I am needing guidance on what holistic methods to try for a unique problem. I have honestly never seen this before in a dog, nor heard of anyone else with a dog showing this problem.

My dog is 2.5, Czech lines, healthy, raw fed, male. He is a sweet, friendly dog with zero aggression who loves all dogs, all strangers. He is only medium drive, medium energy, settles calmly indoors, does not need much excersise for a GSD.

The problem: When my dog sees something he really wants (another dog on walks, or a beloved guest) he gets this sudden extreme intensity that rapidly skyrockets until he boils over and violently explodes to burst straight towards the dog/person to greet them with wildly intense enthusiasm. He either drags me or rips the lead from my hands. The tendency for this sudden intensity to happen, then rapidly skyrocket to detonation point, is the problem. This is how he is wired, a neuro issue. He is helpless to control himself nor hear/feel my corrections when it gets to that point, so yes, I try to impact him before the intensity skyrockets, but this is not always possible. The tendency to get into this sudden intenseity/exploding mode is the concern that I am seeking a holistic treatment for.

This is not a training issue. We have done the sit-wait-give focus- wait for relase command deal before going through all doorways, before being released to eat his raw food, etc, and this is interwoven into our daily lives since he was 9 weeks old. He is unreachable and cannot control himSELF when the intensity sets in and skyrockets through the roof till detonation. We contionue to work on impulse control issues anyway... but it is the underlying tendency for this sudden intensity/explosions that I need to address.

Not an excreise issue, unfortunately. He gets run well, and needs very little to be tired for the remainder of the day. Even exhausted, it makes zero impact on this tendency-- and it happens only when he sees a dog on walks that he wants to greet or a guest he loves. He has to greet them right NOW-- and the intensity suddenly sets in, boils over, erupts.

Not an age issue, I have never seen a young dog quite this way.. he really is NOT a hyper dog at all. Never pacing in the house, never panting, never barks, never destroyed anything as a puppy, never nipped, natural bite inhibition. Just this hidden current that only turns on to sudden full intensity when he sees a dog or favorite guest. He can't very much notice my corrections, or control himself when he gets this way.

This is a neuro issue, the way the dog is wired. It's a tendency to suddenly get this vibrating extreme intensity when he sees someone (usually another dog) that he wants to greet. The tendency underlying is the problem.

Yes, have used prong, halti, e-collar-- the dog can hardly control himself at all. The sudden intense current switches on, and he detonates. When he bolts and the lead comes free, yes, he only plays with the other dog. I am glad there is zero aggression. But, that could still lead to a dogfight, or he could dash accross traffic. Or, he could drag me, so either way, we are not safe and I am seeking a holistic or homeopathic solution, as well as ongoing training support.

What methods might help my dog? I am considering Chinese Traditional Medicine herbs or homeopathy. Something is very much not right. This is way beyond Bach Flower.

PS-- He is in training as my personal private Service Dog, and does excellent at picking up what I drop, carrying items at heel, directed retrieve of medicine bag, lead, brush, keys, etc. Nice calm dog with medium drive and energy level who has good working skilly. Just this underlying problem that is enormous and impacts our safety on walks for example!

Patti, I don't know if this would work for Grimm, but it worked/is working for me with Teagan, who is similar in that she can explode (except she is aggressive).

What I do was when I see something that will trigger her, I start to put her through an obedience routine, so that I'm refocusing her and giving her something to do rather than explode.

It took a long time to really pay off, and about a year for her to not react/explode at other dogs without any cue from me (and we're still not perfect, we have our bad days).

I'm also capable of controlling her when she does explode and we went through a period where that was necessary, when we were first starting out. That may be an issue for you.

Anyways, this might help while you're looking at other things to do, including the homeopathic stuff (which I can't comment on). I firmly believe with Teagan her aggression is wired and it is a matter of learning to control it, rather than getting rid of it, so in that sense I get what you're saying about Grimm being 'wired that way'.

Hope that helps a bit!

Jennifer, I am so grateful for your input and experience with Teagan! My usual management plan has been exactly that-- see other dog on walk, begin sits and downs and heeling turns left and right. While he is somewhat better, the problem lies in the *tendency* to get into this unreachable, explosive, extremely intense/detonating state still being there and overwhelming our efforts.

Hopefully, being as he is wired this way and behavior-specific private training, re-focusing, NILIF, Doggy Zen, working on impulse control, interrupting with OB rutines, etc etc have all not helped, maybe something holistic can offer a solution to bringing balance to his wired-for-blast-off system.

This sounds like the dog is leash reactive, and it's a very common problem. Fortunately, it sounds like your dog isn't aggressive which takes some of the angst out of the situation. This can only be solved by training, unfortunately, and it takes a long time. There are no herbal/homeopathic quick fixes here. Believe me, I've tried them all

The best way to deal with this is to gradually desensitize your dog to whatever winds him up. That means to find out what his comfortable distance is from the stimuli, and work on holding his focus at that distance, gradually getting closer. And I do mean gradually (like over weeks and months). You want to set things up so that your dog has NO opportunities to wind up. Unfortunately, this level of excitement is self rewarding so after they've practiced it a few times it becomes a habit. Don't give your dog opportunities to continue practicing this behaviour.

