Quote:
Originally Posted by erinjayne
I have tried pinning her to the ground, ignoring her, holding her muzzle closed, scolding her, etc. Does anyone have advice on how to curb this awful habit?
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I have to emphasize that that's absolutely the wrong reaction and agree that I can serve to make the situation worse or actually CAUSE aggression where there was none in the first place.
I agree with seeking a professional (make sure they're reputable and have lots of references - maybe even call owners that have used them to make sure their experience was a good one - a bad/inexperienced trainer could make the situation much worse). The best way to learn how to handle the situation would be someone showing you rather than having to read it on here and figure out how to do it yourself (it's hard to be objective without someone watching and guiding you).
For now cease with the negative physical contact. Try redirecting her attention to something else BEFORE she goes crazy. Like if you notice her even look at another dog, since you already know where that will lead, redirect her attention to something like a toy. Be very very excited about it and make sure you make her excited about what you're trying to redirect her to (squeeky toys can work good because they make a distracting noise). You can use treats once she redirects her attention completely away from the other dog.
Generally DON'T try to give treats TO redirect her attention. Usually in this kind of situation the dog is not interested in eating until they've already been redirected to something else(if your dog is very food motivated it may work though).
Once the dog is already near, if you haven't succeeded in redirecting her attention and she's freaking out, then you're kind of past the point where a toy, treats or any kind of deterrence will work because she's now fixated. Continue walking your dog past the other dog and stay very calm. Once you're past the dog and your dog has calmed down you can give treats/praise. Anything the dog likes a lot can be considered a treat, btw. One of my dogs LOVES to run and speeding up the pace and allowing her to run is a motivater for her.
Another thing that can help is exercising your dog BEFORE you put them into that situation. If you're using the walk FOR exercise, your dog is already in excited mode. Your dog is ready to go, ready to use her energy, ready to play. This is certainly not going to help when she sees another dog she really wants to meet. If she's already been exercised she may be in a much calmer state and ready to learn something rather than just ready to go go go.