When dealing with dog-to-dog aggression, it is important to listen to our dog.
There are many reasons why a dog may act aggressively toward another.
- He may be afraid.
- He may be stressed because his space is being violated.
- He may feel the need to dominate.
- He may be protective of us.
- He may be very curious.
- He may just be over-excited.
Sometimes, what we perceive to be aggression may be the result of hyper energy, eagerness, or natural inquisitiveness. Therefore, in dog-to-dog aggression cases, it is important to understand what our dog is feeling, and what he is trying to say.
When my dog meets a new dog, I observe both of them carefully. As soon as my dog starts to get stressed, I step in and interrupt before the situation escalates.
For dog aggression issues, it is best to take a dog’s age, health, temperament, and preferences into account, while coming up with appropriate solutions.
1. Be Calm and Decisive
Dogs are very sensitive to what their human is feeling. My dog picks up on my emotions and reflects them, except with much more intensity. Sometimes, I am not even conscious of feeling nervous or stressed, but my dog notices it and starts to act up. Once I consciously calm myself down, his behavior also improves.
A common mistake when meeting other dogs is to tense up, and get fearful of what our dog may do. If we are afraid, our dog will pick up on that fearful energy, and that will likely trigger an aggressive reaction.
Be careful not to put undue or continuous tension on the leash. Also, do not pull the dog straight back, as that will likely cause a lunge forward response. To remove my dog, I pull him to the side and quickly walk him past the other dog.
2. Teach Our Dog Avoidance
When I see another dog, I usually just ignore him and move along.
I have found that avoidance is most effective when I avert my eyes from both dog, as well as owner. I keep my eyes forward, and keep walking at a natural pace. In this way, my dog learns that when we see other dogs, we avoid rather than confront.
Be careful not to crowd our dog while walking. If he feels trapped between us and the other dog, he may think he has no choice but to react aggressively. Do not stand still while trying to tug our dog away. Move away, and he will come along with us. At the same time, we are creating space so that he will not feel trapped.
I do not let my dog obsess or stare intensely at other dogs. Sometimes, my Shiba Inu will drop into a stalking-down-position, stare, and wait for the other dog to pass. Some people think that he is such a good boy for doing a Down, when other dogs are coming toward him, but he is actually just waiting to pounce.
Do not allow this bad behavior, do not let our dog practice it, do not even let him think about it. Just move him along, and ignore. If the other dog is somehow blocking us (e.g. if the owner is unable to control his dog), then walk away in a different direction. Do not stare the other dog down and do not confront him, either through posture or by physically engaging him.
Challenging unknown dogs is a good way to get bitten.
3. Create Space or Block the Other Dog
We can do this by moving across the road or into a driveway, and waiting for the other dog to pass.
We may also move our dog behind a barrier, for example a car. If there are no barriers available, we can try blocking the dog’s view with our body.
By doing this, we avoid a head-on, more confrontational passing.
I have tried all of these blocking techniques, but what works best for me is to create space, and quickly move past the other dog. Whenever I wait for the other dog to pass, my Shiba uses that time to start obsessing.
Dog treats and trying to get his attention do not work at this point, because the other dog is too close, and Shiba Sephy is no longer listening. The advantage of walking Sephy briskly past the other dog, is that he has less time to stare. In addition, he cannot fully obsess, because he must partly focus on walking.
However, using barriers and blocking may work better for a fearful dog.
Some trainers suggest turning and walking away when we see another dog, rather than passing him or waiting for him to pass.
There are two problems with this method:
- If we turn away, the other dog will be following us. This may cause some dogs to keep looking back, to make sure that the follower is not a threat. I have tried this, and indeed my Shiba keeps looking back.
- If we keep turning away, we may meet other dogs and get boxed in; especially if there are many dogs in our neighborhood.
4. Create Neutral Experiences
I try to create as many neutral dog-to-dog meeting experiences as possible. If every time my dog sees another dog, we just pass by and nothing interesting happens, it will become a non-event.
Being consistent with neutral greetings will build our dog’s confidence. Through repetition, we are teaching him how to behave (just avoid and move along), and how not to behave (get over-excited, frustrated, lunge, and pull). He will be more calm because he is not waiting in anticipation of a highly charged encounter, either for play or for confrontation.
I try to set my dog up for success, and do not let him practice aggressive behaviors when meeting other dogs. The more he practices, the more aggressive he will be.
