Understanding and Preventing Reactivity and Aggression in Your Dog #29
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2020
- Today’s topic covers the serious issue of reactivity and aggression in dogs. If you have a challenge with your dog, I strongly advise that you seek out the help of a Certified Veterinary Behaviorist who is equipped to deal with these issues in a reinforcement-based program. Seek the help of a qualified professional who will, where needed, use pharmaceutical intervention to help create a different reality for your dog, so your dog does not go through life feeling the need to react.
I’m sharing how what is “different” can lead to reactivity or aggression, and how a lot of aggression is learned. It’s not that there is something wrong with the dog. You can help your dog to catalogue experiences in a way that is appropriate for their well being and yours.
In the episode you'll hear:
• Insights into why aggression can be a learned behavior.
• How you and your dog can have better outcomes.
• What stimulus is, and what’s good, innocuous and not good for your dog.
• Understanding stimuli from your dog’s perspective.
• Why “different” creates a response in your dog.
• How your dog’s curiosity could lead to reactivity.
• What a dog’s cautious curiosity can look like.
• The importance of what happens during and after our dog displaying curiosity for something that is different.
• The two strategies you need for changing a trigger and minimizing the stress of an experience for your dog.
• Why you should believe what your dog is telling you.
• What you can do to help your dog.
Resources:
Podcast Episode 4: T.E.M.P. (Tail, Eyes/Ears, Mouth, Posture) - • T.E.M.P. (Tail, Eyes/E...
Podcast Episode 27: Do Dogs Need Rules? - • Do Dogs Need Rules? #27
Podcast Episode 24: Help for the Dog who Chases Chipmunks, Bicycles, and the Neighbor’s Cat - • Distraction Intensity ...
Video Blog: Understanding Your Dog’s Triggers - susangarrettdogagility.com/20...
Video Blog: Dog Body Language, Fear and Aggression - susangarrettdogagility.com/20...
Blog Post: Leash Aggression in Dogs: Are We Trying To Put Out A Fire With Gasoline? - susangarrettdogagility.com/20...
P.S. Subscribe to our TH-cam Channel so you get notifications of new videos!
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Dogs That is brought to you by Susan Garrett and the Say Yes Dog Training Team.
Susan Garrett’s interest in animal behaviour started at the University of Guelph where she earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science. Since then she has developed into a preeminent dog trainer and canine sports instructor and competitor. Susan is one of the most successful agility competitors of the last three decades. She has won multiple Gold Medals at National or World Championship events with every dog she has ever owned over the past 30 years.
A natural teacher and an entertaining speaker, Susan is world renowned as a leading educator of dog trainers. Her understanding of how to apply science-based learning principles to both competitive and family pet dog training has been pivotal in changing how dogs are trained.
Susan is now helping many thousands of dog owners in 82 countries have the best relationship possible with their dogs. The real joy for her comes from bringing confidence to dogs and their owner through playful interactions and relationship building games that are grounded firmly in the science of how animals learn.
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This stragety does really function! Feeding at the fence and when othter dogs are passing my pack 👍 But as you said, I had to through my thinking away, that I would reinforce the behaviour. What really happens is, that they loose the stress within the situation and I can get their awareness... and can afterwards manage their behaviour in a positive way.
I put this into practice yesterday when neighbors were out walking (which has been a regular thing this summer). My three dogs were already out, and, as usual, lost their minds barking at the front fence. (My fence goes all the way round my acre). I grabbed a treat jar and went out on front deck and just started throwing handfuls out into the yard. Excellent distraction!
This morning when they were out, they started barking at the guy mowing his pasture next door. I opened the back door and yelled "Hey!" They were across the yard and up the steps to the back deck in a heartbeat. Awesome! Although now I may have to cut their food rations for a few days, lol.
Susan, I am a CPDT-KA certified trainer and absolutely loving these videos! I know this one is from a few years ago... I've been watching them a bit willy nilly/out of order on subjects I need more info on, but you are so enjoyable to listen to and your wisdom has been so helpful. I need a bracelet that says "WWSGD"! ;-)
I have a 9 year old border collie who is leash reactive only when he sees other dogs on leash. I think it is a mix of fear and frustration as he had some negative experiences with dogs that has taken some time to work through. If i know it is a dog friendly dog, meeting the dog helps, and his leash reactivity has gotten better with distance and distraction over the years, but there are times where we are in unavoidable situations where he is beyond threshold is where it gets tricky. Often times I have to pick him up because he pancakes, freezes and then ugly barks. In these situations, as you mentioned, nothing gets through him to postiviely redirect him. He loves treats, but when he is beyond threshold, I could be wearing a tower of T-bone steaks and nothing would get him to move. I will try these strategies and see if we can make some better headway beyond what I've been able to accomplish. Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted!! ~Lindsay Flatter CPDT-KA
Cannot wait to try this with my Schnauzer/Yorkie rescue! This dog had 3 families adopt her only to try her out and return her to the rescuer by the time she was 8 months old. Then we came along. Honestly, we nearly returned her as well. This little dog was friendly and cuddly and expressed no fear or aggression at any of the other dogs when we went to meet her at the adoption event at Petco. She also wasn't bothered by any other dogs as we led her around the store. Then, after we got her home from the adoption and she settled into our home, she suddenly became very jealous and dog aggressive toward our 10-year-old Aussie Shepherd/Blue Heeler cross. She also became very dog aggressive toward anyone walking by our house when they were walking their dog or dogs. She is also this way while we watch TV together in the evenings if a dog comes on the screen. Makes you realize how many commercials have dogs in them as she constantly charges at the TV. We wonder if she thinks it is a window? We have gotten some improvement over the past 3 years with consistent "normal" negative corrections (yelling no, putting her in her kennel in another room, etc.), but now that I have discovered your style of reinforcement-based dog behavior shaping, I have high hopes that perhaps we can get through this with training. I would have never thought about feeding treats to interrupt the pattern and create a new trigger. Like many others that have commented, I would have thought it was only rewarding the bad behavior. We will be trying this immediately as we settle in to watch our shows this evening. Thank you for being a beacon of hope for us and our little terrorist...I mean terrier!
