# Incident at the park, what to do from here? (a bit long)



## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

I posted a while back about dog aggression problems I was having with my 2 1/2 year old GSD a while back. He's leash reactive and I believe his aggression stems from fear based aggression.. His past, long story short, he's been attacked twice by dogs who live in my neighborhood, and I made the mistake of stopping socialization at a time when it was vital to him because I was afraid. Once I started bringing him back out, he showed aggression towards any dog he happened to come across. I have made a lot of mistakes along the way but I've learned, and I am continuing to learn, and I want to avoid making another mistake.

I've been working with Sebastian for months now, following a lot of amazing advice that I've gotten here and we are making slow, but good progress. No trainer yet, but I am still planning on it once I can get this semester of school over with..

Since practicing sub-threshold, I can walk him by dogs now as long as I keep a safe distance, and he isn't as vocal as he used to be and it's becoming a bit easier for me to break his focus on other dogs. I haven't brought him around any other dogs yet and I've learned to steer clear of dog parks, but he does get along very well with my two Pomeranians that he was raised with.

The problem I'm having today is that while on our daily jog at one of the local parks, we were caught completely off guard by a dog that was off leash that charged at Sebastian from behind (Sebastian was on his leash, I have never allowed him to be off leash in a public place). It all happened so fast, I didn't have time to think and I don't know if I made the right choice.

In order to break up the fight, I hit the other dog with a nearby stick because it looked like he had latched onto Sebastian. The owner was very slowly making his way over to us even after the fight started, up until I hit his dog. He was very unhappy about it and he was threatening me, which I can understand, I wouldn't want anybody hitting my dog, but at the moment I really felt like I had no other choice. My dog was leashed, his wasn't. I tried to explain that and I tried to stay calm so I could at least find out if his dog was up to date on all his shots, but he wasn't having any of that. All he could do is yell and call me names and since I didn't have my cellphone on me (this seems very silly to me now) I figured my best choice was to go back to my car and call the police. He left before they arrived, but I did get his license plates, so what happens from there with him, I don't know.

The dog was a boxer mix, it nipped at his leg and then went straight for Sebastian's neck. Luckily he has thick fur and two collars (one for his tags and the other for his leash) so no skin was broken. I stopped by the vet before I came home just to make sure that he was okay, in case I missed anything. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the other dog.. Sebastian got in a few good bites and he did break skin in a few places.. I feel very bad about it. 

I just don't know where to go on from here with Sebastian. I realize that it was not his fault, I've tried to stay very calm about the entire thing for his sake but I am afraid that this will be a set back in his progress. Do I just continue working with him as normal, and act like it never happened? And if this ever happens again, how do I react? I come across unleashed dogs all the time and they drive Sebastian crazy sometimes, but most of them at least have the sense to keep a safe distance..


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

If there is a leash law where you live and that dog was obviously off leash and out of control of his owner, that is his problem. Too bad if your dog bit his dog, he should have had control of him. I know you feel bad, but you shouldn't.
My thoughts would be continue doing what you have been doing and pretend it did not happen. Go on your walks as usual, but if you see another dog, just don't tense up and just keep walking like normal. If you don't act stressed, then hopefully your guy wll relax. good luck, sounds as if you are making progress.


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

Just continue on with the work you're doing. What happened was not your fault and was not your dog's fault. It was the fault of the idiot owner of the other dog.

I have a leash reactive, fear-aggressive dog and I have also been in positions where I had to do what I had to do when my leashed dog has been rushed by illegally off leash dogs. It stinks, but you do what you need to do.

Good luck with your boy. You did the right thing.
Sheilah


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## Roxygsd (Sep 8, 2010)

You did what you needed to do. Keep working with your dog. I recently had a one hour session with a personal trainer that showed me a simple thing with a collar that has made a world of difference in her reactiveness to other dogs. Keep a choke or prong collar positioned just behind the ears (this means having a smaller collar that is challenging to get over the ears). This way when you give a correction, you are working that part of their neck that is more sensitive than the lower neck which is very muscular. Keep your dog even with your leg or behind you. Pull on the collar or knee them in the face when you want to redirect their attention. These two simple things have made a world of difference when we pass other dogs. Good luck.


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

Wow that is awful! 

A good way to break a fight up without causing any harm to the dog is to grab the hind legs of the dog and pull them away. This normally works best for two owners serprating the fight. In a one owner situation with two dogs I would just grab both dogs by their scruff and pull them apart (I have been bitten doing this, it's not the best way to seperate a fight but with nothing else around you do what you gotta do). 