If my dog becomes agitated during a walk, I try to end the outing as soon as possible. Once in this mode, his adrenaline levels will be high for a fair duration, and he will likely react aggressively to all the dogs that we meet. In this state, he will no longer be capable of learning, and will only be practicing dog aggressive behaviors.
5. Protect our Dog
I usually keep my dog away from people and dogs with weak energy (e.g. fearful, excited, or frustrated energy). In addition, I also try to keep other dogs and owners from coming into my dog’s space. I say a quick ‘hi’ to the people I meet, and move on.
If people with weak energy stop and want to meet my dog, I ask them nicely to please move on, because my dog is easily excitable.
It is fine and good to let a dog meet people with calm energy, but make sure to let them know how to best meet our dog. In particular, turn away when he jumps, no quick movements, and no petting from above.
6. Keep Greetings Short and Sweet
While greeting another dog, we want to positively interrupt our dog every so often, and get him to refocus on us. Do this as many times as necessary, so that our dog does not get over-excited, and lose control of himself.
Whenever my dog is meeting a new dog, I interrupt him after a very short duration (2-3 seconds). I quickly move or jog away from the other dog, while giving the positive interrupt command, e.g. Hey, hey. Initially, I may have to lightly tug at my dog while moving away. I make sure to treat him well for moving toward me on a loose leash.
If our dog is too obsessed to move away and is strongly standing his ground, then we have waited too long to initiate the interrupt. Positive interrupts are also useful for dealing with human greetings, and getting our dog away from a dirty or unsuitable area.
The key to successful positive interrupts is to catch a dog early, before he starts to obsess on another dog or object.
7. Be Aware of Aggressive Triggers
Some dogs, for example Spitz-type dogs, have a natural look that may appear dominant (ears up, hair out, tail up). This dominant look may instigate other dogs to respond in kind, and start posturing as well. Conflicts may occur, and if neither dog is willing to back down, this may lead to a dog fight.
If I am unsure about a dog greeting, I just move on. Better to be safe than sorry.
8. Desensitize our Dog to Other Dogs
The problem with dog-to-dog aggression issues, is that in regular situations the “other dog” stimulus is too strong, and environment is too unstructured for any learning to occur. Often, our dog overloads quickly and becomes reactive, because the other dog is too close, is staring, is hyper, or is charging toward us.
In the desensitization process, we do training in a quiet, enclosed environment, and start with a very weak version of the problem stimulus. In terms of reactivity toward other dogs, we can use distance to weaken its effect.
In this way, we also weaken the strength of our dog’s reaction, so that he will be calm enough to listen and learn. This is necessary, to create opportunities where we can begin to teach our dog to be calm and relaxed, while in the presence of another dog.
I did quite a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization sessions with Sephy, when he was young, at our local SPCA. The trainers there had many balanced, friendly dogs, that we could do training with.
First, the trainer would engage the other dog in training exercises, so that he stays in a fixed position, and is not focused on Sephy (i.e., no eye-contact). Both dogs are on-leash.
I take Sephy a far distance away, far enough away that he is still calm and able to listen to me. Then, I get his attention by calling his name. If he looks at me, I praise, and treat him for behaving well. Sometimes, I also ask him to do very simple commands, e.g. Sit.
I let Sephy sit and watch the other dog as long as he is calm, and willing to give me his attention when I ask for it. Once we are both comfortable with this, I move one step toward the other dog and repeat the Focus and Sit exercises above.
Do not move too close to the other dog, too quickly. If we move forward too fast, our dog may become reactive, and will no longer be able to give us his attention. At this point, I no-mark Sephy (uh-oh) and move back a few steps. Once we are far enough away, I try to get his attention again. When he gives it to me, I stop, praise, and treat.
Note – for desensitization to be successful, we want to keep our dog below his instinct threshold as much as possible.
I always try to make sessions short, fun, and rewarding. This helps our dog associate other dogs with being calm, and with positive experiences. I make sure to stop before my dog shows any obsessive behavior, and long before he becomes aggressive. Once a dog becomes reactive or aggressive, it is usually best to end the session soon after.
As we make progress, we can slowly increase the strength of the problem stimulus. For example, we may allow the target dog to start moving around, or we may allow him to play with his handler.
The desensitization process can be long and difficult. Dogs with lower instinct thresholds (the point at which they lose control and switch to instinct) will be harder to desensitize. However, consistent practice will also help to raise this threshold.
What to Expect from Dog-to-Dog Aggression Training
Do not expect too much, too quickly, from our dog. Make sure to treat and praise him very well, if he voluntarily engages in avoidance maneuvers, when there are other dogs around. This includes looking away from the direction of the other dog, smelling and exploring the environment, or looking at us for direction.