Thank you for adding in “…then ween them off” when mentioning pharmaceutical treatment. 👍🏽‼️
I had to laugh at your comment about Will Robinson. My closest friend set that phrase as her special ring tone for my calls because I use that line so often!
I have to keep coming back to this as people say just that. 'You're rewarding your dog for unwanted behaviour'. Thank you, thank you, Susan. I am with Recallers and know this, but reminders are good : )
Susan, this episode has fallen like a gift from the sky. I am member of Your program (with discount for shelter-dogs). Ours is with us for 2 months. What was a problem at the beginning (example: our cat home) - is no problem in a shade of new upcoming obsacles. We are now at the stage of fears and reactivity. That is being very taugh on us, especially that at the same moment we are trying to diagnose (with doctors) reasons for physical pain. W also engaged a dog-trainer, which I obviously misunderstood. It was briefly explained to us, that as our dog became (with no reasons and during just few weeks) reactive to other dogs - I should rather avoid them and redirect our trajectory. For 2-3 weeks now I was progressively avoiding other dogs, avoiding people and getting isolated while building a stress in me... While - listening to Your introduction I could simply understand the reasons but also to believe in my role as a leader (not a boss). I almost totally lost a trust in our dog. I am not sure what happend yesterday, but I just had to leave all my worries behind. I looked at our dog who was sleeping relaxed (first time since many days) and I thought: maybe I added fuel to the fire through my fears..... I like that Your philosophy is not avoidiing (You call it "managing") - this is what I was doing. I need to train but I was left without any tools for too long and I started to feel helpless. I can not wait to see some episodes where I might see how to get back a dog that stops whinking, smelliing, hearing - and is turning in one big WAITING. For something terrible to happen. I do need to learn it very fast in order not to become this lady walking around with a big, black, barking and growing dog - which is good animal inside. Thank You Susan ))
Just joined Recallers a few weeks ago and am loving getting all the resources. Just wish I could watch them all day! Thank you for your lifelong commitment to dogs and their owners!
Boy can socialization be lost quickly or not even be on the radar! My 8mo female border collie Sapphire loves everyone... except kids. We don't have kids and she is around my in-laws and their 3yo BC and we walk every morning and see bikes, men, women and other dogs but rarely kids. A week ago a contractor was working outside and he brought his 11yo son to work. I couldn't figure out why she was barking so much. He brought his son again a couple days later and Sapphire saw him out the window and wouldn't stop barking. I decided we needed to work on this issue and took the frisbee and treats outside. She wouldn't play frisbee so I showed the kid how to IYC works and was able to get Sapphire to take treats from him but she still tried to hide behind me or under me. They came back the next day and she barked at the kid again. I picked her up because I forgot to grab her leash but she calmed down and let the kid pet her. I've had a few people on trail ask if their child can pet my dog. I am very careful and put her on leash and give them treats to give to her but in this podcast you mentioned throwing the cookies which is a better choice given the potential outcome. Thanks again for a great podcast!
Another great video Susan, I will add that there are some great trainers out there that there whole career has been working with aggression and fear in dogs. There are only so many Certified Veterinary behaviorist out there and in most cases are too expensive for the average dog owner. Most of them do not actually work aggression cases and are referred to their trainers. So just my two cents.
I have a reactive dog and live on a busy street where people go by our gated home all the time. We don't really have a backyard and so we take them out in front when we can. With the reactive dog we did the treat thing (we have been through private training with her but not for this) and we worked on her recall. So now when I see that people are coming I get out the treats and call her to me. I try to keep her distracted with the treats until they pass. Now after many, many repetitions she will sometimes just come to me for treats when she sees someone coming. It really is amazing to see a reactive dog stop and think and make a GREAT choice! Thank you for this video because people need to know that reactivity can be managed.
wow Susan, this works. i know cause i own a reactive dog. in fact i have had more than one reactive dog at a time. that was a fun mix. my dog now is read by me pretty darn good. i can tell his T.E.E.M.P in nano seconds. It is amazing how so many people think they have to correct a dog for showing fear or frustration. That makes it worse. I am so glad you did a podcast on this topic as i can share it, tell people where to look for more help. Thanks Susan.
Hi Susan, I have a reactivate GSD. After years of training, advise from animal behaviorist, dog trainers etc etc your video just clicked with regards to the section relating to throwing food to the barking dogs. Have been taught to reward for the behavior you want. This has always been difficult when it comes to her having fear aggression to other dogs (any other animal she is good around). Thank you and can't wait to put a plan together and teach an old dog a new trick (behavior).
This is a perfect lesson for me. We will be moving into our new home this week. I’ve been working with Win on reacting to people, noises, or trucks outside our camper (because in our last house he ran at the door each time another dog came by - which was often) and this podcast reinforces my need to reinforce more! He’s doing well here so “different” will be our new environment. Wish me luck!!
Oh! This is helping me understand my girls behavior. One of my girls does the alarm in public after sniffing someone. Like? Anna’s nose goes up and like the alarm bark. I didn’t know it was an alarm bark. Now I do I gotta watch more of these, very informative.
Thank you so much!! I am so happy I found & discovered you today!! Today me & Denali are celebrating 2 year adoption day!! She is a hurricane Maria survivor & it has been 2 years of learning & loving each other!! Recently she slipped out of my hand & attacked a little dog!! We were all traumatized but the little guy was fine!!! It definitely was a HUGE trigger - to much detail leading up to it!! But what I have taken in from your teaching so far is amazing!! I am gonna keep watching & learning giving Denali the life she deserves!!!
Hi Julie, so glad that Denali has you, thank you for such a lovely note, and for doing everything you can to help your girl!
I have been watching these podcasts during my breakfast. Love your energy Susan and I have learned a lot already
I have a rescue dog, she is 4 years and we are her 4th or 5th owner 😒 she is reactive to other dogs but I have been working with her for 6 weeks now and we are getting there 🎉 outside she is not lunging at other dogs anymore
Saturday we will have a vet visit us which is also a behavioral therapist to help with her fear of thunder and fireworks. We live in the Netherlands and people are already setting of fireworks on a daily basis now and it's been going on since the beginning of August 🙄
I love this podcast. Thank you for all of the information that you provide to us!
