Reply to Question for dog aggressive/reactive dog owners.

Forum Index » Pets

Reply to "Question for dog aggressive/reactive dog owners."

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]My dog that was reactive (on leash) to other dogs never improved to a point that it wasn't a problem. It got manageable. I would ask her to sit and stand between her and passing dogs. IF I did that she wouldn't (bark like a crazy dog, snarl, snap, nip, pull my arm out of it's socket, lunge, growl, bite if possible). She never got to a point where an off- leash dog running up to her was a good idea (while she was on leash). Off leash she was fine but never a possibility for a regular occurrence in my busy neighborhood.  This particular dog was just fine with adults and children. A bit shy,  but a child could run up and grab her and I'd be confident that she'd just sit there or at the most, look irritated at me.

Current dog is "reactive" or "aggressive" to children (not other dogs, not anything else that I've noticed). She's very afraid of small people because they are unpredictable and toddle around. She had a lot of pain early on from hip dysplasia and isn't thrilled by people who might fall on her, run around her like banshees, or pet her not-so-gently. For her, the answer has been that she lives with me (I have no children) instead of my brother (has two and their little friends come over). When we are around children (visit brother for weekends regularly) she has a pen (baby playpen gate thing) we put up to make her a safe space. If she is not in the "safe space" she is 100% supervised with the kids. The six- year old is just starting to be responsible enough to be alone with the dog. She LOVES him completely but if she's startled or hurt, it could go badly. The six-year-old is just starting to be able to control himself enough to behave carefully/nicely towards her 100% (Your six year old may vary).

Last weekend, he tripped over her while she was asleep and I gasped and dog looked up with a pissed face and then put her head back down. They've been building a relationship for a long time, so I think she didn't get super upset. But just to say, the fear is still there for me (I can't imagine my nephew hurt. I would be crushed if my dog hurt someone.) and I do continue to supervise carefully. He is a particularly careful six year old and I will still supervise for a while until I'm 100% certain it'll be okay. The two year old has learned to feed the dog treats and close her in the pen. He enjoys giving her  a treat once she's in the pen and closing the door. The dog likes her pen because it's her own little space and she's got her water, food dish, and a couch there. All are content with this.

I can also say that I've been working with her for 3 years now and  last year, a random child ran up to us and "hugged" her (she is super short and cute - not a corgi but looks a bit like one)  - I was terrified, but dog just looked at me with the pissed face and when the kid let go, she ran behind me. Training can help. Not in all cases, but in my dog's it did. I also manage her pain very carefully. She takes 2 medications per day and she's had two surgeries which have reduced her pain substantially.  Without the training though, I'm sure she would still be worse.

TLDR ; A combination of management, training, and time. But it's never 100% gone. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics