I have a soon to be 3 year old, 17 pound chiweenie mutt. I adore my baby boy so much. He’s my shadow and my life has improved because of him.
Only problem is that he is reactive towards some people or some animals. There’s no rhyme or reason as to whom he barks at. It seems pretty random to me.
We’ve taken him to two trainers, the second was a 12 day/night stay and was $$$. We went back to her for a refresher when he started acting up again. I will say that he’s improved tremendously, and I’ve figured out a few of his triggers. We have a great home life balance now. Not perfect, but improved.
However, going on walks or to the dog park still causes him to bark and charge at some dogs or people. I’m working with the strategies our trainer gave us, but I’m starting to think this just may be his personality OR he needs to see a behaviorist (more $$). I’m willing to go this route if necessary, got a recommendation on one from our vet.
Has anyone experienced something like this?
He drives my DH up a wall when he runs in the backyard, chasing and barking LOUDLY (he has a big dog voice) squirrels or whatever at night. Is a muzzle for his nighttime pee breaks ok? I’m not interested in getting the shock collar….but could be talked into it if recommended here.
Also, I’m going to the beach this summer for two weeks and am debating on whether to take him with me or not. If I do, I think the muzzle will have to be used. Again, is this a bad tool? Otherwise, he’ll stay home with my DH or be boarded at his doggy daycare place. Two weeks is a long time for us to be apart. Ugh.
Muzzles are a great tool if they're properly fitted. They can prevent bites and are also used to prevent dogs from eating things they shouldn't.
I wouldn't take a reactive dog to the dog park at all.
Chasing and barking at squirrels in the backyard isn't reactivity, that's normal dog behavior and you're not going to stop that. Putting a muzzle on him won't stop that, it would just stop him from actually biting something.
Check out Karen Deeds on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/karen.deeds), she no longer lives in this area, but I think she does online classes, too. We did her Reactive Integration training and it helped us a lot as far as tools to use with Donny on walks.
100% agree that chasing and barking at squirrels in the backyard is normal dog behavior. Unfortunately, so is digging holes in my flower beds, lol.
And some dogs aren’t ever going to be good dog park/public places dogs but can still be lovely pets. You may need to adjust your expectations a little.
My reactive dog passed almost 7 years ago, but how I handled it was that I primarily walked my dogs at times when I knew it was less likely for us to run into dogs. Usually this meant around dusk or at night (like 9pm night, not overnight!). If I saw a dog coming from up the street, we'd cross the street and/or turn around and take a different route. It wasn't 100% but we were able to avoid a lot of commotion just by paying attention and avoiding triggers.
No dog parks - if he doesn't like other dogs, what's the point of a dog park anyway? Sounds like he can run around in your own yard which is probably a much more positive experience for him anyway. And the barking in the yard thing is normal, but I would make my dogs come inside if they started barking. Your neighbors don't need to hear your dog barking away and if there is something that happens each time they bark outdoors (being made to come inside) they will learn that it's not rewarding to bark a lot in the yard.
I had a dachshund chihuahua mix that sounds a lot like yours––loud barking at squirrels, noises, other dogs, people . . . it's definitely a pain. And they do have such a big bark for a small dog!
We just sort of lived with it. Our dog was a real wuss but would bark at anything far away (and then wimper/cower if dogs came closer). We stopped going to the dog park because it clearly stressed her out. From what our trainer said, it's a pretty common behavioral issue for dachshunds.
Also assuming you can leave him at wherever you are staying, I think it would be fine to bring him to the beach - just don't expect him to hang out on a crowded beach or come to a restaurant with you or whatever.
1. I would not take an unpredictable dog to a dog park. Too much liability. Exercise him under control and on a leash. Or go when no one is there if he wants to run (this is what we did with our reactive dog. If someone else showed up, we left)
2. If the barking is annoying at night (which it is), keep him inside at night. This isn't trainable behavior -- dogs chase and bark.
