I can’t go to any rallies

[Sonar]

As the title says I can’t go to any rallies, the reason being I have two small dogs a cocker spaniel and a Jack Russell cross.

The cocker spaniel is one year old puppy and looks at other dogs who’s not sure what they are and rather take to humans the Jack Russell can’t stand the sight of other dogs close in the distance in a car in van in fact anywhere the chances are it can see another dog it does nothing but constantly barks. The dog when are the lead will not stop barking all the time a dog is in sight.

So the Jack Russell cross has restricted where we go not to dogs fault he was a rescue dog and rather sat in his way when we got him.

We have never considered moving the dog on and never will do however he has unknowingly restricted us to some campsites and dog walking areas. Does anybody else have the same problems as us?

We have been to dogs therapy units some cost as much as £70 an hour and nothing so far has helped.
Lots of dog trainers say they can cure the dog or actually fix his behaviour however so far in seven years that we’ve had him no so called dog trainers have managed to do anything they’ll give up we never will still he is family and every family have their own problems .

Hence we’re a little restricted and hopefully for many years to come.

 

[andyjanet]

With Jessie our jack, we spent a colossal amount on training and we were told just to love her and manage the situation ! She was an ex traveller dog , yes it can be a handful and embarrassing when you have to leave or turn around and walk the opposite direction, but the rewards are unconditional love from your best friend

 

[nabsim]

Try and go to places you can have them off the lead then see how they react. Mine will bark on the leads but much less when free

 

[Sonar]

Try and go to places you can have them off the lead then see how they react. Mine will bark on the leads but much less when free

He barks both on a lead and off but if he sees another dog closer we can’t catch him. Not too sure what might happen to either him or the other dog it’s not worth as a responsible owner to find out .

He is only off the lead when no dogs are about. Both on and off the lead he will sit stop walk on ect ect. But another dog and that all forgotten

We think it is very stressful for him so avoid other dogs always look as far ahead as possible and looking for alter alternative ways to go.

Occasionally caught out by a dog on its own property at the gate.
When we go the same way he knows where to look .

 

[Sharon the Cat]

He barks both on a lead and off but if he sees another dog closer we can’t catch him. Not too sure what might happen to either him or the other dog it’s not worth as a responsible owner to find out .

He is only off the lead when no dogs are about. Both on and off the lead he will sit stop walk on ect ect. But another dog and that all forgotten

We think it is very stressful for him so avoid other dogs always look as far ahead as possible and looking for alter alternative ways to go.

Occasionally caught out by a dog on its own property at the gate.
When we go the same way he knows where to look .

Our last JRT Tilly was an extremely reactive dog. The only thing that worked was if we saw the other dog first and then could manage to keep her a few notches below barking/growling/yipping/squealing all at once. Away from other dogs she was incredibly well behaved and she and I had a really solid bond.
In recent years we have employed both trainers and a behaviourist for a different dog with different problems. In a nutshell the advice boiled down to "remove the trigger".
So, you're doing the right thing by your dog for which I'm sure you receive unconditional love and companionship.

 

[maingate]

He barks both on a lead and off but if he sees another dog closer we can’t catch him. Not too sure what might happen to either him or the other dog it’s not worth as a responsible owner to find out .

He is only off the lead when no dogs are about. Both on and off the lead he will sit stop walk on ect ect. But another dog and that all forgotten

We think it is very stressful for him so avoid other dogs always look as far ahead as possible and looking for alter alternative ways to go.

Occasionally caught out by a dog on its own property at the gate.
When we go the same way he knows where to look .

Doing that unfortunately tends to make the situation worse. I know Terrier breeds can be more difficult to train as they can be stubborn but it can be done. We have trained dogs to accept other dogs, it did take a long time (about one year) but they were 2 Whippets who had been through a terrible time. One was extremely aggressive and the other was a complete nervous wreck. They had both been attacked and had gone from a loving home to a nightmare situation. Luckily we had a well established circle of dog walking friends who put up with the commotion these dogs caused. We actually did nothing. We stopped and chatted with our friends, keeping well away at first. Then we gradually stopped a little closer and over the weeks the 2 Whippets got to know the other dogs by sight and slowly realised that not every dog was a threat. Most people underestimate how intelligent dogs are. They can understand situations very well.

