Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Never Turn Your Back

I wanted to share a recent experience that is probably familiar to anyone who has a leash reactive dog. As a student in Our Pack’s training class, we are told to practice our techniques in other areas to generalize the training so that our dogs don't just get used to the class setting. So we practice around the neighborhood, at the park, and anywhere we can walk safely.

In this spirit, I recently took my dog for a walk on a local trail to practice. As you can see, he is not a Pit Bull. He is a big, fuzzy retriever mix who is still learning how to behave on the leash, and he benefits greatly from the classes. On the trail, I kept him on a short leash, and was using high-value treats to keep his attention focused on me, just like we do in class. Things were going well, and we had passed several dogs without incident. Then, I spotted a young girl coming from the opposite direction with a large, husky type dog wandering back and forth across the trail in front of her at the end of its leash. This is the kind of thing that makes my dog nervous, so I decided to play it safe and pull off to the side to wait until they had gone by, rather than pass too close to the oncoming dog. We got as far off the trail as we were able, and I put my dog into a sit, facing him to block his view of the trail and the other dog, and got him focused on me. I was doling out the treats and he was responding well. I was really proud of him!

Suddenly he barked and lunged forward. I heard a gasp from behind me, and turned around to see the young girl pulling her dog back across the trail, looking horrified. While I was facing my dog, the girl had allowed the husky to cross the trail and approach from behind my back to “greet” my dog, in spite of what I thought were my obvious attempts to avoid them. The husky’s nose was just reaching forward to touch my dog’s when he finally decided he’d had all he could take and snapped at him. I jumped a mile and yelled something we won’t print here, and the poor young girl at the other end of the husky’s leash backed away, dragging her dog with her.

Bear, retriever mix, takes the Our Pack training class.

I learned a valuable lesson that day. Yes, the husky’s owner shouldn’t have allowed her dog to approach like that, but the handler was a young girl, she didn’t know any better. I turned my back on the other dog, focused on my own dog, and trusted that my actions would let the other owner know not to approach. I guessed wrong. And as you can see from the pic, my dog isn't a Pit Bull. He is a big, fluffy retriever mix, which the husky’s owner no doubt assumed would love to meet her dog!

MARTHINA SAYS:
What’s the lesson here? If your dog is leash reactive, you must practice "defensive dog walking". Similar to driving a car, you look all around from one side of the road to the other confidently. We are responsible for our dog as well as others' dogs. What should you do in this situation? It’s okay to stop to get control of your dog, but face the other dog, with your dog beside and behind you. Use your body language to take charge. If your tries to come forward, block him or her with your body, keep a firm hold on the leash, and claim your space, calmly and confidently. Let them know in no uncertain terms that they should keep their distance. Don’t be shy! And don’t assume the other dog’s owner knows what to do, regardless of how obvious you think the situation may be. YOU are responsible for your dog, and that includes protecting your dog from unwanted advances by other dogs and their well-meaning handlers.

13 comments:

  1. I had something similar with my leash reactive dog, Bella. The owner of a young & hyper chocolate lab was walking up rather quickly, asking if her dog can meet Bella, and despite my answering, "no, we're in training and she's not allowed to meet any dogs...thanks !!", she proceeded to walk up even more quickly. I jollied Bella away as best I could and was more adamant about not meeting when Bella gave out a growl and a bark and started to raise her hackles...well the lady got the picture then and proceeded to berate me for not properly socializing Bella in the first place. :)

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  2. It's sometimes hard to win with this when people expect animals, which is what our dogs are, to make the decisions and set the stage. They can't really, they are dogs and they generally need management. This goes for all dogs. It's not fair to expect them to accept all strange dogs everywhere they go. This is not the way dogs meet. That's a lot of pressure on a dog.
    Marthina

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  3. Another thing worth mentioning is do not be afriad to get creative. Often, even though approaching strangers and thier dogs who are told to back away don't always get the message. They assume "oh, my dog just wants to say hi!" without realizing that yours may not want to do the same. The best trick I have learned in this situation is when all else fails (after the polite "no, my dog is in training", "no, my dog doesn't like other dogs", "no, please back off" fail to work, and sometimes all three in succession still won't ward off some folks), the best way to 100% get the approaching person to back away is simply say "Stop! My dog has a contagious skin disease!". Guaranteed to work every time :)

    -Stormi

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  4. Stormi!
    Love it! That's a great idea. That should really stop someone dead in their tracks!
    Thanks!
    Marthina

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  5. Good post....I have to deal with Rocco's leash reactivity everyday. He likes it that way.

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  6. Excellent reminder! My older dog is leash-reactive and I generally do what you do with your dog. My dog is a little more obvious with her reactivity so most people know better than to let their dog approach. But it's an important reminder to be ever vigilant, keeping an eye on where the other dog is and what the owner is doing (I'm never hesitant to announce politely that my dog doesn't like other dogs if I think they're getting too close or are off-leash in an on-leash area).

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  7. I learned that "don't turn your back" from my own (rescued) pit bull I used to have. In our many training lessons she became anxious to please and would look to me (physically look at me) for direction. Therefore, when dogs were approaching us, unruly dogs that is, I did what I wanted her to do: I stopped, stepped aside, and calmly watched the dog pass. Sometimes I stood with my back to my own dog to stand between her and "danger" let her know I was aware of what was coming, I was in charge, and I would not let her be approached by the oncoming dog.
    I learned, from her, that I had to ALWAYS be in charge of our surroundings, not just her behavior, but everything around us. I learned that I could never let her feel that she wasn't completely protected, secure, and worry free. As you said, it's OUR job.

    Fortunately, we didn't have a lot of people who wouldn't listen when they realized I didn't want my dog near theirs. But I had a lot of opportunity to socialize her in a controlled setting before taking her out in public.

    We did, however, have several situations of unleashed, lone dogs approaching us and that's always been scary. I actually grabbed her and picked her up once when a little Jack Russell came tearing across a street after us. The owner lazily yelled over, "oh he's just a barker he won't hurt you! " (as it's jumping and nipping my elbows) I yelled back, "I'm not worried about MY dog!" And she quickly retrieved her dog.

    Great post! Great post indeed!

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  8. Thanks Ingrid!

    Yes, don't you love the "oh he's ok he's friendly" thing?

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  9. This was a great post! I need to work more with my leash reactive dog, and this post reminded me that I'm not the only one in that boat. Good reminders on assumptions to not make. Thanks!

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  10. The other day I was boarding a ferry with my two dogs on leashes, including one who used to be terribly reactive to other dogs, but rarely reacts now. I saw a young girl approaching us with her beagle on a flexi leash, and I could tell she was all proud of her beagle and wanted to introduce it to my dogs. LAST thing I wanted was to have three dogs tangled up in our leashes! So I said, "My dogs don't want to visit your dog. Please move out of the way." I felt totally guilty and evil and unfriendly, but couldn't think of a faster way to say it! Her Dad popped out and picked up the beagle. "It's not safe," I added lamely, and he said "thanks for the warning." Oh well, so it didn't make me or my dogs look "good." Sometimes some bluntness is required.

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  11. good article. a reminder for me to keep at it with my leash reactive dogs. i know i am not alone. people sometimes think im crazy when i say my dog doesnt get along with other dogs when i have six and sometimes walk some together. gives me faith and courage to keep on working with my dogs to make them happy and secure

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  12. Thanks for the good words guys! I'm glad this is helpful.
    This is a very common behavior issue in all dogs that I get questions and calls on ALL the time.
    Marthina

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