Hi!
I am having an issue with my dog, Hayes, and looking for advice. As a puppy, Hayes absolutely loved and obsessed over other dogs. He still loves them very much and is very submissive in off leash greetings (these are few and fair in between, as I am not a fan of dog parks nor do I really trust dogs I don’t know). I believe he may have leash frustration as he would get so excited when we saw other dogs passing. We still deal with managing his arousal and can mostly get by 70% of dogs with scatter, direction changes, etc. BUT there is this one dog that he goes absolutely nuts over. Heckles up, lunging, barking, really just overall aggressive behavior. He gets a scent of this dog from 300 yards away and immediately goes into over arousal. Has anyone dealt with something similar? I really can’t understand what his issue is with this particular dog. Also adding that this dog is very sweet and well behaved - does not look in his direction and ignores him for the most part. Please help!
Annie
I just want to start by saying, your pup is still young and absorbing the world and establishing their worldview, there are bound to be learning curves, just don't let them get you down because they are all part of the process!!!
I came upon the perfect post on insta that breaks down the generic why that you are asking:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C-5c09koJGJ/?igsh=dDNlZjRiMDFyb2xw
But overall it just sounds like your pup has a larger bubble for that trigger so scatters will only work their magic leading up to the edge of that reactivity bubble and help shrink it, but once your in the bubble just keep him moving(side shuffle, back pedal, etc) so he at least can't fixate and practice the behavior.
I have an anxious pup, and she has this type of response when in social situations with other anxious pups. From what I've seen of her behavior, any being she deems unpredictable (kids, other anxious dogs, strangers, etc) she is scared of and because of that fear, she seeks to control the situation (but doesn't have any social finesse to do it without overcorrecting and being reactive/boarderline aggressive).
Through a compound of desensitization (scatter work), building her confidence (for her that was me advocating for her space in public more), helping her realize she doesn't have to react she can just ignore and move away (leaving her crate open at home when guest are over, letting her crawl under the table at a resteraunt, etc), and incorporating a reward she loves more than anything else (my affection) she is worlds better than she used to be. I've had her for almost 6 years now, and she is still vocal but is much easier to calm and is much more comfortable in public or social situations.