Initially, treat and praise even small avoidance moves, for example looking away for just 1 second. If a dog will not accept treats from us, then he is too far gone and it is best to lead him away. Treats are only effective for shaping behavior when our dog is still thinking, and not operating on instinct.
If we keep practicing desensitization exercises, and teach our dog how to behave with other dogs, he will improve. As he matures, he will become more confident, be less dog aggressive, and be more comfortable around new experiences.
For aggression issues between two family dogs, here is more on how I help my dogs get along.
Please help me. I have american staffordshire. He is attacking other dogs. Size doesnt matter if its a make dog i have hudge problem. I am afraid that dog control will shoot him.
He is a young dog, his name is Fluffy. When he was puppy he got bitten by other dog. Since that day he changed. Now he shows who is the boss against other dogs. His hair will stand up, he will constantly look at the other dog and then without long waiting he attacks. Most of the times he is not even listening to me. He concetrates only to the dog and nothing else. He is not a bad dog against people. Always shows his belly, give a lot of kisses. He knows a lot of comands. He is a smart dog and i love him with all my heart but this behavior is driving me crazy because i dont want to loose him.
Please, please help me.
Hello Simona,
What I have observed with my dogs is that they have certain space and greeting boundaries. For example, my Shiba Inu does not like strange dogs sniffing his butt because it is a sensitive and vulnerable area. The more negative experiences that Sephy has with other dogs, the more reactive he becomes, and the more likely he is to use aggression – not because he wants to dominate them, but simply because he views them as a threat. He is trying to protect himself and warning the other dog to stay away.
Some things that helped with Sephy-
1. I protect him from other dogs. I manage him carefully and *do not* expose him to situations that I know he cannot handle. The less he practices reactive behavior, the less likely he will repeat it. The more often he lunges and growls at other dogs, the more likely he will repeat and escalate his aggressive behavior.
2. I carefully leash train him and walk him on a secure 6 foot leash and no-slip collar. In this way, I have better control of him and we can avoid bad and negative encounters. I make sure that at worst – we avoid other dogs and do neutral encounters. I use distance and barriers to weaken the ‘other dog’ stimulus. I talk more about this in the article above.
3. In the meantime, I do dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with Sephy to raise his reactivity threshold, and to help him reassociate other dogs with positive rewards and events.
However, dog training is very context dependent. To accurately identify the source of aggressive behavior, it is important to observe the dog, evaluate his temperament, routine, and environment, as well as read his body language. Therefore, especially in cases of aggression, it is best to get help from a professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I have a 5 year old Beagle/Rat Terrier mix. When I have her on the chain by my front door- people walk by on the sidewalk and she gets aggressive as they come towards our sidewalk to the front door. If they will stop and calmly talk to her she settles down. But how do I break her of that. Otherwise she loves people. She especially loves kids.
Does she act the same way during walks or is it only when she is on the chain? Does she act the same way when you are there or only when she is alone?
Chaining can become a problem because it can cause a dog to get really frustrated when they cannot get to what they see – e.g. another dog, cat, running squirrel, etc. All that frustration can then turn into aggression. Here is a USA Today article on chaining and bad behavior.
I have a 3 1/2 year old beagle/rednose mix I adopted from the animal shelter. He lived in a kennel with 2-3 other dogs, and he did not seem to have any aggression towards other dogs. I moved away from home and a friend of mine took care of him for a year. I found out that she was not taking him for walks and often times left him alone for weekends at a time (because he had a doggy door and back yard). Because of this, my mom decided to take care of him instead. I have now had him living with me for about 9 months. He is aggressive towards other dogs during walks- pulls very hard on his leash, whines, tries to get at dog. The hair on his back also sticks straight up, which makes him look very scary to other dog owners. I have become so frustrated because he was never like this before and I thought it would just go away with time, but it has not. I recently took him to the lake where a friend had their dog also. It was stressful and exhausting at first because my dog kept trying to get at the other dog. I kept him on a leash for over an hour until he got used to the other dog being around him and then took him off. He snapped at the other dog, but then after that everything was fine. He was even around 5 other dogs later in the day and there were no problems at all, not a snap whine, or growl! I thought he was maybe “cured” of his dog aggression, but the behavior still continues during our walks. I want him to socialize with other dogs, but I’m too afraid to. I also have a trip planned at the end of this month and can’t find anyone to watch him because all of my friends have dogs. Is there any advice you can give me? I have become so frustrated and exhausted, I don’t know what to do anymore!
