Reactive Dogs - How to stop from "charging" and barking at dogs?

dog socialization courses and walks needed :

Go to those places, does not matter if in Petco, petsmart or with a dog trainer, but go to those places where people bring their dogs with them and sit in a circle and learn what the dog trainer has to say. That way you will eventually calm down, so will your dog then, as well as all other dogs, then they get to know each other.

Probably the main reason why your dog charges other dogs is because the way you react now everytime you see another dog is a mix between panic, being annoyed and having doubts and hoping for the best and then you probably act the wrong way and there your dog goes off again. He feels all of what you feel.

Then i suggest, go walk with other people that have dogs. Preferably walk in a group where people have several dogs alone so it learns being around other dogs is normal.

Do that asap.

Just walking by other dogs ignoring them does help but it would be wiser that your dog if still young, learns to socialize with other dogs to begin with. The ignoring other dogs and just walk by you usualy do if you see the other dog is a race that is not compatible with your dog, or when the other dog is highly a Boss dog, or those tiny small dogs that are scared to death of your dog but got to bark around and bite his ankles to pretend that he is not scared and so forth.

What not to do :

- Carry your dog to another dog that is on the ground or vice versa so they look at each other like some toads not knowing what to do next.

- Make baby noises to the other dog and kneeling, pointing fingers at the other dog and saying what a good buy it is.

- Giving treats to the other dog

- Walking with your dog leashed to the other dog, especially when the other dog is an alpha, so the leashes get all tangled up and both dogs end up with stitches and whoever goes in there to sort the dogs out with a accidental bite in their leg.

- ignoring all other dogs and just walk by every single time. (you do that on certain occasions I mentioned above).

- bringing a bunch of neigbour dogs to your house or garden or vice versa "so they can meet each other" (do not do that if your dog is over a certain age, consult with specialists with how many months they start becoming very territorial.

- bind your dog to a tree and walk to the other dog to pat it and give it a treat.

I have seem all of this happening over and over and over and what I hate the most is the people that carry their dog over and then hold them around their ribcage and slowly hover push them towards your dog.

Exercise, exercise.

Find a friend with a dog or two and go hiking with the dogs. This is how I overcame that situation. I live near the Bruce Trail in Ontario and go hiking/walking regularly. The more hills the better...exercise in a natural setting does wonders for a dogs mind and yours. Keep the dog on a longer leash so it can have some freedom and you are not always nagging it to do things. In fact I don't tell the dog to do anything...I let it sniff , look, listen and think about what's going on around her. Never take your eyes off of your dog and that way you learn to read her body language...you know when someones around the next corner, across the ravine on the next ridge etc. By the time we meet another dog on the trail she's already taken in alot of other "stuff" (for lack of a better word), and she's burned some energy...and so has any other dog (which is usually off lead by now) that we meet on the trail at that point. I always call out hello, in a normal voice to the other person whether I see them or not. This let's my dog know I'm ok with what's coming...remember, I'm the pack leader so this has taken the pressure off her to make a decision about what's coming. I make sure that there is absolutely zero tension on my line when they meet. I keep it fairly short and sweet, you have to read the dogs at this point and then keep moving. I do not praise for the interaction...they are supposed to be civil....but I do praise quietly when she looks at me and follows. Another three hills and we may meet someone else. Anyway, meeting other dogs quickly gets "normal". The other key element is your reaction, body language,voice etc. every single time. You have to be in control, zero anxiety etc. Sorry for the long answer winded. Hope it helps.
cw

Question: Why do dogs pull on leashes?
Answer: Because people follow.

To the OP - first I wouldn't let the dog pull me anywhere - dog parks, whatever. If he pulls, I stop walking. The minute the leash gets slack, we walk again. Bring lots of patience. Pulling is a dominant behavior and isn't helping your home situation.

To the other posters - if the dog is barking & lunging, distracting with treats & toys COULD be seen as a reward by the dog. I had this with Zack. We did Control Unleashed where we started with the other dog far away. Going for a walk, we might need to cross the street to get distance. He looks at the dog "Good boy!" and gets a treat. Before you know it, your dog is looking at the other dog & then looking at you for the treat. Hey! Dogs are good! Thanks for the cookie, buddy!

Now, we can pass most dogs without getting paid. But, if there is a particularly aggressive dog who is lunging at Zack, Zack turns to me like "Pay Up!"

The whole idea is that the dog DOES look at the distraction but then turns his attention to you. Jerking the dog & getting excited just exacerbates the problem. Pull on the dog, they pull back. The analogy I learned was - if you're really afraid of snakes & somebody put a rattle snake right behind you - you can hear it rattling, but every time you turn to look, you get jerked away - wouldn't you figure out that "snakes = very bad." OTOH, if you saw the snake from a distance & somebody handed you something delicious - maybe snakes might not be so bad after all.

Lastly, Zack has little dog-sniff tolerance. He's good for about five seconds but then he wants to play, which means "I jump on you & you like it." So, he gets about three second sniffs then, "Good boy!" a cookie & we continue on our way. I want every encounter to be a GOOD encounter. That's where a halti is nice - I can control his head with a "good boy" e.g., take it out of the other dog's rear area & we're on our way.

He ain't perfect and I'm not a perfect trainer, but so far, this has worked the best for both of us.

Oh god, I feel so relieved that I've found this to read through. I've been to scared to ask on my usual pet forum because they're quite brutal about dogs that aren't under control, I'm glad to see that it's not just my German Shepherd. I did my best to socialise her, took her to dog parks almost every day and she was fine til she hit a certain age, then it just turned to custard.

I found she lunges at other dogs and gets incredibly distracted as we walk past on leash. Have found it quite unnerving because I never know how she is going to react. She feeds off the other dog's energy. If they're excited she'll go crazy, if they're hostile she'll be snappy. If they're calm she's fine. Rearing up on her back legs and looking completely out of control... Ugh. Completely lost my confidence for awhile, ended up buying a halti headcollar for fear she was going to bite someone or another dog and have to be pts... Now that I'm able to cope with it we're dealing with it but for awhile I think I completely gave up and felt like a failure.

I also notice she really hates when dogs bark at her from their property. She doesn't so much mind the 'hi I'm here' barks, but if the dog snarls, growls, rushes the gate or acts otherwise hostile she's lunging at them, snapping and barking. She's fine if we cross the road and they're nutting off, just if we're quite close to the gate - I'm not sure if she's rising to the challenge and being defensive/protective in reaction to the aggression but I was thinking with the nature of a German Shepherd it would likely be the case?

When I get home from work I'll def be reading through this and trying out some of the advice. I think I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone here.