[King&Skylar]

Well, i'm reactive towards other dogs LOL.
I posted awhile ago about my puppy being reactive towards dogs on walks- not her! it was me! I can't believe this, I was talking to her breeder and apparently the father is the same way- picks up on EVERY emotion the owner feels and that's what she feels (i'm happy, she's happy, i'm nervous, she's nervous, i'm mad, she's mad- at whatever is there at the time) I took her outside, with nothing around us- and pretended to see a dog- did what i usually do, heart beats faster, tighten the leash and try desperatly to distract her, and focus on me- she put her tail up, ears perked, looking around frantically to see what the heck i was reacting to. so, I then took her for a walk and we happened to pass 2 little dogs, pulling towards her, one barking. I looked straight ahead, ignored skylar and the other dogs, took deep breaths and just kept walking. Did she react? NOT AT ALL!!!!!!! I was always wondering why she wouldn't react when dogs/people came up behind us (i didn't see them!!) and why she was so good with other dogs and people with my mother.

I'm proud to say, since i've discovered this, Skylar is SO friendly around other dogs and people, and I'm no longer reactive. we're in agility classes and i'm planning to do rally-o with her. I can't believe it was me!

 

[Miss Molly May]

Well, I'm reactive toward other dogs LOL.
I posted awhile ago about my puppy being reactive toward dogs on walks- not her! it was me! I can't believe this, I was talking to her breeder and apparently the father is the same way- picks up on EVERY emotion the owner feels and that's what she feels (I'm happy, she's happy, I'm nervous, she's nervous, I'm mad, she's mad- at whatever is there at the time) I took her outside, with nothing around us- and pretended to see a dog- did what i usually do, heart beats faster, tighten the leash and try desperately to distract her, and focus on me- she put her tail up, ears perked, looking around frantically to see what the heck i was reacting to. so, I then took her for a walk and we happened to pass 2 little dogs, pulling toward her, one barking. I looked straight ahead, ignored skylar and the other dogs, took deep breaths and just kept walking. Did she react? NOT AT ALL!!!!!!! I was always wondering why she wouldn't react when dogs/people came up behind us (i didn't see them!!) and why she was so good with other dogs and people with my mother.

I'm proud to say, since i've discovered this, Skylar is SO friendly around other dogs and people, and I'm no longer reactive. we're in agility classes and i'm planning to do rally-o with her. I can't believe it was me!

This is true Molly would always be reactive to other dogs when my wife would come for a walk with us. She would never do it when it was just her and I. I noticed one day my wife getting tense when we seen a other dog and tighten up on the leash of course Molly started barking. We found that if you just loosen up and pay no attention to the other dog (walk by like there is nothing there Molly would not react!)

 

[MaggieRoseLee]

I'm proud to say, since i've discovered this, Skylar is SO friendly around other dogs and people, and I'm no longer reactive. we're in agility classes and i'm planning to do rally-o with her. I can't believe it was me!

Good for you for figuring this out so fast! It will make your out and abouts SO much easier to realize when you act happy to see other people and dogs... so will you happy and friendly puppy!

You able to start up classes yet with your dog? Such a great place to continue to work on this, have fun, and meet more crazy dog people! :wild:

 

[King&Skylar]

we are in our 2nd obedience/pre agility class right now, and start first level agility skills in January, if it's the same instructor teaching it.
It's so much more fun/relaxing to know i can control how she acts, much easier to know how i'm feeling than trying to read Skylar's mind, haha.

 

[PaddyD]

And she controls how YOU act.

 

[Ucdcrush]

Thanks for posting this!

I have a dog who I've made reactive, I think mainly from becoming tense and demanding obedience when another dog is around-- not giving my dog a break that most all dogs get distracted by other dogs. The more dogs we came across, and the more he would react and I would correct, it would become a vicious circle.

So today I put his Halti on, which gives me more control, and walked through the neighborhood. My goal was to myself ignore the other dogs, stay relaxed, and not worry about some tension on the leash, or whether he's heeling nicely, since correcting that with a dog around would make the situation tense and add to his unpleasant association with other dogs.

My dog did great, he did tend to fixate a bit, but I just kept ignoring and kept walking, in a happy state of mind, and he eventually turned away and came with me. We even passed a yard with 3 loose dogs in it, he looked but remained in non-freak-out mode. Towards the end of the walk we passed another fence with yelping small dogs behind it, and again he did very well to just pass by.

I want to eventually get to the point where we both don't care if there's another dog there, and I think if I can just "act" like it's not a big deal, and not be demanding of him for obedience, and maybe toss in some high value treats to change his association, we'll get there soon.

 

[King&Skylar]

that's awesome, ucdcrush! I've learned that i can't expect Skylar to stay in a perfect heel when we pass other dogs (she LOVES other dogs, haha) so i give her a break and let her out of heel a little bit, show some interest, but not go towards the dog. she ignores all people now though, so i think it'll just take time to totally ignore other dogs unless i want her to see them.