Thanks!
What I have noticed with my dog, Sephy, is that he has different levels of trust based on familiarity. He trusts my two Huskies the most, so he is very tolerant with them. He plays well with them, they sleep together, and they eat together.
He acts differently with dogs we meet during walks, especially with new dogs because there is no trust yet. This is a good survival instinct because a new dog could be dangerous, could be be a threat, and could attack him. For this reason, he does not let new dogs sniff his butt. This is not too unlike greetings with people – we may hug a person we trust, and just shake hands with new people that we meet.
Here is more on “the friendly dog”.
To help Sephy be more relaxed around other dogs –
1. I do dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with him to help raise his tolerance threshold. Desensitization also teaches him to associate other dogs with positive events and to use alternative behaviors for dealing with his stress. I talk more about the desensitization exercises that we did in the article above.
2. I protect Sephy from rude dogs, I do not expose him to situations that he cannot handle, and that will end in a negative way. The more negative experiences that he has where he practices aggressive behavior, the more negatively he will view other dogs, and the more likely he will repeat his aggressive behavior. Similarly, the more positive encounters that he has, the more relaxed and comfortable he will be around other dogs. I discuss more of this in the article above. Here is more on dog socialization.
3. Here is how I help my dogs get along at home.
Each dog is different in terms of temperament, background, routine, and more. As such, they have different tolerances towards people, other dogs, and new environments. Some dogs are very tolerant, some dogs are protective over their personal space, some dogs just want to play with every other dog that they see. I am more of a loner myself, so I do not expect my dogs to be friendly with all the dogs that they see. We ignore most dogs (neutral event), and we only meet friendly dogs that I know will result in a positive experience.
What has worked well for me is to observe my dogs carefully, see where their stress is coming from, and then help them work through that stress so that they are able to live a happier and more comfortable life, in our very human-oriented world. Getting help from a good professional trainer can also be helpful.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I’ve worked for various shelters over the years and help run a pit bull rescue these days, and I just love your summary here and would love to link to it in our recommended training resources. It’s the perfect summation of many socialization tactics we describe to foster parents and adopters alike…and is a very entertaining read!
I personally feel where you’re coming from with your Shiba; the primary issue I have when training and socializing our new pitties is the intense focus they have on other dogs (either very positive or very negative, depending on the individual). Even if they appear to be minding their manners in a down-stay in the presence of other dogs, their focus is usually completely on the other animals and not at all on their handler! It’s both frustrating and entertaining to recognize that vibrating quiver the new guys get when they’re in a stay or are otherwise restrained but just REALLY want to do nothing in the world more than launch up and body slam the nearest dog.
LOL! Yeah I love watching Pitties play. They are so athletic, energetic, and so into wrestling. They are also such good looking dogs with all that solid muscle. One time a Pit ran into me while playing with Sephy – that took my legs out from under me and he barely broke stride. 😀
Thanks for your wonderful comment and four paws up for helping out dogs who have had a tough life.
I am a volunteer at a local shelter. We currently have a foxhound mix that is adorable and playful on leash and through a fence but every time we try to let her play with another dog, she erupts into an aggressive dog, often drawing blood. We have tried her with many of our tried and true “test” dogs and she just seems to snap. We remove all toys, food etc so there is no trigger. Her behavior changes so quickly it is unpredictable. She has been known to be a resource guarder but has not shown fear type of aggression. We walk her with other dogs and she seems fine but free play never ends well. Any suggestions?
Hmmm, when she is walked with other dogs, are they walked close together? Is she ok with other dogs being in her space?
Is her play style different when she plays on-leash? Is she never aggressive on-leash? How long does she play on-leash? Does she play in the same environment and with the same dogs on-leash?
Does the aggression start right away during free play, or does play go on for a while before the aggression behavior? What is her play style like during free play? Is she more excited in free play? What else is different between on-leash and free style play (other than the aggression)?
What do the trainers at the shelter say about her behavior?
There can be many different reasons for dog-to-dog aggression. She could be protecting her space, she could be over-excited, she could be responding to certain actions from the other dog, she could be responding to the environment, etc. I think the key would be to determine the differences between on-leash and free-play, which will help to identify the things that may trigger the aggression.
