# Leash aggression



## Krash4882 (Aug 1, 2013)

I have a 2 year old pure bred GSD named Kado with German bloodlines. He is extremely intelligent and for the most part shares the great temperament his breeder is known for. His bark is obviously a little scary to strangers but he allows everyone to pet him. The times the frustrating parts of his temperament come through are my fault because it's almost always when he hasn't had enough exercise.
He grew up being the little guy of three dogs but is now the 90lb alpha and they do play a little rough. I do my best to stop that because I don't want him treating other dogs like that. He goes to PetSmart quite often and is actually a little shy around the bigger group of dogs instead of being the neverending ball of energy he is at home.

My only real issues have cropped up in the last few months while walking him. I leash trained him very young and brought in a trainer to help teach me and my family to expose him to other dogs, strangers, and other distractions while on a leash, among other things. He does things like going to the outdoor mall for walks without issues. Lately he has been very aggressive toward other dogs while on the leash, even if the dog is on the other side of the street. If the dog is close, he tries to lunge while growling. I've just given him quick corrections with the leash and telling him to "leave it" which he knows and then telling him to "look" until he makes eye contact all while just continuing to walk and ignoring the other dog and/or person. I have started using treats and giving him one when he makes eye contact.

I have always walked him with a prong collar and a short leash. He has always walked with his neck/shoulder at my leg with no tension on the leash. He does start to walk ahead of me when he sees a person or a person with a dog in the distance and I slow down and say "heel" and he comes back to my side. When he feels tension on the leash he slows down.

We used to have him sit and watch the other dog walk past when he was younger. I figured he started associating seeing other dogs with being held back and that would make him pull even harder. So I went back to letting him greet the other dog if the other owner allowed it and he did fine for a while and now he's going nuts. I want to take him and let him run at dog parks for the spring/summer but I'm afraid he's going to hurt another dog.

Any advice would be helpful.


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## Jayfeather (Dec 28, 2014)

Have you tried desensitizing him to other dogs? Get the help of a friend's dog and work on getting him closer to them without a reaction. Start where he is still able to control himself, and reward with yummy treats when he is calm. Eventually he will learn that being calm is the best choice. Also, you can have him greet the other dog as a reward if you think he will be okay after a while.


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## Krash4882 (Aug 1, 2013)

It's been a while and I think that's the problem. As soon as another dog is in his sight he becomes laser focused on it, so it hasn't been easy to correct him and get him calm and ease him in closer. I don't want him associating the other dog with a bunch of corrections with the prong collar nor do I want to give him treats to try to distract him because I don't want to reward him for ignoring me. If he doesn't respond to quick verbal commands and a correction with his collar, I turn and walk him in the other direction to break that concentration. So yes, I suppose it's time to start working with someone I know so I can spend more time on the approach now that it's warm enough.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Don't let him focus on any other dogs. When you see another dog you get him in a sit and focus on you. You teach him leave it and watch. Both will require very high value treats to start. I used to go to Petsmart and sit outside 20 ft from the door and would leave after we got through it with one dog then two dogs then 3 dogs, etc. We spent hours there and at the park for a couple months. Midnite was awful. He barked and lunged in the air at dogs, looked and sounded like he wanted to kill them, it was really bad. Now he goes to training classes and dog events without issue.


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## Krash4882 (Aug 1, 2013)

Some other websites strongly emphasize that leash corrections (I'm assuming the pain caused by prong collars) given when the dog lunges, etc only re-inforces fear/anger/hatred of other dogs while on-leash and further compounds the bad behavior. People say to start with something like feeding the dog high value treats whenever we see another dog and moving on from there the more positive behavior is exhibited. Should I be switching from the prong collar? My dog sometimes tried to back his way out of other collars as a puppy and the prong collar was the best option but I suppose I could switch to a harness.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

I'm there...working through it...

A wise member suggested I build on the dog's focus and utilize this benefit towards the problem. If the focus my bitch has on other dogs while on lead was the natural focus I received, I'd be home free. Build on whatever gets your dog to involve you in the engagement and mesmerizes the dog and work from there.

Easier said than done...but is worthy for many reasons.


SuperG


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Forgot to mention....

You might be best served being ahead of the curve and making sure the dog stays under "crazy laser beam focus on other dog" threshold and apply corrective measures or more importantly obedience skills while you still have the control of the dog. If they have the lost their crap type attitude and you cannot effectively control the dog through obedience, you have lost the moment and probably taken two steps backward. 

Start small, proofing the dog gradually to the element...always assuming your obedience skills between the two of you will be successful as you progress.


SuperG


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

By and large you seem to have a good grasp of a lot of "concepts" and "principles!" 

But at the same time you are doing somethings that are making your job harder!

Most of us don't take our dogs to the Dog Park and we don't do "I thought my dog was friendly people although(you do seem to know)." A bad "encounter however under either of those situations and your dog "issues" could get "significantly" worse!

