Is leash aggression the owners fault?
When dogs fight with other dogs on leash is the owners lack of confidence the problem?
Hardly! Owners can and should NOT be blamed for being nervous when handling their leash-reactive dogs.
It goes without saying that if you have seen your dog bark, lunge, or snap at another dog when on leash that you will anticipate more bad behavior. The anticipated unpleasantness makes most people nervous.
Still, my clients are often astonished that the dogs behave better when I am handling the leash.
When I am called to consult with a client whose dog routinely behaves badly on leash towards other dogs, a common question is: Have they (the owners) been transmitting their fears down the leash to their dogs? From this my clients often surmise that it must be my calm, confident demeanor that gives me the edge when handling feisty dogs. I would argue otherwise for several reasons.
Reason #1 When meeting new clients and handling a new dog for the first time I am absolutely NOT CALM.
I am always nervous when meeting new clients and handling new dogs. I might hide my fears and doubts well from my clients, but I am sure that if you were to put me to the test you would find that my heart rate is elevated, my mouth is dry and I my hands are sweaty.
Reason #2 It is more scientific to rule out other, simpler explanations first.
The answer to how well a dog can detect and to what degree they react to fear has not been sufficiently studied. however, the mechanism responsible for self-preservation called Fight or Flight is very well understood and is the key to helping many of my clients navigate on-leash encounters between their dogs and other dogs.
Reason #3 I have a very good success rate with teaching my clients new skills that improve the situation despite their nervousness at trying something new and their fears that they won't do well and/or that their dog is beyond help.
Imagine if you were taking tennis lessons and your instructor simply coached you by saying, "You need to swing with more power and accuracy." While this may be true, it won't help you KNOW HOW TO DO THESE THINGS!
A good instructor/coach/teacher is always able to break things down into specific tasks that a student can practice in order to obtain better results in overall performance. Telling someone that they are doing poorly or that they need to be, or do things better is NOT an educational technique.
My personal results with the aforementioned bad-coaching technique was a frustration-induced, "more powerful" but drastically, LESS accurate swing.
So what is the CONNECTION between the LEASH & AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR?
All animals have an innate protective response. When you are afraid (really, really afraid) your The is commonly referred to as the Fight or Flight Response.
Reactions include:
FREEZE -victims that we would describe as shocked, stunned, catatonic (this may precede other actions).
FLIGHT -a way of creating distance between you and a real or perceived threat.
FIGHT -another way of creating distance (turn the tables and get the scary thing to back off or run away).
The trick is to KEEP THE LEASH REALLY LOOSE & to KEEP MOVING FORWARD at a quickened pace so that your dog does not feel stuck or trapped. This is hard to do when you own body is anticipating a bad encounter, so my clients with badly behaved dogs all tend to slow down and hold their dogs back. This is a recipe for disaster. The slow pace and tension causes the dog to lunge forward aggressively.
Keeping the leash loose is easier said then done when there is a history of things going badly, so here are some hints. Carry your dogs favorite toy or better yet, walk your dog when she is hungry and hold some cheese or some yummy meat in front of her nose as you pass by dogs. Using your best goofy voice and moving quickly helps too. Also, be sure not to punish or correct (jerk the leash) your dog for relapses.
Remember you can't punish away fear!
So fix the fear, and the barking and lunging will disappear.
Are you sure you are telling your dog what you want?
Dogs do not KNOW the "meanings" of words as we understand them. This means we have to be careful not to confuse our dogs. In general trainers share a set of common commands that have consistent expectations: come, sit, down, stay, heel. But since you will have to teach your dog what you want them to do anyway, you can pick whatever command you feel comfortable using. Here are some general rules to help you be successful.
RULE ONE -Be consistent. Use the same command for the same expected result all the time. When working with a new dog avoid confusing differences such as LIE-DOWN, GO-LIE-DOWN, DOWN.
RULE TWO -Be clear. Avoid confusing situations and unwanted behaviors. Don't pick similar sounding words for different activities like: GO (as in you are released from stay) and NO (you were about to get up, don't do it) or HERE (as in come-here) if your command for walking is HEEL.
RULE-THREE -Be Fair. You can't use the same word in commands for different activities. DOWN can't mean lie-down & get-down and SIT-DOWN is a terrible command choice.
Here is an example: A client of mine was frustrated at her dog who was "deliberately disobeying" her when she wanted her dog to move off the furniture. If the dog was sleeping on the couch and my client commanded the dog, "Get Down." The dog would not move.
For my client DOWN had two meaning: 1) Lie-DOWN 2) Get Down from there.
For the dog, down meant LIE DOWN and since he was already lying down on the couch he didn't feel a need to do anything further.
We taught a new command OFF and used a toy to lure the dog off the couch and reward the dog for Four-On-The-Floor and soon everything was solved.
Some command suggestions:
DOWN: Lie down where you are.
BED: Go to your bed and lie down.
OFF: Get your paws to the floor (off a couch)
SIT: Place your bottom on the ground.
STAY: Do not move form that position until told that you are free.
WAIT: Do not move forward, jump in or out, cross the threshold.
GO: You are free to do as you like (released from STAY or from COME).
COME: Run to me immediately.
THIS WAY or HERE: When you are done... (sniffing, playing, peeing) please come find me over here.
DROP/OUT: Spit out the item.
GIVE: Place item in my hand.
LEAVE-IT: Don't go near it, smell it, look at it, think about putting it in your mouth.
OUT: (if not used above) Get to the other side of the threshold (room), or the the nearest surface texture change (tile to carpet, sand to grass).
UH-OH/AH-AGH: You are about to mess up, stop and I will forgive you.
TOO-BAD: You messed up (timing is important) right there. Aways leads to Time-out or Party-Ends