My female German Shepherd just attacked my parents female German Shepherd. They were interacting just fine, then the kid (my parents male shepherd) began playing “chase me” around the house with a toy. My Shepherd must have been over stimulated…not sure…but she went for the other female and started attacking her face. She made her ear bleed and cut her under her eye. What the heck happened? I’m so confused and upset. Any thoughts?
Are both dogs spayed? As you say, play may also turn into something more serious when the dogs are over-excited. A dog may also get possessive or protective over another dog.
With my dogs, I supervise them closely during play and set up clear and consistent play rules. I enforce the play-rules and also throw in many play breaks to manage their level of excitement.
If there is a new dog around, then I am even more careful with introductions and supervision. I always err on the side of caution, and use breaks liberally so that all my dogs have a chance to calm down, and refocus on me. The key is to manage them, keep things relaxed, and prevent any kind of tension from forming – i.e. I want to prevent fights *before* they occur.
Each dog is different though, including their temperament, routine, and environment. Therefore, in more serious cases of aggression, where there is bite-penetration and bleeding, it is best to get help from a professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
We have a 6 month old lab puppy. He was a rescue at 3 weeks where I bottle feed him along with many many many medical issues as a newborn. He is now a healthy pup. We just moved from a 6 acer lot to about an acer :/ and we now have dogs on both sides of us which has lead to very aggresive behaviors. He charges the fence and today he cleared it along with biting the dog next door. Thank god it wasn’t to horrible. We have tried to take him to the dog park also to socialize him but he does the same thing. We are at a lost of what to do. He is very energetic and I’m wondering if maybe he isn’t getting the exercise he should be getting. I’m currently prego and my husband works long hours. We walk him at lest twice a week along with ball play and tug of war with him and our other dogs everyday. My dogs are my babies and it just breaks my heart to think that I can’t handle him on walks and how he might react when the baby comes, so we need to bite this in the butt ASAP. If you have any suggestions we would greatly appreciate it!!! TIA
Yeah, I found that places like the dog park are too high stimulus and too unstructured to do proper socialization exercises with my dog (Sephy). In fact, Sephy ended up learning a lot of bad habits at the dog park and his behavior actually worsened.
Here is a bit more on our dog park experiences.
1. What worked well with Sephy is to do controlled desensitization exercises with other dogs. I talk more about what we did in the article above in the desensitize section.
2. Also, Sephy does a lot better with small, structured play groups, with dogs that I carefully pick to suit his play style and temperament.
3. Daily exercise is also important with Sephy. When he was young, I walked him 3-5 times a day for at least 1 hour per walk. At the time, I also got help from a dog walker.
Now Sephy is older and less energetic, so I walk him for at least 1 hour *every day*, he plays with my two Sibes, he works for all of his food through obedience commands and interactive toys, and more. The more exercise Sephy has, the more calm he is.
We also got help from several professional trainers to troubleshoot Sephy’s reactivity towards other dogs.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Here is a bit more on dog socialization.
Hugs to your pack. Let us know how it goes.
Hi I have 2 x almost 3yr old malamute x red cattle (female is dominate) who we tried to socialise from a young age with not much luck as our male got attacked when he went to the dog park so we kept trying to walk them and now we have to walk them at 10pm at night somewhere where no one walks their dogs because as soon as they see another dog they lunge bark chuck themselves in the air and have major troubles refocusing I dont believe that they are doing this aggressively what can we do as they are a little chubby n need the exercise do walk them separate as they go eachother when another dog is around they do know basic commands sit drop stay not that they always listen hope you have some helpful tips .
With Sephy I *first* did desensitization exercises to raise his reactivity threshold. With desensitization, we start with a very weakened version of the stimulus in a controlled environment. In this way, our dog can stay in control and is still capable of learning and listening to us. Once Sephy becomes reactive, he is in instinct mode and is no longer capable of learning. Therefore, I always try to keep him below instinct threshold. If he becomes reactive, I have missed a valuable learning opportunity. All I can do is remove him from the area as soon as possible so that he can calm down and not practice his reactive behavior.
I talk more about the desensitization exercises we did in the article above.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
With dog socialization, I find that it is important to control the environment that I expose my dogs to so that they do not get overwhelmed. For dog socialization to “work”, I want to maximize successes and positive experiences. Here is a bit more on dog socialization.
Getting help from a professional trainer can also be helpful. With Sephy, we found trainers who have access to well-behaved dogs that we can do training exercises with.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Great tips and everything seems well researched or thought out. Thanks for the great tips.