Thank you Susan for sharing, you are the best!!!
Thank you for all the information your are giving us. This help a lot to prevent or correct a behavior. I must say that I have to listen a second time to your podcasts because when I discovered you, the puppy was not home yet and I was trying to get all the information I could before her arrival. It is a big change in the way had learned before. Merci!
Thank you Susan for this podcast....my dog lunges and barks at other dogs when on leach. I'm in your current recallers class, just finished Home School the Dog, so this is an added bonus for me.
Welcome to our programs! Lynda(TeamSusan)
This has given me so much food for thought!! Great podcast than you so much!!
You’re just amazing! Thank you🐾❤️🐾
Love listening to you. My dog goes crazy if she sees certain dogs. Some dogs she likes. some dogs she decides she looks like she wants to tear them apart. Why??
Hi Jane, we have a video all about triggers that might help you determine what the trigger is: th-cam.com/video/Vxp2rQC8VMY/w-d-xo.html
Thanks so much for replying. Love your podcasts🐶
Thank you so much! This is so helpful. I hope this helps many dogs and their owners! It definitely helps us! And I love your podcast especially now that I have so many things to train from the recallers program this is nice input before watching the next assignment 😁
Thank you! I needed to hear this!!❤️
This is so helpful! Thank you!
This was great. I am going to replay..a few more times. 🐕♥️
Just found you so grateful.
Will take your homeschool course when the puppy comes. July/August.
Have to get him used to so many new things: car travel, a second home. (Overwhelmed) and he’s big. Great Pyrenees
Trying to learn everything I can do I can train as circumstances artiste in addition to purposeful training.
More on puppy training big dogs please. 💕🌹
2 years of struggling with my now 55lb dog on leash (& with anyone coming to the house), and a few weeks ago the Home School the Dog coaches helped me implement new protocols centred around these super simple concepts... and I'm seeing change.
It'll take plenty of ongoing work and an unrelenting committment to consistency, but things couldn't continue the way they were going. I couldn't have the neighbour's daughter grow up in fear of the dog who always lost her mind when she saw her, and also, at 55lbs, a dog who's lost her mind is a danger to me for injury from being pulled off balance.
(the little girl is only one of approximately 1,000 my dog loses her mind over, but it's obviously a critically important one to get under control)
Not to mention my dog deserves to enjoy a calm life. She's amazing. Just - no one except me has ever seen it because she goes so bananas whenever anyone else is around.
Neighbours have already been commenting on the change they've started to see when we do our daily training walks near the house on our rural road.
It's amazing what Search! will do (and also rewarding in Reinforcement Zone any time she voluntarily checks in with me). We never go farther from home if the environment starts making her hesitate to respond to Search, but we cover lots and lots and lots of distance walking back and forth within her "successful zone." And every week, we find ourselves a dozen or so more meters down the road (successfully) than we'd gotten before.
Thank you so much, Rebecca, for sharing how you and your girl are doing! We've shared with the whole team. You both deserve a great life together and are on the way to getting it, so keep at it ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
My puppy gets excited seeing our neighbours dog she wants to play but is very rough so this is great advice to get her to cope and not get so ‘ in yer face’ with others she loves tugging & food so will try them both ❤
Hi Vicky! Here's another podcast that can help: th-cam.com/video/0kbDlNIxtn4/w-d-xo.html
I'm a reactive dog walker, and have been a volunteer in a reactive dog shelter and now own a reactive dog.
Trying to explain why I'm giving reactive dogs chicken when they're losing their mind was really difficult for me so this is AMAZING for explaining. Thank you, I've circulated to my clients, friends and family.
I've just started listening to your podcast and have a new take away every time so really appreciate it ❤️
Great video. Love the way you explained things.
Great to hear the explain ation of why you 'reward' a dog for this sort of thing. Thank you
Hi Susan. When I saw this podcast it was like you had read my mind and knew exactly what I needed to hear. My dog is reactive to dogs that are off lead when he is on lead which makes trying to do agility in a class setting extremely challenging. I’m sure I’m not helping as this behaviour is triggering a stress response in me. Your podcast has given me lots to think about and some ideas for a training plan to hopefully reprogram our responses ❤️
I feel your pain. The struggle is real.
Very helpful content. Thank you.
Please advise.
The analogy that you gave at 15:40 is not what I learned. The correction given during reactivity is to communicate to dog that you cannot bark, lunge, growl or fixate on the stimulus and ignore the handler.
Once the + punishment is received by dog for the unwanted response, it also right away gets reinforced for the alternate response it chooses to offer( looking at handler, looking at stimulus without fixating, looking away, smelling ground or engaging in tug) which creates a new response pathways and with enough repeats the dog figures out which response leads to good things.
However, without the + reinforcement it will leave a hole as the dog wouldn’t know the alternate response expected and developing good association with the stimulus.
Of course keeping thrush old index in mind.
Your way will work but the truth is the amount of time and effort it will take from the handler is not practical given the current state of dog ownership and the knowledge people try to acquire to prepare them for the same.
I just came across your podcast. You are amazing! Love your approach.
So valuable! Loved the x-penned dogs story. Now I have to try this with my dog...and it isn't even that complicated. With a little thought and effort, anyone can make positive changes. 5-🌟 review.
Awesome😊
Thank you for this content!
You are amazing!
Greetings from Brasil ❤🇧🇷
Excellent podcast. I have worked out most of the things that frighten my dog, and we have been slowly improving the situations by giving him space, gradually introducing the triggers at a distance with positive experiences. It’s the odd occasion when something happens out of my control, that I hadn’t predicted that really upsets me. The other day we were in a secure field, the only place I can let my dog run free for excersise. A family arrived for their session in the field, I was playing with Bruno and never noticed them arrive. A couple with three young children and two dogs on leads entered the field. Before I could put the lead on Bruno had started to go and see them. I knew my recall would be useless in this situation. I started to follow. When Bruno approached them their dogs barked. Bruno began circling them barking. The man even tried to approach Bruno. I asked them to not approach him and I tried to secure the lead. It took me a while, and really shocked my confidence. As you can imagine I was cross with myself for not noticing their arrival. Even more cross with them for not letting me have the time to leave before they entered. Once I got Bruno on the lead we managed loose lead walking to my car with lots of treats. I’d love to hear what you would have done differently, it made me feel I had failed my dog, and the experience made me very upset.
