Training gone to hell :(

[sparrow1024]

Hi, thank you for reading this. I have an 11 month old Chinese Shar Pei puppy, who I've had since she was 2 months old. We brought her to our local pet store (Petco) for 'puppy playtime' to socialize w/other pups and everything was fine. We went thru training classes (2 sets) when she was 4 months old, that lasted till she was nearly 7 months old. They cut off 'playtime' then, and it was the same time we had her spayed and microchipped. She had complications from the surgery and was homebound for appx 1 month (outside of vet visits.) She then needed entropian (eye) surgery, which she had in mid-June. Recovered fine, TG, but her isolation, due to the surgeries and my own health problems acting up(I am on Disability)coupled with very rarely getting any company has caused her to become aggressive towards any dogs we encounter on our walks We (my Husband and I) take her for short walks almost every day, but it is hit or miss for meeting people/dogs. We have a house w/a completely fenced-in small backyard, where she can (generally) have free rein for a few to several hours every day. She is fine w/people we see- a little excited, but soon settles down, but other dogs she goes from 'alert to excited to aggressive' in about 4 seconds Trying to distract her with high quality goodies is not helping, at all She will sit, stay, on walks fine. iF there are no distractions, she is awesome! But if there is, Last night I spotted a couple of teenagers walking a dog, heading our way, so we immediately started walking home, they nearly caught up with us - I cant walk fast with my cane and we live on a busy street, and we *almost* got hit by a passing car crossing the street to our house, she was trying to turn around, pulling on the harness, grabbing goodies (almost bit me, trying to get them)but still whining, barking, lunging, it was awful I'm really scared to try and go back to Petco, or other places I know dogs will be.....My last dog was very aggressive, and I CANT go thru years of that again....any advice much appreciated.

[Maxy24]

Sorry you're going through this, dog aggression is a pain and can be super frustrating and embarrassing. My dog is like this as well (or was, he hasn't had a reaction on walks in a couple of months woot!).

You say treats don't help, can you walk us through exactly how you've tried giving the treats? Do you start as soon as the dog is in sight? Do you just feed them to her or are you trying to get her to do something (sit, look at you)? Will she not take the treats at all or does she take some but then decide to react instead? Just walk us through exactly what you do in detail when you guys come upon another dog. Also, what are you using for treats?

Also, while her isolation may not have helped, it's possible that it has nothing to do with the dog aggression. Shar-Peis are often dog aggressive and it's a behavior that would most likely show up in adolescence if it's going to. So it may just be genetics. Unfortunately if you wanted to avoid dog aggression a different breed may have been a better bet.

So while I wouldn't bet on making her dog friendly/social I definitely think with training you can eliminate the reactivity so walks can be pleasant again. Don't expect to be able to greet dogs, but you should be able to walk by them.

Do you walk her on a regular harness or a front clipping harness? I've found our front clipping harness is super helpful for lunging as it takes away some of his momentum and helps to turn him towards me and away from the other dog. He has however slipped a leg out of it a few times (never while reacting, it is only possible for him to slip when I am trying to drag him forwards) so a backup martingale collar or something might be a good idea. A head collar is another possibility, a lot of people like them for dog reactivity as you can prevent the dog from fixating on the other dog but keep in mind they are a lot harder for most dogs to accept (they try to get it off, refuse to walk, etc.) so that might be more trouble than it's worth.

I would definitely avoid places where there will be lots of dogs. For now we'll have to try and come up with a plan for seeing dogs on walks. It may take some trial and error to figure out what works best for her, but if she's willing to take treats at all that's a starting place!

[sparrow1024]

ARRGGH! This is the 3rd time Ive tried to post a reply! Thank you SO MUCH, Maxy24, for replying! We start giving her treats, as soon as we see another dog (usually 30-50 feet away) Give her Pro Plan Training treats, then switch to Best Buddy Bits- peanut butter flavor- when they are 15-30 feet away. Bring out the 'big guns' Indigo Smokehouse Strips' (refrigerated treats)when they are within 15 ft- to past us- Use a front-clip harness, cant see much difference, honestly. This is my 3rd Shar Pei.... just want to get her back to the point we don't need to worry about/plan for an attack on others like she was when we went to Petco/interacted w/other dogs regularily..... great news about your pup! Wish you the best of luck, and thanks again.....

[sparrow1024]

Sorry, forgot to say she will take treats out of your hand - snapping- t(which she normally doesn't do) then focuses ALL attention (whining, lunging, etc) on the passing dog

[emmabeth]

I think whats happening is you are using treats to distract her, and get her closer to/past, other dogs, ideally without her reacting.

Because you continue to close the distance (or allow it to close) between her and the other dog after you start giving rewards, you are actually pushing her out of her comfort zone and she is not learning 'seeing other dogs is nothing to worry about' but that it actually still IS something to worry about!

So change your routine to this.

Soon as you see another dog at 30-50ft, give her the BEST treats you have and then turn and walk away to get MORE distance from that dog and keep that distance!

Once you are turned away from the other dog, the treats go away again.

Try for at least a week, to get no nearer than this 30-50ft range, AND try to limit that to one dog per day (the chances are you won't but try).

This should help take the pressure off her, now other dogs = treats AND they do not = more stress, because you are taking her away from them.


After a week you should see some signs of her being more relaxed at that initial 30-50ft distance - if you don't, then increase the distance, so try keeping other dogs at 50ft +, and carry on like this for another week.

What you want to be looking for is a relaxed dog who is saying 'hey theres a dog where are my goodies' when she sees one.

I would not set out to look for dogs closer than this, which does not mean you won't find them and have to deal with it, you will, but if you actively try to find them you will end up pushing her too fast whereas if you try to avoid it and just take what life gives you, you will have a few experiences closer than your ideal distance. From these you can generally guage whether she is ready to work a little closer, or needs more time at a greater distance.

When you are working a little closer the same deal applies, see a dog, reward, get out of there. Do not try to get her closer or past, I really do think this is where the problem currently lies.