I would carry mase with you on your walks from now on and if you see a dog charging Sebastien then I would pull it out and spray the dog in the face. I've used it before, it works well.

I agree, continue walking him and try and remain calm, cool, and confident you and him can handle anything thrown your way. Also, carry your cell phone! haha. 

I would really work on the attention getting "look" "watch" type command. This is amazing when used with "leave it".

Look Command for Reactive Dogs

Good luck!


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## Gilly1331 (Apr 16, 2011)

Carry pepper spray or mase. You can buy these things at local gun stores, hunting store and maybe even walmart. Spray the on-coming dog but move away as you spray and make sure its not with the wind blowing at you. This should hopefully keep the dog from getting to close and prevent any contact between you/your dog and the charging dog.

Continue your walks as normal and do continue working with him. Do you have any friends/neighbors with non-aggressive dogs that can practice walking up and down the roadway with you passing in opposite directions? First start on opposite sides of the road or yard then slowly move closer once the dog starts to calm down. The more practice with calm dogs he will start to pick up on it as long as YOU stay CALM.

Good luck! And it was the other dogs owner who was at fault for his off leash dog not being in control and I would have hit the dog as well if it attacked me/my dogs.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

I live in Arizona so there are leash laws. I talked with the officer and he informed me that I wouldn't be responsible for any damage done which was a relief on my part. I guess I just feel bad because a dog got hurt because it's owner doesn't know well enough to keep it on a leash. 

And, thanks everyone. I will continue working with him and try to let this incident go. I was afraid it would set back is progress and affect him the way it has in the past, but I think that has more to do with me. I just don't want anyone to get hurt, especially my boy.

It probably would have been easier to break up the dog fight had the owner reacted differently, but he seemed just fine with walking over to us instead of running.

I got lucky there was a stick nearby.. but at any rate I would definitely be willing to take a bite before I ever let anything happen to Sebastian. I'll also definitely be keeping my cellphone on me from now on. 

I've considered mace before but someone warned me about it and said it might make the dog react even more aggressively, as well as do damage, so I just didn't look into it again after that. I will definitely be looking into again though so I can be prepared next time.

I practice the "watch me" command with Sebastian a lot at home but he has a lot of trouble with it outside.. He gets distracted and focuses in on anything that moves, it doesn't matter what it is. I should probably work on it a lot more outside where there's more distractions.

Roxy, thanks for the advice on redirecting him. I use a martingale collar with Sebastian, and it has helped me gain more control on our walks but I do have trouble redirecting him sometimes because I don't think I've been doing it right, so that definitely helps. Thank you!


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Since it is hard to commit to a trainer while in school, just wanted to let you know the prong collar training posted by Roxygsd is exactly the same advice given by our trainer - it is right on. Our trainer also recommends carry mace as posted by suzzyq01. He actually says to get bear mace and make sure you are not down wind of it when spraying, or turn away from it.

I'm sorry this happened to you. I can't believe the owner of the Boxer mix yelled at you! I'm sure this is not the first time the Boxer mix has done this, glad you called the police. I don't think you'll be seeing that dog around anytime soon.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

Gilly1331 said:


> Carry pepper spray or mase. You can buy these things at local gun stores, hunting store and maybe even walmart. Spray the on-coming dog but move away as you spray and make sure its not with the wind blowing at you. This should hopefully keep the dog from getting to close and prevent any contact between you/your dog and the charging dog.
> 
> Continue your walks as normal and do continue working with him. Do you have any friends/neighbors with non-aggressive dogs that can practice walking up and down the roadway with you passing in opposite directions? First start on opposite sides of the road or yard then slowly move closer once the dog starts to calm down. The more practice with calm dogs he will start to pick up on it as long as YOU stay CALM.
> 
> Good luck! And it was the other dogs owner who was at fault for his off leash dog not being in control and I would have hit the dog as well if it attacked me/my dogs.


I don't have any friends or neighbors willing to help me in training Sebastian sadly. I think part of it has to do with the fact that their dogs aren't really trained and they're also afraid of their dog getting hurt, which I can understand. When I walk Sebastian I just make sure I go by places where dogs are fenced in so I can work on getting him more focused on me around other dogs.

I try walking him around the outside of the dog park sometimes keeping a safe distance, but some people seem to have a serious issue keeping their dogs on leashes, I don't know what it is.. People in Phoenix are just a little odd.  So he's nipped a few dogs that have gotten too close for his comfort, no fight though, just a nip and he does bare his teeth when they get too close.

