Quote: Elizabeth Nowik

... I can feel the tension and see the dominant aggression in his posture and focus when he's focusing in on another dog. He nearly jumped out of his collar at the beach when a hyperactive puppy went tearing back and forth not 6 feet from him, the same puppy that later came over and tried to get aggressively playful with Kramer. I didn't wait to see what would happen. I just grabbed his collar and dragged him out of there until the owner showed up and pulled the puppy away. Then I had the awful thought that I'd probably made the situation worse by panicking and then made my dog sit until the other dog was out of sight.

The focus/stare on the strange dog -- does this happen on walks, etc.?

Does he see a dog being walked across the street or maybe towards you and try to stop walking to give the other dog the stink-eye, or maybe lunge at the other dog, barking?

 Quote: elizabeth nowik

...it saddens me a bit to think of my dog as THAT DOG that you want to avoid with your dog...

No, it's the other way around - it's theirs out of control off-leash "my-doggie-is-friendly" pets that you should avoid with your sweet and well-trained dog for his and your safety



http://leerburg.com/dogparks.htm

You only had Kramer for 3 weeks. It is way too early to talk about reliable obedience or allowing the dog off-leash. It would be best if the training is done in a fenced-in area or Kramer is on leash or long line.

 Quote: elizabeth nowik

And, as I'm surrounded by family and friends that do have dogs and strangers on the street that do have dogs, I have to admit that I feel like a bad dog owner or that I'm contributing to a stereotype when I have to tell people, "No. My pit bull is too aggressive towards other dogs. Please do not bring your dog near my dog." Obviously, if the statement is true, which it seems to be now, then that's the most responsible thing I can do as a dog owner.

Being neutral to other dogs is perfectly fine. This is actually what I'm looking for. Should I just be treating this then as the ultimate distraction for Kramer, another dog?

Well, two things here, really. Or IMO, anyway ...

"Should I just be treating this then as the ultimate distraction for Kramer, another dog? "

Well, I use other dogs (not uncontrolled, though -- in fact, the whole situation is heavily controlled) when I'm proofing for distraction.

The other thing is no, there's no need to say "my dog is too aggressive." I just don't get into that situation. Are people on walks wanting the dogs to be allowed to meet-and-greet? I just say (as I walk on by), "Oh, sorry, he's still in training" or something equally non-committal (and not discussion-triggering ).

Or do family members want the dogs to all play together?

Three weeks .... this is all way too soon for this kind of concern or expectation.

Oops ... Ana posted while I was typing.

 Quote: ana kozlowsky

... it's theirs out of control off-leash "my-doggie-is-friendly" pets that you should avoid with your sweet and well-trained dog for his and your safety

There ya go. One sentence wraps it up.

 Quote: connie sutherland

The other thing is no, there's no need to say "my dog is too aggressive." I just don't get into that situation. Are people on walks wanting the dogs to be allowed to meet-and-greet? I just say (as I walk on by), "Oh, sorry, he's still in training" or something equally non-committal (and not discussion-triggering ).

Or do family members want the dogs to all play together?

Three weeks .... this is all way too soon for this kind of expectation.

Oh, Connie. That's brilliant. I should have thought of that one! Yes, there's something about other people who already have dogs that get all excited about the idea that you just got a dog. "Oh! They should all play together!" Kramer has not once barked at another dog since coming home with me, even when the other dog was barking and behaving aggressively. I have noticed, too, that if I just keep walking or get his attention with a whistle on the few occasions where he has zeroed in on another dog and pulled at the leash to get closer, he calms down and refocuses much faster than if I stop and try to do some sort of attempt to regain his control. When I have felt a little desperate during an encounter, I've realized later in what ways I probably made the situation tenser than it needed to be. And yes, Connie and Ana are absolutely right. Three weeks is not a long time in the grand scheme of training, and I'm thrilled and so impressed with how great he really is. He's already better behaved than a lot of dogs I've met in my life. I should be a little more realistic about my short term expectations for him. He's 6!

Actually, we had a great breakthrough when we took him for his walk just now. Since popping the leash did nothing except rev him up like a racehorse, we tried a different tactic, and simply stopped whenever he'd pull. Well, 20 minutes of that didn't get us very far and he didn't seem to get the idea, but when I started just turning around and going the other direction whenever he'd pull or try to walk in front of us, he finally started behaving. I'm wondering if maybe we let him get away with it once or twice because we were talking and not paying attention, and he got the idea that it was okay to do whatever he wanted when all three of us went out. He still tried to pull ahead when I would have my boyfriend walk ahead of us, but by the end of the walk, he had still made so much progress! We don't always walk him together, but I think we'll keep this up for the rest of the week at least until it sinks in that the same leash rules apply, no matter how many people are out together.

I think I'm probably a little paranoid about screwing up with my first dog.

Sounds like a great walk!

It really does sound like you're doing great, and so is he.

It's good to relax and, as much as you can, think about you and your dog and not what anyone else is thinking of him (or of you).

And the folks who think they should all play together, and "they'll work it out" ... well, they're just inexperienced, and probably best ignored (in a kind way). lol

"I have noticed, too, that if I just keep walking or get his attention with a whistle on the few occasions where he has zeroed in on another dog and pulled at the leash to get closer, he calms down and refocuses much faster than if I stop and try to do some sort of attempt to regain his control. "

'Zackly! And you will learn to read him so well that he won't have a chance to home in on the other dog.

I just keep marchin' along.

That is what I do too, it means I walk in circles sometimes. But it works better for me than stopping when they pull.

we have been having this very conversation on our UKBC board, and someone posted this link which I thought was really interesting and gave me some good tips


http://www.nesr.info/images-english-shepherd/He-just-wants-to-say-hi.pdf

Regards
Tracey

 Quote: tracey holden

we have been having this very conversation on our UKBC board, and someone posted this link which I thought was really interesting and gave me some good tips


http://www.nesr.info/images-english-shepherd/He-just-wants-to-say-hi.pdf

Regards
Tracey

I wish I had remembered that excellent essay and posted the link. THANK YOU!

She has an amazing way with words in her explanations. I have "aha" moments whenever I read her work.