Oh, I feel awful for you and know how this feels. i had one who needed her environment controlled all the time for 11 of the 12 years of her life (wish I had this podcast then) and really you just can't micromanage every tiny thing for years without going bats. Try not to beat yourself up. It happens no matter how hard you try to manage things, because other people and dogs do weird unexpected stuff. It is a setback sure, but you are on the right track and eventually he won't even feel like going off when he sees people like that and you will know how far you've come! Bruno is lucky to have you!
You could always take an extra lead with you to tie the door shut from inside the field, that way it'll take more time for someone to get into the field if you don't happen to notice them immediately. You could make a small sign to hang on the lead that politetly asks them to not enter while you train bcus of your aggressive dog, and that you can leave the field if they want to use it as long as they let you leave before they enter it.
@@puudathemeow5593 Thank you. We have left that field now, Bruno mostly has lead walks, he gets one or two off lead walks in a secure field with his dog friends every week, that’s all I can afford. I am more comfortable and confident with the lead walks now. As long as we aren’t in a tight spot or narrow path, we are fine when meeting people. He is fine with dogs off the lead and will great others happily. It’s men he is still reacting too if they come too close and especially if they are jogging or riding a bike. I have quite a few safe and interesting walks to take Bruno on now.
I currently have a cat as well and I’ve noticed that these tips also work well for shy or fearful cats!
Absolutely!! You are doing wonderfully, thank you for being part of this amazing community
Love hearing stop will Roger’s because I an old timer (54) and laugh when I hear it though wasn’t a fan of the show. And I do Reinforcement Zone with deli roast beef for Gemma’s reactivness and it is paying off. We still have a long way to go but she doesn’t react to cars as much and is better with walkers. Bickers and joggers are still a problem but again better than when we got her. So Love all your programs and philosophy ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Susan, I appreciate your Danger Wil Robinson! references. :)
I just found your channel. I adore your way of breaking down dog behaviour. Thanks so much for making these videos.
Welcome, Angélique, we're so happy that you're here! If you haven't yet, join us in the free Connected Dog series! It's available only for a limited time: doggyflix.com/y/join-now
@@DogsThat Thanks! I will. I love hearing different perspectives and learning from experts who understand high drive dogs! :)
Thank you for this podcast! The neighbor dogs are pit/mix and have a history of coming into our garage unleashed, and without the owner. The 2 dogs began to circle us and began to growl at us. I was able to get us both safety into the house. Now both of us are fearful of those dogs. Even after many reports to our local animal control agency, the dogs continue to get out of the house unleashed without their owner right as we walk towards our home. How do I train my dog when I’m fearful as well? (I have spoken to my neighbors many times, some people you wish they would move on.)
Thank you Susan, my dog pulls and barks at cars and will chase and circle them it she gets the opportunity , I `ll now try a cookie everytime we see a car and manage by firstly only going where there is nt much traffic...a plan in the making cheers
Hi Susan, Thank you so much. I adopted a 1 year old dog who did not have any socialization. Then came COVID. I am not sure what triggers him. I can go for three weeks with him walking by dogs and he is great. Then as we are walking by a dog, he looks as if he is making the right choice then before I know it, he lunges. Sometimes we have passed the same dogs multiple times in a week but then on a given day, he lunges. Sometimes it is with a growl. I'm not sure how to understand his anxiety/fear.
Hi Elaine, recording keeping would be a good help, it need not be hard, here's a video explaining:
th-cam.com/video/XUJksPoQNps/w-d-xo.html
The video on triggers is also a great one to watch:
susangarrettdogagility.com/2019/01/positive-triggers/
Gems: The different kinds of stimulus: I love that, I hate that, that's innocuous, I am afraid of that. All of these stimuli are created through experience that the dog has lived up until this point. Something DIFFERENT could be a combination of or one of the senses: Sees, hears, touches / feels, smells or tastes. Novel stimuli creates different responses in them. Different creates curiosity. Curiosity comes in two forms: the first kind would be investigation warranted or intrigue, while the second type of curiosity is more cautious. Both kinds of curiosity can lead to reactivity down the road. The opposition reflex occurs when you are pulling the dog away from something, they tend to want to go toward it more with drive. You NEED TO BELIEVE YOUR DOG. There are two strategies: in the moment and after the fact. The best way to help them in the moment is to reinforce an alternate behaviour, such as tugging, hand touch game, or the search game. With these, you are changing the trigger. Increase the distance away, and set the dog up to be reinforced. What is your plan to counter condition it? It's all about you helping your dog to catalogue experiences in a way that is appropriate for their future and wellbeing of you, your dog, as well as the dogs and people around you. I am coming up with a plan, and working on my dogs individually as I have noticed that they are reactive when we are on walks together (two dogs at a time). I walked tonight both dogs and was using the search game, but I am thinking to try walking individually to give each more attention to this issue. Thank you very much for sharing your expertise. I am really enjoying these podcasts.
Very good info! So my dog has stopped being afraid of most fenced in barking dogs on our walk, but he just seems super interesred now. He likes to watch new things, and he wants to just sit and watch. Well that makes them bark more, causes a commotion, and I dont enjoy just standing there to provoke barking. He will eventually walk away, but is not interested in toys or treats at this time. Do I need better treats, give treats and praise as soon as he walks away?
I just came across your pod casts. I look forward to watching more. I also signed up for one of your courses. I love learning more things when it comes to dog training. I have a very smart little dog who is an amazing trick dog, knows over 200 tricks, but at 11 years old he is still very reactive to the mail man, knocks at the door, and strangers walking by his yard. I would love to find ways to help this, and on the other side his is crazy over the top excited to see people he knows. He will sit if they ask him too, and calms quickly once he gets to actually go up to them, which is great, but the excitement waiting to approach them is quite something.
