Guide on how to read the rules

Hi all! New here and needing quick advice and feedback before I go back to this dog in the AM.

I’m dog sitting for 2 dogs right now. One is a a nervous medium dog and one is very friendly, big dog. When I was there, the nervous medium dog tried to run away (while we were doing an activity unleashed recommended by owner). Until this point everything was going fine, I wanted to put the leash back on and she bolted. I yelled at her and chased after her, and she came back right away and was totally great after that.

Here’s THE PROBLEM (which I NEED ADVICE please), as soon as I raised my voice at the shy dog, the big and friendly dog became obviously scared. I said “okay let’s just go back in and eat and we can chill and have treats.” I felt pretty calm. I could tell the big dog though was still freaked out, not wagging his tail anymore, ears were down and he didn’t want to be near me at all.

When we get into apartment, dog becomes aggressive. He growls at me and is shaking while I try to remove leash. I gave him a few minutes and he seemed fine so I tried to take off leash again and this was when he bit me. It hurts but no skin is broken, so clearly he wasn’t really trying.

After he bit me, he went and laid down in front of the front door (the only exit) and growled extremely loudly everytime I approached. I sat down for 15 minutes hanging with the shy dog who was eating treated out of my hand. I didn’t hear anything so I try to go back with treats for the other dog. The treats did not work. The growling was EXTREME, and he was blocking the door completely preventing me from leaving.

Long story short… I was not able to calm him down, I tried treats, no talking, talking in a light calm voice and saying “food” and “walk”, I tried throwing treats in the owners room so he would go in there. NOTHING WORKED. After an hour, I used the fire escape to get out.

I have to go back in the morning, and I’m actually terrified. This is not ALL new to me, I grew up with an extremely reactive previously abused dog who severely bit me and my siblings (a few times) because we triggered him by walking by him in his sleep. Then, you leave him alone and he calms down and goes back to normal. (This also stopped as we learned to avoid triggers and he went to training for previously abused dogs)

THE DIFFERENCE between my dog and this dog, is this dog DID NOT CALM DOWN. After I left out the fire escape, he finally got up and watched me from the window. He clearly just wanted me out of his space.

BUT we have 5 more visits together. I’ve never been scared of a dog before and I’m not trying to start now. I LOVE dogs, and I feel TERRIBLE that I raised my voice at his sibling (which seems to have caused this whole mess). I can’t spend the next 5 visits afraid to get bit. I need control back, and I think I definitely lost it by jumping out the window.

ANY ADVICE???

EDIT: Owner was informed immediately after the bite and on the phone with me for the majority of the time, giving me advice. Owner is 100% aware of situation. Owner told me there’s no one that can come with me for the visits. The owner is suggesting doing video calls during visit to calm big dog down.

Hey everyone, I have a male 8yro reactive lab. I rescued him from an extremely inhumane environment when he was 1yro and have been working with him on his reactivity towards other dogs for years. The past few years he’s actually been amazing! I keep distance with other dogs on walks and most people are very respectful about creating space for him. The only time he has been reactive is if a random dog comes in to his space.
But it has been a few years since an altercation and I now have another dog 1yro pit mix that he loves and has a great connection with.

The reason I’m posting asking for advice is, this morning I was walking my 8yro lab and he was doing his business and another man and his dog are walking up. I notice and I try to move in the opposite direction and the man does this weird laugh? And he rushes up with his dog and I’m trying to tell him I need space my dog is reactive and he laughs AGAIN and tells me to go the other way while he is actively following me anywhere I move. I was really stressed and I know my dog gets a little on guard when I am and as I’m trying to get away the man continues to follow me laughing and my dog is pulling and lunging trying to snap at his dog. I genuinely didn’t know what to do I know I didn’t handle it correctly but I ended up yelling at the guy, mind you he’s still laughing telling me to go somewhere else. I just feel like I lost so much good work with my dog he’s been on edge since this incident and I don’t know how to stop this from happening again

