare at the other dog and reduces the likelihood of the other dog feeling threatened and barking back (which will set mine off).

I think it's generally considered 'bad' by trainers to hold a reactive dog on a short lead, but I'll always bring my dog in close to my side when we see another dog. If she gets too far away from me then I know she'll ignore me and fixate on barking at the other dog. I like the double leads where one end clips onto the harness and the other onto the collar as it gives a bit of extra control.

We have a rescue lurcher who started being reactive in walks a few weeks after we got him. He’d lunge around madly at certain dogs but was really hard to predict which ones and why. He’s much better now but has taken a while.
We walk him around a couple of big parks and I make an effort for him not to meet other dogs head on - on a narrow path. We avoid being too near other dogs. I encourage as much sniffing the ground as possible as it’s calming - so we walk around the edges and places where other dogs wee. The walks are generally predictable for him. We only do one a day and then play and training in the house and garden.
We did quite a lot of training work at home getting him used to accepting treats and focusing on us.
When we see another dog I use the marker word and offer a high value treat. It took months and months for him to accept treats on a walk - he was so wired he wasn’t even interested in chicken or sausages. We practiced walking and accepting treats in the garden and then on the footpath outside the house and he’s now getting to the stage where he’ll mostly look to me for a treat when he sees another dog rather than going ballistic.
We did use a trainer who recommended putting him on Fluoxetine for anxiety which he’s still on.
It’s been a slog and stressful and not the journey we imagined when we got him but he’s a lovely boy and things are now so much better than they were but we’re about 18 months in. It took us so much more time than I’d been expecting. Good luck - it’s a lot but very rewarding if you are able to stick with it.

Thanks all. First session with the dog trainer/behaviourist today, and it was amazing how much the dog seemed to relax even after a few minutes with her, walking up and down the street.

We have been given some exercises to do with her (including some around lead control). She thinks anxiety is at the root cause of the issue, as the dog is on high alert as soon as she leaves the house, so we need to address it.

It's going to be about putting the fundamentals in place and putting in the work to help this issue gets resolved, and the trainer was honest and realistic about this. She also told us to take the pressure off by doing the exercises along the street rather than long walks.

Next session will be controlled exposure to dogs with the trainer.

Great update @Changeychangeit

You may find Dani's Facebook sighthound support group page helpful.

https://www.sighthoundpreytraining.com/

There can be all sorts of reasons for reactivity that's not aggression from fear to frustration at not being able to greet. I would start training to wear a Sighthound muzzle as it takes time and they come in handy for various occasions but mainly if your still learning to read body language it removes the worry of them biting the small fluffy that charges over to help you stay relaxed and not tense up. We tend to slow our pace, tighten up the lead in preparation for the kick off with reactive dogs which can mean when we see the dog in the distance we end up inadvertently signalling to them there's something to be concerned about.

The spring weather can send them loopy! One of mine has started like this last week. I forget she gets like this every spring then settles. Good luck.