Doesn't Like Strange Dogs

[Kobe]

Our 3 years old Sheltie doesn't like dogs except the one that he knows. He barks and always want to pick up fight.
My wife finds it difficult walking with him. It's a bit annoying and not very relaxing. I have to stay alert just in case they are other dogs too close to us.
At home however he is very friendly wth our small terrier.
They are the best of friends but sometimes he annoys the terrier by chasing her around. They never have a fight.
I am lost as to what I can do to make him friendly to all dogs.
That will make our afternoon walk more pleasing.

 

[SheltieChe]

Our 3 years old Sheltie doesn't like dogs except the one that he knows. He barks and always want to pick up fight.
My wife finds it difficult walking with him. It's a bit annoying and not very relaxing. I have to stay alert just in case they are other dogs too close to us.
At home however he is very friendly wth our small terrier.
They are the best of friends but sometimes he annoys the terrier by chasing her around. They never have a fight.
I am lost as to what I can do to make him friendly to all dogs.
That will make our afternoon walk more pleasing.

Welcome to midnight dog walkers club then you are not alone who can not walk peacefully your pup during the day with distractions, whose pups are lunging in every direction...
anyway, is your pup dog reactive in the dog park or only on leash? It makes a difference. I would not put a goal of being friendly to all dogs thought, you certainly not friendly to all people, why your dog should?
Check out post Brilliant recall under behaviors section and sign up for free webinars of Susan Garrett, she will be talking about "Death of the distractions as we know them" on Thur. My 2 cents on it are such- you have a distraction A plus in a form of the other dog on the street. Choose one route where you know to have one dog behind the fence. Establish the distance where your dog is not lunging, make your dog do something else you want- "sit", " look at me", treat heavily and make a party. Tomorrow come one step closer see if you still can party, if not back out and start again. Distraction works is about Distance, Duration and Intensity. Increase distance, decrease duration and intensity.
Gentle Leader might help to turn your pup's head away from distraction.

 

[Kobe]

Kobe doesn't like to walk at night, actually me neither.
Less interesting since I like to watch birds and see other dogs too.
Also Kobe is afraid of the dark when he is outside the house.
After sunset he will walk right behind me.
During daytime he will chase birds if I allow him. He also likes to chase swallows round and round the park. He is so happy doing this.

 

[SheltieChe]

Kobe doesn't like to walk at night, actually me neither.
Less interesting since I like to watch birds and see other dogs too.
Also Kobe is afraid of the dark when he is outside the house.
After sunset he will walk right behind me.
During daytime he will chase birds if I allow him. He also likes to chase swallows round and round the park. He is so happy doing this.

Is he dog aggressive in general or just leash aggressive?

 

[Kobe]

Is he dog aggressive in general or just leash aggressive?

I think he has a fear aggreassion issue.
He can aggressive both on or off leash but probably more on leash.
Once he knows a dog and he is alright with it then it would be fine when he meets the dog again next time. So he has a group of dogs that he knows and comfortable with.

Some dogs he accepts okay but aggressive toward others.
So it is unpredictable. I always try to introduce him to other dogs.
I do this by holding his collar and let him approach the other dog or vice versa. Not always successful.

Once he had a fight with a dog (no physical contact) and the other dog approached him. Kobe freaked out and his collar came off.
He took off at the direction of our house less than a mile away and before he got to our house he decided to turn and continued to run and cross a highway at peak hour.
He was lucky to be unhurt. Someone called us while we were looking for him and returned him to us. They said he almost got hit by cars twice.
They found him quite far away from home.
So now I always keep his collar tight and avoid confrontation.
I pull his leash and call his name whenever I think he is going to bark and challenge other dogs. Once he gets aggressive it's too late.

 

[Kobe]

OK, I have some ideas for you.

- Shelties are naturally standoffish. Don't be sad about it. That's just how they are. There are some plusses to this. First of all, this means your Sheltie probably won't pick a fight with a big dog s/he can't handle. This is a very good thing in a dog park context.

.

He will pick fight regardless of the size of the other dogs.

 

[SheltieChe]

oh, boy, so your issues are not the ones that can be easily helped on this forum. You need to find a good behaviorist and work one on one. It is probably pretty predictable for a person who knows "dog signals" what Kobe reaction to this or that dog is going to be, and you could learn them as well to have better understanding.
Am not sure about place where you live but here nose work classes getting more popular, lots of reactive, aggressive dogs go there since it is work one on one. It helps them to develop confidence. There is also some classes offered like " Growl" where dog to dog aggression is treated.
some of helpful articles you find here
http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/33/97/
http://flyingdogpress.com/content/category/4/13/97/
those are books you might find worthy to read
http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/75/90/

 

[Diana]

Also, read "Help for Your Shy Dog" by Deborah Wood. This is actually a secondhand recommendation - I got the original recommendation from Smudge a few months ago and finally found it at a used bookstore last week. Great book!

But yeah, I agree. You need a professional trainer or behaviorist. Alternatively, you could contact a Sheltie rescue or Sheltie breeder in the area and see if they can help you out.

 

[Caro]

I would definately get him into a gentle leader type head collar. It will help immensely with his reactivity. Make sure you have a connector from the gentle leader to a flat collar if he is really reactive. A good pet shop or a dog club should be able to help you fit a head collar.

There is no need for him to be friendly with all dogs - you just want to work on him ignoring other dogs. In fact forcing him to meet dogs he doesnt want to is likely to make him worse. After all I would not force you to talk to people you didnt want to.

Have you been to obedience classes? This is a very good way to learn and practise controlled greetings. It is really important to learn the right way to meet other dogs.

Meeting other dogs don't hold his collar as he will feel the tension and it could make him more tense. Better that you get him to sit and look at you and give him yummy treats and do this from a distance and the side. Dont force him to go up to another dog he doesnt want to meet, just sitting at a distance with a treat will give him the idea that other dogs arent bad things and teach him to ignore them. If you want to meet another dog don't walk head on toward the other dog, come in sideways - head on is very threatening. Dog's have good peripheral vision so being around the side of each other they can still see each other. Greetings should only be about 5-10 seconds for a fearful dog - basically meet, sniff, walk away. Otherwise the fear/stress levels start to build and the fearful dog will react.

If you see other dogs on your walks and he reacts just walk briskly away without saying or doing anything else, take him out of his stress zone.

I would be very careful about behaviourists in Australia - I have come across some real duds that use methods that could make a sheltie worse. If you want to try one contact the RSPCA and they can give you an idea of good ones in your area or vet behaviorists. Also the RSPCA also run very good classes and give private sessions and they are used to dealing with reactive dogs.

 

[Kobe]

Also, read "Help for Your Shy Dog" by Deborah Wood. This is actually a secondhand recommendation - I got the original recommendation from Smudge a few months ago and finally found it at a used bookstore last week. Great book!

But yeah, I agree. You need a professional trainer or behaviorist. Alternatively, you could contact a Sheltie rescue or Sheltie breeder in the area and see if they can help you out.

I have the book. Maybe I haven't been following the instructions very well.

We have one bahaviorist that is quite well known where I live. She charges around $500 for first consulation. It's around 1 1/2 hours. I thought that was a bit much so I didn't do it.