I'll also definitely be looking into getting mace now. Anything I can do to keep something like this from happening again. Thank you!


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

Be careful when purchasing Mace to use against a dog. If possible, try and find the "bear repellent" type of OC. Regular chemical mace does not work very well, if at all, on dogs.
We trained our sheriff's K9's in an environment with chemical irritants and a lot of them are not effective on dogs.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

Gretchen said:


> Since it is hard to commit to a trainer while in school, just wanted to let you know the prong collar training posted by Roxygsd is exactly the same advice given by our trainer - it is right on. Our trainer also recommends carry mace as posted by suzzyq01. He actually says to get bear mace and make sure you are not down wind of it when spraying, or turn away from it.
> 
> I'm sorry this happened to you. I can't believe the owner of the Boxer mix yelled at you! I'm sure this is not the first time the Boxer mix has done this, glad you called the police. I don't think you'll be seeing that dog around anytime soon.


Would a martingale work just as well as a prong collar since it kinda works like a choke collar? I've considered a prong collar but I've been unsure about it in fear of possibly hurting Sebastian if I didn't use it correctly.

I was also a bit surprised that he reacted the way he did too since he made no effort to stop the fight.. I don't know what he expected, but at least I will learn from the experience.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

My dog has been attacked a number of times. She just stood there and took it while used my feet to get the other dogs away. Every time, the owner yelled at me for kicking their dog while I was just defending mine, which was on a leash while theirs wasn't. Owners like that are everywhere and you did well to call the police. I will follow your example on that in the future, although I doubt I will get much sympathy when my German Shepherd is attacked by a Boston Terrier, preconceived notions being what they are.
The attacks don't seem to cause her any problems .... at least not as much as they cause me.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

CassandGunnar said:


> Be careful when purchasing Mace to use against a dog. If possible, try and find the "bear repellent" type of OC. Regular chemical mace does not work very well, if at all, on dogs.
> We trained our sheriff's K9's in an environment with chemical irritants and a lot of them are not effective on dogs.


Oh wow, thank you. I never would have guessed that. I'm guessing they sell that at hunting shops, so I'll make a few calls and head to one as soon as I get the chance and be sure to get the right kind. Thanks again!


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

My opinion is to not use the prong collar on a reactive dog. It can cause more of a reaction because it agitates the dog further it you tighten up on it while they are reacting to another dog. 

My trainer suggest nylon choker
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[/ame]

and the other posters are correct by placing the collar high on the head directly behin the ears on the neck. 

I would also find a treat that your dog wants more than any distraction. I have been through everything...and finally the winner was raw hamburger with Sonar. Onyx will do anything for raw hotdogs. 

Somthing very smelly and delicious!

I would perfect it in the house and move to just right outside. Consistancy and Repetition is going to be the key. Also carry it with you on the walk. So spend 5-10 minutes working on the "watch me" command and a couple other things so he knows you have treats. then keep it on the left or right side on your belt so its at nose level and he will pay attention to you. ask him to "watch me" every 10 steps and treat when he does. If he doesn't then say the command and put the food in front of his nose and then up to your face. When he looks at you treat him and "good watch me"

I went to home depot and got a Husky tool holder that is one single pouch and it is perfect for treats and its leather so it gets nice and smelly so they know what it is and what we are going to do when I put it on.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

PaddyD said:


> My dog has been attacked a number of times. She just stood there and took it while used my feet to get the other dogs away. Every time, the owner yelled at me for kicking their dog while I was just defending mine, which was on a leash while theirs wasn't. Owners like that are everywhere and you did well to call the police. I will follow your example on that in the future, although I doubt I will get much sympathy when my German Shepherd is attacked by a Boston Terrier, preconceived notions being what they are.
> The attacks don't seem to cause her any problems .... at least not as much as they cause me.


Oh no  I definitely understand what you mean. Nothing makes me more nervous than when Sebastian is charged at by a tiny aggressive dog. I don't understand how some owners can react like that when it's clearly their fault for not having a leash. It just doesn't make any sense!

There's actually a little Chihuahua who lives in my apartment complex who just roams free (the owners are very careless), and it has charged at Sebastian so many times I'm surprised he hasn't eaten it yet.. I've been yelled at many times for nudging the dog away with my foot even though I was doing them a favor by keeping it away from Sebastian. I guess if it ever comes down to it though, with a leash, at least the law is on your side. There's nothing wrong with you doing what you can to protect your dog.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

Thank you Suzy. Sebastian sometimes tugs very hard and lunges when he sees another dog. I wouldn't mind giving the nylon choker a try. Are they difficult to slip out of? Sebastian can be quite the Houdini and right now the Martingale collar is the only one I've had luck with him not slipping out of (luckily it's only happened in controlled and fenced in areas).

