I have a 2 y/o female GSD. She is very sociable, loves people and other dogs. When I am out of town and I take her to the kennel, she plays well with other dogs in a large fenced in area. But, if I am inside of a store or walking her down the street, and we approach another dog, she begins to growl and bark and jump forward as if to attack. Her hair on her back poofs up and it is hard for me to get her attention to calm down and stop. Is she being protective or is she feeling restrained? I don't understand how she plays well with other dogs when inside a fence and not on a leash, and then when we go for walks on leash, she barks and growls? I hope someone can help me. Thank you.

Katie

How do you feel when the other dogs and owner are approaching? Dogs pick up on how you feel about the situation if you start getting hyper or scared (either because you know what her reaction is gonna be or you are actually are a little apprehensive of the situation) she will start acting up. Because she feels that you are worried.

Try to stay calm and tell her "its ok", before her hair raises on her back. I'd keep walking try to clam her down and if that didn't work give her one hard leash correction, when she calms down praise her for being good.

That is one that makes say hummm. It must be us its rarely the dog, its something we have doen to him/her. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Katie,
How long has she been doing this? Do you remember the first incident? What approaches have you tried? What are you doing just prior, during, and after?

Don makes a good point, that often we telegraph signals to our dogs unintentionally. If it's just starting, then changing what you're doing might help prevent it from becoming worse. But, if this is a pretty well established habit, desensitization may be the best way to go.

I don't remember how long this has been going on. But when she acts like this I try and pull her away from what I feel has caused this action. It is surely possible that I get apprehensive when I see a situation beginning to occur that I think she will react to. She probably senses that and feels a need to get nervous. I just probably need to relax and she will feel the situation is ok to approach. Thanks for both of your help.

What do you mean by trying to pull her away? Do you actually move away from the other dog, or just tighten the leash and continue to move toward it? When you move away from the situation, is the leash still tight? Do you wait until she starts reacting before you start moving away, or do you move away while she is still nonreactive?

Professor Lisa I think you pinned it on the head, brillant deduction. It seems that before any out burst by the dog, Katie starts to give off negative vibes, to the dog. Making the dog think. (Maybe who knows?) Ok buddy you scaring my master, making her act up, I'm gonna make sure you don't hurt her no matter how hard she pulls on this line or how scared she is. Boy you guys are gonna get it, for scaring her like that (as choke chain tigthens - choke grrrr!!)

Katie answer the questions that Lisa asked and you find the answer to this puzzle, (maybe I find dog training a mystery you dealing with so many inside and outside factors, like the dogs psyche).

Katie relax and try using calming strokes/pats and statements, like "Its ok, I'm ok" "Leave it or Enough". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Don, I haven't made any deductions yet....I'm still in the information gathering stage. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

...and, I wouldn't recommend soothing and patting behaviors in this context. This kind of attempt at reassurance can be seen by the dog as reinforcement for their fear/behavior. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Lisa

Good point timing would be very important and not precise if frighten or apprehensive. You don't want to add gasoline to the fire. You are so right.

I get use to prasing and can't stop, ok good girl.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

When she was little, a pit bull ran up on her and started attacking her and my husband had to hold her up on his shoulders and the pit jumped up and bit her tail. I didn't know if that could be an issue with other dogs. When I pull her away I actually pull away from the other dog, generally while she is still barking. When I move away, the leash(i use a prong collar) is tight. Once she is away from the situation she is fine. I move away once she starts acting up because I want to get her away from the situation and also because I get embarrassed that she is acting like that. This is the only weird issue that I have ever had. She is an excellent dog. I really appreciate all your help on this. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Good information. Her previous bad experience could certainly be a contributing factor.

You'll get some different opinions on this, but I'll base what I'm telling you on the approach that has been successful for me.

First, it's important to recognize the signals that she's becoming apprehensive before she actually becomes reactive. That means, deal with the situation BEFORE she starts barking and lunging. I'm sure there is a distance at which she becomes aware of the other dog, and her body starts to change. Maybe her head comes up, her ears move forward, her legs stiffen, her tail comes up and starts to wag stiffly, etc. Learn to recognize those signals.

When you see the signals, do not move any closer to the other dog. Make sure you keep a loose leash when you do this, and stay relaxed. Don't be dragging her away with a tight leash, just maintain a distance between her and the other dog where she can be aware of it but not acting out.

While the other dog is present but not close enough to cause your dog to erupt, start working with her in some fun obedience exercises, ignoring the other dog. Have her do some things that are fun for her, and reward her lots. Over time, this will desensitize her to the presence of other dogs, and it will countercondition her to expect that when she sees another dog, she's about to have fun. The more relaxed and upbeat you are while doing this, the better.

During this process, you must not expose her to situations that will cause her to become reactive, or all of your hard work will be for naught.

The most common mistake people make when doing this, and why they don't think it works, is that they try to distract the dog after the dog has already become reactive. Shoving a toy or a treat in the dog's face, or even issuing hard corrections, while the dog is in a highly aroused state is not going to work. Your efforts must be made before the dog gets to the aggressive state.