My reactive dog does not react.

[mbc1963]

So I'm in the deep woods today with Buddy (my reactive dog) off leash. This is an area where I rarely see another human. Buddy is behind me. Suddenly I hear awful barking, and turn around to see a Weimeraner a few feet from Buddy, barking like crazy, while a smallish dog behind him is also barking like crazy. (Woman and girl follow. Small dog is on leash.)

 

I immediately go into, "Buddy, leave it" mode, because this is like prime reactive stressor #1: the worst fight Buddy ever had was with a Weimeraner who left him limping.

 

But, being yards down the path from me, Buddy is watching the dog and leaving it entirely alone. He snarls a bit when the big dog lunges a bit, but is basically standing stock still. Then, turns tail (tail down!) and runs to me, whereupon the big dog follows, barking, and I grab Buddy's collar as he gets past me. Buddy reacts a tiny bit as I grab his collar, but no fight ensues. Woman, girl, two dogs walk by apologetically, my dog stands calm and peaceful and lets them leave.

 

So, clearly Buddy is capable of not reacting, at least when he thinks he might get his butt whipped. But he spontanteously played with a big goofy dog last week when the dog came up from behind and I didn't know he was coming. I wonder how much he thinks he's protecting ME when other dogs are close to ME. Gotta totally work on channeling calm and happy when we meet dogs.

 

Mary

[Flamincomet]

I don't really know much about your situation besides what's on this post, but is there a possibility that Buddy's reactivity could be leash based? Sort of like leash aggression, where they are aggressive to other dogs on leash, but not OFF leash.

 

Just a quick thought.

 

Autumn

[Tranquilis]

I wonder how much he thinks he's protecting ME when other dogs are close to ME. Gotta totally work on channeling calm and happy when we meet dogs.

I'd give that a good bit of thinking on... In my experience, dogs 'read' the other end of the leash all the time, and react accordingly. The more confidence the dog has that you've got control of the situation, the less reactive they are.

 

Anecdote in illustration: Talking with my neighbor, with Suka on lead. She's friendly/indifferent to my neighbor. I handed the lead over to my 10 year-old daughter so I could check the mail, and Suka suddenly wanted to eat my neighbor. I take the lead back, and she calmed down almost instantly. That was the point I realized my daughter needed to do more lead work with Suka.

 

Mind you, I'm just guessing, and could be totally wrong, too.

[mbc1963]

I definitely think my mood on the leash (tension) has something to do with it. Problem is, occasionally when Buddy is OFF the leash (or on), he has these very bad run-ins with other dogs. So, it's extremely hard to not anticipate and try to step in just in case.

 

There is something, too, about proximity and inability to move around. In fact, now that I think of it, that may be more of an issue than my nearness. If Buddy's in a big, open field and meets another dog, it's a much better situation than if we're on a narrow path from which there's no egress. Likewise, what can be a friendly interaction with even a good doggy pal can turn snippish IF Buddy's backed into a corner or small space, or if another dog suddenly appears, increasing the social density even a bit. The leash, naturally, restricts Buddy's motion in much the same way physical crowding does.

 

So I'm thinking my nerves have something to do with it, but maybe so does the mere "crowdedness" of Buddy meeting another dog with me and the other owner too close to him.

 

Mary

[Tranquilis]

So I'm thinking my nerves have something to do with it, but maybe so does the mere "crowdedness" of Buddy meeting another dog with me and the other owner too close to him.

I'd say you're on the right track, all the 'way 'round.

[vanillalove]

This is great news though! I understand the improvement you guys have made together up until now and this is just another. You guys are a great team and he's lucky to have you there as someone who is trying to understand him.

 

I wish you both well in the future and every doggy encounter!