A much better course of action is to associate with know safe dogs and teach your dog to "ignore" other dogs and call it a day! 

Couple of links:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/5296377-post8.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3c5X8wCzc0&feature=youtu.be

Some things in my post are applicable and some are not but it's all stuff you should know anyway. And I always point out "Who Pet my Puppy or Dog" that would be the way to show your dog how you "expect" them to behave!

If you "chose" to meet and greet, that's fine as long as you set the terms (although for now best stick to ignoring, I think you've set your dog up to "expect to greet" every dog he sees??)

You do seem to understand the importance of a "loose leash" and it seems like the main reason for you using a prong, is because the dog can slip the collar?

Very common problem in Boxer world and a Martingale collar is designed to keep that from happening, I prefer a "Slip leash" myself.

In general however a GSD is a poor choice for a dog park dog! On my infrequent trips to the Dog Park for "proofing" I have only seen one GSD there and she seemed to be a self appointed dog park monitor! Her owner was at the distance and this dog would "calmly" walk around the park and "inspect" other dogs, no muss, no fuss, no play, just an inspection, if a dog passed, she turned around and walked away, she was not there to play!?

Rocky I'm proud to say passed her inspection! 

If you do the things suggested for awhile, you will find that your dog is much easier to manage and control! That would be a dog I am reluctant to say that you could take to a Dog Park, I wouldn't but you could.


Oh and everyone should teach there dog this:
Why the “Place” Command is So Important and Your Dog Should Know It! : TheDogTrainingSecret.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIGq_5r0DeE

Welcome aboard!


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

I think the number one reason people have issues stopping reactivity with a prong correction is that they aren't doing it at the right time. You want to stop the behavior at the very start at a precursor behavior. So in other words before the dog even lets out a bark. Usually the precursor behavior is the dog notices the other dog the eyes fixate and the ears perk forward. That is the very time to mark and punish the dog. Don't wait for the storm because it often takes a huge embarrassing in public correction at that point to break the dog out of it and if you don't do it hard enough to stop the behavior in it's tracks all you end up doing is jazzing the dog up more. Your dog should be showing complete avoidance of other dogs with the eyes if you are doing it right.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Baillif said:


> I think the number one reason people have issues stopping reactivity with a prong correction is that they aren't doing it at the right time. You want to stop the behavior at the very start at a precursor behavior. So in other words before the dog even lets out a bark. Usually the precursor behavior is the dog notices the other dog the eyes fixate and the ears perk forward. That is the very time to mark and punish the dog. Don't wait for the storm because it often takes a huge embarrassing in public correction at that point to break the dog out of it and if you don't do it hard enough to stop the behavior in it's tracks all you end up doing is jazzing the dog up more. Your dog should be showing complete avoidance of other dogs with the eyes if you are doing it right.


I don't use a prong but...in conjunction with the above recommendations.....

When I was working on Rockys dog "issues" which were modest at most but still not what I wanted! He's not a barker or a lunger but he would fixate and start to bounce (Wobbliers dog) and I would stand and think what to do?? No toy modification with him at all and treats weren't my style.

David Winners suggested "pop him on the head with the loose end of the lesh!" So next time with two crazy Pommies behind a fence, we stopped and he did the same (wobbly and fixate) thing again! This time I did the pop on the head with the leash (you don't bash the dogs head in) just a light pop!

He stopped instantly and looked at me like...."what the heck" was that!


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

OP ... You are probably using the prong collar the wrong way ... as most people do unless they have been taught how to use it! No problem - this is a quick fix (on your part!) and your dog will appreciate it. 

A prong is NOT supposed to be used in the manner of the snap of the wrist to "correct" the dog. All this does is rile the dog up even more (as you have discovered). 

Pressure / release is the easiest and best method to work with your dog (and pretty much any dog). It's worked amazingly well with horses ... so if a person can do it with a horse, YOU can do it with a GSD! 

Start this in your back yard. Put the prong on the dog's neck - up higher, not lower, put the leash on the collar. Put ONE finger through the handle of the leash and start walking around your yard - NO commands, NO talking, NO eye contact - NOTHING, just walk. As soon as your dog wants to go in a different direction than you - stop and apply LIGHT pressure - you only have one finger on the loop remember. Do NOT move backwards, just slowly increase the pressure. The SECOND your dog walks towards you, release the pressure and keep walking. 

An animal will NATURALLY seek out the "area" with no pressure. It might take a couple of times working with your dog and the prong, but once you've got it mastered in the back yard, you can move to the front yard, with some distractions, and then keep moving towards more and more distractions. 

Do this while teaching your dog to focus on YOU and not the other dogs, and you'll set both you and your dog up for major success. 

If you want to see more info about pressure / release, watch the movie BUCK ... it's about the horse whisperer and how he uses this method on horses. Trust me, once you've seen him do this with a 1000 pound horse, an 80-pound GSD is a walk in the park!!!!

Good luck


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