Hi Everyone, I am new to the forum. I briefly perused the leerburg site many months ago when I first got my rescue, but then forgot about it, then remembered again about this place the other day.

Well here is my story. I have a 4 year old toy fox terrier, who I rescued one year ago exactly. She was about 3 when I adopted her, and the rescue org had her up for adoption as a stray. So, no one really knows her history. Well she went from a shelter in WVA to a foster home in MD, where she lived for a month or so with other dogs (without a problem).

A couple days after I adopted her, I was walking her and noticed her getting very excited at the sight of other dogs, and then getting aggressive as we got closer to them. I only let her get close to one dog during that time, because I was not sure if she was excited or what, but she nipped the other dog (did not cause any harm though it seemed).

Well ever since, her aggression escalated. Over time there were a few situations we were in, where she would be off leash with another dog, and be not so aggressive. so it would seem now that it is mostly a leash reactivity thing. sometimes, when we see another dog she will even start waggin her tail a little before she starts reacting. but her normal reaction is to start lunging, panting, whining, and then into a full blown SCREAM and shriek, and let me tell you, this is a head turning kind of scream, and we do get quite a bit of stares.

We live in an urban area, where it seems everyone has a dog! they come out from all corners, and seem to fall ffrom the sky especially when we are least expecting it. My main MO now is just to plain AVOID routs where we see other dogs. I hate to stress her out, which in turn stresses me out.

It's been one year of this, and we haven't been able to fix it. The first trainer we hired had a very dominant approach (think cesar milan), and grabbed her by the scruff so hard he left his finger prints on her for a few days after the fact. It also did not accomplish anything. We tried another trainer, who did some alpha rolls, and did not accomplish anything. We went to a behaviorist who diagnosed her with "fear aggression" and put her on prozac. While I THINK she does exhibit some fear aggression, I think a lot of it is territorial too . Maybe a combination of both? The most recent trainer we worked with for 4 sessions and showed us how to do a lot of treat training. It works to some extent, but it's not very practical.

On our one year anniversary, this past Monday, I was in tears because I just can not figure out what I am not doing, or doing wrong to correct this. I feel like, what if I am just not the right person for her? I have thought of re-homing her many times, but can't imaging that would cause the issue to just go away. Maybe it would get worse, and she would just get re-homed again? Who knows.

I take my dog to a friend's home where they have daycare, and have taken her there overnight too. I think it's just because she has gotten used to them, but she does really well with their dogs. She will get a little growly from time to time, but is generaly okay, esp if off leash.

I don't know what else to do. I feel like she knows i am boss inside the house, but once we are outside, she is so fixated on finding something (another dog) to react to, she is pulling me all over the place etc. Right now, I am trying to use my body to block her from other dogs, and back her into sits and have her stay there until the dog goes by or something. We can only do this at a distance. If we are walking on the same sidewalk as another dog, it will never work. I have to cross the street, hide behind cars/ bushes / hide down alleys, etc. It's frsutrating, and makes a walk that would otherwise be enjoyable, a bit difficult, and not so fun.

I love my dog to death, but want both of our sanity back. If you have read my novel so far (hehe), and have any advice , I would lvoe to hear from you. I am reading some of the stuff I d/l of this site long ago - about establishing ground work for the dog, and letting her know who is the leader etc, but now that it's been a year, and I am just NOW starting to do these things, I think it will probably take a lot longer to effect. Let me know your thoughs. I would love to hear from you!

Thank you all

You have had some BAD "trainers" (and no, none of that makes me think of Cesar Millan, who knows what he is doing, regardless of opinions of methods).

HUGE number one for me would be to stop the daycare thing.

Give us exact details of what the dog does and what you do when you encounter another dog on the sidewalk. Give distances, etc.

Hi Connie, yes I agree. I dont' think the trainer was like Cesar Milan, I think he claimed to use his methods, and just wasn't very good at it.

re: the daycare. we will be stopping because they are moving soon. i was only taking there one day a week, when it was just her and their dogs, who she gets along with. she LOVES one of their dogs so much, and does not act aggressively toward him, and truly seems happy when he is around, which is why i took her there. anyway they are moving at the end of the month.