3. I'm not sure a muzzle will help. Are you talking about one that limits barking or biting? I don't think muzzles are inherently bad (we used them with our greyhounds per the rescue because their skin is so thin and they were used to them for racing) but I wouldn't use it all the time.
I'd do all the things I could do minimize issues on my end (shorter leash, not letting him greet people or dogs, walks) rather than try to change his behavior. Some dogs simply have that temperment.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
My dog is not really reactive unless the other dog barks at him. Then all bets are off. He is also extremely food motivated. He knows "watch me" and if I see a dog coming that I can tell is going to bark at him, I start getting his attention with treats and watch me. It works so long as I get his attention before he and the other dog start in on each other.
I don't think a muzzle is going to do what you want. Basket muzzles are the safer version (as opposed to a snug fitting fabric model to hold the snout closed). A properly fitted basket muzzle allows your dog to open its mouth wide enough to pant, which will not prevent barking.
I would not take your dog to the dog park.
For night time pee breaks, could you take the dog out on a leash? Keep it right to business and go inside. If he barks, go inside for a few minutes and try again.
With the size of your dog, if he was being inappropriate towards a person or dog on a walk, I'd pick your dog up and carry him away.
Post by steamboat185 on Apr 21, 2023 10:04:49 GMT -5
One of our dogs was very reactive. We stopped going to dog parks when it became obvious it wasn’t going to work. She never hurt another dog, but worrying about it wasn’t worth it. We’d try to walk her at less busy times and cross the street if a dog was heading our way. I’d let the dog bark. Assuming you aren’t leaving then out there for hours a few minutes of barking doesn’t hurt anyone.
Our biggest issue was people letting their dogs off leash when they weren’t supposed to and usually we’d just shout that our dog wasn’t friendly. We still had some encounters, but thankfully no one or dog was hurt.
For on leash walking and stuff, the biggest thing is getting their attention before they get over threshold. Once they're over threshold, they can't access the training in their brain. Kind of like kids lol they can't reason once they get so worked up. So we have an audible cue (we use a specific whistling noise because carrying a clicker and two dog leashes and treats was too much for us, but could work for you).
So we started by making the noise, give a treat, repeat a lot while the dog is just right by you. Then start doing it randomly and having them come to you for the treat when they hear the noise. Then, when you're walking, if you see a stimulus approaching, make the noise, get their attention and hold it until you've passed.
One tip I've seen given that our trainer told us was bad, was to make them sit while the other dog/person walks by. That's forcing them to be in that uncomfortable spot longer so don't do that.
I walk my dog 2 miles a day in our neighborhood. There are no fences allowed, a lot of people have invisible fences so we see a lot of neighbor dogs. Most of them bark at us when we pass, it doesn't bother me at all, dogs bark!
My only concern would be if there's a biting issue, I wouldn't use a muzzle unless he has an issue with biting.
My dog doesn't bark when we walk because she is very timid but if we are in the house and she's behind her window she has at times barked excessively, times where like someone is moving in 2 or 3 doors down so they're there for hours. I have a clicker called a Stop Woofer (Amazon). I tell her "Chloe, Quiet." and if she doesn't I click the button and it makes the sound dogs don't like. Now I just have to show her that I have the clicker in my hand and she will listen.
There are those same types of gadgets you can get for outside, to mount to your fence if you don't want pupper barking in your yard but again I feel like some barking is fine, just bring him inside if it goes on a really long time.
One tip I've seen given that our trainer told us was bad, was to make them sit while the other dog/person walks by. That's forcing them to be in that uncomfortable spot longer so don't do that.
Oh that's interesting, I've seen 2 or 3 owners in my neighborhood do this and I didn't think of it that way.
"Watch me" was tremendously helpful for my dog leash reactive but friendly otherwise cattle dog mutt.
This is the technique we used with our last dog who was very treat motivated. We'd say "watch me" and give him a small treat when he looked at us. We'd do it repetitively as we walked by another dog or whatever set him off. Eventually he'd respond without treats although we always kept some on hand.