As I said, it took about one year for their behaviour to be classed as normal. They formerly had a female owner and took to my Wife very quickly. It took nearly 2.5 years for them to be friendly with me. That is because the man who appeared in their former life was a complete b*****d (he had done time for attempted murder).

My advice is twofold. Avoid the so called 'experts' completely (the guy on TVs Dogs behaving very badly Graeme Hall apparently has no formal qualifications, he just knows a lot about dogs and is the exception). Slowly socialise your dogs. It is ideal if you have a pal with a rock steady, quiet dog that you can go out with. A regular daily routine also helps a lot.

 

[Sonar]

We had a little dog from a puppy he was a year old. No problem whatsoever.
However she passed away a year ago and we bought the cocker spaniel.

He did not want anything to do with her just ignored her all the time. Then all of a sudden they’re both playing and have been inseparable since .
We think he was mourning after the puppy that grew up with him he knew.

But now one moves the other moves. One goes in the garden the other is very close .
However he’s still barking at other dogs and she does not .

They are both very very affectionate dogs ..

 

[Sonar]

Doing that unfortunately tends to make the situation worse. I know Terrier breeds can be more difficult to train as they can be stubborn but it can be done. We have trained dogs to accept other dogs, it did take a long time (about one year) but they were 2 Whippets who had been through a terrible time. One was extremely aggressive and the other was a complete nervous wreck. They had both been attacked and had gone from a loving home to a nightmare situation. Luckily we had a well established circle of dog walking friends who put up with the commotion these dogs caused. We actually did nothing. We stopped and chatted with our friends, keeping well away at first. Then we gradually stopped a little closer and over the weeks the 2 Whippets got to know the other dogs by sight and slowly realised that not every dog was a threat. Most people underestimate how intelligent dogs are. They can understand situations very well.

As I said, it took about one year for their behaviour to be classed as normal. They formerly had a female owner and took to my Wife very quickly. It took nearly 2.5 years for them to be friendly with me. That is because the man who appeared in their former life was a complete b*****d (he had done time for attempted murder).

My advice is twofold. Avoid the so called 'experts' completely (the guy on TVs Dogs behaving very badly Graeme Hall apparently has no formal qualifications, he just knows a lot about dogs and is the exception). Slowly socialise your dogs. It is ideal if you have a pal with a rock steady, quiet dog that you can go out with. A regular daily routine also helps a lot.

Tried that never worked from walking either behind or in front 20 yards and more .
Next door now has dogs he is ok until one of them bark or jump up the fence then he starts . We stop him as much as we can then he just walks about gruffing until next doors dogs start again but I am sure he will get used to it.

The last place we lived had very large gardens with no dogs either side in fact the fences were high so never saw anybody either.

 

[mistericeman]

Our two are more people tolerant than I am ...

So basically not at all ....
Both rescues ....and they aren't going to change their spots now ...
Hey ho ....I've changed all my life around the dogs I have had (and HAVE) .

It's no big deal having to search out deserted beaches and places without anyone ;-)

 

[Sonar]

Our two are more people tolerant than I am ...

So basically not at all ....
Both rescues ....and they aren't going to change their spots now ...
Hey ho ....I've changed all my life around the dogs I have had (and HAVE) .

It's no big deal having to search out deserted beaches and places without anyone ;-)

Been doing the same and walking at times when everybody else is at lunch or still in bed that’s easy in the summer .
Harder in the winter .

 

[maingate]

I will drop out of this thread now but before I go I just want to say something.

A dog with issues is an unhappy dog and the owner should make it a prority to rectify that in my view. It does annoy me when I see someone with a dog they have got from a rescue centre but they do not have a clue how to care for a normal dog, never mind a damaged dog. It is not rocket science.

This post may be taken the wrong way by some but as I said, I am withdrawing from the thread.

 

[mistericeman]

I will drop out of this thread now but before I go I just want to say something.