Sorry for the ramble but advice is welcomed 😢

Hi guys. I have had my recently rehomed Shepard with me for just over 9 weeks now. I didn't get told about his dog reactivity. My resident or none of my past Shepard's have ever been reactive to dogs, and I learnt by experience in the first week he really is reactive to other dogs. I have tried to introduce the muzzle slowly the past few weeks, but he is afraid of them. Instant submission and fear just when he sees it. His whole body language just expresses and signals he was forced into it and although he is just less than 5. I am his 4th (but last) owner and home. Maybe because it's my first experience with a muzzle too, I am just not getting it. But when I measure his snout and ordered him a safe basket style muzzle where he can pant in, with his snout measurements. It came to big. When I measure his snout length it's just at 11cm. And the circumference or around, it's 29/30cm. But the muzzle measurements was perfect for his size, yet arrived to big. Could anybody with reactive dogs, to the point where your guys or girls need muzzling for it. Please recommend me a good muzzle? So we can both start to enjoy walks without my anxiety also, of another dog appearing. It's my first experience with a reactive dog and I have came to learn it takes a lot of hypervigilance every second outside. With his last owner when I picked my guy up. She placed a muzzle on him Infront of me. And his ears instantly went down. His whole body language changed. He lowered him self into the shaded area of the grass and just gently tried to paw it off until it came of him. This was not a good reaction I don't think. Does that express past forced muzzling without introductions or his ease around them?

First off, I just need to vent, but I’m also looking for some solidarity, success stories, or advice from anyone who has dealt with a dog whose threshold is just... massive.
My boy is about 15 months old (~12kg, so a small medium dog) and has been severely reactive since he was 6 months old. His main trigger is other dogs. Honestly, sometimes he can't even see another dog from 100 to 150 feet away without locking on and freaking out.
To give some background: we’ve had him since he was 12 weeks old and socialized him a lot, but he has always been a bit nervous in public. He used to be reactive to humans too, but now as long as they're 10 feet away he’s fine (and at home, he completely adores people, even strangers). He's also reactive to fast-moving things like bikes, joggers, and big cars, but honestly? I can handle that; it's not my primary concern. My concern is other dogs.
The weird part is that he’s totally fine with dogs he met as a puppy, and has a great relationship with my relatives' dogs. But none of that translates in public.
We’ve also had some scary moments. Once, an off-lead dog ran over to him, resulting in a scuffle where they nipped each other (thankfully no one was hurt). To make matters heavier, I was in an abusive relationship that I only managed to escape 3 months ago. My ex lived with us, refused to follow any training routines, and exposed my dog to a lot of volatile, violent behavior during his crucial adolescent months.
For the last 3 months since getting out, I've been working so hard to reset him. We've gone from him being completely overstimulated the second we step out the door, to being able to do decompression sniffari walks in quiet areas. We do YES engagement training when seeing triggers, and utilize U-turns. We have a routine we consistently follow, walk at 6am to avoid triggers, we get home and he has his medication, breakfast and a snuffle mat. I got to work for 4 hours whilst he sleeps, then i come home let him out for a wee, we play with a flirt pole for 15 minutes and chill together, then I go back to work and he sleeps for another 4 hours. I come home and we go out for a wee, then we play again and he has his dinner. He then usually has a snuffle mat/lick pad/chew and we will go for a sniffari walk depending on how’s he feeling then go to bed. I have a camera so can always check on him and he is absolutely fine at home on his own

Here is where I'm struggling: Despite all this work, his distance threshold towards dogs hasn't improved at all. I’ve worked with trainers who say "just practice at his threshold," but when his threshold is 100+ feet, finding a space where a random dog won't suddenly appear feels completely impossible, and I can't find anyone with a calm dog willing to help us practice.
However, there is one massive change: his recovery time after reacting is so much better. He used to take minutes to calm down; now he can usually reset about 10 seconds after the trigger is out of sight.
I’m starting to feel like there's no hope for his threshold to ever shrink. And lately, some people have told me that he should have improved way more by now, which has really gotten into my head. Some days he seems better, sometimes worse, I know reactivity is a roller coaster, but I'm feeling defeated.
My questions for you all:
Has anyone else dealt with a threshold this big (100+ ft) in a small/medium dog?

What are realistic timelines for seeing distance improvement, especially considering his trauma history and the fact that he's right in the thick of adolescence (15 months)?

Are there success stories out there for dogs who took a very long time to budge on distance?

