(Part 3) Top products from r/reactivedogs

As I was documenting the various harnesses, leashes, and muzzles we've accumulated for Scully in less than two months adopting her, it had me thinking: what tools have brought you success with your reactive pup?

• Easy Walk Harness: We are moving to the Gentle Leader head harness at the recommendation of our behaviorist, but I think the Easy Walk Harness helped Scully understand the concept of going on a walk in itself at the start.
  
• "In Training" Vest: It sounds funny, but this vest has helped me a lot. While out on a walk, people recognize that Scully and I are working; they normally get out of the way, or at least seem more understanding when she has a reaction.
  
• Treat Pouch: Everyone thinks I'm a dog trainer when I have this thing on. I think it helps my confidence in the same way the vest does. Also, keeping a stash of treats and poop bags here lets me keep a hand free.
  
  Honorable Mentions:
  Clicker: Love!
  Travel Kennel! I love, love this. Scully went insane her second car ride, and it was unsafe for everyone involved. Since she is already crate trained she was comfortable with this very quickly. I do have to put a blanket over it as she can see through the mesh windows.

I don't use corrections either. I would rather show the dog what to do rather than what not to do. My dog isn't perfect, but he is a great dog and I am very happy with the results I have gotten from using only positive reinforcement training. My dog and I do agility, rally, nose-work, parkour, and a ton of trick training. Positive reinforcement works it just takes effort and time from the trainer. The best example I can give for what positive reinforcement is to look up Sara Carson and her Super Collies. She only uses positive reinforcement and all of her dogs are amazing and she has a reactive/aggressive dog as well.

My dog has both fear and frustration based reactivity, although they start out looking different, they end in the same result of barking, lunging, etc.

I would refrain from using punishment/corrections to modify a dogs frustration based reactive dogs behavior because you don't want it to turn into fear. Your dog might not make the association that they are getting the punishment because of their behavior and may associate the punishment to seeing other dogs and this can turn into them thinking dogs=punishment so keep away from me!

Look into B.A.T and L.A.T training if you haven't already.

BAT training book by Grisha Stewart is a really good read for BAT training and she has some really good diagrams.

Start with a two week shut down. It's hard to tell anything until they've settled in.

She's food motivated and you can use that to help train her. In the mean time, no eating in front of her. Feed her separately from your other dog. Spread her food out on a cookie sheet or get a slow feeding bowl to slow her down. Break up her food into smaller portions and feed her throughout the day. Add low calorie, real food to her diet for bulk. I add almost all kitchen trimmings to my hungry boy's bowl. Broccoli stems are a favorite. Dogs not fed consistently can develop an obsession for getting food since they don't know when they'll get another meal. Being alone in the basement, maybe feed sporadically, probably bored and ignored is going to have leave their marks on her behavior. They can be overcome, but not in a week. By feeding her more often the hope is she starts to realize food is plentiful. I have two dogs with polydipsia, which is the water version of obsession over food. Small amounts all the time helped them.

She's a lab and you have a rabbit. Trouble brewing. I'd love a cat, but prey drive is a real thing and my dogs have it. I'm not sure it can be overcome. You should always keep them safely separated. You might want to look into x-pens to keep them both safe. Amongst my dog friends we call it living in a gated community. Baby gates and x-pens to keep animals separated. Not bad once you're used to it and figure out the system that works for you.

Barking is tough. We tried a citronella bark collar with moderate success. Once he learned that it only released the scent every couple of minutes he'd bark, wait till the collar went off and then bark for two minutes waiting for the next shot. Might be my fault since it worked great at first. Never really read how to use one properly. The sonic devices didn't work at all. If he barks he's put into a time out. If he's quiet when he'd normally bark he's given a treat and time outside. He's barking is greatly reduced, but it's part of who he is and I don't think will ever go away entirely.

Give her plenty of space when she eats. Don't feed her at the same time as your other dog. She should eat while alone. No bones or toys while people or your other dog is present. Set her up to succeed.

You might want to look for a behaviorist to help with the resource guarding.

How does he do off leash? Leash reactivity is fairly common.

My dog sounds can seem straight up viscous when out for walks, but at daycare she does great.

Here's a comment of mine from a similar post that may be useful. Even if he isn't doing well off leash, the recommendations there are still good for helping him be more comfortable on leash.



>This is pretty textbook leash reactivity. I always recommend the book Feisty Fido as a good intro to understanding and working with leash reactivity. You can get a kindle version on amazon for less than $10 and it's a really quick read.
>
>There are a lot of theories on why some dogs spaz out on leash and the exact reasons differ for every dog. There are "Frustrated Greeters" who just really want to say hi and others that are more fear reactive who might feel trapped being on a leash. It's hard to say without personal experience with your dog.
>
>It takes time, patience, and a lot of love, but you will be able to work through this. There is A LOT more to all of this, but that's just some basic stuff.
>
>A couple other random things to watch out for:
>
>Make sure your dog is getting enough exercise (if possible, wear himout a bit before a walk)
>
>Make sure he is getting enough mental stimulation (google dog enrichment)
>
>Make sure you are being as calm and composed as possible on walks. If you tense up every time you see a dog, you're telling your doggo that there's something to worry about. Dogs are very good at picking up on tension and stress like that and it can directly feed into their reactivity. Deep breathes, try to keep the leash loose, and redirect as calmly as possible.