With our current dog (who seems to have issues with random dogs here and there and hates cats and squirrels) we just give a little leash snap and say "leave it" but again we started this using treats. He'll still try to lunge after cats (we're continually working on this) but it's worked to keep him from trying to go after squirrels or bark at other dogs.
I wouldn't pick him up. I think that can inadvertently reinforce the behavior.
Ditto others regarding avoiding dog parks and not being able to do much about chasing/barking at squirrels in the yard.
One tip I've seen given that our trainer told us was bad, was to make them sit while the other dog/person walks by. That's forcing them to be in that uncomfortable spot longer so don't do that.
Oh that's interesting, I've seen 2 or 3 owners in my neighborhood do this and I didn't think of it that way.
We have only done this if we're walking into a spot with multiple dogs/owners crossing and then we just move way off the road and do our "scatter" prompt (where we toss a handful of food on the ground for them to snuffle)
1. I would not take an unpredictable dog to a dog park. Too much liability. Exercise him under control and on a leash. Or go when no one is there if he wants to run (this is what we did with our reactive dog. If someone else showed up, we left)
2. If the barking is annoying at night (which it is), keep him inside at night. This isn't trainable behavior -- dogs chase and bark.
3. I'm not sure a muzzle will help. Are you talking about one that limits barking or biting? I don't think muzzles are inherently bad (we used them with our greyhounds per the rescue because their skin is so thin and they were used to them for racing) but I wouldn't use it all the time.
I'd do all the things I could do minimize issues on my end (shorter leash, not letting him greet people or dogs, walks) rather than try to change his behavior. Some dogs simply have that temperment.
I just ordered a muzzle from Amazon. It’s an inexpensive one and I only plan to use it for his nighttime wee wee break before bed. He DOES NOT respond to my commands of coming inside. It’s a literal 1-3 minute scene every night and my DH is afraid the neighbors will get pissed.
I use a two foot leash in all walks and definitely avoid other humans and animals as best as I can. Will definitely take him to dog park at less busy times. There’s actually one that’s pretty empty most days. He runs so fast and it’s so much better than our tiny backyard.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Apr 21, 2023 10:24:55 GMT -5
I have a dog that is super friendly and sweet, but terrified of/reactive to garbage trucks, and that has unfortunately spread to things that sound like/remind her of garbage trucks like other loud sounding trucks/vehicles (like, she is fine any large vehicles parked on the street, but if they are driving and sound like a garbage truck, she reacts), garbage cans, and now, other wheels that sound like the garbage can wheels like those kid push cars. So we don't walk on garbage day when the trucks are out, if we hear a garbage truck, we turn around and go home, if we happen to be out walking when a neighbor is taking out/putting in their can, we stop and wait until they are done, same if we encounter one of the kids on those push cars.
My thinking about her being out in the yard barking though is, dogs bark. Excessive barking is not ok, but if she is out in our yard while our neighbor is taking their garbage out, she will probably bark (from our fenced yard while running back and forth) while our neighbor pulls the can from their garage to the curb. Or if she's out when the garbage truck goes down the street, she will bark and run while the garbage truck goes probably from the house on either side of us to the other. She also barks if a deer or rabbit happens to run through our yard. If she were to bark for any longer period of time, I would go out and get her and bring her in, but a minute or two of barking, as long as it's not at a really unreasonable time, is fine in my opinion and not something I'd be worrying about.
For on leash walking and stuff, the biggest thing is getting their attention before they get over threshold. Once they're over threshold, they can't access the training in their brain. Kind of like kids lol they can't reason once they get so worked up. So we have an audible cue (we use a specific whistling noise because carrying a clicker and two dog leashes and treats was too much for us, but could work for you)
Very true. You want to start distracting/giving them treats before they start reacting. So you'll need to be on the lookout for things you know he'll react to. And 100% agree that as part of training using your cue word/sound at random times when you're not expecting them to have a reaction.
