gsd lunging at other dogs

[fgshepherd]

Dawn, I really feel your pain about the neighbor who could have walked away with her dog and saved you the grief. I recently adopted a GSD who has had no formal training. I'm training him at night, trying to avoid other dogs for now, and this man with two large dogs saw us training (it was obvious we weren't just strolling in the cul-de-sac) and my dog flipped out, i'm holding him back, so this guy comes even CLOSER with his two giant dogs! Uggghhhh....some people!!!

[Rastasdad]

I have the same problesm with my 20 month old, Rasta. She is completely fine in a dog park - never a problem. She seems a little submissive even. But on the leash - holy moly - especially early in the walk, if we encounter another dog she goes nuts. I have a prong collar and the corrections don't really work. She's a different dog and she simply cannot control herself. Corrections get some recognition but its not even close to solving the problem. In fact, when she is in this mode and I get in front of her to try to obstruct her vision she has taken some snaps at me. So I'm going to us the cooked chicken and over-the-top praise approach at first sign of reactive response. She loves chicken more than anything so I'm optimistic.

My only question is do you use the same approach if you want to stop your dog from barking when other dogs walk by the house? I have that problem too, and its just as bad as if I was walking her. Today she actually got out when two other big white dogs were walking by and she got aggressive with those dogs- I guess you would call it fighting, though no one was hurt and when I got out there (10 seconds later) she stopped and came to me immediately. I verbally scolded her and she looked at me with those beautiful eyes, put her ears down, and said "I'm sorry Daddy". She didn't really talk, but you know what I mean. Do I give her chicken in this scenario too when she starts barking and goes nuts at a passing dog?

Thanks!
John

[Melina]

Originally Posted by kwvining

My GSD began showing aggression towards other dogs when on our walks. He never shows it when off-leash, but when he is on leash and sees another dog on leash, especially if they are coming up from behind, he simply wants to kick the other dog's butt. He weighs 110 lbs and was becoming almost uncontrollable even with a prong collar. Our vet said to smack the dog under the chin, pull him up close on the leash, and scold him severely as soon as the early signs of coming aggression were seen. It has worked beautifully. I hate the idea of hitting the dog, but when even leash corrections don't work, there isn't much left in the arsenal. But it worked surprisingly good. We had one "session" using this technique, and now, he goes on alert when other dogs approach, but now he doesn't go into aggressive mode.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard that when using physical corrections as such on a dog, they may learn to "hide the warning signs" (Staring, slow swish of the tail, growling, barking, etc.) and then you're left with a loaded canon that may go after another dog without any notice? I'm sure it's easier to see this as a result of those physical corrections off leash, but would it not be the same principal even on? Suppose you were to assume the aggressive behavior had been eliminated, approached another dog on a walk, then found out your dog was just hiding their initial signs of fear? Could be a very bad situation...