Dealing with Leash Aggression
Hi,
Tucker and I are finishing up our first obedience class. He has always been a little ugly to dogs who approach him (showing teeth or growling), but he started really acting out a few weeks ago (lunging, teeth bared). I have always corrected him for rude behavior, but obviously it has escalated. I talked with my trainer and she said that happens a lot as dogs learn to heel and suddenly don't have 8 feet of leash to wander around on. She said he feels trapped and acts out to make the other dog leave "his space". She recommended using the command "leave it" and a spray bottle if he does not leave the other dog alone.
He was not socialized as a pup and this has been something we have worked hard to overcome. He used to have literal panic attacks, especially around people. He can now calmly be in the presence of people, but he does not usually let strangers touch him. He will try to get away if he can-- he is not aggressive towards people.
He only does this when approached by larger dogs who get in his face. He is only aggressive on the leash; he plays pretty well at the dog park.. he can be a little bossy, but does not get into fights. He will walk fine past another dog or through a crowd of dogs. He usually goes after those overly-friendly dogs that don't respect personal space. Obviously, being proactive is helpful here and I try to be very aware of dogs that might set him off.
I am starting agility class with him and I really don't want to be that person with the nasty dog. He usually walks in a pinch collar which he does well with. His obedience commands are very good. We have been working with the spray bottle for about a week and I have seen some improvement.
Does anyone else have any advice? It is very frustrating and embarrasing.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Jenny, more exposure and practice is the only solution, it would be a good idea if the trainer can accompany you for an hour to a dog park, let HER show you what SHE can do. Most trainers have no problem demonstrating in a control environment, but when you're back in your neighbourhood, it's very different. Spend the money, let her show you what to do.
I wouldn't say Tucker is "aggressive", like you said he needs his space, most people have this illusion that their dog is just "saying hello" and they need to be friends with everybody, there's the right way to make friends (sniffing butt, avoid head on confrontation), and the wrong way (get in your face, chest bump, standing tall). Tucker is absolutely fine to give warning, it is reasonable. He is doing that because he is on leash and cannot move around to avoid the situation, he is "forced" to stay there and deal with it. Tucker knows that you're anxious by the tension of the leash, therefore it feeds and confirms his assumption. That's why he's acting the way he does.
Our dogs look up to us, they believe we are their refuge, when similar situation arise, step in on their behalf, tell him " I got this", use your physical self to block his view from the other dog, say "leave it" and when his eye ball aims at you, reward him with a super yummy tasty treat, your timing is crucial and this exercise builds trust, that whenever his eyes are on you will result in something good. Let the other person with the dog know that you're in training and deferred the "meet and greet" till next time. I believe most of the dogs just need their personal space to move around, so when you're in a control environment, let him off leash and see how he does, remember your reaction feeds him, so keep a watchful eye, but let Tucker knows that everything is okay. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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Luke is somewhat reactive to other dogs (not really aggressive, but he requires "formal introductions" so to speak or he gets upset with another dog in his space) and what I do is have a treat pouch on my hip no matter where I am going with him. If a dog starts to come close, I say his name or "watch me" and immediately treat him. If the dog is close I will continue treating him until we have gone past, or the other dog has left. If the dog is at a distance I may just hold the treat and talk to him to keep his attention, it depends on how amped up he is. I also may use a different value treat, big black dog in close proximity for example, super yummy chicken. Dog tied up in a yard at a distance, maybe a zukes or a piece of kibble. The main idea is to get him to look at you for enforcement whenever he sees that other dog.
I am not a professional by any means, but squirting him with water just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me...wouldn't that make him associate other dogs with negative things even more? I would think "leave it" and a super yummy treat when he looks at you instead would be a much better reinforcer.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah and Zombie on
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A lady used a spray bottle on your corgi?
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Permalink Reply by Kathy Losacco on
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I agree with Sam. I wouldn't call this aggression, it is one dog telling another dog to back off. I think that corgis are just a little more of the mind that they need to drive this thing away. I know that Austin really doesn't like dogs getting in his face. He tends to prefer to ignore or move away, but if that isn't an option he will go for it. I think you need to watch your dogs body language when another dog is approaching. If he seems relaxed a meeting is probably okay, but if he seems tense just move him away to your other side or step in front of him to keep the other dog from getting into his space. He needs to trust that you will protect him if he can't get away. I do this with Austin and he will now move himself around to my other side if another dog is approaching he doesn't want to meet. Also, when I am hiking on trails, and others are coming the opposite way on the trail (whether they have dogs or not), I make both dogs move off the trail and sit and get treated as we are passed. They now look forward to others on the trail and sometimes hop to the side before I even ask.
I don't think you should be embarrassed or frustrated. You just need to give your dog options other than attacking. Give him the space if he needs it, maybe in time, he won't need as much.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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First of all, you will not be the first nor the last person to have a dog-reactive dog in agility class. Jack was charged by a standard poodle in one class, and one of his current class mates is a snarky little pug-mix who lunges at everyone who gets too close. She is very protective of her personal space. Problem is, no one respects her little show of intimidation so she feels the need to repeat it over and over. Most of the other dogs back off, but my trainer's dog and Jack will holler back at her so it can get noisy. Long story short: dog-to-dog "arguments" will happen in agility class and at trials and as my trainer says, the dogs will get used to it if you don't baby them for being snarked at.