1. I would not take an unpredictable dog to a dog park. Too much liability. Exercise him under control and on a leash. Or go when no one is there if he wants to run (this is what we did with our reactive dog. If someone else showed up, we left)
2. If the barking is annoying at night (which it is), keep him inside at night. This isn't trainable behavior -- dogs chase and bark.
3. I'm not sure a muzzle will help. Are you talking about one that limits barking or biting? I don't think muzzles are inherently bad (we used them with our greyhounds per the rescue because their skin is so thin and they were used to them for racing) but I wouldn't use it all the time.
I'd do all the things I could do minimize issues on my end (shorter leash, not letting him greet people or dogs, walks) rather than try to change his behavior. Some dogs simply have that temperment.
I just ordered a muzzle from Amazon. It’s an inexpensive one and I only plan to use it for his nighttime wee wee break before bed. He DOES NOT respond to my commands of coming inside. It’s a literal 1-3 minute scene every night and my DH is afraid the neighbors will get pissed.
I use a two foot leash in all walks and definitely avoid other humans and animals as best as I can. Will definitely take him to dog park at less busy times. There’s actually one that’s pretty empty most days. He runs so fast and it’s so much better than our tiny backyard.
Agree with everything else you’ve been told in this thread already. But this specifically sounds like a recall/distraction issue more than reactivity. We have a collar for one of our dogs with this issue and it does not shock - it just vibrates like a cell phone. It’s strictly to get their attention when they are immersed in whatever they are doing, and one of our dogs just does not like the vibration, so he immediately disengages. Might be worth investigating.
Post by doggielover on Apr 21, 2023 10:54:00 GMT -5
I have a very reactive pitt/boxer mix (to all people and other animals) and ended up having to go the behavorist route. It helped greatly but they are very expensive. I'm NOT a fan of dog parks so I never take him. He does go to doggie daycare every couple weeks where he does great. I expected him to have an issue but he doesn't.
At home we walk I always have treats in my pocket so when we see people I say leave it and put a treat by his nose to keep walking. Eventually he finally picked up on "leave it" and we're able to walk 95% of the time of the no issues.
In the backyard we had issues with jumping on the fence to get a the neighbor dogs so we got a shock collar. It starts with the beeping, if he doesn't stop I can hit it again and then I'll do the vibration. And if he still continues I'll do the beeping, vibration and the mild shock. We got it from amazaon at the recommendation of the behavorist. He always wears it outside and he's learned the minute he hears the beeping to stop. I cried when I went that route but it's been perfect. We've had it for 4 years and I think I can count on 1 hand the number of times we've gone to shock. He almost always stops at the noise but if that doesn't do it he now stops at the vibration.
Post by icedcoffee on Apr 21, 2023 10:58:03 GMT -5
I haven't read all of the responses, but a muzzle doesn't help with barking. A proper fitting muzzle needs to let them open their mouth to pant which is like...how they breath. LOL
We muzzled our dog during Cicada season because he gained like 25 pounds and looked miserably uncomfortable, but would NOT stop eating. Now we do it if we have a lot of people over and don't want the dog to get fed or steal food. He's a hungry boy.
Anyway--I agree with PP that you probably need to adjust your expectations here and I wouldn't take him to dog parks. Sounds like that's not really his scene.
Have you invested time/effort on the people side of lead training on walks? What are you doing and feeling when other dogs approach?
You come across as very invested, so I am sure you have explored and learned everything you can do (and shouldn’t do) when holding the lead. My dog, a very good walker, can be a complete mess when my mom walks him around the block. He walks in circles around her, darts at cars, barks, and she just laughs and acts confused. Since he gets like this with her, when she she sees another dog, she gets all kinds of tense, tighten the lead, and if he darts, she pulls the leash. Then he barks and jumps more.
