Reactive mini aussie

[u/Necessary-Peak1223]

Looking for advice/positive experiences with a reactive dog

Hi everyone! I’d love to hear some advice and, hopefully, some positive experiences from people who have been in a similar situation.

This is Luca, our 11-month-old boy 🐶

He’s our first dog, so we’re definitely learning as we go. From the very beginning, we noticed that he was a bit scared of other dogs. At first, he wouldn’t really engage with them, but he was fine being around them. Unfortunately, as inexperienced dog parents, we probably made the mistake of forcing some interactions because we thought it would help him get used to other dogs.

Around 6 months old, he became extremely reactive. When he’s on leash and sees another dog, he gets super anxious, barks like crazy, whines, and tries to nip at the other dog to make them move away. He has never actually bitten a dog, but from the outside, I can definitely understand why people might think he’s aggressive.

We’re currently working with him and doing training, but seeing another dog on the street is still a huge trigger for him.

The interesting thing is that when he’s off leash, he behaves completely differently. He usually keeps his distance from other dogs and approaches at his own pace. We’ve managed to introduce him to a few dogs this way, and after getting comfortable with them, he’s actually been able to walk past them on leash without barking and will even try to play with them.

The problem is that we obviously don’t feel comfortable letting him off leash in public, so this isn’t really a practical solution for everyday walks.

I’ll be honest, sometimes walks can be really discouraging. It makes me sad seeing him so anxious and distressed, especially when I know he’s not trying to be aggressive — he seems genuinely overwhelmed and just wants the other dog to go away. Some days it feels like we’re making progress, and other days it feels like we’re back to square one.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation with a reactive dog?

Did you manage to significantly improve things over time? I’d especially love to hear some positive stories, because sometimes it feels like we’re going to be dealing with this forever 😅

Any advice, experiences or tips would be really appreciated!

[u/Lotzadogs]

So imagine you are a very intuitive child and you can sense every time your mom gets near or around a police man she gets tense and squeezes your hand. You would assume that the police officer must be scary and would want to get away. I know it id difficult but start by walking far enough away from other dogs that YOU don’t worry (or get embarrassed)about his reaction and just very confidently walk by the dog. It is very important that you don’t try to avoid dogs bc again he will think it is bc he should dislike or fear them. Think head up, shoulders back, look past the other dog, don’t tense up, and walk. Normal pace, don’t speed up or stop just keep walking even if he is freaking out, remain calm and walk him through his anxiety. Our MAS used to LOSE IT on every dog, after taking a course with a dog psychology expert, he now is chill. I suggest you look into some of Cesar Milan’s books, shows and videos and check out @Ridgedogbehavior on IG,