Barking At Other Dogs..

[*Inge & Fenna]

Hi,

I want to ask for some advice, I'm stuck..

When I go out for a walk in the woods, I usually let her run around free. The first minutes of the walk I have her on the leash, so we can practise her walking beside me. I mostly walk in the woods, but when I take her out to somewhere else, it's nice that she's a good dog and walks beside me this all works pretty well.

The first times I took her to the football (my boyfriends plays football) she was nervous and wanted to sniff at all the people that were walking by. I started using food, so I could reward her when I asked her attention (and got it ) After a couple of times at the football, she got used to the crowd and wasn't that nervous anymore. BUT... she gets sooooo mad to other dogs.. she hangs in her leash, (front legs in the air, only hind legs on the ground)start barking, and there is nothing that can shut her up. When I hold the food in front of her, she turns her head away, because she can't see the dog anymore when I hold the food there :s When I call her name, she just ignores me.. the only thing she sees is that dog! When I go for a walk and there's another dog, she does it as well..

My solution : when I see another dog, I let her sit next to me, reward her and keep asking her attention. I usually get her attention and the other dog can pass easily without any problems. JEEEJ!
but , the problem is.. I can't always be the first to see the dog.. when Fenna sees the dog first we have a problem and she starts barking and stuff..
I also noticed she doesn't behaves like that to every dog.. mostly small ones (the ones she doesn't like)

Can anyone help me with this?

Inge & Fenna!

I hope the sentence structure is slightly correct

 

[nadinka]

Hi,
I have the same Problem with Mai (only that he barks at big dogs ). I hope for some help too.

Nadja & Mai

 

[tigerlily46514]

uh-oh, i hope you are able to resolve this with your dogs.
DO YOUR DOGS GET ON WELL WITH *most* DOGS OTHERWISE?

Or, is it the football stadium itself is soooooooo exciting to your dog, that THAT setting just helps your dog blow his fuse? Like, on a 'normal' walks, does your dog react to other dogs? Or, just at the stadium?

Here's some videos that might give you some ideas to try: (this is Episode #3 of KIKOPUP's 5-part series on "Barking"---you can spot the other 4 videos on this topic along the right hand side of the youtube page, maybe one of THOSE is best for your dog)
http://youtu.be/JY7JrteQBOQ

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

oh, i now notice, that Fenna only barks at small dogs, oh, there is even more reason for hope, imo, if a dog only barks at a 'CERTAIN' type of dog, like small, or large. That will be easier to work on than "all" dogs, imo!

I do that "look at me" when all else fails, but, doing that does absolutely nothing to help your dog get desensitized to the sight of the 'enemy' dog. Lol, i wasted an entire year, doing just that, and my gangsta dog did NOT get one pinch better in the whole year i wasted. I did however, get really good at doing it!!

For MY dog, having his back to the enemy dog, (goes against common sense) it's easier for him to "look at me." while his nemisis passes by. (your mileage may vary)

But, i DO use that, :"Look at Me" as last resort, to prevent a reaction, is GREAT you are able to do this successfully with your dog, so kudos to you for that. THAT IS BEST THING YOU CAN DO if you are trapped next to a dog that your dog does not like.

At another time, not when you are focused on watching ballgame, but another time you might want to consider setting some time aside to work on 'desensitizing' your dog to the type of dog he does not like. Some dogs are easier to desensitize than others.
In a nutshell, (and i am pretty sure, one of Kikopup's 5 'barking' videos covers this much better than i am about to say)
what you'd do is this:

Get a volunteer dog (like, if you have pal with small dog) or, go to Petsmart parking lot, or OUTSIDE of a dogpark, etc, somewhere where you can have your dog see some dogs.
YOU STAY BACK far enough, so Fenna IS comfortable. this might be 300 feet away, but, you stop far enough away, that Fenna IS still comfortable, has NOT yet reacted.

Lay down a blanket if you want, and get Fenna to sit or lie down, and give her treats for looking CALMLY at those obnoxious enemy dogs, hee hee. You can also give her back massages, yawns, slow blinks, whatever. Then you leave. That's it.
Next day, a bit closer, always keeping Fenna BELOW her own threshhold, slowly rewarding Fenna for calmly looking AT the dog, not at you. BUT YOU ARE CORRECT, that "look at me" is great move to prevent reactions when you have no other choice.

worth a try. My dog is total gangsta, and doing this has helped him get better, we started at like 500 feet away, he is down to 5 to 10 feet now, sometimes even closer, sometimes no reaction at all.

Rewarding calmly looking at the DOG, (desensitizing) and rewarding looking at YOU, have two different purposes or uses, really.

ALSO-----------IT'S GOOD TO KNOW----------once a dog flips out, he is NOW chockful of adrenaline for next 20 to 30 minutes (varies from dog to dog, some dogs even longer...)
and during that time,
he most likely WILL RE-react to almost anything....cuz he is all revved up inside. It does NOT take much to set off a dog who has JUST went off, is my point. It's good to know, so you don't feel like failure if your attempts to calm your dog fail, after he JUST went off.

ONE MORE THING, is, you might find using a Gentle Leader head collar for certain siutations helpful. My dog doesn't reallly get to pick if he is going to do his famous "breeching whale" display---yelling, "Ey! YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME !" or not, if he is wearing his GL, he just has to tag along after me...

I think you have to be careful to only GENTLY move the dog along, i think you could hurt their neck if it gets pulled too suddenly or hard, see? Only gently gently gently so you don't hurt the dog's neck.

If i take Buddy places that flip him out, like Petsmart, he LOVES Petsmart, but, it is sooooo exciting to him, that it doesn't take much to set him off at Petsmart. (he once barked/went off on CARDBOARD DOG picture in Petsmart, there's a clue, it wasn't even a real dog). I only keep him in there very briefly, and never ever by any dogs. We go in, work on some relaxation excercises, get some things, and leave.

So if i take him someplace that is too exciting, like Petsmart, he gets to wear his Gentle Leader head collar in there, helps. I hear the BlackDog head collar is even better. Might be an option.

 

[tigerlily46514]

Also, if your dog does react to dogs,
you might notice some things are triggers,
like
doorways
TOYS
gateways (any entrance of any kind)
TOYS
fences set off some dogs
chew-bones
leashes (however, safety first)
TOYS
food or treats
narrow hallways
his own human (dog might see you as "his") and gets honked off if another dog gets too close
TOYS
places that your dog sees as TOO exciting, like Petsmart, dog parks, etc.
etc
etc
etc.

GOOD LUCK! YOU CAN HELP YOUR DOGS GET BETTER!!!!!!!!!!! KEEP TRYING!!! oh, and btw, yelling at a dog who is upset does not help AT ALL, if anyone is reading along, is waste of time to yell at dog and hope that will stop a dog from being upset.

 

[*Inge & Fenna]

thnx for the tips, I'm gonna try that I hope it helps ..