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How do you deal with off-lead dogs approaching full-tilt at you and your dog? What if your dog is, or has been in the past, leash-reactive to other dogs?
Grimm was away at send-away training for 4 weeks. I worked EXTRA hard with him when he returned. No more leash-reactivity! Grimm CALMLY walked by other dogs. Now, with the nice weather, people are out more and letting their Fifis zoom around off-lead.
In the past few days, four times has an off-lead dog raced right up to us walking! Sometimes barging right into Grimm's space, barking furiously at him as he heeled along!
The past two days, Grimm has been giving longer looks to other leashed dogs we see on the sidewalk. He is hackling, too.
There is no barking, no growling, no lunging, and he does continue to heel-- but he is looking much more intensely than he should be.
What I do is keep the lead loose-- zero tension. But, I stride along directly-- we ARE walking right past this other dog who is on lead. We WILL just keep moseying on past. I am using "Leave it" and when we get past, he sometimes looks back at the other dog (leash correction for that), and sometimes, rarely, looks up at me, sooooothing praaaaise for that.
Should I treat this as I am doing, and let him learn that we just walk past-- and NOT do the throw chain for the looks getting too long, because this is insecurity, and he was totally calm before the off-lead dogs situastions happened? Or, should I assert my leadership and NOT allow a long look-- period, regardless of why? I either need to tighten up ship and discipline for the longer look-- or just show him that with time, we just keep walking calmly by and nothing happens, period.
Edit to add-- even with the hackling now and urge to look, Grimm walked past a huge Husky tonight that he always used to go ballistic at before training... and he passed today two dogs who rushed a wire fence at us, barking insanely, and at the moment he was about to give a second look, I warned "Leave it" in a DeathMomma voice, walked directly forward with him in heel, and after we passed, he looked up at my spontaneously, and he got huuuge praise for that.
Grimm was away at send-away training for 4 weeks. I worked EXTRA hard with him when he returned. No more leash-reactivity! Grimm CALMLY walked by other dogs. Now, with the nice weather, people are out more and letting their Fifis zoom around off-lead.





The past two days, Grimm has been giving longer looks to other leashed dogs we see on the sidewalk. He is hackling, too.


Should I treat this as I am doing, and let him learn that we just walk past-- and NOT do the throw chain for the looks getting too long, because this is insecurity, and he was totally calm before the off-lead dogs situastions happened? Or, should I assert my leadership and NOT allow a long look-- period, regardless of why? I either need to tighten up ship and discipline for the longer look-- or just show him that with time, we just keep walking calmly by and nothing happens, period.

Edit to add-- even with the hackling now and urge to look, Grimm walked past a huge Husky tonight that he always used to go ballistic at before training... and he passed today two dogs who rushed a wire fence at us, barking insanely, and at the moment he was about to give a second look, I warned "Leave it" in a DeathMomma voice, walked directly forward with him in heel, and after we passed, he looked up at my spontaneously, and he got huuuge praise for that.