I don't know very much about prong collars but just the look of them makes me afraid that I would do damage to Sebastian while trying to get him under control because of the fight he puts up sometimes. Although he has gotten a lot better with that.

I think I might start using hot dogs too. I know he's crazy about them. As am I.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

Get a small spray/squirt bottle and put some vinager in it and shoot straight at eyes and mouth. While it won't hurt the dog, it will sting in the eyes and it smells enough and tastes bad enough they will usually stop and try to figure out what just happened.
Using Mace or pepper spray is great, except you have to be careful where the wind is blowing so you don't spray it and it ends up in your face and your dogs face and the attacking dog has nothing in his face and continues the attack and you and your dog are suffering from the pepperspray.


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

I think it is great that you have plans to work with a trainer once this semester ends. Wonderful idea.

As I said, I have a leash reactive, fear aggressive dog. He is wonderful with people, but fearful of other dogs. When he was younger I would correct his worried looks, or his growls or his lunging. I actually was making the fear worse and it backfired on me. Be very, very careful using leash corrections with a fearfully reactive dog. In fact, I wouldn't use them at all.

The most effective method for my dog was using a trainer who had been trained herself in Leslie McDivitt's "Control Unleashed" protocol. Look for the book on-line if you can't find it at your library. Do a search for a "Contol Unleashed" trainer in your area. That person would be your first choice as far as finding a trainer to work with. The results in my case were amazing.

Good luck!
Sheilah


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

bastian said:


> I don't know very much about prong collars but just the look of them makes me afraid that I would do damage to Sebastian while trying to get him under control because of the fight he puts up sometimes.


A well fitted prong collar is actually more humane and much safer physically on the dog than any type of slip collar (chain, nylon or a combo of the two materials). Of course, fit is everything and having a professional trainer who has experience using prong collars fit the dog appropriately would be important. 

I still don't think leash corrections are the way to go with a fear reactive dog, and my advice about "Control Unleashed" still stands...but I wanted to throw out my comment about the prong collar. They really aren't the instruments of torture that they look like!
Sheilah


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

CassandGunnar said:


> Be careful when purchasing Mace to use against a dog. If possible, try and find the "bear repellent" type of OC. Regular chemical mace does not work very well, if at all, on dogs.
> We trained our sheriff's K9's in an environment with chemical irritants and a lot of them are not effective on dogs.


When you gave Sebastian's background in the beginning of your post. I thought please don't say he was attacked by another dog! How awful for this poor guy. I'm LIVID for you. I know you got alot of great advice in this thread. I have nothing more to offer. But wanted to say good for you for training w/ him & working on his reaction to other dogs. Keep it up


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

sit said:


> I think it is great that you have plans to work with a trainer once this semester ends. Wonderful idea.
> 
> As I said, I have a leash reactive, fear aggressive dog. He is wonderful with people, but fearful of other dogs. When he was younger I would correct his worried looks, or his growls or his lunging. I actually was making the fear worse and it backfired on me. Be very, very careful using leash corrections with a fearfully reactive dog. In fact, I wouldn't use them at all.
> 
> ...


Sheilah is absolutely right! You can make the situation worse by using the leash to correct the behavior of a reactive dog. The best thing to do is to get the dogs attention and walk in the opposite discretion of the agitation. Yanking on the leash and making the choker tighter makes the aggression worse. Basically in the dogs head they don't like the other dog and when you make the choker/collar tighter and try to "correct" the behavior the dog then associates the correction of being choked/pulled because of the other dog. And the vicious circle of leash aggression continues. 

Scenario:
You are walking your dog in the park and Sebastien see's another dog off in the distance and begins to react. "Sebastien Watch me" (treat in front of his nose up to your face) and turn and walk in the opposite direction (his back to the distraction) . Tell him to "leave it" "watch me" when he has stopped focusing on the distraction and is focused on you have him "sit" and "watch me" then treat and praise. You do not once use the leash to correct his behavior, by walking in the opposite direction he is forced to come with you by not by a "correction" yank by shear movement of you walking away. This is where treats and commands will place a big part of your training. 

Get a treat pouch and wear it everywhere. I wear mine in the house and it has really made a huge difference! Sonar is now more attentive to me just about anywhere.