I hope you have luck with the trainers. In the mean time, I noticed you said your SO is afraid to take him out because of his size. I have a reactive 80+ lb German Shepherd and I'm about a 115 lbs. I understand. A couple of things:

Do you have a secure, front clip harness you can use to control your dog? If not, I would suggest investing in one. It feels a lot more secure vs just using a collar that your dog can slip out of.

I recently started using two leashes to walk my GSD. I have a short bungie leash, like this, which I keep clipped to my hips. You can use a heavy duty carabiner attached to a belt or fanny pack.

Then, I have a second flat leash which has an extra handle at the base of the leash, like this, so I can get a really good grip on my GSD and pull him away if I absolutely have to. I keep the flat leash looped around my wrist, then looped around my thumb like this, close my hand into a fist around the leash and hold it tightly to my stomach.

This has increased my confidence ten fold because I know my dog cannot pull away from me if he's attached my hips, and I can still easily control him using the second handle on the flat leash. The second handle on the flash leash is a blessing for tight areas like hallways or stair wells in the apartment complex (Avoid tugging on his leash if its not necessary, this can make them more anxious).

Other tips:
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Make sure you are playing with your dog inside the apartment as much as possible to reduce his stress, anxiety or tire him out. (Or take him the park and try to really tucker him out) Try to walk him at odd hours (like 5am, 12am) to reduce the chances you will run into things that scare him. This sucks, but it is very important that you avoid stressing him out as much as possible.

Practice your emergency exits. If you are in the hallway and see something scary, you can get away without your dog reacting and stressing out. Start in the apartment with his leash on, and practice saying "Lets go!" in a playful voice, do a u-turn, and playfully run the opposite direction. You might need to use your hands to get your dogs attention or use treats to lure him into a u-turn. You don't want to be tugging on your dog. You want your dog to think this is a fun and exciting game that is way better than facing and barking at whatever scary thing is at the end of the hall or sidewalk.

Instead of just feeding your dog cheese when he sees something scary, try turning it into a game of "Find it!". Again, start by practicing in your apartment, throw a treat a couple feet in front of you and tell your dog to "Find it!". You can start using this outside, when you don't see any distractions. Then, if your dog is far enough away to see a distraction but NOT REACT, you can try playing "Find it!" to distract them and reduce their stress. You can also use "Find it!" to get them to turn around, or throw treats at your feet so you can more easily get their attention.

Right now the goal is to avoid triggers as much as possible so if in doubt, do an emergency exit and try to get your dog out of the situation by doing a playful "Let's go!". You can play "Find it!" when you are far enough away. If your dog notices a trigger but is far enough away that he isn't reacting yet, try playing "Find it!" to distract your dog from the trigger. Always try to set him up for success, don't do it if you know he's gonna do bonkers.

Also, experiment with high value treats or rewards. Does he have a chew bone he really loves? Try bringing on the walk to distract him. Try really smelly, wet treats like hot dogs, liver or chicken.

Hopefully this will help until you maintain the situation until you can get some hands on training with a behaviorist.

Have you looked into a training class? There are many trainers that have classes on mannered walking. Look into positive reinforcement trainers!

Basically you'll want to stop/even turn around every time your dog pulls. Reward the dog for walking next to you. It doesn't take long for them to realize what you want. Read more about loose lead walking.

Equipment is very important -- we use an Easy Walk Harness (you only want front clip harnesses! Back clip harnesses make pulling worse). Also purchase a Matingale Collar. The most secure you can be is to clip the front clip of the harness to the loop of the martingale collar.

Another alternative is to use a Head Halter (halti or gentle leader). When the dog pulls forward the equipment redirects their head so they'll basically turn back.

Harnesses and head halters are the most humane methods you can use. They'll give you added control until the training piece catches up!

​

Best of luck!

Wearing a muzzle will help you stay calm and help keep other people from letting their dog approach yours. The stigma sucks, I know. I worry about it to. But then I think, why I am caring so much about what other random people think of my dog? Instead I should be caring more about the safety of my own dog and help to address this myth that 'only bad dogs wear muzzles'.

A properly fitted Baskerville muzzle like this will allow your dog to open his mouth to pant and take treats: https://www.amazon.com/Baskerville-2-Inch-Rubber-Muzzle-Size-5/dp/B0051H45GC

A mesh one like this does not allow your dog to pant so these are not recommended for walks: https://www.amazon.com/Coastal-Pet-28483202-BestFit-01300-BLK06/dp/B000CRTJUS/ref=pd_sim_199_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000CRTJUS&pd_rd_r=9B4M6EJRAG6XRYGBN2VY&pd_rd_w=ZWA03&pd_rd_wg=aati7&psc=1&refRID=9B4M6EJRAG6XRYGBN2VY

Good for you and your pup! I'm so glad to hear that's working. We're struggling with much the same issue (with our adult dog) and we've used similar tactics with some good successes.

