Is it too late?
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| I would suggest having her favorite treat or toy in hand. When approaching other dogs, make sure her attention is on you. It is important that you do not tense up or react in any way as by doing so you are indicating to her that she does indeed have something to panic about. I hope this helps. |
| We have a similar problem with Bentley, only it's not the other dogs that he lunges at, it's the cars that go by! We've been trying to stop walking, keep telling him to leave it, and if he actually does leave it, he gets a treat. I think that it's working most of the time. We say leave it and he stares at my pocket for the treat. Except for his favorite, mini vans, it seems to be working pretty well. Maybe it would work when your walking up to other dogs. |
| Maybe she's nervous since she hasn't been socialized and making the first move because she's afraid. She may feel overwhelmed by so many people and new dogs. Try taking her to a pet store and walking around when there aren't many dogs there. Fewer dogs may put her more at ease before you think of enrolling her in a class. Good luck. |
| I think I will take her to PetSmart tomorrow and see what happens. I hope there will come a day that I can walk by other dogs with her and she will just sniff their nose and go on. I must nip this behavior in the bud. She is a very sweet dog though. |
| Hi Weezie,
I have a few comments and perhaps you may find it helpful. Blue, my 15 year old BlueHeeler/Lab was like this for years. Not knowing better when he first came into my home I started avoiding places where we'd run into other dogs. Don't do this! If I knew then ....what I know now ...kinda thing. While he's still not 100%, he hovers at 98% success rate when we pass other dogs and here's some of the things I did that made it work. Blue is very ball oriented so I started taking him for walks while he had a ball in his mouth. I did not have him on a long leash for better control and would actually block the other dog from view by my body when we passed. I would continuously talk to him, praising him...to distract. More praises after the other dog passed with no sound from him. As I knew it stressed him out I would still avoid places like an offleash dog park which would be too overwhelming for him. Now I enjoy taking him around the neighborhood . Ironically, dogs are far more aggressive on leash than offleash. Naturally dogs meet side to side to greet but on a leash they are forced to meet front to front. A frontal meeting for most dogs is an aggressive move so if you are going to meet another dog slacken the leash but you must be 100% confident that Jules is by now accustomed to the meet and greet. Perhaps you can arrange for a friend with a dog to meet you on the street to practise. Dogs can pick up your tension and axiety and it's a catch 22 as you are tensing when you pass another dog as you know how Jules may possibly react. Meeting a friend she/he will be far more understanding and keep talking in a cheery voice to let Jules know it's okay. Lastly, I find most people are far more understanding if you give a word of warning before you pass them. I always announce that Blue is a 15 year old grumpy old guy. People still smile even if he starts it up as I have said something so as they were possibly prepared. I'm also letting them know to not let their dog greet him but still being nice about it. Oh forgot one thing...Panda had a horrible habit of trying to jump on parked cars. I'm assuming it was in his previous life it meant he was going to be taken out somewhere. Instead of having him on my left which is traditional I had him on my right side. Again blocking the car from view until we passed. Now skinny me can't totally block it but I would talk in a cheery voice to distract until we passed it. Ummm be prepared for funny looks..from people...not your dog!  It took aprox 3 months for Panda to no longer even be interested in parked cars.
Good luck and yes there is hope! 
Marianne and the boys |
Thanks everyone for great advice! I am going to start working on this right away. There are only a few sheepdogs in this whole city and I don't want people to see her and say..."Look out, there is that mean sheepdog"  |
| I find this very useful....
Whenever you see another dog, stop and have the dog sit. Once she sits, give her a treat or pet her. If she tries to look at the other dog, say, "Look at me!" To teach "Look at me!" take a small treat, and with your dog on a leash hold the treat between your eyes and say the command. Once the dog looks at you, it gets the treat. Repeat. |
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