Another 5 star episode learnt a lot on this one. O by the way I prefer the old original lost in space, i have seen the new series, but prefer the old lost in space.
Does one of these curiousities lead to fear, is that the reactivity one?? My dog is fearful is certain noisey situations, There is no intermediate stage. Happy as larry to fearful. No treats will do it, no hand targets and she doesn't tug or like toys. It is instant. What do I do to counter condition. She needs help and I don't know how to help her....x (Thank you Susan for your generosity in sharing your knowledge, passion and love of dogs with us xx)
8:36 I LUV’d the original Lost In Space‼️
👍🏽1%ers‼️
We're half way through recallers and our dog is reactive and alarm barking when strangers approach our property or when we're out camping. We'll try the strangers = treats approach.
Haha! I do get the reference to Will Robinson!
I have a 3 and 1/2-year-old Dutch Shepherd/Belgian malinois combo. She is super smart. And equally as stubborn. I have tried for over a year to stop her from being dog reactive. It only appears when she is unleash. I walk her around my neighborhood with no leash, but, using a remote collar. I am going to try what you were teaching in here to maybe curb some of the reactivity. I have been reading That I need to make her walk slightly behind me in a heel. I will start today incorporating your instructions. Wish me luck!
Hi, we have more videos with help for reactive dogs in case you're interested: th-cam.com/video/qsHK--RoRjs/w-d-xo.html&pp=gAQBiAQB
We'd love to hear how this training is working for you and your dog!
@@DogsThat Will definitely get into that when I get back home
Great video, thanks Susan! Do you have any videos for dogs being reactive/aggressive while on lead going for walks? It's something my 2 year old labradoodle/border collie has recently started having a problem with. She never barked and in the last 2 months, it's kicked off where she has barked and showed teeth at a few medium/large dogs we've walked past. Thanks!
Hi Prad, thanks for tuning in and for wanting to help your girl. We've a whole playlist on the topic of reactivity for you - th-cam.com/play/PLphRRSxcMHy0Tbd6ZybIXgJk3mtpBLLk7.html
The next video to check out is one about walks - th-cam.com/video/E8nSFiqTalM/w-d-xo.html
Hi Susan, Since joining Recallers 2 months ago, my dog is much less reactive to people and bikes going by. We have been able to decrease the distance between them and us. He'll stay in RZ as they pass by and keep his eyes on me for cookies. I'm very happy about this! Dogs are another story. I'm doing the same training as dogs pass by, but dogs pass by less often so the training opportunities are fewer and of course, I see less improvement. Do you think he can become more comfortable around dogs without working on this daily? I took him to a park where more dogs walked by, but that was too much of a trigger. Do you think if I go to the park more often but for shorter visits, it would be helpful? BTW: Not all of us are too young for Will Robinson! Oh, there's a new Lost In Space on Netflix :)
It helps if you can arrange to meet a friend or neighbor with a calm, non-reactive dog. Have them walk back and forth past you at a distance where your dog is comfortable for at least 10-15 minutes. Dogs and people you can control are the best - if they see your dog getting upset, they can halt and feed their dog or move farther away. You can also take walks in the same direction with them - first with both humans between the dogs until they get comfortable. After a very few minutes, most dogs seem to settle down and enjoy walking with company.
Very interesting again.
I used to play with my dog in the garden when the noise kids were in their garden and my dog doesn't show interest in them.
Wow this is great. Thanks so much.
Have a fearful of strangers approaching to pat my dog, tradies coming to do work on house, and kids.
And no can see that it’s the tigger. But never knew what to do. I’ve tried to see it before my dog and distract but never works.
He is deaf so makes it very hard to get his attention. Any tips?
Check out this site deafdogsrock.com/vibration-collars-for-deaf-dogs. Use a non-shock (!) electronic vibrating collar to get his attention. It is important to note that vibration collars are for getting your dog’s attention - they are never to be used for correction,
I love all you're work so much, so I was wondering if you had any advice. I have a 17 month old puppy who has had a lot of bad experiences with some dogs. He's not reactive toward them and even plays very nicely at the dog park, but certian dogs just make him nervous and often escalates quickly to him snapping, growling, ect. Especialy if it's a young dog, male dog, of if the dog threatens his favorite resorce. Food and us. It seems to be getting more frequent. I'm nervous I won't be able to fix this becuase I get so emotional when he growls ect. I also don't know many dogs i could teach him with.
Great info! I'm new to the channel. What do you do when a dog barks at everyone that walks by or pretty much everything? I have a lab mix that is a rescue and I don't know her history. I just know she's barking all the time and is fear aggressive. She is on fluoxentine which is helpful, but still needs training and I'm not sure where to start?
I hope someone will answer your question because I have the same problem!
Have you found any solutions since you posted this question?
Have you tried a Thundershirt (or just a diy one)? I saw someone posting about how much it calmes their reactive dog down and I think it would make training easier since you can try to build that connection between stimulus and treats when and if the dog is calmer with the shirt on. I don't have much experience with reactive dogs so I don't know if it would actually work in your situation.
I'm still trying to work on this with my 1yr male german Shepherd.. he at times is reactive to people and dogs
It puzzled me when our reactive trainer wanted us to practice feeding the dog treats when focusing on dogs passing by to countercondition my 15 month old GSD from lunging and barking. When she gets beyond threshold, to redirect to come, sit and look at me.
Do you have any advice for dealling with puppies going through the adolescent/teenage phase?
Aloha Susan, I'm a little late to the party, but my 11 month old has developed reactivity to guests coming to our home thanks to no visit COVID. He will growl, bark, and probably nip if given the chance. Using your fence treats strategy...if a guest came in, ignored the dog, left a small bowl of treats on the ground and moved away...assuming the dog calmed down enough to sniff and eat the treats left behind...could that eventually work to shift his reaction?
Susan, my cousins two dogs bark like crazy at the front window when dogs go by outside. It’s nuts. She is now keeping he front curtains closed all the time. What else can she do. She can’t move away from the stimuli. So what now? Is there another episode that would help?
