problem with off-leash dogs

hi,
i've been working awhile with filou to help him become more calm around strangers and dogs using mainly desensitization and redirection, as well as nilif at home and continuing general obedience. he has made great progress on walks as long as the people are quiet and the dogs are well-controlled. we walk in a public area(woodland path) where dogs technically should be leashed.
yesterday we encountered 2 dogs that were off-leash and not well controlled. one was a barking lab and the other a maltese type (charlie) who kept circling us and darting in and out. i told the owner that filou is not friendly to other dogs, that he is timid-she just started yelling at charlie-which really didnt help.
i pulled filou to the side and got him to sit and stood between him and the maltese the best i could. when i thought they were well past- the other owner came back around and charlie came up behind filou-who instantly gave a loud snarl and airsnap-more than he's ever done. we were able to move further off the path until they passed finally for good. filou was quite keyed up and scared-tail tucked, wouldnt take food and right away had the runs. hindsight - i would have done some different things- afterall charlie was all of 5 lbs at best-i've yelled at other dogs to get away before. things happened very fast.
any suggestions for coping with other people's poorly controlled dogs?
thanks-jen

Comments

Aidan's picture

Hi Jen, avoid them at all

Hi Jen, avoid them at all costs.

There's not much you can do, and I wouldn't recommend yelling at the other dog. Keep calm, and I would suggest you just keep walking. You might be able to throw treats to distract the other dogs, provided Filou isn't a resource-guarder (if the other dogs are resource guarders it's not really your problem).

If you lived here you could attend my dog-dog aggression project and we would work on exactly this sort of situation in a controlled set-up.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

problem with off leash dogs, aggression at vets

Hi Aidan,
thanks for the suggestions.
i had suggested to the owner that a class like that would be good for filou. there's one called rowdy rovers which was recommended by the trainer i've worked with, and it's not likely she'll follow thru-yet she doesn't want me to take him.
the day after the maltese incident, i had to take to take him to the because of a nasty tick bite and filou was growly toward a boxer in the waiting room and the vet put a muzzle on filou and sternly instructed me to correct him when he growls with a firm "no" and a leash correction. the vet tech echoed her saying the aggression would escalate if i didn't put a stop to it. i said i thought that punishing a growl simply led to growl suppression, so then you could have a dog that bites without warning.
they had a different opinion. even tho he has only shown aggression to dogs and other clients-he has never protested any handling by the vets or staff.
the trainer i'm working supported what i thought about the correcting method being a suppressant rather than truly changing the dogs behavior.
it's a weird world with so many strong opinions about dog handling and training!
but it helps me to talk to as many people as possible both online and in person.
i have taught Filou to walk by my side quite reliably and walk him almost 2 hours a day. i'm starting to teach him tracking which he loves- i think he's a dog who needs a mission. i don't know if i mentioned, but i also started implementing Sue Ailsby's "leading the dance" which i think is helping him calm down, at least when i'm with him.
Many thanks!
Jen

Aidan's picture

You know what they say about opinions...

...they're like something else everyone has got!

NEVER correct a dog for growling. Your vet and vet tech are entitled to their opinion, but I try to stick to scientifically demonstrable probabilities. If they are pushy remind them that you are there for medical advice, not behavior advice. That should be enough, a true professional understands the boundaries of their profession. Imagine if your dog trainer started offering vaccinations!

Punishing growling is just the worst-case scenario, if you go to one of those classes or obedience clubs where they do that sort of thing and follow a few dogs through what you will find most often is that the correction serves to increase aggression. I haven't got any references handy, but this has been researched.

Given that I will never have enough opportunities to train in the vet surgery, and my reactive dog finds it the most stressful place she has ever found, I tend to just leave her in the car then bring her in when the vet is ready.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com