Dogs nervous around other dogs

[sarah0817]

Hi I have two dogs, one is a Westie (Charlie) and another is a crossbreed between Jack Russel Terrier and a Collie (Maggie). My problem lies with Maggie more than Charlie. Maggie is a rescue dog and so she has issues. She was already 3 when we adopter her.

I take my dogs out for walk when there are less dogs in the park as she tends to get nervous getting close to other dogs and she barks at them. It's gets even more uncontrollable when there are loose dogs in the park (dog owners who don't care) as the stray dog follows us when I pull the my dogs away from them. I have followed methods that have been mentioned in forums and on the tv show, It's Me or the Dog.

The methods that I have tried is, walking the other way around when she starts barking and walk back when she stops. I've repeatedly tried this method but it doesn't seem to work. I've also tried making her busy by bringing her squeaky toys unfortunately, she just lose interests of her toys when she's outside of the house! I've also bought a spray can (from pets at home) that makes noise to help correct behavior. That too didn't work.

Is this a psychological problem seeing as she's a rescue dog? How else can i help her be less nervous and have a peaceful walk?

[jacksdad]

I've also bought a spray can (from pets at home) that makes noise to help correct behavior. That too didn't work.

The reason this did not work is your dog isn't being "bad". You were on the right track in your title of this thread "dogs NERVOUS..." spy cans that make noise, prong collars, leash pops etc are all punishments. Your dog is nervous, maybe even afraid neither of which punishment is the correct response by us humans.

The methods that I have tried is, walking the other way around when she starts barking and walk back when she stops.

Your on the right track here. However, when you say "walk back when she stops" do you mean that when she sees a dog and barks you walk the other way, then when she stops barking you walk back towards the dog she had just reacted to? If so, what you should be doing right now is, see dog, walk other way and keep going.

I take my dogs out for walk when there are less dogs in the park as she tends to get nervous getting close to other dogs and she barks at them.

This is also good. keep it up. right now the less dogs she has to deal with the better.

I have followed methods that have been mentioned in forums and on the tv show, It's Me or the Dog.

Well if I may humbly suggest, you have arrived at the right place. there are several of us actively working through exactly this issue with our dogs and are happy to help by sharing what has worked with our dogs. one quick side note, I would not try duplicating what you see on tv, even Me or the Dog. In the case of MOTD Victoria has years of experience reading dogs, something needed to pull off what is shown in her show.

Right now letting your dog meet other dogs and or other socialization with other dogs isn't important. What is, is changing her emotional response to strange dogs. For now, do your best to avoid other dogs. When you see another dog, go a different direction and keep going.

Second, find a distance your dog can observe other dogs without reacting (barking, lunging, pulling towards, growling etc). Then depending on your dog you can start rewarding calm by either letting your dog look at the other dog for a second or two then call their attention back to you or by strictly focusing on you and "ignoring" the dog. try both, see which your dog does better with. If your dog can't break their focus on the other dog, they can't calm down. A stressed and reacting dog can't learn a new response. So keeping your distance for now is very important.

Eventually you will start working on closing the distance between your dog and the strange dog, but you need to build to it first.

If your dog isn't responding to playing with a toy, have you tried treats? Something that really grabs your dogs attention? you can use any dog safe food, try out different things and see what gets your dog really excited. Until your dog starts to associated strange dog with feeling good, or at the least breaking their attention from dog to you for a tasty treat, you can't start moving closer to other dogs or even just pass them and not have your dog react. Food is often the best/easiest way recreate that association.

Loose dogs and clueless dog owners are the bane of reactive dogs like ours, but there are things you can do.

"Treat bomb" Throw a bunch of treats on the ground in front of the loose dog and you and your dog move off in the other direction.

Body block the other dog so it can't get to yours. A little while ago I was at the beach with my reactive dog, a loose dog keep trying to enter act with us. my dog didn't want anything to do with this dog, so every time it came up to us, I body blocked it away. after a while my dog stopped even looking at the other dog because he knew he didn't have to deal with it. the owners did not even try and call their dog back even though it was clear we didn't want their dog coming up to us. I finally just pulled off to the side and let them pass so we would be behind them.

you can even try giving the other dog commands such as sit.

