Shelters over here will spay as early as 8 weeks. Some wait until dogs are 10 or 12 weeks, but they like to do it early so they can adopt the dogs out earlier.

It doesn't make sense to me that if you're obeying the leash law and others are letting their dogs run loose and approach yours, that you would be worried about how YOUR dog looks. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who lets their dog just run up to mine like that deserves what they get.

Is it possible that instead of stopping and allowing a greeting to take place, you can just keep walking and ignore the other dog? The reason I'm worried about how my dog looks is because she's pit bull and chow. In the eyes of everyone else, she is the bad guy because of her breed. She would most likely be blamed regardless of whether I was following the laws and the other person wasn't.

I've tried ignoring the other dog and keeping on walking, but she will stand there and when I get to the end of the leash, she feels it get tight and tries to bite the other dog, and starts growling and snarling and acting a fool. If I tell her 'no' or to come on, she hesitates, and then she still gets a leash correction and that causes the same reaction - trying to bite the other dog. I just don't know how to get her to the point to where she'll ignore other dogs while on leash. If I correct her, it makes the problem worse, but if I don't, that does no good either.


I have tried the 'watch me' or 'look' command, and it makes her uncomfortable because she learned at a young age not to stare at me and I don't know how to get her past that. She's also not food or toy motivated. I would have to not feed her for a day or so to keep her interested in any little treat I had. When I tried the treat route as a distraction, she did absolutely nothing; kept her eyes fixed on the other dog and didn't even sniff the treat, and it was liver!


excuse my question little bit off the main subject
did i read and understand that the dog was spayed WITH 2,5 month ??? Yes, she was spayed at the time of adoption, which put her at 2.5 months old. She was plenty big enough. The only restriction here is that they must weigh at least 8 pounds at the time of surgery.

I don't blame you for being concerned about liability should your dog bite another dog. To be certain though, you might consider seeking legal counsel since laws can vary from locality to locality.

Personally, I would not walk my dog aggressive dog in an area where I *know* we will be encountering loose dogs. I would stick to areas where other dogs are leashed and under control. That means no parks and no National Forest trails for now. That way, you can control the distance between your dog and other dogs and start working with her at greater distances, decreasing distance over time as she improves.

When I tried the treat route as a distraction, she did absolutely nothing; kept her eyes fixed on the other dog and didn't even sniff the treat, and it was liver! This doesn't neccessarily indicate that she's not food motivated. It could also indicate that she is too highly aroused to be able to focus on anything other than the other dog. That means you're too close.

As long as you keep taking her to places where you cannot control the variables, you won't be able to fix this problem no matter what method you choose. Even if you go with an ecollar, you'll still need to be able to control distance and read your dog so you know when and how to act.

Personally, I would not walk my dog aggressive dog in an area where I *know* we will be encountering loose dogs. I would stick to areas where other dogs are leashed and under control. Unfortunately, around here, those places are few and far between. People around here don't care whether their dogs are roaming the neighborhood, or feel that because *their* dog is friendly (note, I did NOT say obedient!), they don't need a leash.

I guess we'll be going on no walks until we can get her desensitized.

I'm torn between using the SENSE-ation harness or the Gentle Leader. With the GL, I could use it for the therapy work too, but the SENSE-ation harness doesn't have to be introduced slowly like the GL; I can just put it on her and go, and it doesn't run the risk of hurting her should she suddenly lunge or jerk away. They're both about the same price ($19.99 for the GL and $26 for the SENSE-ation harness).

I just don't know.

Originally posted by Kristen Cabe:
I'm torn between using the SENSE-ation harness or the Gentle Leader... I would watch it with the Gentle Leader. Not sure why your dog is acting like she is through the internet, but I know that after my dog was beaten and attacked, I had once been talking to someone and inadvertantly placed my hand over her snout (yes, I talk a lot with my hands :rolleyes: ) ANYHOW, she became aggressive and wanted to go after the dog near us. Also, with the Halti, when I first tried it on my dog, she went bonkers. I don't care what it says on the package, it brought out aggression and it definitely did not calm her. Just something you may want to watch for.

Personally, I would really try working on the leadership role and getting your dog to look to you first and foremost before acting. Being the leader, you should be the one who decides who fights etc. That is what I did with my own dog.

Unfortunately, that means she will do everything to avoid a fight now and gets it big time with fear aggressive dogs who don't respect body language and stuff like that ...