Stalker Dog

[southerngirl]

About last week when I was walking Missy past my neighbors dog Koda starts barking(nothing new) I was surprised when my other neighbors dog(Copper I think. He's a dachshund/Pomeranian so he's small) came barreling down the hill to me and Missy. He know does this every day. Missy barks at him, I keep walking forward saying let's go when she turns around I click and treat if she looks at me click and treat, while she is pulling toward Copper and/or barking I just keep saying let's go. Copper usually just follows while Missy is doing this sometimes he barks too. I've noticed when Missy stops barking he comes closer and makes a soft whine. And he only follows for a little bit(seems like forever though) than gives up on getting to say hi to Missy.
I kinda of like this situation cause it gives me a chance to really work with Missy around other dogs. So my question is I'm I doing this right or is there another way I can help Missy chill. Also do you think this could help Missy with her re-activity(having the dog follow) or make it worse?

 

[SD&B]

Hmmmm.... I don't really know. Is there a way you can not get as close and then treat her for not barking. Will Cooper come out if you have Missy stop farther away? If you do that, will Cooper continue to come closer. If you could increase the distance and treat her for being totally chill, then you might can go closer and closer.

Have you ever thought of allowing them to greet each other or play together? Is that a possibility?

 

[southerngirl]

Will Cooper come out if you have Missy stop farther away?

I can't get far enough away for Copper to not come out cause I'm on my street.
Whenever Missy is chill because Copper is far enough away he comes closer cause he wants to say hi.

Have you ever thought of allowing them to greet each other or play together? Is that a possibility?

I'm totally fine with letting them greet each other, but whenever Copper starts coming closer Missy starts barking so Copper backs up. She's actually greeted him before my mom brought him to our backyard and I held him while Missy smelled him. I didn't let Copper down because I was worried Missy would accidently hurt him(he was still a growing puppy) Maybe I could bring someone with me to pick him up and bring him to Missy?

 

[SD&B]

I can't get far enough away for Copper to not come out cause I'm on my street.
Whenever Missy is chill because Copper is far enough away he comes closer cause he wants to say hi.

I'm totally fine with letting them greet each other, but whenever Copper starts coming closer Missy starts barking so Copper backs up. She's actually greeted him before my mom brought him to our backyard and I held him while Missy smelled him. I didn't let Copper down because I was worried Missy would accidently hurt him(he was still a growing puppy) Maybe I could bring someone with me to pick him up and bring him to Missy?

I thought it might be hard to maintain the distance. Since you have a relationship with Cooper, can someone else pick him up to prevent him from coming closer and you can use that as a training exercise, gradually decreasing the distance? That would require a dedicated helper.

What is the goal here? Is it to train Missy to deal with dogs and have no reaction, or is it to deal with Cooper? If it is to deal with Cooper, having someone bring him over is a great idea. A few times of that and Missy and Cooper may have a better understanding of each other.

 

[southerngirl]

I'm really on my own when it comes to training Missy. My friend and I work with our to dogs when we can, but that is very seldom. My goal is to help Missy not be reactive to dogs. She spazes out when she see's a dog, but has gotten better.

 

[southerngirl]

I'm still having a lot of trouble with Copper coming to me and Missy while on the street in front of my neighbors house(which is Not Coppers house, he hanging out with the neighbors Husky). Missy is going nuts with Copper being so close to her and off leash, and it makes it twice as bad because my neighbors Husky is in his yard(on a chain). I've already been having a hard time trying to get Missy to stop reacting to the Husky(Koda). Please someone help I don't know what to do, it's really aggravating. All I'm doing right know is basically dragging her away(she has a harness and gentle leader on, so she's not choking).

 

[SD&B]

I wish I had a good answer for you. Realistically, it may come down to scouting out the street before bringing Missy out in order to avoid Copper. The unfortunate thing in this situation is that Copper is something out of your control. Often, we can do all the right things, but it's something out of our control that really messes things up. I hope someone else comes up with a better answer.

 

[southerngirl]

Thanks SD&B. Right know that seems to be the only solution and for now I'm going to do that.

 

[jackienmutts]

Maybe you've addressed this in another thread, but is there no leash law where you live? Why is Copper allowed to run the street and harrass you (and others, I'm sure) as he pleases? If there's a leash law, can you call Animal Services and complain about a loose dog? I'd try that (if that's in the realm of possibility) and I'd do it every single day til something is done. You have every right to walk your dog in peace, without being harrassed by a loose dog. If it were in my neighborhood, after a call to Anim Svcs, Copper's little hind end would be in his own house/yard, or he'd find himself in the truck on the way to the pound.

If that's not possible, then sadly I'm afraid SD&B is right - we can only try to manage what's in our control, and when you're dealing with a dog who seemingly has no rules or boundaries, all bets are off. The best you can do then, is to scope out your street ahead of time, take an entourage of friends with you for back-up, etc. Not fair. Best bet is starting with Animal Services and see if they can help you.