Anyway, so Luanne and I will be walking along, and as soon as she hears a little jingle jangle (dog tags) her ears will perk up, with her tail, her body will stiffen, and she will start looking and pulling to whatever the sound is and maybe start whining a little (it sounds a bit like horse neighing). sometimes she will confuse the sound of car keys for this. but anyway, i will keep pulling her along, trying to keep her close to me, short leash, and if she pulls i jerk a little on the leash. i use a martingale, and i think it's the best right now, and i've tried every single harness out there!

if we see a dog, she will stop at first (or maybe it's me that is stopping lol), she will start this little loud whine (neighing), and then go into a shriek mixed with a bit of barking. Her fur is up, she is pulling, and i am trying to drag her away to a place where the dog is out of her sight. for instance if a dog comes around a corner, i will abruptly turn around and go back the way we came, but sometimes this doesn't always work, because she is still looking/yelling at the other dog and i am basically dragging her backwards. sometimes i try to run with her while saying "let's go let's go!" sometimes it also doesn't work because we will turn and go another way, or cross the street, and there will be another dog, which leaves us walking in the middle of the street.

For the past couple weeks, I have been trying something new, and just stopping when we see another dog (as long as it's far enough away), and pulling her or backing her into a sit, and saying "no" the moment a sound begins to escape her mouth. I feel like this could really work, but only works at greater distances.

Now if we get really close to a dog, like in the stairwell or on a sidewalk, i will even just pick her up and carry her out of the situation. and turn her head so she cannot see the other dog. she has scratched me up pretty badly in some of those positions!

if we are walking and she gets really close, she will bark and snap and do all that jazz, that makes it kind of look like she would probably eat the face off that other dog, if I let her get any closer! and i just keep walking right by without letting her get close.

oh and re: distances, it always varies. sometimes it's up to half a block away. it's almost like "Really/? that dog, that almost looks like a speck? you are getting upset?" Sometimes if a dog is on the other sidewalk, and we have cars hiding us (thank god for that), she will only react to the sound of the dog, and it isn't as bad. Then, there are really bad times when the people in my building are walking their dog outside the building, or in the halls (off leash) and we encounter them.

sorry this is so long again, i really could write a novel on this. "the chronicles of my neurotic dog"?

Something that's worked well for me. If I see a dog, even if my dog hasn't seen it yet, I start doing obedience work. Keeps their mind busy and focused on you, and your partnership/working together rather than the other dogs.

It's not an overnight fix but it's nice b/c it's a good way to work on obedience, aggressive behaviour and bond.

Hope that helps some! There are lots of really experienced people here who will be able to weigh in as well.

Jennifer, thanks that's a good idea I should try. as long as we are far enough away, i think it could be a pretty good distraction. Normally I am so preoccupied with looking around, and watching my dog, I can't think of anything else, but maybe it would be a good thing to distract us both!

Jenn, as far as specific training advice, everybody here will give better help than I. So I won't even try to go there.

 Quote: jenn verrier

.....which in turn stresses me out...... I was in tears because I just can not figure out what I am not doing, or doing wrong to correct this..... It's frsutrating, and makes a walk that would otherwise be enjoyable, a bit difficult, and not so fun.

This was just a very small part of your post, so it might not mean a thing.

But do you think this might be starting to get "personal"?

Not saying that it isn't frustrating, but in that moment stress, frustration, or sadness will not help.

This too:

 Quote: jenn verrier

Normally I am so preoccupied with looking around, and watching my dog, I can't think of anything else,

This alone would amp up any terrier.

Anyway, wait around and you're sure to get more advice to stack on top of the great advice you've already gotten.

Just remember to relax while implementing what you learn here.

 Quote: jenn verrier

For the past couple weeks, I have been trying something new, and just stopping when we see another dog (as long as it's far enough away), and pulling her or backing her into a sit, and saying "no" the moment a sound begins to escape her mouth. I feel like this could really work, but only works at greater distances.

Jenn, this approach is a little more proactive than just dragging Luanne (AWESOME name, BTW :grin away, and essentially what you're looking for is to help this little dog learn what to do INSTEAD of loosing her mind whenever she sees another dog - simply correcting her and running away doesn't actually help her understand that there are other appropriate behaviors to be exhibiting.

Does Luanne know the "watch me" or "look" command? Is she food motivated, and have you done much reward based training with her - or marker training? (there are free articles on this site for marker training) You can teach and practice this at home, then when you're out walking, you can ask her to "look" at you - the goal of which would be to start redirecting the dog's focus onto YOU, and then from there you can start right into a little obedience routine - just like Jennifer suggested (I do the same thing with my dog, and it really does work).

