Get a prong if you don't have one already. Carry treats or her favourite toy when you're walking. NEVER walk her off lead. Practice, practice, practice where there is both people and doggie traffic. Put her in a down or a sit off to the side when you see another dog approaching. Correct the **it out of her if her butt leaves the ground. Praise her immensely when she stops looking at the other dog. Obedience, obedience, obedience.

You will never have a dog that indiscriminately loves other dogs. Mine is 9 and I am resigned to his behaviour. He is submissive to and loves people. I can and have taken him all over the place. He is a joy and by using obedience training I am able to overcome his little "quirk". You have to decide if you have the nature to completely control her behaviour when she is in public. It is your responsibility to protect her from other dogs and protect other dogs from her.

Mieta, If it's in your dog's nature to be dominant then that's what will happen. Mine is a male, neutered at 6 months, weighs 48 lbs. and is a standard poodle. Go figure. I never knew.

A good quote: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of fight in the dog."

Mieta, 1 final note then I'll get back to work. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> You cannot expect to work on this behaviour problem without exposing/socializing your dog to the stimulus that sets her off. If she is not minding you in the presence of another dog then you are not correcting her hard enough for not complying with your commands. You have to determine how "hard" or how resiliant your dog is to correction in the face of such a temptation. Only then will she pay more attention to you than what is out "there".
Good luck. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Yes, I used a prong on her while she was younger. It had the reverse effect of making her more aggressive. She would infact try and bite the lead. I work with another dog person and we all went back to the standard collar with intense redirecting, command down, and, like as mentioned, getting her fri%#$n attention at all costs. I think that is why, and only why, she will heal to the point of where she is now. Too much body contact during walks dissrupts her. She is very body sensitive during walks only. So, I instead use commands and re-focus her task on me and not the other dog. I have been doing sits and they work until the other, excuse me, stupid dog owner thinks that my dog wants to play with theirs, and comes my way. Then I will simply direct away and keep her in constant motion away from the dog.

Someone told me to simply muzzle her. Would this not cause her to become more frustrated?

Dog aggression can be one of the most frustrating things to deal with. There are a few options but none of them are perfect.

- Use heavy compulsion until the point of avoidance and submission

- If his prey drive or food drive is stronger than the distraction ( dog aggression) you can redirect to food or play whenever the distraction (dog) is present. I have seen this work to the point that the dog will completely focus on the handler whenever a dog is present.

- Keep your dog separated from all other dogs

Good luck!

Mieta, It might, but you won't know until you try it. You would have to train her to it in an environment where she is comfortable first, i.e. around the house.

Maybe a basket muzzle would have the pleasant side effect of keeping the other stupid dog owners away! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I know what you mean about that. Sometimes when I'm walking mine, I'll try to steer clear, but they'll get too close anyway, then when my bitch goes agro, and I have to deal with her, the people shake their heads, or even make snippy remarks. It's pretty irritating, especially when their arm is sticking straight out ahead of them, and their dog is pulling like there's no tomorrow! What's even worse is when their dog is off leash in a leash required area, and they just stand there, letting it run up to us. I always tell them to call their dog, mine is aggressive, but they never seem to "hear" me until my bitch turns into a snarling ball of fury, and then, of course, their well trained dog does not come when they call. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Caniche, those were good suggestions, but rest assured, I have been there, done that. It had absolutely no impact on my bitch. She feels no corrections, no matter how hard, and wants nothing to do with treats or toys, once she gets that bug up her butt. The best I can do is to compel her into a sit BEFORE she goes into full blown aggression, and stand between her and the other dog, facing her, and if she tries to break that sit (and she will, over and over), I put her butt right back down. Or, I just avoid it all together and walk in a different direction.

In her case, I think it may have genetic components, being that she is very dominant with other dogs and has extreme prey drive. But, I won't discount the possibility of trauma in her early life. The pound had picked her up running loose with no ID, and no one came to claim her. The vet told us that she had had puppies (she was only one year old when we brought her home). She was an escape artist, had no obedience training, peed all over the house when left home alone, and so insecure that she "needed" constant physical contact, enjoyed chasing the cats. All of this tells me that she was not well cared for, could have been roaming the streets a lot in her early life, causing her to feel like she needed to fight for survival? I don't know, and I don't care anymore. I know what I have, and I am up to the task of providing her a good home for the rest of her days.

Anyway, enough about mine, back to helping Mieta. I don't have anything to add.

L Swanston, I have a problem with what I call "mop" dogs. Small hairy things pulling grandly at the lead (Flexi or not) about 6-10 feet in front of their owners, barking like mad when they see another dog. Most of the time I can evade them, but they're sneaky little things and if something happens I'm the one who gets the evil eye. I have made the occasional comment like "Would you mind pulling your dog in." or "Please restrain your dog." I think I said once "If you don't pull your dog in mine is going to eat him for dinner." Must have been PMSing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Perhaps what I have for a canine companion is a Savior. Perhaps she was meant to rid the world of little snappy cutie pie dogs. Perhaps I could change the future. Perhaps, too, she was meant to rid the world of unrestricted kitty advances into my yard. Aha! My dog is only having her true goal in life squashed by me!!

Ok...coming back....

If I did muzzle, you are right, it would keep those busy doggie-friendly people to their own kind. Infact, in my community, that would keep the streets clear. It never dawned on me until you mentioned that...um.

The problem that I mentioned before is that I will be moving to an area that has free roaming dogs. This is beyond my control, so, sorry. What would be the best method for my dog. I know that she will be tied, she always has. Just leave her muzzled during tie outs?

I would be new to the tie out muzzle routine. I am not a fan of it...she would be left without gaurd. Any tried this before?? Or am I really being stupid?

Caniche...I told me neighbor that my dog REALLY does not like your dog(itsy toy poodle). Her reply, "well my dog loves all dogs, maybe they can learn to love each other". Yeah, maybe in hug therapy class.

I then told her point blank that my dog will kill her dog. Her smile went away. She got it.

Hi Mieta- if you are moviing to an area where there are free roaming dogs I think that the best thing that you could do if you intend to tie her out is only tie her out in a fenced area. Dogs tied out in an open area are at a disadvantage. A secure kennel run might also be an option. A yard fence would at least keep strays out of your dogs territory. If she sees strays when she is tied she is going to go ballistic and if she is at least well secured then it is obvious that you are doing your part to keep her under control. It still amazes me that people with small dogs will go "trolling" with their pets on long flexis and let their dogs approach dogs that are clearly giving signs that they aren't interested in making nice. I saw a couple spectating at a dog race right at the race finish line with their yorkie and tiny mutt on long flexis letting thier dogs run right into the finish chute despite alot of people telling them that they were being really stupid.