Hi Susan. I have just watched your video on reactivity and aggression. I'm in uk and have a 3 year old cocker spaniel. She had a litter of 5 pups last February. 3 went to my sons and we kept 1 girl. Rosie was the perfect mom until they left and since then she has been aggressive with them. When they were 4 weeks old she had a bad case of mastitis and the meds she had meant she had to stop feeding them - she had already started weaning them. She still cleaned them and played with them. The aggression has escalated to pinning them down and snarling. My sons visit every couple of weeks or so. I am finding it very difficult and have resorted to shouting at her to stop and/or putting her in a pen out of the room i know this is wrong but really dont know what to do. When she was younger she was hit (by me im ashaned to admit). The pup we kept is very wary of her. I am on a waiting list to talk to a vet behaviourist, Sarah Heath, but this will be online. Rosie is not aggressive with people or other dogs, just her pups
Hi Janet, thank you for wanting to help Rosie. We have a playlist on living with multiple dogs that applies to dogs visiting us or any time more than one dog is with another, and has tips on safe introductions and strategies. Here's that link for you:
th-cam.com/play/PLphRRSxcMHy2ee0fquucowgCTcl1kCdO-.html
I have a puppy (4months today) he first was afraid of cars ...I ignored by keep walking (he is on leash )or I stoped and told him to sit and we waited the car to pass by..now every time a car or bike (im in the Netherland lots of bikes :) ) approach he wants to run to it ... and once in a while he barks.at cars.(this is a BC) he also is very curious to go to people passing or people walking behind us...very annoying because he doest want to walk anymore lol ...he thinks everyone is a friend ...I don't know if that is good or bad ...but what you suggest I do concerning the cars and bikes? where we walk is a busy place .... thank you
Danger Will Robinson is back in as they remade Lost In Space recently. 🤪😂
Hi Susan, I have been using positive association training for 6 years with my 7 yr old collie & had great success on walks. I am STILL struggling (in-fact it’s got worse) with visitors & family members at home. The triggers are movement & talking & it escalates when someone tries to leave, even leaving a room. Lunging, nipping & herding. We are week 4 on fluoxetine now as advised by behaviourist. I’m committed to make this work as I’m hoping the fluoxetine will enable him to think & slow down enough for the training to work. Please could you possibly reply and let me know exactly what I should be working on? I feel I’m working on too many elements at once & because the problems are at home it’s constant and it’s exhausting & I feel lost when it comes to being in the moment. So no surprise I’m not seeing much improvement. I trained successfully out on walks due to having proximity on my side but cannot seem to achieve this at home due to him being over threshold as soon as someone comes in, be it the garden or the house. Where do I start? Please I need some direction. He also has separation anxiety & I feel this behaviour has transferred over to him thinking visitors are leaving even when they are not but also shows very clear fear/stress signs when people move & talk. & he shows typical signs of resource guarding towards myself against people.
I do calm boundary games which is great away from ‘the moment’ but doesn’t seem to transfer to when visitors are here. scatter feeding, which again is fine when people are still but he cannot cope with any kind of movement at all. Even crossing of legs. Any advice on what I should be focusing on please. He’s great with the games away from distractions but I’ve lost my confidence around visitors. Please help.
Many many Thanks for the positive online tuition. Natalie Felgate UK
Xx
Hi @Natalie Felgate it's wonderful you are working with a behaviourist and wonderful you are helping your dog. Your behaviourist might be able to recommend a protocol for you while you are under thier care. We have a video on helping dogs with visitors to our homes during celebrations but it can apply to visitors at any time and will give you strategies - th-cam.com/video/vzJmChfC85I/w-d-xo.html
Having a 5 month old OTS Collie, I have to keep watching this. We go through all these stages, and then I want to bang my head against a wall thinking we had this conquered. Ugh. Puppies.
I think my rescue puppy is often driven by fear and anxiety. She is a pathology mouther and nipper and any kind of correction just results in escalation. I am stuck on how to train this while keeping my body and clothes intact :)
Hi @Karen Brodeur-Trotter we have a playlist for puppy biting to help:
th-cam.com/play/PLphRRSxcMHy03hWZgAQfG1t5Q6YzGPi7z.html
Help! I'm not sure how to apply this to a 4.5 month old McNab puppy who wants to bite at wheels on everything. Wheelbarrows, trash cans, CARS. She also triggers on any unknown person, but I have learned from this podcast how to begin training around that. I knew a dog who was killed because of her tire-biting behavior. I know that I need to get on this NOW!! How do I break this down into trainable pieces? Thank you 🐾🐾♥️
Great podcast Susan, I needed to hear this, I’m very stressed past 4 months because my BOC who never been aggressive, never attached anything and anyone, all of the sudden bit a guy who walked passed us after training.. I couldn’t figure out why she did that, it never happened be4..
since then she does the same reactivity to every 6th or 10th person now .. i never know when it may come again
My dog is reactive to other dogs. It is especially bad in enclosed areas like the hallways in my apartment building or the alley behind my apartment. She's also a little afraid of people. Fortunately several people in my apartment are helping me out and I'm able to give them cookies to give to her when we're in the elevator together. But I came across the situation tonight that I didn't know how to deal with. when we were walking outside, another person who had a a dog that is reactive to other dogs let go of their dogs leash. This wasn't an accidental drop. I saw the dog and crossed the street with my dog to avoid the situation. The other dog came running across the street at my dog. I yelled at them to get their dog under control which I realize was wrong because that will just increase my dogs anxiety. How should I handle this situation in the future?
Is reactive when a collie tries to round up other dogs and nips when off lead ? If not how would you control that please??
So i have a singleton puppy that is 7 months old. She’s been biting since we got her at 8 weeks. Biting to the point of drawing blood. I just found you online and ya e been trying to follow your games like not pulling away but instinct has it and she bites hard so we tend to pull away. I’ve been trying time outs and redirecting and she has numerous amounts of things to chew on other than us. Also when she plays she puts the toys right on our hands and then bites the toys but also gets our hands too. Just need a bit more guidance on what I’m doing wrong
How does your puppys Day look like? Maybe she doesn't get enough -or the right- exercise, or she has to much of it, so she can't sleep enough? (Like my gran said: After tired comes stupid)
Might not be the best advice but I would put my hand in my pups mouth and if he bit I would yelp “ouch”. Eventually he got more gentle and wouldn’t bite. Now as soon as his teeth touch me at all, like if we’re playing tug or if he’s taking treats he instantly stops. He’s very gentle with his mouth now. So much so that he doesn’t squeak the squeaky toys or balls.
