@ladyjaden She has. As I said, Loki was completely unfazed afterwards and after she shook she didn’t have another reaction, even though we walked past people and dogs. She had people cycling past her, kids walking past her, even had an old guy talking to her and just wagged her tail. It was this one reaction.
My dog lunged at a jogger - What could I have done differently?
- Thread starter lonnie159
- Start date
-
- Tags
- question reactive dogs
@lonnie159 I get what you are saying but understand that it definitely did phase her. They don’t get over it quick, despite what it looks like on the outside. The influx of stress hormones was released and it takes days to come back down. If you really want to do the walk at that time, wait a few days and try again. The reaction to a jogger tomorrow might not be as tame if you let it stack.
@ladyjaden I wouldn't read too much into the claims that it takes days for stress hormones of dogs to return to baseline levels after one isolated event. Here's a good reading about hormonal stress response in dogs (the references also have great info) and trainability:
PLoS One. 2019; 14(9): e0222581.
Published online 2019 Sep 17.
PMCID: PMC6748563
PLoS One. 2019; 14(9): e0222581.
Published online 2019 Sep 17.
PMCID: PMC6748563
@lonnie159 My dog sometimes lunges at joggers even if we have a good distance away from them. Scatter feeds are really helpful for us. We just got some sample freeze dried treats from a neighbor and I literally just used them to sprinkle in the grass so he was busy while the joggers did their thing. I saw them coming down the road so I had my hand full of treats ready to go.
Don’t sweat too much about it if no one was hurt. Scary for sure but you’ve got some great tips from the folks here to do better next time
Don’t sweat too much about it if no one was hurt. Scary for sure but you’ve got some great tips from the folks here to do better next time
@lonnie159 Hey, if you think you have the redirect and a distraction is coming, you have to be 100% prepared to restrain your dog anyway. For me this means I have a semi short nylon strap leash with two handholds so that I'm able to use the full leverage of my upper body strength to hold him back. I'm gripping both tightly and I've squared my stance, and even better if standing where I can lean on something.
Sadly this also means I don't get to prepare treats for counter conditioning unless I keep a few tucked in one of my knuckles while we walk. Each reaction is its own positive reinforcement of the undesired behavior, so it's super unfortunate that I have to give up these little training opportunities. Each interaction should be a step forwards not back. But this is for his safety as well as others'.
To counter those bad interactions, first you need more distance. A wider trail. Some hand picked place for walks. With enough distance you can go back to fiddling with your treat pouch when you notice a distraction.
Talk to your behaviorist, don't listen to some random internet person.
Sadly this also means I don't get to prepare treats for counter conditioning unless I keep a few tucked in one of my knuckles while we walk. Each reaction is its own positive reinforcement of the undesired behavior, so it's super unfortunate that I have to give up these little training opportunities. Each interaction should be a step forwards not back. But this is for his safety as well as others'.
To counter those bad interactions, first you need more distance. A wider trail. Some hand picked place for walks. With enough distance you can go back to fiddling with your treat pouch when you notice a distraction.
Talk to your behaviorist, don't listen to some random internet person.