So one house over, on the left of us, has a fenced yard. They have a large pit bull type dog. The dog seems nice.
On warm, nice days, like today, the occupants of the house let the dog out in the yard almost all day.
When I take Kiki out, and the dog sees her and starts barking, or she sees him, she starts up her woof woof and lunging at him, wanting to get at him.
It's not always possible to not walk that way, because as soon as we start heading back into the garage, one or both will see each other at about the same time and she'll want to take me that way to bark. At one point she tried to pull herself out of her collar to get to this dog.
I've tried a harness on her, but she's scared to death at the sight of one.
I'm not sure if the meeting will be a simple sniff and greet or a full on attack each other.
The occupants of the home never seem to be home when the dog is out in their yard.
I'm more concerned about her safety than anything. How do I handle this?
barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
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bluejedi79
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barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
A dog is the only Earthly creature that has the soul of a philosopher, the wisdom of the Deli Llama, the heart of an Angel and the grace of a Saint.
Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
But their yard is fenced in, no? So the nice pit bull is behind the fence, is he not? Or is he out in the open..??
In any case, my 2 cents : avoidance is the primary way at this point, managing the environment is next best.. If you can't avoid passing by the pit bull, and Kiki can wriggle herself out of the collar, I would start working on desensitizing her to wearing harness, at least this is totally within your control, and there may be a thread somewhere here on how to do this.. This way at least you will be able to avoid her getting loose.
My nice boy was once attacked by a Shar-pei who managed to free himself from his collar... Was not a good moment for anyone...
In any case, my 2 cents : avoidance is the primary way at this point, managing the environment is next best.. If you can't avoid passing by the pit bull, and Kiki can wriggle herself out of the collar, I would start working on desensitizing her to wearing harness, at least this is totally within your control, and there may be a thread somewhere here on how to do this.. This way at least you will be able to avoid her getting loose.
My nice boy was once attacked by a Shar-pei who managed to free himself from his collar... Was not a good moment for anyone...
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bluejedi79
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Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
Our yard is not fenced in. Our landlord won't put up a fence, though we can ourselves. We're working on coming up with the money to do so.
I'm not sure if it is a pit bull, or a pitty. I love pittys. But anyway, it looks like one. I'm not blaming the neighbors dog, he's just reacting to someone/something just outside his reach. The yard he is in is fenced, almost chest high.
Sometimes it is hard to avoid the dog in the fenced yard, because he will hear the garage door open/close. Or the dog will notice us in the driveway from the perch of his front steps and come to the edge of his fence, out of curiosity to see what we are doing.
I'm not sure if it is a pit bull, or a pitty. I love pittys. But anyway, it looks like one. I'm not blaming the neighbors dog, he's just reacting to someone/something just outside his reach. The yard he is in is fenced, almost chest high.
Sometimes it is hard to avoid the dog in the fenced yard, because he will hear the garage door open/close. Or the dog will notice us in the driveway from the perch of his front steps and come to the edge of his fence, out of curiosity to see what we are doing.
A dog is the only Earthly creature that has the soul of a philosopher, the wisdom of the Deli Llama, the heart of an Angel and the grace of a Saint.
Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
If you're worried about her slipping out of her collar, while working on getting her used to a harness, you might want to think about a martingale collar. It should be adjusted so that, when the loop is "closed," it shouldn't choke her but should be just tight enough that she can't slip out of it. When the loop is relaxed, it'll be comfortably loose.
What kind of harness(es) have you tried her with? Might it be that something like the EasyWalk would be better? It's simple nylon straps. If big blocks of fabric concern her, this might help. You can undo all but one of the straps, so you don't even have to put a loop over her head if that's what she's not comfortable with. I wonder what part of the harness frightens her.
For actually getting her used to the harness: Kikopup has several videos on harnesses here.
This video is the one I watched specifically, and it's great.
What kind of harness(es) have you tried her with? Might it be that something like the EasyWalk would be better? It's simple nylon straps. If big blocks of fabric concern her, this might help. You can undo all but one of the straps, so you don't even have to put a loop over her head if that's what she's not comfortable with. I wonder what part of the harness frightens her.