A dog with issues is an unhappy dog and the owner should make it a prority to rectify that in my view. It does annoy me when I see someone with a dog they have got from a rescue centre but they do not have a clue how to care for a normal dog, never mind a damaged dog. It is not rocket science.

This post may be taken the wrong way by some but as I said, I am withdrawing from the thread.

Excellent decision (IMHO)

 

[Obanboy666]

Off topic but I recently returned from the lakes, first time in 13 years went without a dog. She’s a retired greyhound who I’ve had for 5 years. She’s always been nervous and this has gradually got worse the older she’s got. Doesn’t like travelling, won’t eat or drink and has to be dragged into the caravan where she just pants and and won’t settle down. She was bad enough in the motorhome but worse in the caravan.
I have to say it was strange not having her with me but not worth the hassle imho. Managed to cycle everyday which is something I couldn’t do when I had the dog with me.

 

[Sonar]

I will drop out of this thread now but before I go I just want to say something.

A dog with issues is an unhappy dog and the owner should make it a prority to rectify that in my view. It does annoy me when I see someone with a dog they have got from a rescue centre but they do not have a clue how to care for a normal dog, never mind a damaged dog. It is not rocket science.

This post may be taken the wrong way by some but as I said, I am withdrawing from the thread.

At a guess you’re not a dog trainer or a dog behavioural specialist either.
Easy to judge someone and a dog you have never met.

My dog is very happy playful obedient super friendly meeting people especially children gets on ok with the rabbit we used to have .
Just don’t like dogs .

And as a matter of fact I have had other dogs with no problems the cocker spaniel we also have now has no problem with other dogs .
So as for a clue for looking after normal dogs. There all normal .

And I never mentioned issues. He has no issues all dogs are different

When you walk your perfect dog do other dogs bark sometimes when you pass a gate. YES of course they do..



Withdrawing from this tread is the best thing you could do as you do not know what your talking about.

 

[Sonar]

Off topic but I recently returned from the lakes, first time in 13 years went without a dog. She’s a retired greyhound who I’ve had for 5 years. She’s always been nervous and this has gradually got worse the older she’s got. Doesn’t like travelling, won’t eat or drink and has to be dragged into the caravan where she just pants and and won’t settle down. She was bad enough in the motorhome but worse in the caravan.
I have to say it was strange not having her with me but not worth the hassle imho. Managed to cycle everyday which is something I couldn’t do when I had the dog with me.

A friend across the road from me has three dachshunds. One is constantly barking. Another one bites everybody including the owners. The third is frightened of everything . And spends most of its day hiding all dogs are different very much like humans each and everyone of us are NOT the same. Sorry to here you lost your friend..

 

[runnach]

Our JR has been a PITA this trip, he is knocking on a bit now, his barking and being aggressive with certain individuals for what ever reason, other dogs too, which is not like him.

He still has his nuts, never had them removed by taking advice, it’s a case of having a go with another mutt, or wanting to hump it.

He never messes with me, and he is on a final warning anymore bad behaviour, will be dealt with by him in a sack and two bricks, chucked in the river at the front of our house!!

 

[Sonar]

Our JR has been a PITA this trip, he is knocking on a bit now, his barking and being aggressive with certain individuals for what ever reason, other dogs too, which is not like him.

He still has his nuts, never had them removed by taking advice, it’s a case of having a go with another mutt, or wanting to hump it.

He never messes with me, and he is on a final warning anymore bad behaviour, will be dealt with by him in a sack and two bricks, chucked in the river at the front of our house!!

By your extremely lucky you have a river in the front of your house .

Well have the side wall of a pizza shop. I guess we’re lucky too as we’re never starve or get wet.

 

[TJBi]

My partner has a rescue Jack Russell that has been attacked a few times by loose dogs and is now (and has been for some time) extremely reactive. He's absolutely fine with humans and ignores all other animals unless a cat gets into his garden.
She keeps saying that she's going to apply to Channel 5 Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, but I don't see it happening!
https://www.channel5.com/take-part and scroll down to the bottom (unless they change the order on the page).

 

[trixie88]

a case for that tv programme DOGS BEHAVING BADLY....the chap on there seems to sort the doggy problems out.......

