Foz is a pit bull. He was found as a stray. We brought him home and he is such a well behaved dog. Because he had been in the shelter for such a long time they provided some training sessions for him which make him an even better pup. However, the nightmare begins when we go on walks. He doesn't lunge and bark at people much but with other dogs, he goes crazy. I don't mean that he barks and lunges, he looks pure evil. He bites his leash in frustration. He nipped me twice. I love him and I don't want to give up on him but I am feeling defeated. Today was his second walk with a Halti head collar. It wasn't terrible but I did avoid most dogs on the street. I also took him close enough to a dog park where he could see other dogs, had him sit calmly, and said "yes" and treats. The problem isn't that he is aggressive with other dogs he just doesn't know how to say hi and people don't understand that. Once he says hi to a dog he stops throwing a fit. I just don't know what else to do. He's my first dog. We are also setting up weekly play dates but I'd love for him to go into the dog park areas. Please advise!
[HELP] 1 year 9-month rescue
- Thread starter knup
- Start date
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- reactive dogs
@knup Hello! General disclaimer, I'm not a trainer, just a fellow first time dog owner with similar issues! So feel free to ignore, question, etc anything I say as I'm also still learning 
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We've been working through something similar with our amstaff mix, Scooby. He tends to bite the leash when he gets over aroused or frustrated because he can't interact with the environment (whether that be eat grass, sniff, say hi to dogs or people, etc.). He's amazing with dogs off leash (super submissive, plays really well, etc.), he just gets over excited and frustrated on leash. We've done a ton of things to work on this so I'll outline the main ones below (again, feel free to ignore parts, this is just what worked for us).
First and foremost, we got a really good positive reinforcement only trainer with reactivity specific classes. We not only attend a class every opportunity (to help Scooby get exposed to other dogs) but we also did two private sessions in our neighborhood and mini-sessions where we worked on walking with other dogs. She taught us how to hold the leash while he's going crazy to avoid getting bitten or jumped on. That being said, I know trainers can be expensive (especially the private sessions) and there are a lot of free or cheap resources out there (check out the wiki of this page, I'll mention one I know of below). I do feel like having the one-on-one work and feeling like I have someone to ask questions or bounce ideas off of has been tremendously helpful.
Second, we all together ditched walking in dog heavy areas. We worked with him in the neighborhood off hours and took him on "sniffaris" where he was allowed to roam and sniff as much as he wanted. We basically managed the behavior by ensuring he wouldn't see another dog unless we set him up to be successful (ie lots and lots of treats). As he's gotten better, we've walked him in situations with more dogs (pack walks with dogs he knows really well, going to more dog heavy areas, etc.).
Thirdly, enforced nap time. We got scooby when he was 10 mo and he didn't sleep at all during the day the first couple of weeks. When we started instituting nap time by physically separating him from us, his behavior got a lot better and he got a lot calmer in the house. Since he was calmer in the house we could work on his focus more when in turn helps with his walks.
Finally, the last thing we've done (at the suggestion of our trainer) is sign up for AbsoluteDogs Sexier Than A Squirrel challenge (we got it through our trainer but I don't think it's very expensive, they do have leash specific programs too). Scoobys still has a long way to go, but the main benefits of the games have been bonding. I really feel like our play time and training time is way more enjoyable for the both of us. That bonding has really helped on our walks as well.
I'd also recommend finding a daycare, that really helps Scooby get his socializing out so he's calmer on walks. We only do once a week right now to help manage his excitement levels, but he's noticably better on walks after daycare (combination of tiredness and dogs not being that exciting anymore).
. We've been working through something similar with our amstaff mix, Scooby. He tends to bite the leash when he gets over aroused or frustrated because he can't interact with the environment (whether that be eat grass, sniff, say hi to dogs or people, etc.). He's amazing with dogs off leash (super submissive, plays really well, etc.), he just gets over excited and frustrated on leash. We've done a ton of things to work on this so I'll outline the main ones below (again, feel free to ignore parts, this is just what worked for us
).First and foremost, we got a really good positive reinforcement only trainer with reactivity specific classes. We not only attend a class every opportunity (to help Scooby get exposed to other dogs) but we also did two private sessions in our neighborhood and mini-sessions where we worked on walking with other dogs. She taught us how to hold the leash while he's going crazy to avoid getting bitten or jumped on. That being said, I know trainers can be expensive (especially the private sessions) and there are a lot of free or cheap resources out there (check out the wiki of this page, I'll mention one I know of below). I do feel like having the one-on-one work and feeling like I have someone to ask questions or bounce ideas off of has been tremendously helpful.
Second, we all together ditched walking in dog heavy areas. We worked with him in the neighborhood off hours and took him on "sniffaris" where he was allowed to roam and sniff as much as he wanted. We basically managed the behavior by ensuring he wouldn't see another dog unless we set him up to be successful (ie lots and lots of treats). As he's gotten better, we've walked him in situations with more dogs (pack walks with dogs he knows really well, going to more dog heavy areas, etc.).
Thirdly, enforced nap time. We got scooby when he was 10 mo and he didn't sleep at all during the day the first couple of weeks. When we started instituting nap time by physically separating him from us, his behavior got a lot better and he got a lot calmer in the house. Since he was calmer in the house we could work on his focus more when in turn helps with his walks.
Finally, the last thing we've done (at the suggestion of our trainer) is sign up for AbsoluteDogs Sexier Than A Squirrel challenge (we got it through our trainer but I don't think it's very expensive, they do have leash specific programs too). Scoobys still has a long way to go, but the main benefits of the games have been bonding. I really feel like our play time and training time is way more enjoyable for the both of us. That bonding has really helped on our walks as well.
I'd also recommend finding a daycare, that really helps Scooby get his socializing out so he's calmer on walks. We only do once a week right now to help manage his excitement levels, but he's noticably better on walks after daycare (combination of tiredness and dogs not being that exciting anymore).
@godstruth Thank you for the recommendations. I think other people in my neighborhood have noticed and realized and sympathized. A lady approached me and let my Foz meet her Bree. We walked around the neighborhood and she explained to a fellow walker (because we bumped into them and their dog accidentally)that he was just a barker but not aggressive. They were nice enough to let me do an intro and my pup sat there sniffing them. My heart melted. Just knowing that this is common and it can be resolved with patience and skill is a relief. Thank you!