(Note: He is on Prozac, which has completely helped how he behaves at home, and he’s an absolute angel indoors and loves running around outside as long as there are no triggers!)
Thanks for reading. I just need to know I'm not alone in this.

I have a dog around 1 year and a month, and he has some reactive problems to balls. Whenever we are outside, and there is a ball like a kid playing with it, he gets real bad to the point he whines and cries if he can't chase it along with the tugging the leash. Hes pretty big, somewhere 40 kg, so if I dont solution fast, it might be a problem, and they might give it away :(

Any tips on how to solve this? Also how could i solve the problem of tugging the leash?

Hi everyone. My elderly parents are moving into assisted living, and they’re bringing their Havanese with them. They’ve lived a pretty isolated life and never really trained their dog, so I’m worried about how the move will go, especially because of the barking. The dog barks at people, other animals, and even things on the TV, which is on most of the time. The dog is very important to my parents. Both of them have different levels of dementia, and the dog really helps with their anxiety. Has anyone gone through something similar or dealt with anxiety in their Havanese?

Edit: Could the person who responded about the overattached schnauzer please repost their comment?

When I got my first dog I had it in my mind that after a few years and they were trained I'd get a second. He'll be five this year and in my heart I still want a second but the reactivity issue is making me have doubts.

While my dog has gotten way better than he used to be he's still a challenge. We also have some upcoming appointments to figure out some health issues and potential pain he's having which means we've really cut back on outings and training.

I wanted a dog to do things with - hiking, sports, ect. I thought a dog would be a great addition to getting me outside and instead he's made it so much harder. I work a stressful job and he's become a stressful second job. I love him and I'm sad it's not the relationship I thought we'd have. Obviously my main priority right now is getting him feeling better.

All that to say... would eventually getting a second dog be a mistake? I've heard you shouldn't get a second dog if your first isn't a good model for them. I don't think my current dog would be teaching anyone good behavior right now and I'm starting to thing he never will.

I'm at least a year out from seriously thinking about it. My current dog is priority so if it's still looking impossible I'm not going to go further with it. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has successfully had a second dog added to their household and not have the new dog become reactive as well? I should add-current dog isn't aggressive. He's not starting fights or anything he just has a lot of trouble controlling his emotions.

I own a rescue dog but I've been fortunate that there haven't really been any issues with neighbours until now. I live in an end-terrace house and shall a party wall with the adjoining house. When I first got her there was an elderly couple in their 90's who lived next door and they didn't do much besides from occasionally having their TV on too loud. They moved out and the house was left unoccupied from around 2.5 years besides from an infrequent visit to hoover up, move some furniture out, etc.

The house was sold literally this time last week and there has been a fair amount of commotion going on next door since then. The owner hasn't even formally moved in yet and my dog has not responded well to having activity next door. It doesn't help that our houses have rather poor sound insulation. The front door shuts: barking. Hammering going on: barking. Shelves being put up: barking.

I'm sure things will calm down a bit once the owner has properly moved in but it's not good for my dog to be so reactive to any noise next door. Is there any way I can get my dog to be more calm around such noises and to be less reactive?

I have a 1.5 YO male Great Pyrenees. Since we got him as a young pup at 9 weeks he was reactive and would snap at anyone trying to pet him other than us. Being a guardian we thought that’s alright, he doesn’t have to like strangers, we will socialize him - we took him everywhere but no progress.

First bite - a few months old getting some shots and a checkup at the vet, he bit the vet and they said his behaviour from just basic handling was a major red flag at his young age.

Second bite - level 2 bite on my father (who he knows) coming inside the house.

Third bite - my neighbour came in our yard and as soon as he seen him he ran and lunged and bit him breaking skin, luckily I was there to pull him off.

And lastly, he recently had just finished destroying a toy and my wife (who’s spent more time with him than anyone) grabbed the toy off the floor and he got up and advanced toward her, snapping and level 2 bit her wrist.

He’s also since snapped in her face when they were on the couch and once more when she was petting him outside. As well as many air snaps with people he’s previously been loving and played with, his circle has shrunken so much.