Also, when I come home after being at work all day Sonar is so excited to see me and whines and barks and runs around like a bat out of ****. I refuse to acknowledge his existence until he follows some basic commands which immediately calms him down and makes him focus on "ok if i do this I get loving!" Not sure if this happens, but if you acknowledge him during this excited state and this behavior it can manifest elsewhere.


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

sit said:


> A well fitted prong collar is actually more humane and much safer physically on the dog than any type of slip collar (chain, nylon or a combo of the two materials). Of course, fit is everything and having a professional trainer who has experience using prong collars fit the dog appropriately would be important.
> 
> I still don't think leash corrections are the way to go with a fear reactive dog, and my advice about "Control Unleashed" still stands...but I wanted to throw out my comment about the prong collar. They really aren't the instruments of torture that they look like!
> Sheilah


I agree Sheilah that they aren't the toturous devices they look like, but IMO most people do not know how to properly use them (or any correction collar for that matter) and end up making matters worse or choking their dogs. 

I own one for both my dogs but they walk well on a leash and aren't reactive towards other dogs, I use them dog correction training to tighten things up. The nylon collar has been great, it works just like the slip leashed the vets offices use. It gives you great control of the head/body. 

There is a time and a place for each. IMO.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

sit said:


> I think it is great that you have plans to work with a trainer once this semester ends. Wonderful idea.
> 
> As I said, I have a leash reactive, fear aggressive dog. He is wonderful with people, but fearful of other dogs. When he was younger I would correct his worried looks, or his growls or his lunging. I actually was making the fear worse and it backfired on me. Be very, very careful using leash corrections with a fearfully reactive dog. In fact, I wouldn't use them at all.
> 
> ...


Sebastian sounds very similar to your dog. He's great around people, he loves attention and he's very respectful. But I did group training for a while and the trainer had me correct him when I noticed him getting ready to react (growling/whimpering/weird looks), and every time I corrected him, he would go off and start barking/lunging and getting very vocal. I found that corrections made his reaction insurmountably worse so I avoid it as much as I can. 

I also definitely understand that prong collars aren't torturous devices. I've seen people use them correctly with great results, I'm just afraid that I myself wouldn't be able to use it correctly and only further hurt Sebastian in the long run, especially since he doesn't respond well to corrections sometimes..

Now I just try doing quick turns and start walking/jogging in another direction when he sees something that sets him off. He's bad with dogs but he goes completely insane when he sees a cat, and with all the cats around here, I've been getting some practice with that. Jogging makes him really excited so I find it works really well to take his mind off whatever is making him react. I've tried distracting him with higher value treats but it doesn't always work, he just angrily devours it and goes back to barking. Hopefully as soon as this semester is over I'll be able to find a trainer that can help me keep going in the right direction.

I will also definitely look into that book, thank you Shielah!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

You did fine. 

Your doing great, just continue on as though yesterday did not happen. 

Too bad you did not ACCIDENTLY wack the other owner with that stick.

If your dog is UTD on shots, I would not worry about the shot status of the idiot's dog. 

I agree with Wyoming Grandma on the vinegar spray bottle. Easy to obtain, will not to permanent damage, will likely give you the time you need to get your dog out of harms way. 

I agree that going for the collars/back of the necks is a great way to get yourself bit -- then you DO need to worry about the shot history of the other dog. 

Yelling at, kicking, striking with a stick, spraying with mace or vinegar water -- all are fine when you are defending your dog. If the other owner does not like it, he can just keep his dog out of your self-space. 

I am sorry this happened, and it may set your dog back a little, but just keep working with him. Not all shepherds will come to the point where they run and play happily with other dogs. But with persistance, you can usually get them to the point where they will ignore other dogs, which is a lot better than barking, lunging, and acting the fool every time they see one. 

Good luck.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

selzer said:


> You did fine.
> 
> Your doing great, just continue on as though yesterday did not happen.
> 
> ...


I was quite tempted to accidentally hit the owner with the stick too.. Especially since he was threatening me. Had he not been so scary looking I just might have! 

Sebastian is up to date on all his shots, I did take him to the vet right after it happened just to make sure he didn't have any open wounds that I might have missed. The other guy didn't seem so worried about his dog, which worried me. As I mentioned, Sebastian got in a few really good bites, so the other dog was definitely hurt. He didn't even bother asking if Sebastian was up to date on his shots, he just yelled at and threatened me and high tailed it out of there as soon as I got to my phone.

