Staring down other dogs

[AlanDrew]

My partner and I are currently fostering a 1yr old female rescue, we've named Hula Girl. She is incredibly sweet and gentle at home with us, and loves playing with Kona, our 6mo old chocolate lab. They chase each other around the house, play tug of war with rope toys and generally get along fantastically.

All that goes out the window when we go out for walks. Myself, my partner, our chocolate lab, and any other humans seem to disappear the moment a strange dog is within view. She stares down any dog she sees. This behavior is problematic, as it is often perceived as aggressive by the other dog. I've tried everything to get Hula's attention and break her stare. It's virtually impossible. Hula is not food driven, so treats don't worka. I've even tried standing in front of her, but she moves to regain line of sight. I've gone so far as to gently hold her head and try to re-direct it to my direction. She's a strong girl and simply pulls away to regain sight of the other dog.

I'm not sure what to do. We've tried to immerse her in a multi-dog environment by taking her to a very busy dog park and keep her on leash. Hula isn't directly aggressive. She doesn't growl or lunge at other dogs, however if a dog reacts negatively to her stare downs, Hula is then quick to defend herself.

When the object of her stare down is a young puppy, oblivious to her behavior, Hula simply ignores the puppy and moves her stare-down to the next dog.

Any suggestions on how I can try breaking her stare down behavior when treats don't seem to work?

 

[Kisaq]

Be consistant and keep working at it!
If it has yet to advance to the lunging/growling/barking phase, you still have a chance to redirect with fun stuff. Avoid pushing her this far at all costs. Deep within the genetics of boxers is the tenacity and bravery to not back down when they are faced with something unusual. Not all of them exibit this - but it is in the breed. The other dogs are 'unusual' to her. But she doesn't know what to do about it. You will have to show her what to do: "Ignore". It may take a while, but you can do it.

"Nothing to be concerned about." Have this in your head as you try to redirect. And do not get frustrated or angry. Keep your cool. Remember - you are trying to make the other dogs seem uninteresting. "Just ignore them".

If you can not find a friend with a dog she does not know who can help you, you can either take her to an obedience class and work on her reactivitiy, or you'll have to do it yourself as you go on your walks. Ideally, you try to break the stare before it even happens... but that is not always possible on a walk in a public place.

Find something that does get her attention. Try a whistle (like the ones they use for kids in sports), try a squeeky toy... anything that gets her to look away ... even for a split second (then praise praise praise - and stop praising the instant she looks back at the other dog - because at first, she will!). Perhaps it is physicality (body blocking) that works the best. You'll have to discover this with her.

Step in front of her as you have been trying to do - but stick with it until she either looks at you or turns away from looking at the dog (and as soooon as she does, praise praise praise!). Do NOT give up just because she keeps looking around you - tell her No and step in front of her again. This may go on for 20 minutes... or as long as it takes the other dog to move out of site. But keep blocking. Use your body to move her - try to get her to face away from the other dog (this will likely be impossible at first but keep doing it). And praise praise praise as soon as you have her attention again. I see nothing wrong with holding her head gently till she looks at you - but I would only do this when you have a real chance of gaining her full attention. Like after the other dog is out of site. And the reward of her attention is to continue the walk. I will often say, "THERE you are!" with a big grin and treat, when I finally get Kisaq's eye line. And mark it again with my normal "Good".


Kisaq was like this with our cat when he first came home. He just didn't know how to deal with whatever was going on in his head - so everything else got shut down when the cat was in the room. It took a couple of weeks - of constant, consistant interuption. But after a while he figured out that the cat wasn't so interesting. It never played. It never attacked him. He wasn't allowed to mouth it. What use is it? Nothing. You want to make other dogs "kinda uninteresting." The walk should be much more fun in and of itself.

However, it will certainly help if you are not walking two dogs at once. All this would be hard to do if you have two dogs and one handler.

And it will help a great deal if you can get into a controled training situation for socializing and reactivity desensitization.

Once you can succesfully get her to ignore the other dogs, you can move on to making other strange dogs safe and fun up close. But that will be a way's down the road I think.

sorry about my spelling... akk.

 

[Jwelch]

Kisaq has some very good points. I never had to deal with this as my girl only wants to play and run with other dogs. Pj however does bark at the door or when people are making noise on the other side of the fence and she can not see them. Once I tell her its okay and pet her she calms down and settles. Try to pet your boxer and tell them in a soft voice that it is okay to calm them down. If that doesn't work you could always turn and walk the other way so that they understand that if he/she keeps this behavior up that you will turn around. I believe that your boxer might find other dogs a threat to you and to your other dog and it might be trying to protect you all. Good Luck!

 

[Kisaq]

Kisaq has some very good points. I never had to deal with this as my girl only wants to play and run with other dogs. Pj however does bark at the door or when people are making noise on the other side of the fence and she can not see them. Once I tell her its okay and pet her she calms down and settles. Try to pet your boxer and tell them in a soft voice that it is okay to calm them down. If that doesn't work you could always turn and walk the other way so that they understand that if he/she keeps this behavior up that you will turn around. I believe that your boxer might find other dogs a threat to you and to your other dog and it might be trying to protect you all. Good Luck!

I would hesitate to pet a dog that was not behaving the way I want them to behave.
It would likely re-inforce whatever the behavoir is. Now, if you have a "quiet" or "leave it" command already in place and you get even the slightest response in that direction - THEN praise.
But praising beforehand may confuse.

 

[AlanDrew]

Thanks for all the feedback

So 10 days later, and almost daily visits to the dog park, I'm happy to report a complete turn around. Hula Girl is now running around off leash, playing with other dogs, and having a great time.

She only rarely stares at new dogs entering the dog park, and still isn't completely sure what to make of small dogs. But the good news is that after nonstop training, she not only has great recall, but even circles back around to check up on me if she goes out of my line of sight.

I appreciate everyone's input. We now have the most amazing, loving, playful girl and can't wait to take her on camping trips.