Tips on getting a dog to stop barking at other dogs?

[acts228]

I adopted a 2 year old lab last year - she’s 3 now - she had no issues with barking at other dogs at the shelter. Ever since bringing her home, she is EXTREMELY reactive and barks her head off at every dog she sees. I have tried everything I can to get this behavior to stop. She is very good with other dogs up close, loves friends, but she can’t behave herself from a distance. My apartment complex is on the verge of evicting us because of her behavior outside

I’ve tried giving treats/using toys as a distraction and rewarding her when she stops fixating, turning around and directing her away from the other dogs, etc. I recently have been using an e-collar (NEVER using the shock setting - only the beep and the vibrate settings) and that doesn’t even work. She loses every bit of self control and I have to nearly carry her back inside to get her to chill out.

I feel like a horrible owner. I’m VERY tight on money and haven’t been able to afford a trainer for her or bring her to daycare. I break down into tears every time we’re back inside because I get so frustrated. I know it’s not her fault. I want to be able to take her on long walks and have her ENJOY being outside, but that has not been the case for over a year now. She behaves incredibly well when we’re inside, though.

Anyone have any tips on how to work on this type of behavior? I am at a complete loss.

 

[marwils]

@acts228 Reactivity is the key word to search to get resources to help. My rescue is similar and working on understanding his triggers, thresholds, body language etc has been super helpful altho it's been a long road to progress.

Quick tips: it's hard to continue training when over their threshold, so ending when they go over (or at a minimum removing from the situation so they calm down) is good. Start really far away from triggers. Praise for noticing triggers but then refocusing on you, if they go over the threshold, make it easier for them to succeed - mover further away, reduce other triggers. Trigger stacking is important, a dog might be a big one, but each car that passes is a small one, too many and it's harder for them to calm down.

Reactivity doesn't always mean aggressive or fearful. Mine is excitement and frustration when denied immediate satisfaction, so waiting games have helped.

 

[ba1992]

@marwils It helps a lot to get a feel for when your dog is about to be triggered, back up a few steps and counter condition from there. Like you daid, it's pretty much game over once the dog is triggered, and it takes a while for the hormones to burn off after they have reached that point.

In other words, if you know your dog goes nuts when they see a dog a block away, try to counter condition with high value treats from a block and a half. Next week try 1 1/4 blocks, etc. Really try to avoid that trigger point though because to a certain extent, the reaction can be self reinforcing, and you might have to move backward next time. It takes a long time so don't give up or get frustrated.

 

[kaweesa]

@acts228 Have you worked on the reactivity in smaller increments? Like sitting outside with her leashed onto something sturdy and doing the redirection training?

We would sit on our front porch and redirect our dogs attention whenever we saw a dog walk by. To be fair he wasn't as bad as yours seems, but we did get him to the point that he gave zero reaction and would continue laying down relaxing.

Perhaps rent out a Sniffspot and find someone else with a dog and try and practice walking past each other, slowly getting closer as reactivity goes down?

It's very frustrating training reactivity out just always be sure to keep yourself calm during the training and stop for a break when you are getting too frustrated, as the dog definitely picks up on it and will do worse as a result and then you're just feeding into each other's negative behaviour.

 

[donald2222]

@acts228 Clicker training! I had two chihuahuas who was insanely dog reactive- they would run to the ends of their leashes then turn and attach each other whenever they saw a dog. I taught the food motivated one to come for a treat when I clicked, then put on walks as soon as I saw a dog I would click and he would come for a treat. Soon I didn’t even need to click or treat, he just ignored the dogs. Years of embarrassment was completely eradicated in three days- it was a miracle. It took his little brother a few extra days- he would run to bark, but when his brother wasn’t barking he just seemed confused, then settled into the new routine.

 

[substatica]

@acts228 This might be a bit too much for a barking issue but I’ve used an air horn to break up dog fights between my females. Used it twice and that was enough to make them back off when I hold up the canister. I recommended an air horn to a neighbor with the same problem and it worked for her too. That said, it is VERY loud and even scared the bejeezus out of me the first time I used it. So it’s not ideal to use around other animals and people unless you’re breaking up a fight. I recently bought the same bark collar you describe for my oldest dog and it seems to work with the vibrate.
I can sense your frustration and hope the advice here works for you. Sending positive energy your way.