I agree with everyone else's advice. Tucker is behaving within a range that is considered appropriate if strange dogs are getting in his face and he tells them to "back off." If he is not drawing blood, then he's not attacking he's just blustering. Maddie has a bad habit of running up to strange dogs and saying "Harf!" in their face, and she also does not like other dogs sniffing her backside for any length of time. So we have done as others suggest: we taught her to watch us using treats, and when we see another dog we get her attention before she reacts, and hold it til the other dog has passed. She also greets other dogs better off-leash, so if it's a safe area away from traffic we will drop the leash to let her react. We also always warn people whose dogs she meets that she can be a little snarky and ask how their dog is. If their dog is steady we let them greet. If their dog is iffy too we pass on the greetings.
Good luck! I agree the bottle is likely to backfire at some point.
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Permalink Reply by Jenny, Tucker, & Zoey on
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Thanks guys so much for your suggestions. If anyone has any other tips, please let me know!
We just got back from our first agility class and had a blast. Fortunately the class is pretty small and everyone had a good handle on their dog. Tucker was very well behaved.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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First I would ask you: why a pinch collar? If my dog needed a pinch collar, I would repeat the class I was in until I could pass that level with a loose choke collar, or a limited choker (martingale). A dog on a pinch collar does not seem a good candidate for Agility. As for his aggressiveness on leash, other dogs should not be allowed to get in his face. I'll be more specific. If you are in class and walk by another well behaved dog, or another dog heels close to you, there should be no aggresive behavior. If the other dog is not well behaved, lunging, excited, etc, I would keep some distance as you do not want to elicit the aggression. If however a dog is coming TOWARD your dog directly and making eye contact, I would quickly tell the owner to keep his dog back. The behavior of your dog may be protective, if he only does it on leash. When passing another dog on leash in a sidewalk situation, keep the leash short and always have the people on the inside and the dogs on the opposite side (outside) never the two dogs passing close to each other, that's asking for trouble. I would correct him if he acts aggressively because it's unwanted, regardless of why he does it, but I would avoid direct approach by any dog. Many dogs do not react well to that. Age is also a factor, I find males tend to be more "full of it" between 12 and 18 month of age. If you stay on top of it, they then improve.
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"Why a pinch collar?"
Our trainer recommended them for our obedience class to almost everyone. He did not wear the pinch collar to agility. He wore a flat collar and did fine.
Edit: I would also like to add that we are currently working out of the pinch collar on our walks. We are switching back and forth between the two every couple of blocks.
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Hmmmm... I taught classes for over 30 years and used a pinch collar in class only twice. Once with a touch insensitive German Shepherd, another with a very large (and generally well behaved) Lab who had a handicapped handler. In that case the pinch collar was for safety reasons, as the handler, in an emergency, would not have the strength to control the dog. A trainer who advises the use of a pinch collar on most of the dogs in class is highly unusual.
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I agree with Anna....I don't really like the sound of your trainer to be honest. Putting a pinch collar on almost every dog in the class is unnecessary. And especially in Tucker's situation it just seems like the wrong way to go about things. If he's uncomfortable around other dogs then every effort should be made to have his encounters with other dogs be happy. Right now he's getting a correction from a pinch collar and sprayed with water - those aren't good associations at all. Why would he want the dog to get close to him if something unpleasant happens to him every time?
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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Marie O'Bryan on
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Very well said Jane. I was going to say the same thing. I'm starting to think he reacts to the other dogs because he believes they r causing the negative things to him. All he knows is that he sees another dog and he gets Prongs pinching his neck along with a spray in the face. U should instead make seeing other dogs fantastic and praise for good behaviour
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First off, I'd like to thank everyone who gave me their two cents on the issue. I appreciate the time you took to help me out and I am definitely keeping everyones advice in mind.
I feel like I'm portraying my trainer in a bad light, and I don't mean to. I know there are a lot of different methods to training dogs and each has its pros and cons, I'm sure. I'm definitely no expert and I'm trying to learn all I can.
My only other experience with dog trainer is a class at PetsMart with my parent's dog. That class was all about treats all the time and sticking a Gentle Leader on every dog who didn't walk politely. We went through puppy to advanced training there and ended up with a dog who would only perform for treats and never could walk very well.
This class I'm finishing up now is praise based (no treats). Many of the dogs are in pinch collars, but are working out of them as we have our Canine Good Citizenship test coming up and they are not allowed for that test. A few of the dogs did not perform well in the pinch collars, but Tucker has never had a negative reaction (shutting down, acting scared, etc). He gets excited when we get the collar out. As I said, we are trying to work out of the collar. Tucker was a BAD puller and of course it is hard to break that habit. He has come out of this class with much better obedience skills than he had before, so I would say it was a success. It is a large class and many people have very rambunctious dogs who they allow to meet and greet everyone. Many of our problems occur when we are all huddled around listening to the trainer and someone lets their dog jump over to my dog who is sitting at my side. Tucker reacts to get the other dog to back off and the other dog's owner looks at me like I'm the devil.
We have been using the squirt bottle or the collar correction after (or while) he lashes out at another dog. I feel like maybe some people think I squirt him when another dog approaches, but that's not the case. Whether or not this method will work that remains to be seen. I haven't necessarily seen any negative effects, but there might be some. If there are, we will try another method. We might try another method anyway. Like I said, I'm in new territory here and am getting a lot of different advice. I want to do what is best and most effective for my dog, of course.
My agility class is with a different trainer whom my obedience trainer recommended. That class is praise and treat based. Like I mentioned earlier, our first class was last night and it was a huge success. People there have control of their dogs and we had no problems. Tucker was actually one of the best behaved dogs.
I am, again, very thankful for any advice anyone wants to offer and will investigate it all. I just don't want anyone to think that I'm abusing my dog or anything. He is a pretty hardy, stubborn little guy and definitely not fearful or timid around me.
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