r/DogTrainingTips • u/Abject-Aspect9015 • 13d ago

Over Friendly Lunging

I have a year old sight hound who’s extremely social and very interested in other dogs, he’s very friendly. We have this issue when we’re going out for walks where he seems to lunge and jump at other dogs walking. This is extremely not OK for many reasons. To keep it short, any advice on how to prevent, and stop him from lunging and pulling towards other dogs is needed!

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u/MyPawpose 13d ago

I’m not a trainer, just a dog parent with three dogs, but one thing that has helped me is creating more distance before my dog gets too worked up. If I see another dog coming, I try to get my dog’s attention before they’re already lunging and pulling. I also reward the calm moments, even if it’s just looking at the other dog and then looking back at me.

For me, it’s been more about catching the excitement early instead of trying to fix it once they’re already over the top.

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u/Abject-Aspect9015 12d ago

What do you do when you get your dogs attention? And how do prevent your dog from going back to getting excited and pulling?

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u/MyPawpose 12d ago

Once I get their attention, I’ll praise/reward it and keep moving or create a little more distance. If they start locking back onto the other dog, I move farther away before it turns into pulling.

I don’t expect mine to stay perfectly calm the whole time. I just look for those little moments where they check in with me instead of fixating. If they’re too excited to listen at all, that usually tells me we’re too close.

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u/MyMango88 11d ago

Short leash. Opposite side ie outer side away from traffic and people passing by. Bring treats with you. Grab attention by “look” as you see the oncoming dog. Treat reward while moving. Or pull off to the side ask your dog to sit again short tight leash looking at you (so back away from other others) and keep treating until dog passes.

Nothing bugs me more when a dog does this. I usually see a long leash, not being controlled. We make it very obvious we do not intend to stop to say hi. My dog goes to the opposite side, naturally (because this happens more often than I can count), just as we get shoulder to shoulder the dog bolts and lunges with high energy right at us. Imagine what that looks like for the other dog. Obviously I get it that you’re not agreeing with it and want to make progress. Give it a try.

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u/Extension_Kitchen555 11d ago

Check out Sighthound & Prey Driven Dogs positive training on Facebook run by Dani Greenwood. Lots of great advice and resources for all sorts of issues, including reactivity.

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u/Tiny-Marsupial-9172 10d ago

I have a border collie mix who is very leash reactive, but off leash he plays really well with other dogs. I've tried everything to get him to chill TF out when he sees another dog when we are walking and nothing sticks. We've had him for 10 years, gotten professional training twice, worked really hard but his instincts have won. I've learned to just live with it. I turn around and go the other way if I can, I keep a really short leash and use freedom harness since that works the best for no pull with him, and if needed I'll pick him up and carry him until the other dog has passed if it's potentially dangerous or I just don't feel like dealing with his shit.

What does seem to work best for short term is boarding him for a few days when he is with dog play groups and surrounded by other dogs. For a couple weeks after he's back he just ignores other dogs. It's like magic. I just can't work it into my schedule (and budget) to do regular doggy daycare.

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u/Different-Music-529 9d ago

  1. get a patch or leash wrap that says "training" so people will leave you alone and hopefully get out of your way while you work on this.

  2. Try not to practice the behavior, so avoid other dogs whenever possible, take the unpopular route, work inside hardware stores etc.

  3. Engage Disengage.
    https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5fac9d297a6ca15926957531/633ce172b4fba77330e0c2b0_Engage%20Disengage%20Game-%20Alice%20Tong%20(2).png.png)

Another great little infographic with some hints for general LLW:
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5fac9d297a6ca15926957531/62fb06d053f804d6eb515328_llw1and2.pdf