 

[Jo001]

The Dogs Behaving Badly guy is a TV personality rather than a proper behaviourist. I'm not going to get into it here because I would totally derail the thread, but his quick fixes usually aren't good fixes. Proper counter conditioning takes a lot of time in slow steps and that simply isn't compatible with TV shows. If anyone wants to see the reaction from a real behaviourist who has proper qualifications, there's some information here.

https://www.thecanineconsultants.co.uk/post/tv-dog-trainers-aren-t-magicians

and

TV Dog Trainers - Part 2 WWYD?

So the previous blog got some criticism, mainly along the lines of 'well what would YOU do?' and after a week of deliberation I have decided, despite my absolute dislike of criticising other trainers (yes really, I'm not keen on it!) I'll watch this next episode of Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly...

www.thecanineconsultants.co.uk

Anyway, back to the point.

@Sonar, this is likely to fixable if you want to try. Your dog may never be a gregarious social butterfly, but you can certainly make progress.

This is actually not uncommon behaviour but the good thing is that very few dogs really want to get into an actual fight. All of their instincts tell them not to - in the wild, the risk of injury is simply too great. In fact, aggressive behaviour is almost always rooted in fear.

By putting on a big display, your dog is trying to frighten off the other dog, his body language is saying 'I'm loud and big and scary, don't come close to me or I'll have you'. And almost always the other dog will retreat, or be taken away by his owner, so your dog's behaviour becomes reinforced. It worked, so he knows he can do it again.

As already mentioned, this sort of behaviour often happens when your dog is on lead, which means that he has found himself closer to the other dog than he would have chosen if he had been able to. You know the 'fight or flight' response? If flight isn't an option, that leaves fight - or as I said, at least scaring off the enemy.

He will have an invisible radius of space around him where he feels secure. It's called flight distance, anything within that space triggers that fight or flight stress response. Find out what that distance is and keep him far enough away from other dogs that he is aware of them, but relaxed. Your goal is to train that he doesn't need to react; not to stop a reaction in progress.

Reward him for being calm with something fabulous, like lots of tiny pieces of frankfurter sausage (to a dog, lots of tiny pieces are higher value than one piece of equivalent size) or a very special toy. The aim of this is to actually change your dog’s emotional response to the stressful thing (the other dog) by repeatedly pairing it with something good. In time, your dog will learn that scary dogs mean sausages appear and this creates something called a positive conditioned emotional response (Google +CER if you want to know more).

This website explains it in more detail - http://careforreactivedogs.com

Gradually, think weeks and months rather than days, you can work on reducing the distance. This may mean you have to be selective where you walk - choose places with good visibility so you can give other dogs a wide berth, or where you can turn and walk away easily. But - be aware that if your dog has had a stressful episode the stress hormone cortisol can stay in the body for some time. Studies in dogs are inconclusive but it may be several days. That means that if his cortisol is already high, the distance he was comfortable with on one day might be too close on another day. So the safe distance can change, watch his body language.

Alongside that you could train a 'watch me'. As your dog looks at you, mark and reward the behaviour. Ask for longer periods of watching. Then if a dog approaches, after you have worked on the distance issue, you can get your dog to focus on you and not the other dog. BUT - some dogs find this scary as they cannot see the thing they are anxious about so you need to judge your dog. If that's the case, use Leslie McDevitt's 'look at that' game.

A couple of other things.

Trainers describe behaviour like this with reference to the three Ds. Distance, as above but also be aware of Duration - your dog might be tolerant for 10 seconds, but not 15; and Distraction - how distracting the stimulus is, a calm dog might not trigger any reaction at a given distance but a bouncy one might.

In addition, the conformation (shape) or even colour of some dogs can trigger a reaction. Very broad fronted dogs (such as mastiffs or bulldogs) create the impression of 'facing up' just because of their shape, which can be intimidating even if their temperament is perfect. And black dogs are thought to have facial body language that is harder to read. Some dogs will be more reactive to un-neutered males, or particular breeds for no apparent reason. Learn what triggers reactions in your dog so that you can give him the extra support he needs.