Hi Everyone,
Some background. I have 2 dog aggressive dogs, but the one I'm writing about is Gracie, a 4yr old boerboel. I began following Ed's advice to use a high stim correction for when she gives notice to other dogs ("the stare"). This has worked wonderfully! I can now walk both of my dogs and they will not so much as bat an eye when we see another dog. I also incorperate obedience work into our daily lives, marking good behavior with praise and treats, and marking bad with a NO and a nick from the ecollar.

Gracie now on walks usually notices another dog and looks quickly away (perfect!). However, there are occasions when we will walk down the street and another dog will be walking the other direction. She goes into so much avoidance that she will plant her butt on the ground and wont walk any further. As if she is so terrified that the other dog will stim her. (note that before the training, shed be all hackles up, staring and straining to get at other dogs) It is as if she is overly avoiding other dogs now, to the point where I cant walk near other dogs because of fear, instead of agression. Trust me I was very careful when stimming her, to only do so when she so much as looked at the other dog or began posturing. I never stimmed her for walking nicely, so I'm confused as to why she's overly sensitive.

On a similar issue, a few nights back we were walking down the street and we saw a dog inside a shop behind a glass storefront. Out of curiousity to see how she would react(or stupidity) I let her go up to the glass when the other dog came up to the window. All was fine and then she just bent beserk in a blink of an eye. Mind you it was safe because the other dog was inside, but the snapping growling beast that I thought had disappeared was in full form last night. Again I realise this was probably not the best idea to let her go close to the other dog, but in a way I wanted to test her reaction. Clearly she has a long way to go. I do think she was reacting so violently because she has learned that other dogs are out to harm her and she must attack first.

I dont desire that Gracie play with other dogs, but I do want her to learn that, even close up, she does not need to react with aggression and that dogs are no cause for fear, pain or getting mean. I think I have messed her up but I want to work on fixing that. Is there some sort of training I can do perhaps with a neutral, nonreactive dog and gracie (in muzzle) to desensitize her? What can I do to build her back up so that she realises the other dog wont be stimming her, and that all she needs to do is ignore them? Should I implement treats somehow?

Any help on how to do this would be appreciated. It seems she can ignore other dogs at a distance, but up close, its still too much and the beast is still lurking within. I will never give up on her!

 Quote: lauren shuty

Gracie now on walks usually notices another dog and looks quickly away (perfect!). However, there are occasions when we will walk down the street and another dog will be walking the other direction. She goes into so much avoidance that she will plant her butt on the ground and wont walk any further. As if she is so terrified that the other dog will stim her.

I'd probably get someone with another dog (or maybe do this with a laid-back dog who is safely confined in his own yard, but visible), and start by walking my dog past the other dog at a good distance..... whatever distance my dog doesn't exhibit the avoidance reaction.

I'm not saying to antagonize another dog; your dog is avoiding, rather than antagonizing.

I would do that calm walking past at a "safe" distance several times on several days. Then I would very gradually decrease the distance between us and the other dog.

As far as the red-zone reaction to a close-up dog, you already know what you did wrong: you let it escalate. For me, that's a "test" that I would consider to be unnecessary and counterproductive. I want to build up a different habit.

This is all JMO. I'm sure there will be other suggestions.

P.S. I would also make very sure I was not signaling tension to my dog and that I maintained my pace, direction, and calmness.

I agree with Connie 100%! If you don't have Ed's Dominant dog video, get it. He does what Connie is telling you and shows you how to do it right.