I have a healthy, well-exercised, bold, raw-fed dog who is trained to competition level in obedience and is generally a very respectful guy. He is not aggressive at all and has no neurological/nerve trouble whatsoever, but he was still quite leash reactive (and still can be at times). It happens. It has taken me over a year of working hard on this problem to keep his feet on the ground, and it's still a work in progress.

Jennifer's suggestion of running through obedience at a non-reactive distance is wonderful. Giving the dog something to do really helps. For my dog, the behaviours that helped the most were "watch me", "heel" and the hand touch, with a game of tug as a reward. We drilled the watch and heel in every situation until it became a habit: My dog would see something that excited him, and I would ask him to watch me. Over time the exciting thing itself became the cue to give me his attention. The hand touch and tug worked because my dog LOVES to jump up and touch my hand and loves to play tug. They also give him something constructive to do with his excited energy. But every dog is different and your dog might have things to do that he enjoys more.

It takes a long time but gradual desensitization is the only way to go and it's really doable.

I agree with Kristel, it can take a long time (year plus) but it will work.

It's small improvements at first though, which can seem frustrating or like it's not really working.

Patti, it sounds like you're already doing some of this stuff - I would keep at it. You do have the added issue of physical control if I remember correctly, which I don't have so I can't speak to that, and I would imagine that's a problem for the bad days. Kristel might be able to speak to that b/c if I remember correctly she's shorter than me

Kristel, thanks for the input. This is unfortunately far more than just leash reactivity/barrier frustration. (one can see him getting into this state even when he is free around guests, etc) Training consistantly for desensitizatiion around other dogs has not considerably made a dent, nor has the flashy fast OB when we see a dog. We continue daily anyway, even after 2 years of these methods.

Because we have done these things (along with the NILIF, doggy zen, etc etc ) for 2 years, I am looking at also treating the underlying cause of the tendency itself to get into this state. While the training will continue, the tendency itself is beyond a training issue. Addressing the root cause, balance him, way to settle his explosive wiring/neuro set-up (while he is not a nervy/hyped up dog in general) is the route I am going in searching for a holistic solution in addition to the work we already do.

I only have a small idea to add:

QUOTE: " One can see him getting into this state even when he is free around guests"

What this tells me, is that there are signs he gives before he is about to "explode". So it is not all of a sudden, it just compounds very quickly. Why not correct and get him to re-focus when you see these signs-before he reaches a point where your correction would have to outweigh his explosive behavior.

Mostly it just sounds to me like your dog gets excited about seeing another dog, pulls you over/escapes to see the other dog, and gets his reward of being able to go the dog without you getting a say in the matter.

Idea: ask a friend, with a dog that your dog has never met, to meet you somewhere to practice this. Start from far away(where you are certain he is not going to react), and slowly move closer to the dog, when you notice his "signs" start to appear, stop and start backing up. As he turns to you to see what you are doing, mark it with a "yes" , get him to come into you, and a reward (treat/Toy). Then try again. Over a certain period of time you will condition the dog that when you approach someone he should look back at you for directions. This only works if the dog already has a solid focus.Each time you do it you will get closer, then at the end his reward for his behavior is getting to play with the dog. And he had to earn it! This could take 2 weeks, or it could take 6 months. Like the others said, it is not an overnight fix.

When you have someone over, or you meet someone unexpectedly, make sure you are aware of your dogs "sign" and correct accordingly before he reaches his "explosive behavior".

Thanks Niomi, we've done these also. catching it before it escalates is tough as it happens FAST, but that is part of our usual rutine, as is working him sub-threshhold.

Basicly, we do (and continue to do) desensitization, rapidfire OB, re-focusing, and correcting before it skyrockets,. but it happens very fast, has not lessened very much, and so while we continue with these methods of training-- we are searching for a holistic method to help as well.

PS-- While I LOVE all the training advice, This just happens to be what we have been doing all along and continue with. I am grateful for the ideas, but am looking for a holistic method to add to our ongoing training. If anyone is familiar with Traditional Chinese veterinary medicine or homeopathy, I'd love to hear if they, or any other holistic practice, may also help. Thanks!

Cindy might have some idea about the holistic side of things - you could try PM'ing her.

Good idea.

Patti, if you DO find a holistic solution, would you mind posting back? I kind of know what you mean about wanting to treat whatever underlying "wiring" might predispose a dog to this sort of behavior, but have yet to find anything (besides the training) that's made any difference whatsoever. It's very perplexing to me. I've only ever had the one dog with this issue, so I'm learning as I go too.

It's a frustrating problem.