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Thanks for the tips.
That is basically what we have been doing when we take him to the park. We have two parks in close proximity to our house which we take him to for shorter walks, and he is noticeably more anxious in the park where it happened.We are going to avoid the park where it happened for a while, and mostly take him to the other park where he seems more relaxed and interacts with other dogs better for a while, and see if that helps.
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no problem
both our dogs need additional training and we have recently started working with a trainer to help us.
timing of treats etc is critical to ensure you are training the appropriate behaviours rather than the dog demonstrating a behaviour to trigger a reward from the handler. we have gone right back to basics including crate training so that we can get our dogs to exhibit more self control. we have tried a few different trainers and behaviourists though some just made things far too complicated and resulted in very little change.
our dogs were going mental when anyone came to the house, but now when the doorbell goes they run to their crates instead. it seems often it is easier to train a new response rather than trying to modify an existing one.
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Good advice from DJ. Also, when a dog approaches and you are both with Rudy, does one of you greet the dog so he can see that it is OK? Dogs pick up on so much from us, so if you are both even slightly nervous/anxious about what will happen or Rudy's reaction, that might increase his own nervousness. If you are both confident with the dogs you meet in the park, you are leading by example.
dancing james
Markyboy
try and meet your sister and her dogs on neutral territory, if he is becoming fearful/shy to other large dogs you need to be gently reintroducing him. forcing the interaction can exacerbate his reaction
does he have a favourite treat/ reward?
if so, start at a long distance. feed him treats, let him notice the other dog and then keep feeding him treats as long as he is calm. if he shows signs of anxiety (yawning, barking etc) move away. it can be useful if you chose a location where there are things that can block his line of sight to the large dog. you may find yourself turning into a pez machine, continuously dishing out treats!
there are various videos and training systems online - look for shy/timid dog training