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Definitely one of those sink or swim scenarios
Thanks for sharing and good on you for putting the work in. My partner and i are at the same 6 month stage with our rescue and it's been quite the rollercoaster.
On reactivity, Nori our Staffie cross has reactivity issues with other dogs that we were not made aware of from the rescue charity beforehand. Sadly after a scrap last week where i had to pry another big dogs jaws of her face only for her to lunge back in and she has taken a real downward turn. She now disengages very quickly, looks tense, has poor recall and looks like she's brewing for a fight. In the time we've had her we've had 3 quite severe incidents and i'm worried it's taken it's toll on me and the dog. It's becoming increasingly hard not to tense up when other dogs come bundling over (which clearly makes things worse) or not feel that a disproportionate amount of other dog owners are fucking useless (which given that me and my dog are the "problem" doesn't get me very far with them).
We're trying to lock down a decent behaviourist but we're struggling to find someone that can either give us the time atm. FWIW both the trainer and the behaviourist we've seen have made very positive comments about her but it's hard to put the bad stuff out my head.
Apologies for the dump, feeling the pressure right now!
jono84-
Don't feel the need to apologise at all! That sounds like a traumatic expeeience.
It's so difficult to keep training, especially when there are so many external factors beyond your control. With Akira I feel like it's a constant battle of 2 steps forward and 1.9 steps back. Progress is so slow, or will sometimes disappear altogether. Two weeks ago when I was at my parents he just took off without warning, and started running down the main road which was terrifying. He got about a mile and I only got him back because a kind stranger stopped and grabbed him.
Feels like we are back to square one, but we aren't, all the training we have done previously is still there, just need to keep reinforcing it. It's tough and tiring though.
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This sounds tough. Well done for committing!
Where are you based?
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I think you need to start by not blaming yourself or thinking you and Nori are the problem. Lots of dogs are dog reactive or aggressive (particularly if they are attacked when young) and, as long as they are on the lead and under control around other dogs, you are doing nothing wrong. It's been discussed on here before - the irresponsible owners are those that let their dogs run up to you and Nori. If you keep Nori on a lead, they should acknowledge that and give you both space.
You need to enjoy having her and taking her out, so that she enhances your life, so here are some things you might consider:
-Be prepared to accept that Nori might not like most other dogs and find a way to make her life fun without "dog friends". Make her walks and games fun and interesting in other ways.
-Get a harness with a velcro patch that says something like "nervous dog" to make it clear to give you space
-If there are dogs that you know she does get on with, arrange your walks to meet them
-If not, look into when and where you can walk with less chance of meeting other dogs - see if there is a dog run with one gate, take her in when it's empty and ask others to give you 10 minutes before they come in
-Learn to shout authoritatively at strange dogs as they charge over to stop them in their tracks
-Learn how to disengage her from another dog without risking hurting her or yourself - the out-of-control off-lead dog's health is not your priority
-Try to relax (so much easier said than done) as she will inevitably pick up your tensionPeople will tell you that dogs are less likely to react aggressively when off the lead, which is true, but you don't need to be the owner of a bull breed that gets into a fight off-lead. Keep the moral high ground and be in the right, as you might need that some day.
I'd be happy to meet you and her (without Reggie) and have a look. I'm no dog behaviourist but I do have lots of experience of the breed.
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Agreed with others that it's not just down to you to stop Nori reacting badly to other dogs. A responsible dog owner should be able to keep their dog away from a dog on a lead, it's obviously on there for a reason. That is sometimes easier said than done though, we still struggle with Crumpet's recall. That and her overwhelming desire to interact with every dog she meets means that it's sometimes a struggle to stop her running up to a dog on a lead that is clearly nervous. We accept that that's our failing though and is something we're constantly working on, we would never blame another dog or owner if Crumpet pushed her luck and if we sense that she's in a mood to misbehave we put her on the lead and take her somewhere quieter. You'd hope that any sensible dog owner would feel similarly!
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Hi Jono,
Sorry to hear you’re having a tough time. I was in the same boat a few years ago with our Staffy JRT cross.
He wasn’t socialised when he was a pup and we probably made mistakes when we (inexperienced owners) first got him as our first dog. He’d bark at dogs 100m away at his worst and regular behave as though he’d murder the other dog if they got close. I honestly thought we’d end up getting rid of him.
We found a behaviourist who helped us to focus on rewarding him for disengaging from other dogs and slowly we built confidence.
Which charity did Nori come from? Most have a behaviourist who can help you. Ours didn’t so it was hand in pocket time.
He’s not perfect but he’s loads better. I don’t dread taking him for a walk these days.
Good luck with it.
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Where are you based?
Muzzle on her for a little peace of mind while you're working on this?
Double_J
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Markyboy
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Stonehedge
He is! We got him in January when he was 1 year old.
His past family had him when he was only 6 weeks old (wayyy too young), then when he got bigger, didn't take him out of the flat. He then had 4 months or so of not being socialised at all before he was dumped in the shelter for 4 months.
When we met him, he was very energetic, but seemed friendly with everyone.
After a few weeks of being with us, a more reactive side started to develop - barking at anything that moved, trying to bite strangers, food aggressive, aggressive with other dogs etc etc.
We luckily found an amazing trainer and have been making great progress ever since. He still has some of those traits, but stays under threshold now.
As our first dog, we definitely bit off more than we could chew, but it's been an amazing journey and you can see and feel how much he trusts my partner and me in just these 6 short months.
Definitely one of those sink or swim scenarios - especially in a busy city with a lot of dogs (Barcelona)!