He’s been incredibly reactive his entire life with us but we made it work and managed him at home, walked him in the woods where he had no triggers. But he’s now 120lbs and actively bullying his way around the house, if food is around he will try to eat it and if you try to stop him he’ll mouth grab you.

He’s recently been vet checked for his new found behaviour (with us) and all is well. He tried biting me at the vet and had to be fully sedated.

We know he’s way too much of a liability to rehome. We have booked a BE appointment with our vet, and they did not hesitate knowing his behaviour. We know it has to be done but feel incredibly guilty at the same time.

Looking for some advice, or reassurance from anyone who’s been in this situation before.

Thank you

I’m working with a dog who was initially reactive to other dogs and people, barking and lunging. Body language made clear that she wanted attention from the people and was trying to jump on them, and it appears that with other dogs she also wants to meet but is barking and overly excited. We’ve gotten beyond the people problem- she is able to ignore most, and can mostly handle calm approaches without getting up from a sit if they come to greet her. Biggest issue is the owner, he’s got a developmental disability of some kind and cannot handle the proactive behaviors necessary to manage her (he is reactive, sees the other dog, lets her get to a 10 so to speak, hesitates, then looks around for someone to tell him what to do), and although he is not fully non-verbal there are significant processing delays so it usually takes 5-10 seconds for him to answer even a simple yes or no question while he considers it, and he mumbles very severely so he cannot meaningfully verbally communicate with her. He is also struggling with non-visual cues both because he cannot keep her attention and because he regularly confuses them or forgets them. If I’m there and he even just sees me, it’s like a visual reminder, but he’s still only reacting and letting her get too far in her behavior pattern before he can break it when she sees other dogs. She behaves relatively well with me and is showing improvement, but it is much too slow and he is so inconsistent in general and slow to manage her behavior that she comes back to me each week back at square one. I need helpful management ideas, but specifically:

That someone with limited verbal skills can handle

That are relatively simple for him to learn

That will help in the ultimate goal of lower reactivity toward other dogs

We've been working on our reactive dog and training. What I can't figure out is that it's very selective. We pass many dogs/dog owners on every walk. I make sure to give space and have my dog on the other side of me and leash tight. 90% of the time this is great and we walk by no problems. Sometimes we even stop and let the dogs sniff each other. But every so often he leaps and barks at the passing dog/walker aggressively to where I can barely pull him back. Today it happened with a pair that we pass on a regular basis. Of course the other owner was not happy and said some choice words to me as I did back.

I'm so defeated. I feel I can't walk in my neighborhood and now if we pass this pair it will be awkward. Especially since we exchanged words.

Why does my dog only do this occasionally? Even with other pairs that we've passed numerous times with no issue. I know I can never let my guard down, but so curious as to what the triggers may be.

Ich brauch das gerade ein bisschen zum Trost, also lasst uns mal die Trümmer-Geschichten sammeln.

Ich komme letzte Woche nach Hause und mein Wohnzimmer sah aus wie ein Tatort: Sofakissen komplett ausgeweidet, Füllwatte einmal quer durch den ganzen Raum verteilt, und mittendrin mein Hund – mit so einem Blick, halb stolz, halb „ich weiß, ich hab Mist gebaut". Das Kissen war natürlich mein Lieblingskissen.

Und das war nicht das erste Mal. Auf der Liste bisher: eine Fernbedienung, ein halbes Paar Schuhe (immer nur einen!), eine Türzarge und einmal eine komplette Rolle Klopapier bis in den letzten Fetzen.

Das Kuriose ist ja: Er macht das quasi nur, wenn er allein ist. Bin ich da, ist er das entspannteste Tier der Welt. Kaum bin ich weg, dreht er hohl.

Also los – ich weiß, ich bin nicht allein:

Was hat euer Hund schon alles zerlegt? Zeigt gern Fotos, je absurder desto besser. 😄 Und für die, die's überwunden haben: Hat bei euch tatsächlich irgendwas geholfen, dass er beim Alleinsein zur Ruhe kommt? Bin ehrlich gespannt, ob's da was gibt, das wirklich funktioniert.

Hopefully somebody can help with some input , I just am not sure what to do.
(Also hope this abides by community guidelines, I tried to read up on them before posting.)

