Help Desensitizing Aggressive Dog

[moonbiscuit]

I need some advice. My girl Hula Hoop is dog aggressive. If she is within I’d say 100 ft. of another dog, she lunges and makes very aggressive sounds (not quite barking or growling, just a lot of noise). I still try to take her for 2 walks every day both for exercise and in an attempt to not let her become super antisocial. I understand and accept that she will never play nicely with other dogs, I respect that she doesn’t like other dogs. However, her reaction to other dogs on our walks is not acceptable. I would just like to be able to calmly walk by and need some help on how to make this reality.
We live in an apartment complex that has a lot of big open grass spaces (luckily all dogs must be on a leash). Right now, I’m very vigilant on our walks. I’m constantly on the lookout for other dogs, and 9 times out of 10 I see them before she does. When I spot the dog, I calmly walk her as far into the grass away from the road as possible while she is still able to see the dog. From a pretty fair distance, she could care less about the dog. However, as soon as it comes into “threatening distance” all bets are off and she is very aggressive. I’m able to control her as the dog walks by and able to get her away from it. I’ve tried bringing chicken with us on walks to feed her every time we see a dog, but she is not interested in any food while we’re walking. When she does see a dog, she goes into tunnel vision and becomes deaf. The only thing I can do is tug at the leash and literally pull her away.



To help combat this, I ordered this head halter:
boldleaddesigns.com/shop/infinity-lead/

I have a Gentle Leader, but I don’t like how the leash attaches under the snout and I don’t feel that the little plastic clip is strong enough. This head collar has a security feature that attaches to her regular flat collar. I simply want to use this to have better control while I’m trying to desensitize her to other dogs.



Anyway, I’ll try to get to my point. My goal is to have her behave decently around other dogs (and I mean like 10-20 ft away, I by no means expect another dog to be able to walk up and “say hi”). I want to use positive reinforcement (confession: I did use an e-collar on her for about a month with pretty great “results” but then I looked at how she was scared and nervous and decided that I can’t do it.) I have a clicker, but the thing is that once we get out of the apartment, she has 0 interest in food. None whatsoever. I’ve read that this means the dog is overstimulated, but I don’t know what to do about it.



I would hire a private dog trainer, but unfortunately where I live, every single dog trainer uses either the e-collar or “dominance/pack theory”. I wish I could take her to training classes but she’s just too aggressive towards other dogs right now.



What I really need advice with is where I should start with clicker training and how can I keep her interested once we step out the front door? Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can desensitize her?

[michele5611]

How long have you had her?

[RealPitBull]

I don't have time right now to write a lengthy post, but I just wanted to throw two book names out at you - MUST haves for those with dog-aggro dogs!

Click to Clam by Emma Parsons

Behavior Adjustment Training by Grisha Stewart. <---- Especially this one!!

You can find either on Amazon or Dogwise.com

Good for you for avoiding those crappy "pack theory" trainers and e-collar creeps!

[moonbiscuit]

Sorry it's so long. I forgot a couple things. She is a 4 year old pit mix. I adopted her when she was 1 so I've had her for 3 years. She has always been dog aggressive. THe first year I had her it wasn't so bad, there were just some dogs she didn't like. It started off seeming like she only didn't like dogs bigger than her, but eventually it came to be all dogs except puppies. She LOVES puppies. Now it's to the point where there are only a couple dogs she tolerates- the dogs she used to live with but even then there have been times where I recognize her "signs" and stop her immediately. I do know her body language very well which has helped many times.

[moonbiscuit]

Thanks for the book suggestions!

[RealPitBull]

^ No problem! I'll try to write a few behavior mod. suggestions/pointers later today or in the A.M.

[michele5611]

Also check out the sensation harness. I use it on my dog aggressive/dog selective girl. It is a front clip harness that I clip into her regular collar as well.

[moonbiscuit]

Thanks, Michele. If the head halter I ordered doesn't work out, I'll definitely try out the sensation harness.

[michele5611]

Let me know how you like the head halter. I had better luck with the sensation so just curious what your experience will be!

[moonbiscuit]

Will do! I might post a review of it in the next month or so on the forums so be on the lookout. The main thing I'm worried about is being able to control her. With the leash and flat collar, she's able to pull and lunge like crazy. Another reason why I like that head halter is because its a collar/leash in one (but it isn't supposed to choke them or put any pressure on the throat), I'm always worried that when she gets all riled up that the little leash clip might somehow get bumped and opened up and I know that she would go running straight towards the dog.