It’s not much of an issue because she rarely walks him. And I didn’t even know she was having reactive behaviors with him until she joked about it and blamed my dog. I was all “What are you talking about? He’s a great walker, he doesn’t dart at other dogs”. And she laughed and told me all about it. Then I watched her a little and saw it, too.
It took me time and patience to control my own feelings, reactions and behavior. It’s hard to keep a lead slack when a big dog crosses our path! But it is something we can learn. Since you seem open to try things, maybe try changing what you are doing (in the moment, before/after). I would not like how he acts when he goes out at nighttime. I would give yourself permission to change everything about that routine. Start from scratch.
Post by icedcoffee on Apr 21, 2023 11:01:43 GMT -5
You might be better of taking him out on a leash to pee before bed. I know how annoying that is though especially when you're used to just letting them out.
Our dog was selectively reactive. She was great with people and 90% of dogs. But for 10% of dogs, she went at them like she was out for blood (never actually bit but she was huge and could be scary when she wanted to be).
We never really figured out a great way to train her out of this, but we instead just learned to avoid the situations that triggered her as much as possible. As much as she - and we - loved the dog park, we had to stop taking her because the risk and stress were too great. She also really didn't like being approached by other dogs when she was on a leash, so we always had to discourage people who wanted to come up and let their dog socialize. (Note to all dog owners, PLEASE don't just assume that every dog out on a walk is okay with your dog approaching them.)
I don't have any experience or advice with a muzzle. I sympathize though, because it's really stressful. If you think the beach trip is going to be difficult for her, I'd probably find care for her because that doesn't sound very relaxing for you at all.
You might be better of taking him out on a leash to pee before bed. I know how annoying that is though especially when you're used to just letting them out.
This is what we had to do a few times. My cocker would get a sent that she liked and she would just not come back. We put her on a leash for a few days and her recall would be good again and then whenever the smell would come back we’d put the leash back on. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was better than running around in the dark trying to find the dog in the bushes.
Check out Karen Deeds on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/karen.deeds), she no longer lives in this area, but I think she does online classes, too. We did her Reactive Integration training and it helped us a lot as far as tools to use with Donny on walks.
yourmother I second Karen. Also, look for her on Facebook under Canine Connection. She just had an online Reactive Integration class that was completed April 5th.
I’ve never had a fully well adjusted dog because I’m always rescuing weirdos. I train them to the best of my ability (which is quite good and eliminates 80% of the issue) and then set the environment to cover the last 20%. Examples of that in your case would be zero dog parks, avoiding other dogs on walks, taking him out for his last pee at night on a leash (have you trained on the “go potty” command? If so, the at night leashed let out takes 30 seconds), bringing him in when he’s too rowdy, etc.
My neighbor got a dog collar that does high pitched sound only or with vibration, but no shock, and that has helped curb some excessive barking. I’m thinking of it for my one dog who barks like he’s going to kill half the people who walk by. But dogs do need to bark. Just like we would be very sad if we lost all verbal self expression, you can’t silence them completely.
I’m mostly here to empathize. Our jack russel is super reactive and we live on a major walking trail in the our town. We know the hours least likely to have other dogs, and the path we can take Saturday morning where her short little legs allow us to see dogs before she does and we can divert. We did some reactive dog training classes, which helped very little (blame the owners here as much as the dog), but they emphasized escape routes. And we will not take her somewhere where we can’t easily run away. We don’t have a fenced yard either, so everything is walk.
We took our reactive dog to the beach in Lewes, Delaware Memorial Day two years ago. We only took her with us one day, to a very uncrowded section of beach. And it was fine enough. I think two dogs passed us in two hours, which was terribly embarrassing, but everyone survived. But, the whole reason I want to tell this story is because Biden was also I at the DE beach that weekend, and there were secret service everywhere. A coast guard cutter was off shore watching us. And Lordy we were afraid he would come down to the beach with his dogs and our dog would go after Major or something. We made jokes about the coast guard probably running our faces through facial recognition and missing the biggest threat on that beach being the little JRT 😂