I will squeak them so he knows they make noise but he’s so gentle with them he doesn’t put enough pressure on them to squeak them. I think there’s probably videos that address puppy biting in the proper way but this is what worked for Max.
Small young (?) rescue dog from Texas. History unknown. Very fearful and skittish but now mostly comfortable with me. Not 100%. Clearly was not well socialized or trained. Barked and growled at a larger dog that didn’t read her. After getting too close my dog gave the other dog a major whack on the nose. I believe this was all my fault for not
managing the situation even though I knew better. 😳Will not (hopefully) make this mistake again 🤦♀️ I would like to slowly help Carlie be less fearful of other dogs, starting with small dogs. I am thinking of well managed short parallel walks with calm small dogs. Is this a good idea or not? What do you recommend if you have time to give me your suggestions? 🙏🏻 Maureen
Hi Susan . Our lab, Sunny2 years is reactive when she is of leash and sees people from faraway. She will run at them barking but then will be happy around them.. I ear the reinforcement with a toy as she loves the ball but let’s say at the beginning she still goes, should we put the leas back on her and walk back home? Should we continue the walk…?
Hi @Valérie Yobé we have a series on teaching dogs to listen at a distance that will help.
Part 1 - th-cam.com/video/MHMzbxNElPs/w-d-xo.html
Part 2 - th-cam.com/video/v1jiG8tiAOc/w-d-xo.html
Part 3 - th-cam.com/video/jJqeiBbU7Pg/w-d-xo.html
And our video on Location Specific Reinforcement Markers - th-cam.com/video/5XDsCd39gCY/w-d-xo.html
My dog starts biting at the leash when he sees an open area where he can run or if he gets in close contact with another dog as he wants to play. How can I apply these principles to those situations? I've been avoiding walking close by dogs or stopping to say hi and also avoiding parks where he wants to go run. Am I doing the right thing?
My dog would try to tug bite the leash too when he was frustrated he couldn’t go play with other dogs so I trained drop it. If he went to bite the leash, I say drop it, then I gave him a treat. He’s pretty good now.
Also I make sure he has a few dogs that I let him wrestle and run around with so he has that outlet for his energy. Other dogs are his favourite thing so I’ve had to be selective and not let him play with every dog he sees. Hope you find something that works for your pup!
Would it be a good strategy also to go have a look? My dog saw men standing on foot path in the dark. He stopped immediately and started barking 'more like not sure about this but I don't like it'. He wouldn't move though. So I reassured him and he went to sniff and say hi. And we continued on our walk. Would this be a good strategy?
My dog starts barking a lot during car rides when he sees other dogs as we drive by. I can’t pull over to manage at that very minute. He loves car rides so I want to continue with the car rides. I started more car rides in hopes he would get used to seeing other dogs but hasn’t worked much.
Hi @sunflowerspanda we have a video for barking in cars to help th-cam.com/video/XVnjKYoz5WA/w-d-xo.html
Our 7yr old Aussie came to live with us 2 yrs ago from a breeder. Was told she does not like men, but has come a long way in liking my husband & 20yr son until they come home from work thru the door or open the basement door to come up. Can’t figure out if the sound of the door is the trigger scaring/startling her or if she is protecting me sitting in the living room 🤷🏻♀️ Barking is loud & posture is aggressive, has nipped at pant legs of some boys visiting our house. Chill pill or have guys fill up on treats before entering our house?🤦🏻♀️
if my dog sees a person suddenly sitting on a bench and does an alarm bark (suspicious of people), what should i do? Move away and throw treats on the ground for example?
I have a question about how to train the situation where our almost 6 month old puppy shows excited curiosity for people walking or dogs walking. I know I don’t want to pull away (encourage prey drive-I do grab collar and gently move away if possible-we play collar grab often ), but that’s not enough. He still gets too excited/can’t focus/treat dive, etc. I don’t want his excited curiosity to become reactive, so help me. It’s not as much of a problem in our yard where we can get distance, but it is a problem if we are out anywhere else. We don’t really walk anywhere that is crowded, but we do still occasionally encounter people and/or dogs. Plus I want to try to practice what I should do, but I don’t know how? I feel he is too excited in these situations to train, I don’t want to reinforce or create reactivity. Please advise! Thank you 💕
Hi Jennifer, here's two extra videos for you to check out for strategies to help your lovely pup.
th-cam.com/video/c6dWgRafNVQ/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/Iy4KUSCc3cw/w-d-xo.html
My 14 mth collie chases reacts badly to cars. I was just treating when she let them pass without reacting. I’m going to try to move further away and treat whatever the reaction.
But I have trouble with other dogs - she was great when younger greeting on a lead but now seems to sniff and greet then suddenly snaps. Also, if someone we meet pets her then their own dog approaches she snaps at their dog - obviously jealous. It’s hard to know how to manage either situation.
Also she can play too rough -run and snap at the heels of a dog which obviously isn’t enjoying the game as she is. Or put her paws over a smaller dog -I’m assuming she is dominating. Do you have any videos which might help??
In the meantime I am training as much as possible and hoping me being a better leader will help. Thank you.
Hi Hilary, thank you for wanting to help her. One thing to consider is if it's too much for her, here's a video about the bubble of pressure all dogs will have:
th-cam.com/video/E8nSFiqTalM/w-d-xo.html
And a video that covers the topic of dominance:
th-cam.com/video/wBs5froI2a4/w-d-xo.html
We also have a whole playlist covering reactivity and aggression, here's where all the videos are:
th-cam.com/play/PLphRRSxcMHy0Tbd6ZybIXgJk3mtpBLLk7.html
What if your dog isn’t food motivated and doesn’t want to play games? The only big motivator for him is hunting things, bugs lizards etc. how can I train him to not fearfully alarm bark at other dogs?