This is a fairly common question so I would urge you to do some searching of this forum read the many different threads on this issue for additional helpful hints and tips.

And feel free to ask questions, lots of questions if need be

[sarah0817]

Thanks for your response! I'll try what you've said. I hadn't thought of the spray cans as punishments but you are right. I shouldn't have been using it on a nervous dog. I have tried treats such as boiled chicken, small doggie treats. None worked. I have seen one method where they would let a dog meet another dog. I'm a little bit worried about that because I don't know how she would react but it's worth a try!

[sarahjayne]

Most dogs find it hard to resist raw meat; little bits of raw chicken or beef. It doesn't have to be big pieces, the important thing is that it is very attractive to the nose !!
If you can't cope with raw meat yourself, try ham cut into little bits or even a nice strong smelling cheddar !!! try and see what your dog goes mad for !!!

[jacksdad]

I have tried treats such as boiled chicken, small doggie treats. None worked.

There are two possible reasons for this not working.

1 - Your still too close to the other dogs and need to back off some more. When dogs are scare/nervous/anxious they won't eat. It won't matter what you offer.

or

2 - You still haven't found the treat your dog is willing to work for under high levels of distraction. you may have to experiment a bit. you can use any dog safe food as a food base reward so there are LOTS of options. My dog currently responds best to all natural hot dogs and natural balance food rolls. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogfor ... Rolls.html both are smelling and tasty. some dogs like to lick their food, I believe it is noobs who uses baby food, for her dog to lick at.

So again, just expeirment with any dog safe food and see what grabs your dogs attention. smelly such as meat and some cheese are good places to start.

Food is just one possible reward, though the most common and easiest to work with. However some dogs do prefer toys, does that seem to be the case with your dog?

I have seen one method where they would let a dog meet another dog. I'm a little bit worried about that because I don't know how she would react but it's worth a try!

Yes, this is one method, but unless you have someone who has experience using this method AND can read dog body language AND has a bomb proof dog (ie one that will look at your dog reacting and yawn and could careless) this isn't a method I would recommend trying on your own.

Once your dog starts being calm when it sees other dogs and trusts you to not put it in a position that it can't handle, you can try moving closer to other dogs on your own. closer does not necessarily mean meet and greet though, just closer.

So basically the progression is...

1. first avoid dogs until your dog is calm at distance
2. once calm at distance, reduce distance
3. pass dogs calm at just about any distance (no stopping and talking etc)
4. try the odd meet and greet if the other dog looks calm and friendly and the owner says its ok.

NOW, your dog and other dogs and their owners will force you to have meet and greets possibly prior to your dog truly being ready. don't panic, if your dog looks to be dealing with it, go with it, reward as you can, and don't hang around having a long conversation. When these things happen and it goes well, it gives you a update for where your dog is at and can be a good encourage meant for you and your dog. When it goes wrong it's frustrating because it sets your dog back. If things are going down hill don't try and train your wait out. Just say "lets go" and get out of there and try and avoid any dogs for the rest of your walk.

[Noobs]

2 - You still haven't found the treat your dog is willing to work for under high levels of distraction. you may have to experiment a bit. you can use any dog safe food as a food base reward so there are LOTS of options. My dog currently responds best to all natural hot dogs and natural balance food rolls. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogfor ... Rolls.html both are smelling and tasty. some dogs like to lick their food, I believe it is noobs who uses baby food, for her dog to lick at.

Yup, I did use meat-flavored babyfood for Murphy - I would let him get a few licks in between "watch me" commands when working on desensitizing. It's also easier to give him constant reward to just hold the jar to his mouth when a trigger (dog, human, cat) is within sight and I need his fully concentration or I know that it's too much for him to look from me to the trigger.

I also use natural balance food rolls, they're easy to cut into tiny pieces and they are smelly and Murphy loves them. You can experiment and I'm sure you'll find the "magic treat".