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9 Posts
Hello all,
Me and my husband adopted a small Shepard mix three months ago from a local shelter. Indoors, he's a sweetie and tends to behave. I can get done what I need to get done, clean the house, etc. Very affectionate, too. He knows all basic commands, and overall always tries to be the goodest of boys. Outside, though, I can't get a hold if him, and I'm honestly quite confused as for what his behavior means.
He's extremely reactive to other dogs; he fights the leash, his head harness, and his eyes look as if he wanted to say, "OMG, everybody's here to get me!" (the bulging eye look). At times he'll freeze with his tail down, lick his lips, and sit. When he's closer to dogs that are behind fences, he'll go into complete freakindogfrenzy and try to attack them.
At times, it loooks as if he wants to run away, but when he's closer (but the dog is still behind a friggin' fence), he tries to attack. When dogs bark, this is obviously the frenzy times 2435326423, but even calm dogs that are just nicely heeling next to their owners he can't get over. They might not be even paying any attention to him, but yet he's all stiff, trying to get at them and lunge at them. It's seriously so frustrating I don't know what to do.
I have been trainig him several times a day with the gentle leader, feeding him treats for every tiny accomplishment. I feel like he has done lot of progress with other animals, but the dogs are still an issue that doesn't seem to be getting any better. It's getting worse! Even after coming home from a walk full of outbursts like that, he can't calm down for the longest time, pacing around along walls to see if there are dogs plotting his murder on the other side. It honestly almost seems as if he has PTSD from back when he was a stray.
I've tried everything. "Leave it command" works, but it only works on certain distances, and I seem to have stalled for a while and can't decrease the distance. The more I try, the worse it gets. I try to calm him down and feed him treats as we walk (he obsessively loves food), but nothing matters when dogs are around; it's the constant fight or flight. I'm not really sure whether he's scared or he really does get his dopamine shots from attacking other dogs. I'm flabbergasted.
Any suggestions? This would be highly appreciated!
Me and my husband adopted a small Shepard mix three months ago from a local shelter. Indoors, he's a sweetie and tends to behave. I can get done what I need to get done, clean the house, etc. Very affectionate, too. He knows all basic commands, and overall always tries to be the goodest of boys. Outside, though, I can't get a hold if him, and I'm honestly quite confused as for what his behavior means.
He's extremely reactive to other dogs; he fights the leash, his head harness, and his eyes look as if he wanted to say, "OMG, everybody's here to get me!" (the bulging eye look). At times he'll freeze with his tail down, lick his lips, and sit. When he's closer to dogs that are behind fences, he'll go into complete freakindogfrenzy and try to attack them.
At times, it loooks as if he wants to run away, but when he's closer (but the dog is still behind a friggin' fence), he tries to attack. When dogs bark, this is obviously the frenzy times 2435326423, but even calm dogs that are just nicely heeling next to their owners he can't get over. They might not be even paying any attention to him, but yet he's all stiff, trying to get at them and lunge at them. It's seriously so frustrating I don't know what to do.
I have been trainig him several times a day with the gentle leader, feeding him treats for every tiny accomplishment. I feel like he has done lot of progress with other animals, but the dogs are still an issue that doesn't seem to be getting any better. It's getting worse! Even after coming home from a walk full of outbursts like that, he can't calm down for the longest time, pacing around along walls to see if there are dogs plotting his murder on the other side. It honestly almost seems as if he has PTSD from back when he was a stray.
I've tried everything. "Leave it command" works, but it only works on certain distances, and I seem to have stalled for a while and can't decrease the distance. The more I try, the worse it gets. I try to calm him down and feed him treats as we walk (he obsessively loves food), but nothing matters when dogs are around; it's the constant fight or flight. I'm not really sure whether he's scared or he really does get his dopamine shots from attacking other dogs. I'm flabbergasted.
Any suggestions? This would be highly appreciated!