I have not exposed my reactive dog to children because I do not know how he will act. In the past with dogs, he would pretend to be interested in them and then when they got close he would attack them. Today when in the park, two mother's with toddlers wanted to have their children come up to my dog. I pulled hte dog away but the dog was curious and stood firm and looked at the toddlers. Should I have let the toddlers get closer and risk them getting attacked to satisfy the dog's curiousity or be safe and just pulled the dog away until I can train him to be around children before allowing this to happen?
The children's safety always, always, always comes first. If someone at the park wants their child to meet your dog but you think your dog may bite, tell them your dog is not friendly/is contagious/whatever you have to tell them to get them to go away, and then walk away. You can get in serious legal trouble if your dog bites someone's child at a park. If you want to introduce your dog to children but don't know how he will react, train him to wear a muzzle and have a muzzle and leash on him when you introduce them.
Hi Susan, I'm not sure exactly what it is about certain people that triggers my dog, she's almost a year old and strangely only gets aggressive and nippy with some random people like my brother. Unfortunately one was a toddler just starting to walk so I'm really scared she will bite someone and she is fairly large (Great Dane mixed with Border Collie) I've had her at puppy training and obedience training and she socializes well with other dogs and people at the dog training facility. I still can't get her to walk on a leash and the obedience did not go too well but she can do lots of trick. She stays very well until I release her. But, she gets over excited and then all the training just goes out of her mind. I'm working on trying to get her not to be over excited when I put the leash on with very little success so far. Unfortunately the trainer eventually put a choke chain on her, and she turned around and attacked her, I tried once putting it on her and she attacked me, so I threw it away, never liked the idea anyway. I only got her at around 4 month's old from a rescue centre so I have no idea if something early in her life gave her a bad association with something (mostly men/boys but not exclusively and not all, and most black people, can a dog be racist?), but I can't put my finger on exactly what the trigger is. Maybe it is smell? I've asked people that she gets aggressive with to throw a ball for her (her favourite game) but she then just ignores the ball. I've tried getting them to give her snacks, but then she nips at them. It also doesn't help that my old Malinois is half blind/deaf and recently taken to barking at everyone since he can't really recognise them anymore and I think that encourages her to be more aggressive, almost over protective. What you say makes a lot of sense, so I'm definitely going to try my best. Thank you for your video's all the way from South Africa.
Thank you for helping her @taniavdwalt5034 💛 Our video for dogs and puppies worried by people will help - th-cam.com/video/-QDtHTbpHpY/w-d-xo.html
And we have a video for dogs and children - th-cam.com/video/GyDPin2fZ-o/w-d-xo.html
Plus a playlist on dog bite prevention - th-cam.com/play/PLphRRSxcMHy2Cvc3386SVYrHSEgh5Pl0b.html
Have you ever worked with aggression in dogs or like dogs with broken wiring from abuse or bad breeding and genetics? Or do you leave those dogs up to behaviorists?
Hi Susan, I recently had a traumatic event (fireworks) with my that made her associate me with the trauma. Now she will not listen to me and has become aggressive and treating me like i am no longer the Alpha. How do I fix this?
Hi @samlboehner8111 hang in there, there can be so many reasons for aggression with fear being one of the most common. If you are overwhelmed, then seeking help from a Veterinary Behaviorist is our recommendation. We have a playlist on dog bite prevention with a lot of information to give you a foundation when interviewing someone to assist you - th-cam.com/play/PLphRRSxcMHy2Cvc3386SVYrHSEgh5Pl0b.html
My dog went into fear at the vet’s. I felt so bad for her because she didn’t respond to the reinforcers I’ve been using so well everywhere else. What should I have done other than leave?
Hi, we're so sorry to read that. You can work on making it a better experience following this video: th-cam.com/video/VJc42BfNre4/w-d-xo.html
My dog growls when I try to take away something he picks up in the house that he shouldn't have, example glasses. How can I get that away from him?
A friend of mine trained "Trade me" for situations like this. Her dog picks up dropped candies, child toys and so on. Then trained "Leave it"
Definitely the trade game or drop it should work. Have something the dog can have, a bone, toy, chew, treat and offer it in trade.
Anytime Max took something he shouldn’t I’d have something at the ready he could have, usually a stuffed Kong to chew was a fave!
Oh this one has so many good things in it! We go camping and the dogs bark at everyone going by, now I know we just need to let them feed the dogs some treats! So when you do this, you don’t really want people coming and talking right? You just want them to throw the treats in and go! Then as they figure out it’s good that people come and they are quiet that’s when you add people talking to us right? Eventually do you think you could add talking to the dogs or is that pushing it?
My trainer has emphasized either my giving the treats or having the people throw them to him, definitely *not* asking him to take the treat *from* them.
This is because he might go to them even though he is still scared because he wants the treat, so it’s not great because it’s asking him to do what he is afraid of.
If they toss the treats to him (or I give them), he is getting the message that people are good - but without forcing him to do something even more scary than just being there around them.
She actually now has me making sure to not engage at all if possible, and to treat him before he even begins to react, if possible. We’re starting to get there.
I hope you have gotten this sorted out by now for yourself. I’m replying so anyone else reading these comments looking for help will see it.
@@wendyannh unfortunately we still just make sure everyone stays away from them. We’ve only camped at a few last year so really didn’t have the opportunity it really try it out with more than a couple days
We don't have a veterinarian behaviorist around me?
Hi @kathyhoward5492 many will do remote consults so it's worth asking that question when you are contacting Veterinary Behaviorists.
Have you ever had a dog with brain storage disease or heard of brain storage disease ?
I love the content, but the delivery feels like yelling. I love the passion, but it’s just too emphatic. I think it’s just me but it gives me so much anxiety I have to turn it off. 😢
Its not 'just' you. I too have to watch Susan's videos in small quantities for the same reason (although I don't get anxious). Lots of passion, experience and knowledge being imparted in these videos. I just have to absorb it a bit at a time. So, yes, thank you Susan for providing me a way I can learn from you in my own way!!!