Once you've been practicing "look", and any other OB she knows, you can start working on these exercises using other dogs as a FAAAR away distraction - if there's a local park that usually has dogs passing through, this will work, just make sure you and Luanne are safely a ways away. The minute she pricks her ears on another dog, ask her to "look", get her attention - REWARD for attention - and then ask her to heel with you, or lie down, etc. This type of distraction training can take a very long time, working very incrementally closer to other dogs, until eventually you're able to walk on the other side of the street from another dog and Luanne will be able to focus on you when you ask her to, and NOT on the other dog.

Be patient, start slow, and think good, positive thoughts for Luanne - Michael is right about the energy and attitude you're passing down the leash, just keep calm.

~Natalya

 Quote: natalya zahn

 Quote: jenn verrier

For the past couple weeks, I have been trying something new, and just stopping when we see another dog (as long as it's far enough away), and pulling her or backing her into a sit, and saying "no" the moment a sound begins to escape her mouth. I feel like this could really work, but only works at greater distances.

Jenn, this approach is a little more proactive than just dragging Luanne (AWESOME name, BTW :grin away, and essentially what you're looking for is to help this little dog learn what to do INSTEAD of loosing her mind whenever she sees another dog - simply correcting her and running away doesn't actually help her understand that there are other appropriate behaviors to be exhibiting.

Does Luanne know the "watch me" or "look" command? Is she food motivated, and have you done much reward based training with her - or marker training? (there are free articles on this site for marker training) You can teach and practice this at home, then when you're out walking, you can ask her to "look" at you - the goal of which would be to start redirecting the dog's focus onto YOU, and then from there you can start right into a little obedience routine - just like Jennifer suggested (I do the same thing with my dog, and it really does work).

Once you've been practicing "look", and any other OB she knows, you can start working on these exercises using other dogs as a FAAAR away distraction - if there's a local park that usually has dogs passing through, this will work, just make sure you and Luanne are safely a ways away. The minute she pricks her ears on another dog, ask her to "look", get her attention - REWARD for attention - and then ask her to heel with you, or lie down, etc. This type of distraction training can take a very long time, working very incrementally closer to other dogs, until eventually you're able to walk on the other side of the street from another dog and Luanne will be able to focus on you when you ask her to, and NOT on the other dog.

Be patient, start slow, and think good, positive thoughts for Luanne - Michael is right about the energy and attitude you're passing down the leash, just keep calm.

~Natalya

Hi there,

Thanks for the words and advice! Yes, Luanne does know "watch" very well. She just doesn't want to watch me, when we are in these types of situations. She is a bit more food motivated than she was when I first got her. I used to hold out hotdog in front her nose when I first got her, and she couldn't have cared less.

Now i use little treats (and they are actual dog treats!), and she is a bit more responsive to them. I will even drop them on the ground and do a "find it" in emergency situations. OR sit by her and let her basically just eat out of my hand. The only problem with this, is that then she just INHALES the food so fast, she will start choking sometimes. Once I thought I was going to have to do heimlich on her, and I have no idea how to do that on a dog!

Anyway this does help a little, depending on how hungry she really is!

And I do realize I need to stop getting so emotional and worked up myself. I know it isn't helping. I am sure sometimes i get a ball in the pit of my stomach, and start feeling anxious myself, and I am sure she can sense that

 Quote: jenn verrier

And I do realize I need to stop getting so emotional and worked up myself. I know it isn't helping. I am sure sometimes i get a ball in the pit of my stomach, and start feeling anxious myself, and I am sure she can sense that

This might sound dumb, but one thing I've done in dealing with my aggressive dog is I visual beforehand (I dunno, I run and it's one of those things they say to do before a race). So I'll visualize us going past another dog and me staying calm and her staying calm, similar stuff to that.

Silly maybe, but it works for me b/c when those situations do arise, I've already done them calmly, so it's not a big deal to stay calm again. Even if my dog is excitable, I'm not.

 Quote: Jennifer Mullen

This might sound dumb, but one thing I've done in dealing with my aggressive dog is I visual beforehand (I dunno, I run and it's one of those things they say to do before a race). So I'll visualize us going past another dog and me staying calm and her staying calm, similar stuff to that.

Visualization is a great suggestion, IMO.
I used to use it as a SCUBA instructor, and it does help in stressful situations...