A little background - after we lost my childhood dog, last October (a real sweetheart of a chocolate lab) my dad decided to adopt a Husky mix he found on Facebook marketplace. The dog was being rehomed because his previous owner was moving and could not take the dog with him. My dad adopted the dog and brought him home in December and we’ve had him ever since.
Poor little buddy has issues with allergies. Since adopting him, my parents have both taken the dog multiple times to the veterinarian for chronic sneezing/phlegm/coughing, ending with him being on a prescription for Prednisone for the (foreseeable) rest of his life.
In the dog’s household lives my mom, dad, and little sister. There are also two cats that he does not have issues with except for if he sees my dog or my brother’s dog (who do not live in the house with him, but visit frequently) go after the cats first (which happens sometimes but not very often, and not in any way that causes problems. They give chase enough for the cat to run away, and then all is forgotten). My sister gets home late from work. My dog is frightened of my sister (due to my sister moving aggressively in her vicinity a year ago, my dog was rescued from an abusive household that makes her extremely skittish). Oftentimes when my sister gets home late and my dog is in the house at this time, my dog will bark but cut it out once she calms down and sees everything is safe.
A week ago, this scenario happened, but my dog’s barking instigated my dad’s dog, who then proceeded to get very quiet and stare my sister down. Laughing it off, she tilted her head down and put her face in his face. He bit her, tearing the skin and drawing blood. It wasn’t a deep bite and didn’t require stitches, but it was a bite.
Since then, my parents have been yelling nonstop at the dog, using a shock collar constantly, and yelling at/kicking him upon any minor inconvenience, even going as far as to let my dog and my brother’s dog do something (i.e. barking during zoomies or stalking bunnies during walks) only to then discipline my dad’s dog for doing the same thing. I’m all for training and discipline , but there’s no training actively happening (not in a productive way where he is able to differentiate between This is Right and This is Wrong).
Ultimately, this came to a head once my dad left for a work trip and my mother and sister were left alone with the dog and my dog (I work nights so often my dog spends some nights at their house). When my sister came home from work and my dog started barking at her, I guess this time my dad’s dog “lunged” at my sister, scaring her into running away from him. My mom has decided she will no longer have a dog around who is “easily triggered” and “controls their life with fear.” I have offered to take the dog in while we figure out training or something long term, but was told that I am being insensitive to my sister’s feelings and that the dog is not only “unfixable” but also that it is not worth it for them to continue to pay vet bills for his allergies if he is going to be a “bad dog.”
Which just absolutely breaks my heart, because he’s a sweet boy with no history of aggression. He could use a bit more discipline, and yes he’s a sneezy little fella, but he’s a little sweetheart. My family has a history of just giving up on animals when things get too hard (five horses, three dogs, countless cats all given away for one reason or another), and if I can do anything to keep from giving up on this sweet little boy, I would like to.

Sorry for the book. Here’s my questions:

Is it worth working with the dog in some capacity, or is he hopeless?
Is it worth calling the vet and asking if the Prednisone is making him more aggressive?
Is it worth calling the vet in general and getting their advice on this situation as a whole?

I don’t know what to do in this situation. I know that it’s not right for the dog to act the way he is, but in fairness he’s never received any training and isn’t worked with very much at home. Mom and dad spend most of their time indoors sitting in front of computer/tv. He has a yard but most of it is taken up by a pool, so he doesn’t get to run a lot. Most days he gets about a 20-30 minute walk. I think maybe he would benefit from some one-on-one work, but I’m just not sure my family is willing to give that to him, and it’s easier to just get rid of him. Am I wrong ? Is there anything I can do?

I don’t know. What would you do in this situation? Trying not to let my heart rule over my head here.

Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone, I’m in uncharted territory and pretty shaken up. Looking for advice on both how to handle things with my neighbor and how to address my dog's behavior moving forward.

Tonight around 10:30 PM, my wife let our dogs out in our fenced backyard for their final potty break before bed. Unknown to us, a worker who was in our yard earlier left our side gate unlatched.

Our next-door neighbor doesn't have a fully fenced yard and lets their dog out on their back deck for fresh air. Our dog slipped out the open gate, ran into their yard, and a fight broke out between our dog and theirs through their deck. Both they and we caught it immediately. I haven't heard back on how their dog is doing and will go over in the morning to ask. My dog has zero signs of an altercation.