For actually getting her used to the harness: Kikopup has several videos on harnesses here.
This video is the one I watched specifically, and it's great.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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bluejedi79
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Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
thanks, I'll look into that. I tried a nylon harness with her, a blue one, that was a snug fit. When I would go put it on her, she would cower with a frighted look in her eyes. WHere can I find one of those collars? Would walmart carry them?
A dog is the only Earthly creature that has the soul of a philosopher, the wisdom of the Deli Llama, the heart of an Angel and the grace of a Saint.
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bluejedi79
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Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
oh, and when I do get one for her (prob tomorrow, since it's payday) how the heck do I figure out the right size to get her?
A dog is the only Earthly creature that has the soul of a philosopher, the wisdom of the Deli Llama, the heart of an Angel and the grace of a Saint.
Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
A quick google says that they do...not sure if they're at every store, but I'd say probably. Collars are normally labelled something like "8-16 inches." This is just the measurement of your dog's neck. The easiest way to do this is to take her current collar off, measure it, and be sure to write it down. 
So if her current collar is 11.5" long, you'd want a collar whose measurement range includes 11.5".
If she lets you, I'd measure around the biggest part of her skull (normally right around where the ears are) and try to get a collar that includes that measurement as well. Martingales typically don't have buckles (though you can find buckle martingales online, and some are very reasonably priced!), so you might have to slip the collar over her head. This might scare her...I'd make sure to do the harness training with the collar, and make the collar as big as it can be when you put it over her head (probably should do this with you to the side or back, not looming over her). Then size it while it's on her. Martingales shouldn't be left on while the dog is alone.
I wonder, if for the pittie, you could ask the neighbors if you could give him treats. If they let you, you can then (without Kiki at first, I'd say) give him treats when you walk by, then more for being quiet. Once he finishes, wait a couple seconds, if he's quiet give him more. Repeat that a few times, maybe add a cue ("Hi doggy!" is what I do, or tried to, but it doesn't work very well if the dogs are constantly changing because it's not one family's dogs but an illegal dog boarding company [/rant])...if this is something you can do and are interested in I could put a bit more detail into it (or someone else could as well, if they want!).
So if her current collar is 11.5" long, you'd want a collar whose measurement range includes 11.5".If she lets you, I'd measure around the biggest part of her skull (normally right around where the ears are) and try to get a collar that includes that measurement as well. Martingales typically don't have buckles (though you can find buckle martingales online, and some are very reasonably priced!), so you might have to slip the collar over her head. This might scare her...I'd make sure to do the harness training with the collar, and make the collar as big as it can be when you put it over her head (probably should do this with you to the side or back, not looming over her). Then size it while it's on her. Martingales shouldn't be left on while the dog is alone.
I wonder, if for the pittie, you could ask the neighbors if you could give him treats. If they let you, you can then (without Kiki at first, I'd say) give him treats when you walk by, then more for being quiet. Once he finishes, wait a couple seconds, if he's quiet give him more. Repeat that a few times, maybe add a cue ("Hi doggy!" is what I do, or tried to, but it doesn't work very well if the dogs are constantly changing because it's not one family's dogs but an illegal dog boarding company [/rant])...if this is something you can do and are interested in I could put a bit more detail into it (or someone else could as well, if they want!).
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
i'm confused here, are you on a dead end street and walking the opposite direction is not an option? you said, 'one house over on the left of us' .....so is turning right not an option?bluejedi79 wrote:It's not always possible to not walk that way, because as soon as we start heading back into the garage, one or both will see each other at about the same time and she'll want to take me that way to bark. At one point she tried to pull herself out of her collar to get to this dog.
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bluejedi79
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Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
no we are not on a dead end street. To the left of us is the house with the dog. To the right of us, at the end of the block is a school. I live in a residential neighborhood. Going the other way is an option. However a block to the right, across from the school, is a guys home that lets his German Shepperd out to roam every where (in front of a k-5 school, none the less) so we can't go that far that way either.gwd wrote:i'm confused here, are you on a dead end street and walking the opposite direction is not an option? you said, 'one house over on the left of us' .....so is turning right not an option?bluejedi79 wrote:It's not always possible to not walk that way, because as soon as we start heading back into the garage, one or both will see each other at about the same time and she'll want to take me that way to bark. At one point she tried to pull herself out of her collar to get to this dog.