 

[MaryK]

Sorry Southerngirl, ghastly situation when you have a reactive dog. I know, been in a similar situation myself. I cannot really offer any more than SD&B and Jackie have advised. When this happened to Ra Kismet, I just kept walking, asking for 'look at me' and clicking/treating like crazy, in fact I didn't even click at times, just poured handfuls of treats into him. Unfortunately, there isn't anything we can do about dogs running loose, except report them to the relevant authorities if possible.
The other night, dog almost over a low fence going crazy barking, growling etc, owner was there (drink in hand) house right on the corner of two busy streets, one of which we had to cross. I politely asked the owner to keep her dog back a little, explaining about Ra Kismet's problem, only to be told bleep off!

*sigh* some people just do NOT care! Ra Kismet and I had to turn around and walk the long way home. As that was just putting him in a lose/lose situation, and he's come so far, I wasn't about to ruin it all. Neither was I about to put either of us into a potentially dangerous situation traffic wise, Ra Kismet was just starting to go a bit over reactive on me as the dog was so close (right on top of him as the fence was angled on the corner) and virtually over the fence.

Maybe you could take Cooper for a walk with you, with someone else taking Cooper (ask your neighbors if that would be o.k.) , Missy may get to enjoy having company, especially as I do recall in your other thread, she was fine meeting him in your garden. And with you holding him!

Ra Kismet will now walk along very nicely with a strange dog, happened this morning, so long as the polite doggy greetings are exchanged and the other dog is quiet, respectful and bomb proof. He's now quite smitten with a beautiful Greyhound rescue called Molly. A few weeks ago he would have gone over the top being so close.

 

[southerngirl]

Thank You Jakienmutts and MaryK for your suggestions.
Yes, there is a leash law. I have not called the pound because I don't want him in the pound and honestly knowing them I don't think they'll do anything to contain him, or their three other dogs. He's a sweet dog and I can tell he just wants to play, I've known him since he was born. Also his owners are also my cousins so I feel bad. If your wondering I just don't say something to them let's just say we're not talking.
I'll see if my mom or one of my brothers will walk Copper with me and Missy.

 

[MaryK]

Understand Southerngirl, you're a really lovely person to think of the dog like that, especially as you're in a tough situation.

Hope you can persuade your Mom or Brothers to walk Cooper with you, I am sure that will help all around, and make Cooper's day as well as Missy's day He sounds quite a sweetie, probably has a 'crush' and Missy, and just wants to play and be friends

 

[threenorns]

it doesn't sound -seriously! - like aggression is the problem.

barking and lunging isn't always dangerous behaviour and a quiet dog isn't always a calm dog.

there have been times when i'm walking dandy and i'll see a dog heading toward us, owner sailing behind like a kite on a string, dog frothing at the mouth and howling like six demons and i look at dandy and he's all "PLAY!!! PLAY!!! PLAY!!!!!!!"so ... okay, we keep going.

then there's times when i see a dog walking toward us all smooth and calm and i'm thinking "damn, that's a *fine* looking dog!" only to have dandy go very quiet and still and sometimes even push me off the path, keeping himself betw me and the dog. so... oooookay, then -yeah - hi, how ya doing... keep your dog over there, kthx.

if cooper just wants to play, you could try bringing them together out there, where it's neutral(ish) territory. if your dog doesn't have a history of actually attacking people, she could be like my bff's abby - the doggie equivalent of Roseanne Barr: all mouth and not well mannered rather than actually being "aggressive" (which is "i want to eat your face").

maybe she actually does want to greet him but is frustrated by the leash.

 

[southerngirl]

Thank you for your input. I've determined that Missy does all her barking, lunging etc. because she is frustrated because she can't go see them. Just I think it was Tuesday I introduced Missy to Coppers little brother. I didn't let Missy greet the dog until she was quite and it worked. I'm going to do the same thing with Copper and find some other dogs to do this with.

 

[Mr-Remington]

Thank you for your input. I've determined that Missy does all her barking, lunging etc. because she is frustrated because she can't go see them. Just I think it was Tuesday I introduced Missy to Coppers little brother. I didn't let Missy greet the dog until she was quite and it worked. I'm going to do the same thing with Copper and find some other dogs to do this with.

How long did it take for her calm down before she greets the other dog?

I'm having a similar problem with Remi (lunging, barking) but I don't have any dogs that are friendly near by to try that with. I have to distract him with food while we watch by.

 

[southerngirl]

How long did it take for her calm down before she greets the other dog?

It took maybe 10 minutes, but because the dog I was working with was nervous so it took 20-30 minutes because Missy would get frustrated that the dog wouldn't let her smell him, but he was really close. What I did was my little brother keep the dog(who was off leash) occupied by petting him. I would walk toward the dog and if Missy started to bark I would do "Let's go"(walk the opposite direction) than I would try again. When we were right beside the dog and Missy started to whine out of frustration I would pet her which seemed to help. I have also found the gentle leader really helpful in keeping or stopping Missy's reaction. You can go to my blog(I probably explained what I did better on there) http://missyunleashed.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/im-so-freakin-happy/