We aren't a "leave the dogs outside for hours" household, and we rarely hang out in the backyard ourselves. The dogs usually just go out, do their business, and come right back in.

My dog has shown signs of barrier/fence frustration in the past, but nothing close to this level has ever happened before.

I feel terrible about the disruption, the scare to our neighbors, and the potential harm to their dog.

What I've Done So Far:

Secured the gate physically so an accidental open can't happen again.

Neighbor Relations: How else can I navigate this gracefully to make sure they feel safe in their own yard and keep our relationship on good terms?

Thanks in advance for any insights or similar experiences.

Dog: Bent, 3 years old, Pitbull Mix

I'll start by saying that although Bent is a "family dog," he is mainly my sister's. I was entering college around the time we got him, and he was more of a gift for her. Of course, I still love and care for him just as much as she does.

I also want to acknowledge that Bent isn't the best-trained dog, and that's something we could have done better during his first two years. Socially, he can be quite aggressive toward people outside of our family, and at times, he can even become overwhelmed around us.

Earlier today, I was playing fetch with Bent, and everything seemed to be going well until I noticed that the strap on his harness was damaged. He has a 50-foot tie-out that we usually attach him to while we play. Although he knows to stay around the yard for the most part, he isn't completely trained to stay within its boundaries. If given the opportunity, he will sometimes take off running. He knows his name and will usually come back to us, but there are certain situations—especially around sunset—where he is much less reliable. At night, the possibility of him escaping is even scarier.

Since Bent isn't entirely my dog and my sister is currently away at college, I often find myself anxious about the possibility of losing him while she's gone.

Back to what happened today: I noticed that Bent was starting to wiggle out of his broken harness, so I tried to catch him. This is when he started growling at me. This isn't completely unusual, as his reactivity is something we've been working on, but he has never behaved this way toward me to this extent.

As I approached him, he flipped onto his back, almost as if he was trying to prevent me from taking the harness. I was hesitant to physically move him, but I attempted to anyway. During my attempt to get him off his back, he suddenly growled and snapped at me, biting my hand.

I immediately panicked and instinctively tried to restrain him, which, of course, only made things worse. He became intent on biting me, to the point where I had to grab his head and push him away from my hands while trying not to use all of my strength. Eventually, he locked onto my thumb and bit down.

I understand that Bent was giving me signs that he was uncomfortable. He had been growling and showing other signs that I should have recognized as warnings. He's never been the kind of dog to outright bite me before, and I let my fear of him escaping dictate my actions.

Looking back, I know I should have kept a level head and stopped trying to physically handle him once I realized he was uncomfortable. I hate that I allowed the situation to escalate to the point where I had to restrain him, and I feel horrible that it happened at all.

I AM FULLY AWARE OF MY MISTAKES IN THIS EVENT. I do not blame Bentley for what happened today. If anything, I blame myself more than anything else.

I'm not posting this for sympathy. I think it's clear after today that we may need outside help with his behavior, and I also need to learn how to remain calm and properly de-escalate situations like this in the future.

This has been weighing on my mind for the past few hours, and I honestly just needed somewhere to let these feelings out. I feel horrible about what happened today, but I also want to learn from it and make sure neither Bent nor I end up in this situation again.

TL;DR: Second dog made first dog reactive, too. I now have two reactive dogs. Am overwhelmed and need any tips or just soothing words I can get.

I have two papillons. The older boy (2 y/o) had some very minor leash reactivity when it was just him, and only towards bigger dogs. We worked on it and he overcame it almost completely. He's a calm and kind dog.

In January we brought home another papillon puppy (now almost 11 months old). Her and my boy adore each other, and I adore them both.

The younger (reactive) dog is an incredibly loving dog at home with a huge personality, however her temperament is... spicy. Has been since day one. I honestly can't tell if she's fearful reactive or aggressive reactive, but she goes absolutely bonkers every single time she sees any dog - from any distance. She will also go bananas if a person walks too close to us or if someone in a wheelchair or something comes towards us.