I can definitely do vinegar in a spray bottle. I actually have everything I need for that here at home so I will get right on that.

I don't doubt it will set him back. He seemed a little jumpy when I got home yesterday but I don't know if it was because of what happened or because I was still feeling a little bad about the whole incident.. I'm getting right back into working with him this afternoon though. I'm also not giving up that park, Sebastian loves it there and I realized that can't let yesterday ruin that for him. I really just want to get Sebastian to the point where he can learn to ignore other dogs on our walks and not be reactive.


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## rjThor (Mar 27, 2011)

If I were in your situation, i would carry a stick just in case to keep the dogs at a distance, as you stated it wasn't Sebastians fault, and it seems the owner of the other dog was being a real jerk with you, I know 2 wrongs don't make a right, but I would have smacked him had he continued to disrespect me after I had apologized for something I wasn't at fault at. Don't punish your GSD, continue to work with him, be patient, he will come around.


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

bastian said:


> Sebastian sounds very similar to your dog. He's great around people, he loves attention and he's very respectful. But I did group training for a while and the trainer had me correct him when I noticed him getting ready to react (growling/whimpering/weird looks), and every time I corrected him, he would go off and start barking/lunging and getting very vocal. I found that corrections made his reaction insurmountably worse so I avoid it as much as I can.
> 
> I also definitely understand that prong collars aren't torturous devices. I've seen people use them correctly with great results, I'm just afraid that I myself wouldn't be able to use it correctly and only further hurt Sebastian in the long run, especially since he doesn't respond well to corrections sometimes..
> 
> ...


Just because you get his attention with the treats shouldn't mean you give it to him. The idea is to reward the behavior once he is in a calmer state of mind. I think you may need to take it back to the vary basics. Your testing him too much with all the distractions and he is failing. 

Is there some place you can go outside where there will be no dog/cats that will distract him? I would start with this. using treats and walking (heeling) and sitting when you stop, looking when you say watch me. Then I would walk him near a place where there are dogs/cats (so outside the park in the parking lot) and do the same exercises. Then once that goes well (and this could take weeks of practice) then enter the park with the distractions. At this point he should be more under control and focused on you. The key is to get him to focus his attention on you soley and care nothing about the other dog/person unless you ok it. 

I would also try and seek out someone who has a well trained dog and put a wire mussel on him and work with him around a stable tempered trained dog. He has been attacked and is on the offensive with all dogs, you have to regain his trust that not every dog he encounters is going to attack him. Maybe you can go on meetup.com and find a local dog group and ask for someone who have a well trained dog assist you in rehabilitating your dog with a mussel of course. I would love to help you if I was near you. My Siberian is awesome with reactive dogs and doesn't even pay attention to them, lets them calm down get all the craziness out, get comfortable, sniff his butt, and then everything is cool. 

A good trainer should have access to a dog like this once you have worked on commands and obedience this is what should be introduced. 

I wish you the best of luck, he will get better as you work with him, but the key is working with him.


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## bastian (Mar 26, 2011)

I guess that's probably why I've been having a difficult time teaching "watch me" outside of the house. I was rewarding the moment he looked at me and not waiting until he was in a calmer state of mind.

There's a few places around here with less distractions that I can try. The park I take Sebastian to is usually pretty calm and empty if I get there early enough, but I don't always have the time to do that. I'll be looking for different places I can take him with less distractions and slowly work my way up from there.

I think I will have to do some work in order to find someone with a stable tempered dog willing to help me with Sebastian. I want him to have positive experiences with other dogs while on his leash, because for now I completely avoid them, except through fences, and even then I keep a distance. Too bad I don't live in MA, your dog sounds wonderful!  I will definitely take a look at meetup.com. That's a great suggestion, thank you!

I do have a question though.. I have tried muzzle training Sebastian (I did it for his vet visits cause I did not want him biting order dogs that might be in the office), and it was going pretty well but I ran into a bit of a problem. Sebastian is usually very good with meeting people. He respects people's boundaries and he's good with introductions, especially with children (we practice sit politely for petting). He usually doesn't bark or growl at people, ever. Except when I started muzzling him to go outside.

It was his first time outside with a muzzle, he had been pretty desensitized to it at that point but with his muzzle on he seemed a little bit more on high alert and barked at everything, even people. I don't know if maybe I did something wrong with desensitizing him to his muzzle? When I removed his muzzle he stopped and calmed down and it seemed a little odd to me. I haven't muzzled him since then, since I haven't had the need, but I was wondering if it's possible for a muzzle to heighten aggression in a dog?


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