[MegaMuttMom]

I have a dog walking issue that I feel is somewhat complicated. Cherokee is a very dog-smart dog. When he is off leash, he is able to interact with all types of dogs without incident. He has even been able to play with some dogs that are too aggressive with other dogs. He is a very submissive and playful dog who seems to know how not to offend anyone but also how to entice other dogs to play.

So, the issue comes when we are walking around neighborhoods with dogs in yards who are guarding their territory. Often times dogs bark like crazy when we get anywhere near their houses. The barking sounds to me like "if you come anywhere near my yard I will bite your head off". This is clearly what Cherokee hears because his reaction is to plaster his ears back, tuck his tail under as far as possible, and to slink off as fast as he can go with me trailing behind. Other than lunging at the occasional squirrel, he is normally a really good loose leash walker.

So, my question is, how much should I work on calming him in these situations? I don't want to train his common dog sense out of him. These dogs are clearly barking in a threatening manner. I feel like Cherokee is showing good manners to leave like they have asked.

There are places we have to walk by and we have practiced walking by scary black dogs' house and scary golden dog's house. Both these dogs have invisible fences and charge the property line. He is able to get past these places with minimal anxiety after practicing many times.

Should I continue trying to walk him in the other very congested neighborhood full of crazily barking dogs to help him get over his fear, or should I not ask him to face up to this and let him follow his better sense if we really have no need to go through that neighborhood?
Does my question make any sense? My biggest fear is pushing him too far and too fast and having him become aggressive or reactive.

Oh, by, the way, he is not leash reactive with other dogs, he has good leash manners with dogs that walk by or say hello. He has been scared by some little dogs who seem to think they have to threaten anything that moves in their vicinity. He does the same submissive, running away behavior when he is threatened by reactive on-leash dogs.
Any ideas or advice?

[TooneyDogs]

You've got a good handle on the situation. We all have to deal with stress in our lives, dogs included. Cherokee will follow your lead and react the way you react to these situations. Continue the walks in a confident manner with no leash pops, babying/comforting or challenges (direct eye contact-straight on approaches) with the offending dog(s). Don't try to flood him with too much stress...afterall, walks should be enjoyable for both of you. On occasion, you might try driving to a spot where you can both walk in peace.

[MegaMuttMom]

Actually, we go for an hour long off-leash walk in the woods every day where we meet up with and play with all kinds of dogs and people. These walks are very joyful and stress free. We take him in the afternoon/early evening for a leash walk or run from our house which is to give him a mental challenge along with more exercise. We have worked through all sorts of fear issues, sewer grates, trash cans, recycling bins, fire hydrants, people on ladders, you name it, if it's the first time he's seen something, he's afraid of it. We only work with treats, helping him to re-focus on us instead of what he is afraid of. He is such a soft dog that corrections are counter-productive.

[MegaMuttMom]

Well, at class today I talked to our trainer and she thinks there isn't really any point to walking him through the neighborhood that stresses him out. He has enough fear issues he's dealing with that adding one more right now isn't necessary. He's working in class on not being afraind of the Berner who ran to hump him the first time his owner practiced recall in our class. The man has a big booming voice to begin with, the dog charged towards mine, with the man running after him and yelling. Cherokee spent the rest of the class just trying to escape the building. Several classes later, he still gets anxious during the Berner's recall but I can keep him focused on me. Cherokee's job is to work on not being afraid or at least focusing when he feels afraid and the Berner's job is to pay attention to his owner even when Cherokee is in the room stimulating his desire to hump.