dog snaps at other dogs
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newjerseylab
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dog snaps at other dogs
my dog loves to go up to other dogs but lately she goes up to them and then about a few seconds later she will snap at them. I do no know why. she chooses to go up to the dog. should i correct her with a distracting sound, ignore it. she was done it to 9 out of 10 dogs when we went for a walk
Re: dog snaps at other dogs
Hiya,
Put 'why' on the back burner for now, and ditto 'correcting' - for NOW - stop her approaching other dogs in the first place, because I can preeeeeeetty much guarantee you, one day a dog is going to react very badly to her snapping at them for no real reason, (or maybe there is a reason but she is overreacting) and is going to actually tell her off really badly or attack her.
Then you will have a huge problem on your hands as she will likely assume ALL dogs are going to do this and will become fear aggressive towards dogs!
So - on a lead or on a harness and long line (30ft), recall whenever you see other dogs and reward her SUPER well. If she is on a short leash then get OUT of the way of the other dog, out of the direct line of sight (use your body to block her if necessary, turn around go the other way, whatever) and again, reward her for seeing another dog.
THe message, and the ONLY message she wants to get right now is 'other dogs = GOOD THINGS'.
By avoiding her meeting them, turning away, blocking her line of sight you prevent anything bad happening, you stop her stress levels going up and her starting to go into 'theres another dog.. what shall i do' mode.
Within a few days or weeks (or months, but probably not that long) of this she will relax more, she will start to associate dogs with reward and with you handling the situation and then you can start to think about introducing her to dogs that you KNOW are nice and steady, in a way that she cannot overreact or do the wrong thing.
Do keep in mind though that this is some weeks away, for now stick with avoiding and rewarding and nothing else!
Put 'why' on the back burner for now, and ditto 'correcting' - for NOW - stop her approaching other dogs in the first place, because I can preeeeeeetty much guarantee you, one day a dog is going to react very badly to her snapping at them for no real reason, (or maybe there is a reason but she is overreacting) and is going to actually tell her off really badly or attack her.
Then you will have a huge problem on your hands as she will likely assume ALL dogs are going to do this and will become fear aggressive towards dogs!
So - on a lead or on a harness and long line (30ft), recall whenever you see other dogs and reward her SUPER well. If she is on a short leash then get OUT of the way of the other dog, out of the direct line of sight (use your body to block her if necessary, turn around go the other way, whatever) and again, reward her for seeing another dog.
THe message, and the ONLY message she wants to get right now is 'other dogs = GOOD THINGS'.
By avoiding her meeting them, turning away, blocking her line of sight you prevent anything bad happening, you stop her stress levels going up and her starting to go into 'theres another dog.. what shall i do' mode.
Within a few days or weeks (or months, but probably not that long) of this she will relax more, she will start to associate dogs with reward and with you handling the situation and then you can start to think about introducing her to dogs that you KNOW are nice and steady, in a way that she cannot overreact or do the wrong thing.
Do keep in mind though that this is some weeks away, for now stick with avoiding and rewarding and nothing else!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