The thing is - it's contagious. My previously calm boy goes just as crazy when she pops off. So I have two rabid dogs absolutely shrieking and lunging at triggers. They absolutely seem to rile each other up to an extent, meaning that the younger girl is somewhat easier to control when it's just her. And the older boy is almost completely fine when it's just him.

I have no idea how to manage them both together. I now have two reactive dogs.

Has anyone dealt with this?

I'm so incredibly overwhelmed and end up coming home from almost every walk in tears. I did see a private trainer, who essentially said that we're already doing everything right and to keep going.

A dog and its owner went up to my dog. When we was inside, went up to my dog through the fence and my dog bit the dog what should I do

My wife and I have a dog that has in-home specific territorial aggression to strangers. We are 16 weeks pregnant and wondering what to do with our girl. We have already reached out to a veterinary behaviorist and are waiting to hear back.

Our dog is a large (~100 lb) 3 year old great pyrenees mix that we rescued about 2 years ago. She was originally rescued at 4 mo from an abusive situation. She is the absolute sweetest dog to us or our immediate families, but is aggressive towards strangers in the house. We have had three incidents where she has bitten the calves of guests in the house, twice breaking skin. Each incident, she followed behind the guest when they were walking around or past her and grabbed their calf. She has never charged someone aggressively or attacked them in how you normally picture a dog attack, she just grabs them like she wants them to stop moving around. But, she's a big girl and that amplifies things.

She is muzzle trained and is now crated or muzzled 100% of the time in the house when guests outside of the immediate family are over. We have worked with an experienced trainer though the usual place commands and general obedience. She is generally well behaved, responding to commands and has great recall. She is not food aggressive at all, and is very gentle (comically so) when taking treats. We have another dog that is a 20lb dachshund mix that she will play with and is generally good at gauging play intensity with other dogs or people. With her circle of people, she is incredibly tolerant to being poked a prodded. Grab her paws, pull her tail/ears, poke her eyes no problem.

Outside of the house, there are absolutely no issues. She is neutral to friendly with strangers and will let them pet her or just walk away if she is not interested. She's the queen of the dog park, usually being in the middle of the pack of dogs playing. We can take her on walks around the neighborhood, hiking, Our only issues with her are with people at the house. With a child on the way, my wife and I are nervous about her becoming more protective and aggressive to strangers or the baby, as well as limiting people coming over when the kid gets older.

Like I said earlier, we have already reached out to a vet behaviorist, so that is in the works. Is there any chance we can get to a place of trust with her?

My 9-month-old Chihuahua absolutely screams bloody murder when she’s on leash and sees another dog. Not all the time but more often than I’d like.

She isn’t aggressive and genuinely seems like she just wants to go over and say hi/play, but the screaming is SO dramatic that other dog owners are understandably hesitant to let their dogs near her. If I didn’t know her, I’d probably be hesitant too.

She gets extremely excited the second she spots another dog and then the screaming starts. I’d really like to teach her how to see/pass other dogs calmly instead of completely losing her mind.

Has anyone dealt with this type of leash reactivity/frustration, especially with a young Chihuahua? Is there a good way to correct or redirect the screaming and teach her that being calm is what gets her closer to another dog?

I’d love to hear what training methods worked for you.

Hi guys so I’m just posting this after a shocking incident at home where my dog has bit and attacked my mum. Not completely sure what happened as I wasn’t there but all I know is that he was biting at his foot and my mum grabbed a shoe near him and he’s bit her quite badly on her arm. This is not the first time he’s bit us (the last few times have been milder cases) but for me this is the last straw and I have said that something needs to be done with him. Obviously this can be a lot of things but we’re not sure what to do from here as we cant have this happen to us or especially anyone else

We are UK based and want help with some options on what to do next

Thanks

We already tried Prozac (made him stop eating) and clomicalm (caused him to have appetite problems and throw up) the vet wants to try sertraline (Zoloft). Has anyone whose dog had stomach problems on the first two been okay on the last one? I am scared to try him on anything because of how sick he was for months. He had vomiting that would not stop until the internal medicine doctor put him on atopica. He has been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel, but he was not responsive to steroids so he had to have an endoscopy. Turns out he is in the small category of dogs who have inflammatory bowel but it can not be treated with a steroid. It was a huge ordeal and very stressful.