
01-08-2011, 11:57 PM
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Pet Forums VIP Member
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Avalon
Posts: 11,455
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Re: How do you manage your DA dogs
I just keep Tiger on lead, try to distract him (doesn't always work) and if there is any trouble, will tell him 'NO' and ignore him until he has calmed down. Then once we're away from the situation I will ask him to sit and maybe do a few down stays (holding on to the lead) to re-focus him and help him to forget it. Then I praise him and carry on as normal. If it happens again, same routine.
However, I tend to avoid day-to-day walking where there will be a lot of off lead dogs - which means totally avoiding the local park. If there will be on-lead dogs I don't mind so muh because all dogs are under control and I can practise getting him to ignore them so that doesn't bother me but I will cross away from them on road walks because he is not ready to pass strange dogs closely whilst on lead yet (not that he'd be off lead in the street but ykwim).
At agility he can be off lead because he is focusing on me, focusing on doing the agility and he has settled greatly within the group. I do find that once he is used to a group of dogs, he is much better! Not a saint but he tolerates them.
I don't know whether to really call him 'aggressive' because that's not the right term, I feel uncomfortable using the phrase 'unpredictable' too because that makes him sound worse - like he'll flip and kill everything in sight! I don't know what he is really. He can, has and will play & do fine off lead with other dogs.... it is kind of more lead aggression I think but I don't let him off lead with the dogs he is aggressive on lead to in order to find out whether it is just lead aggression!
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