I need help with my 3.5 y/o German Shepherd/Rottie mix.
We have had this guy since August of 2021, and heās been amazing. He was a gift from my in-laws, and the foster/rescue he was adopted from was a K9 Service Dog training camp. This rescue specialized in āuntrainable dogsā and turning them into PTSD/Service animals for vets. We were lucky enough to be chosen to adopt our pup after he had been in intense training for about 5 months. Were very lucky that this rescue drilled the basics of training into him before he even came home. Heās very clearly a working breed and enjoys training and stimulation. Heās very engaged and WANTS to be around people- especially his mom and dad.
We started out in a ground floor apartment, and he was great on all his walks. We would walk him anywhere from 3-5 times a day around the complex and he never really cared about other dogs walking around.
He would acknowledge that they were walking but wouldnāt react. He didnāt even Bark in the apartment to movements outside.
After that lease ended, we moved in with friends at their new house with an open/unfenced yard.
We didnāt really walk him when we were there- country roads that were not well lit at night. It was safer for us to just walk him in the acreage in the back yard, he never left the property line! He would leave our neighbors chickens alone (even when they came into our yard) and never ran into other peopleās yards. We also had neighbors with equally as large of dogs and they were fine sharing space. No aggression or reactivity.
Fast forward to January of this year (2023) and we moved back into an apartment.
Ever since we have moved back to apartment living, he has become extremely leach reactive. Its to the point where my husband refuses to walk him in the complex anymore.
Heās has never been an aggressive dog! Its so confusing, he will see a dog walking in the complex and LOSE HIS MIND barking, lunging, pulling. I know dog owners will understand when I say this. The bark he is using is not his scared, āmom this is dangerousā or āF*CK OFFā bark. Its more frantic? It hovers between excited bark and scared bark. I am leaning more towards scared. Every time we see ANY dog walking around the complex, he reacts. I have changed my walking path to avoid other dogs, I have varied the times that I go out to avoid āhigh trafficā walk times.
I have started carrying high reward treats on walks to help redirect (this has helped a lot but if I forget treats early in the morning and see a dog, itās a rough morning). We have reinforced and practiced āSit, Stay, Wait, Leave itā and we are currently working on āGuardā to wait between my legs when were stopped or when entering a building. I have been trying to use guard to redirect him when he sees other dogs but its still new to him.
I have no idea what changed! He used to be such a peaceful walker but for some reason I think he may have gotten spoiled with his own yard he didnāt have to share with anyone. Is he confused? Does he think the entire complex is HIS? For reference he is NOT reactive at other peopleās houses, the dog park, Pet stores, Lowes, etc. He is ONLY reactive when walking in our complex. I Have no idea what to do. My fiancĆ© has stopped walking him and just takes him to the woods or the park. I understand why but at the same time I think behaving on leash is a CRUCIAL skill and I know he had it before.
Any suggestions would be welcomed. I just want his leash reactivity to stop!
We have had this guy since August of 2021, and heās been amazing. He was a gift from my in-laws, and the foster/rescue he was adopted from was a K9 Service Dog training camp. This rescue specialized in āuntrainable dogsā and turning them into PTSD/Service animals for vets. We were lucky enough to be chosen to adopt our pup after he had been in intense training for about 5 months. Were very lucky that this rescue drilled the basics of training into him before he even came home. Heās very clearly a working breed and enjoys training and stimulation. Heās very engaged and WANTS to be around people- especially his mom and dad.
We started out in a ground floor apartment, and he was great on all his walks. We would walk him anywhere from 3-5 times a day around the complex and he never really cared about other dogs walking around.
He would acknowledge that they were walking but wouldnāt react. He didnāt even Bark in the apartment to movements outside.
After that lease ended, we moved in with friends at their new house with an open/unfenced yard.
We didnāt really walk him when we were there- country roads that were not well lit at night. It was safer for us to just walk him in the acreage in the back yard, he never left the property line! He would leave our neighbors chickens alone (even when they came into our yard) and never ran into other peopleās yards. We also had neighbors with equally as large of dogs and they were fine sharing space. No aggression or reactivity.
Fast forward to January of this year (2023) and we moved back into an apartment.
Ever since we have moved back to apartment living, he has become extremely leach reactive. Its to the point where my husband refuses to walk him in the complex anymore.
Heās has never been an aggressive dog! Its so confusing, he will see a dog walking in the complex and LOSE HIS MIND barking, lunging, pulling. I know dog owners will understand when I say this. The bark he is using is not his scared, āmom this is dangerousā or āF*CK OFFā bark. Its more frantic? It hovers between excited bark and scared bark. I am leaning more towards scared. Every time we see ANY dog walking around the complex, he reacts. I have changed my walking path to avoid other dogs, I have varied the times that I go out to avoid āhigh trafficā walk times.
I have started carrying high reward treats on walks to help redirect (this has helped a lot but if I forget treats early in the morning and see a dog, itās a rough morning). We have reinforced and practiced āSit, Stay, Wait, Leave itā and we are currently working on āGuardā to wait between my legs when were stopped or when entering a building. I have been trying to use guard to redirect him when he sees other dogs but its still new to him.
I have no idea what changed! He used to be such a peaceful walker but for some reason I think he may have gotten spoiled with his own yard he didnāt have to share with anyone. Is he confused? Does he think the entire complex is HIS? For reference he is NOT reactive at other peopleās houses, the dog park, Pet stores, Lowes, etc. He is ONLY reactive when walking in our complex. I Have no idea what to do. My fiancĆ© has stopped walking him and just takes him to the woods or the park. I understand why but at the same time I think behaving on leash is a CRUCIAL skill and I know he had it before.
Any suggestions would be welcomed. I just want his leash reactivity to stop!