I might as well ask you a question too. I just adopted a big boxer who was found as a stray. He shows the signs too as he’s a scavenger and loves dumpsters and trash. I’m working on those bad habits and he’s doing well. He’s very sweet and extremely calm around other big dogs, but his problem is with the small dogs. I believe he sees some just as prey to toy with. He’ll lunge at them and get on top to dominate. Before I know it the little one fights back and I have to throw myself in there. He doesn’t seem to try to hurt them because I’ve felt the pressure of his jaw on my finger and he’s holding back but it still bothers me that he has this behavior. I’ve applied the tips from your site and they’ve worked great. He can stare calmly or we can move along quickly but I’d like to fix the issue so he can be around any dog. Any tips for this case? Thanks!
Yeah, my Shiba is also like that. He likes to wrestle and play-rough and little dogs do not like that.I pick his play-friends carefully so that everyone can have a good time.
Also, there are many greeting signals that pass between dogs when they first meet. Certain greeting behavior, for example, a dog that invades another dog’s space without permission may get corrected. Here are more of my thoughts on “the friendly dog”.
For things like enclosed dog-parks and such, the only thing that comes to mind is to train a strong recall. In this way, we can call our dog away when he approaches smaller dogs or dogs that may not want to play.
http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-articles/teaching-your-dog-to-come-when-called
Hi – Thanks for all of the great information on your site. I have an Australian Cattle Dog that is reactive to other dogs and sometimes people who look “different” and who are moving towards us. We normally move her away (across the street, behind a car, etc.) to keep her under her reaction threshold. You mentioned in one of your tips that you do not allow your dog to star at another dog, and I would like to get your thought on something. When our dog sees another dog, she often immediately goes into a down position, staring and trying to slink forward toward the other dog, which I think is a herding behavior. When she’s in this position, it’s nearly impossible to move her away without dragging her in the down position. It’s been our experience when this happens that it seems best to allow her to stay there watching the other dog and getting a treat intermittently when she breaks her attention on the dog and looks to us. Often, if we try to move her away when she’s in this position, she just gets more frustrated and will react. Even when she’s not in a down, she’s always less likely to react if we stop to watch the dog while I ask her to do tricks like shake, touch, etc. for rewards. If we try to keep moving, she just keeps trying to stop and watch the dog and will get frustrated and react. How would you handle this situation?
Hello Jen,
Each dog is different, so I can only talk about my experiences with my own dogs. I currently have a Shiba Inu and two Siberian Huskies (no herders).
1. Sephy (Shiba Inu)
With Sephy, if I stay still and let him watch, he will get even more reactive when the other dog comes near. He spends the whole time obsessing, and if the other dog comes close enough, he would explode from his crouching position in a burst of energy. The more times I let him obsess, the more likely he will spring into action from a greater distance.
What helped most with Sephy are the desensitization exercises, which helped to raise his reactivity threshold. Then he can tolerate more during our walks, and we can ignore dogs from across the street. It is best if he does not go into an obsessive state, because then, he is no longer capable of learning. However, if he does get into that state, then I always remove him from the situation as quickly as possible.
He is a smaller dog though, so I just walk away from the other dog at a brisk pace until he calms down. I do not stop until he breaks away and is in control of himself again.
2. Shania (Sibe)
With Husky Shania, I let her watch the other dog if she wants to. This is because Shania is not as reactive, she is calm when watching, and she is more than willing to give me her attention for rewards. However, there is this one little dog that always causes her to lose it. It is strange because she is ok with all the other small dogs in the neighborhood. The owner of that dog is a bit fearful, so that could be a factor, but the dog himself seems pretty relaxed.
I move us away as soon as I see this dog, hopefully before Shania starts to react. If I don’t see him early enough, I move Shania into a driveway and behind a car. Having a barrier helps a lot with her.
3. Lara (Sibe)
In the beginning, I let Lara stop and watch. However, not too long ago, she started going into the crouching down position, and started to obsess even though the other dog was across the street. Then, she tried going into the road to get to the other dog.
Now, I move her along. If she makes a fuss or tries to charge the other dog, I no-mark, hold the leash close to her collar so I have good control, march her home, and end the walk. She enjoys her walks so that seems to work well with her.
In general, I first try the least disruptive strategy and see if the behavior gets better, does not change, or gets worse. If it gets better, then that’s definitely a keeper. If it does not change, then I will usually stay the course for a while to see what happens. I make sure to observe very closely for any small changes. If it gets worse, then I try something else until I find something that works. I also make sure to always be aware of my own energy, and to always stay very calm and decisive.