[maryellen]

Also get the book. Help fir your fearful dog bynicole wilde on amazon. While ur dog isnt fearful the book has great types if desensitation techniques that can be used for aggressive and reactive dogs... Its a great book

[moonbiscuit]

Just a little update: today I took Hula into one of the grassy areas here. We practiced "let's go" and "sit" outside with the clicker. She'll respond well in one area outside so I guess that'll be our starting point. We saw 2 dogs walk by probably 75 feet away. I clicked when she looked at them and gave her a fair amount of chicken. For the second dog, I clicked when she saw it, gave her chicken, then she looked back at the dog and then back at me and even sat! I know it's not much but it feels like an accomplishment. It's just difficult to get her into training outside, all the smells are much more interesting to her. I'll try to take her out to that spot a few times a day and click when she sees another dog so maybe she'll start to figure out "other dogs = chicken"

[RealPitBull]

That sounds like a really positive outing! Every little victory we have with dogs that show dog-directed aggression is a reason to celebrate. I know what it's like, believe me!

I worry about leashes coming unclipped, too. Here's the gear I typically use when dealing with aggression:

1) Sensation Harness (or for very difficult to control dogs, a Gentle Leader or other head harness).
2) Premier Martingale Collar
3) Heavy duty leash with bull snap/clip (this can't get caught on anything accidentally and pop open). *

*I clip the leash to BOTH the harness AND the martingale collar.

General tips for working with aggression:

*Keep your dog under threshold (if she's aggressing, it's too late to do any training - stress levels are raised and any learning will be negated)
*Basics of counter conditioning - scary thing = YUMMY CHICKEN YAY! Have chicken or other tasty treat with you ALL the time. As soon as your dog notices the "scary thing", under threshold (before reacting), out comes the chicken!
*Work in tiny increments - if your dog does well at 50 feet, consistently, next try 49 feet. For some dogs, even small steps forward may be necessary.
*Play LOOK AT THAT - dog notices/looks at scary thing, click/treat.

[moonbiscuit]

I've never tried a Martingale collar, I actually thought they were just fancy choke collars but I did look them up, appears I was wrong. Do you have any suggestions where I can get a nice durable one?

[michele5611]

I use the sensation and martingale on my dog. I get mine from collarmania. I use the loop martingale not the chain one.

collarmania.com/dog_collar_styles1

[suziriot]

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you are definitely headed in the right direction with Hula Hoop - such a great name, lol! Of my four dogs, I have one that is very dog aggressive and one that is dog selective. The DA one is never EVER within a few feet of another dog without a barrier. He's a wonderful dog, loves people, and has done amazing with clicker training. Managing even the most DA dogs is absolutely possible, even in a multi-dog household. Like Mary and Michele, I use a harness, loop martingale collar, and I actually double leash the dog selective one because she has a crazy prey drive. I've been getting loop martingales from Collarmania for years, and I have never had one fail me yet. And there are soooo many fun fabrics to choose from!

[maryellen]

Yep collarmania collard are the best! Ive been using her collars since she started makkng them

[emilys]

nothing against Collarmania, but if you want something plain but effective, these folks make a nylon martingale with a buckle.http://www.schaferkennel.com/D17.html#D17 or with a chain: www.schaferkennel.com/Chain-Martingale-Collar2.html#D27

I've always had a problem with fitting martingales because they have to be so big to fit over our blockhead's ears that they end up being too loose around the neck.

[megan]

You've gotten some great advice and tips here and I'm a fan of all of them!

Something else to consider if you're that worried about the leash/collar/head halter failing.... get a double-sided leash OR use two leashes, attach one to the head halter and another to a harness or collar (one that you know she can't slip out of, for certain) so you have "back up" if necessary). Doing that for a while helped ease my anxiety, and ultimately that helped me better work with my dog.

Also, I've used a head halter and the sensation / freedom style harnesses. We started with the Halti head collar and that helped us tremendously, then we transitioned to the sensation harness. It worked out really well, we started walking on halti, then on the halti with the sensation, then we'd walk with the halti ON but with the leash clipped on the collar, etc.). We've been using the freedom harness as of late, but quite honestly, I feel like the sensation harness works better as far as control and fit. The freedom is nice, but it's either stretched out or moves out of place frequently, I can't tell which honestly.

And DEFINITELY look into the BAT - Behavior Adjustment Training book. That is especially helpful when you're working with a dog that isn't accepting treats or won't accept treats outside. It's great in conjunction with traditional D/CC.

Best of luck, it sounds like you've made some progress so far, and don't say it's not much yet, when working with a reactive, aggressive, or fearful dog.... any progress is joyous!

[moonbiscuit]

Thanks everyone for the advice! This is a great community, I really appreciate the positive and encouraging feedback