A dog is the only Earthly creature that has the soul of a philosopher, the wisdom of the Deli Llama, the heart of an Angel and the grace of a Saint.
Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
Can you drive her a little way?
Meeting this dog is not a good idea. She is clearly feeling that she is too close to it. A dog that is people-friendly is not automatically going to be dog-friendly, and it is normal for a dog to be aggressive towards other dogs when on its own territory. If you can't cross over the road or go the other way, it doesn't leave you too many options. Maybe you have to look out first before you commit to a walk, but the driving would be easier. Very annoying for you about the loose dog.
Accustom her to the harness in very easy stages. She is most likely cowering because it is unfamiliar to her. If you introduce it slowly with plenty of rewards for each stage, she should be fine with it in due course. She has already come a long way with her confidence.
What is a pittie as in different from a pit bull?
Meeting this dog is not a good idea. She is clearly feeling that she is too close to it. A dog that is people-friendly is not automatically going to be dog-friendly, and it is normal for a dog to be aggressive towards other dogs when on its own territory. If you can't cross over the road or go the other way, it doesn't leave you too many options. Maybe you have to look out first before you commit to a walk, but the driving would be easier. Very annoying for you about the loose dog.
Accustom her to the harness in very easy stages. She is most likely cowering because it is unfamiliar to her. If you introduce it slowly with plenty of rewards for each stage, she should be fine with it in due course. She has already come a long way with her confidence.
What is a pittie as in different from a pit bull?
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
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bluejedi79
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- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 9:35 pm
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Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
I just call all pit bull type breeds pittys.
I like the idea of driving her a little way. There's a park on a dead end street about a block from us. From the looks of it, it's a very little used park, though it does have play ground equipment, an open field and a walking path. I was hoping to be able to walk her there, especially as the weather gets warmer because it really wouldn't hurt me to loose about 150 pounds, but not with the neighbors dog behind the fence and my concerns about the loose dog by the school. For now, when I see the German Shepperd I take her across the street and head back home. I picked her up yesterday when I was walking her and checking the mail. I saw the loose dog before she did, but she was interested in sniffing something. For her safety I scooped her up walked her across the street out of the line of sight of the loose dog and let her walk around some more as we headed home.
I like the idea of driving her a little way. There's a park on a dead end street about a block from us. From the looks of it, it's a very little used park, though it does have play ground equipment, an open field and a walking path. I was hoping to be able to walk her there, especially as the weather gets warmer because it really wouldn't hurt me to loose about 150 pounds, but not with the neighbors dog behind the fence and my concerns about the loose dog by the school. For now, when I see the German Shepperd I take her across the street and head back home. I picked her up yesterday when I was walking her and checking the mail. I saw the loose dog before she did, but she was interested in sniffing something. For her safety I scooped her up walked her across the street out of the line of sight of the loose dog and let her walk around some more as we headed home.
A dog is the only Earthly creature that has the soul of a philosopher, the wisdom of the Deli Llama, the heart of an Angel and the grace of a Saint.
Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
Hey, good job! Being alert and noticing things - very important! Really helps avoiding problems rather than reacting and managing the fallout. Keep it up, it's working!bluejedi79 wrote: I saw the loose dog before she did, but she was interested in sniffing something.
Re: barking and lunging at a neighbors dog
I highly recommend this. this is how I made progress with my dog.bluejedi79 wrote:I like the idea of driving her a little way. There's a park on a dead end street about a block from us. From the looks of it, it's a very little used park, though it does have play ground equipment, an open field and a walking path.
just to expand a bit on Nettle's comment about a people friendly dog not being automatically dog friendly. If your otherwise people friendly dog is constantly exposed to stressful and anxiety inducing situations, such as having to deal with unknown dogs at closer distances than comfortable, this can affect their ability to "deal" with things they are otherwise ok with. such as people and maybe children.
right now meeting other dogs shouldn't be a top priority. you have had your dog for such a short time building her bond and trust and seeing you as her primary source of fun is much more important. doubly so if she is showing a fear reaction to other dogs.