If you find the deli meat ever loses its charm, don't be afraid to switch it up with new, stinkier treats. We hit a plateau with our dog that seems to be scalable with some new, even smellier treats (just wrote about that here actually!).

You can also use squeeze tubes with cream cheese in them, if yours--like ours--doesn't always have the gentlest mouth when stressed. We use these and it helps us give a good steady supply of treats when passing stimuli that take a minute to go away (e.g. clanging trucks going down the street), while keeping our hands relatively clean.

haha Yes, I've been contemplating whether to throw out the non-Suntheanine bottle that I've currently got, or maybe just take it for myself :)

In case it helps your decision process at all, this is what the behaviorist's office recommended I switch Moose to.

Tricky situation- dealing with a dog fearful of people when you aren’t currently able to use treats. Have you tried really high value soft foods like small pieces of boils shredded chicken or tiny pieces of cut up hot dog? If you can find something that he likes, you may want to try having people just ignore him for the most part while tossing treats in his direction while he’s mostly calm. Toss them a little behind him so he doesn’t have to approach. The idea is to get him to associate people with good things.

Also, try to be very mindful of your body language around him, and direct others to do the same. No staring or direct eye contact that signals a threat or aggression. Approach from the side, not straight on, use look-aways, slow blinks, etc to communicate a relaxed friendly attitude. There are some great resources on the web and YouTube about dog communication.

Also, you may find the book The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell to be an insightful read.

That sucks man. I'm not trying to be mean, just informative. Check out [Book 1](The Dog Behavior Problem Solver: Step-by-Step Positive Training Techniques to Correct More than 20 Problem Behaviors https://www.amazon.com/dp/1621871150/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_cs8uzbW12MSGT) for help training him and [Book 2](The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A2XQ17Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sv8uzbM89QC4C) for help with perspective.

Boiled chicken is an awesome Super Treat because humans eat it too. If every time your dog sees new people he gets chicken he will start liking them. That's what I like to use along with book 1, especially for time sensitive issues. I'll pm you later today but those books will help you get started. I recommend the Kindle version so you always have it with you.

Edit: I'm on pain meds (recent surgery) so my words might not come off as nicely as I'd like right now. I've got a limited attention span and autocorrect is killing me.

Here is the website for the leashes (they’ve got many varieties and colors) https://www.wilderdog.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItJ-fjfDC3gIVDVcNCh1jrw3pEAAYASAAEgKChfD_BwE

And here’s something like I got for a padded grip, although what I bought was a little cheaper! https://www.amazon.com/Yakgrips-LIB351500-Cascade-Creek-Black/dp/B001MQEQ24/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1541614095&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=kayak+paddle+grips&dpPl=1&dpID=418HJyFfOCL&ref=plSrch

One of mine does this all the time as a way to avoid intense social interactions. He sees a new dog, sniffs briefly, and if the other dog pays too much interest or gives any clues about wanting to play he veers off to pee on something. It totally avoids the confrontation and stress of the excited social interaction. Once they get through the ritual of peeing and sniffing it, they shake off and calm down, can hang out without undue focus on one another.

"Being A Dog" by Alexandra Horowitz is a good read that goes into a detailed discussion of scent marking as a means to convey information socially.

I know you’re in college and money is tight, but even shelling out a little bit could really get things moving in a positive direction. 50 ft of fence privacy screening is $50.

Someone else suggested muzzling, which will ease your fears that the worst case scenario will happen. If she still barks and lunges, no biggie, just cross the street and hurry along, lots of dogs react this way and most people will take the hint and also hurry along. At least you know theres no risk of injury. Muzzles are also pretty inexpensive.

Lastly I’d look up reactive dog classes in your area. Maybe I’m just lucky, but my city had a reactive rover class for $95. Again I know a big expense for a student, but is it worth saving up the money to improve your and your dogs quality of life?

Amazon. Leash Coupler. https://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Gear-Coupler-Nickel-Plated-Swivel/dp/B000Y908UO/ref=sr_1_4?crid=PVGRVKR8KHZ4

Our Treat n Train Manners Minder arrived today! I'm so excited to try it out!!

It’s a metal collar with “spikes” on it that are rounded off so they won’t damage the skin and injure the dog. When you pop on the leash to correct a behaviour, it creates a more direct pressure than a flat collar would, making the dog less likely to keep pulling. Many people say it simulates the bite of a mother dog correcting behaviour.
I know “spikes” sounds scary, but it is actually far safer with a dog that pulls or is reactive because on a flat collar they will keep pulling and can cause serious damage to their trachea. The prong prevents this.
prong collar