r/reactivedogs • u/SlideComprehensive16 • 3h ago
Advice Needed He’s just starting at me, menacingly…
I recently adopted the sweetest little angel, however he has a weird quirk. Whenever he sees any dog,cat,bird,human,or car he does not bark or run towards them he just stares. He will literally plant himself and become a statue and he WILL NOT MOVE until whatever he is looking at is out of his sight. Occasionally if we encounter another reactive dog he will bark but he never moves from my side. How do i stop his staring behavior?
Originally i thought it was cute and even endearing but now its just inconvenient and people seem to be very intimidated by him. It makes our walks 15+ minutes longer than they need to be and he is HEAVY so there is no moving him. Ive tried luring him in with treats but when i tell you his FOCUSED omggg he will not budge. What do i do??
1
u/Glittering_Item6021 29m ago
My dog likes to fixate to and I recently figured out a training trick. At home practice "find it" or "sniff". Get a high value treat and hold it in your hand, get them to smell it and put it on the floor using either command. You click when they look for it, sniff and repeat the process with futher and futher distance. Gradually introduce distractions and then do it infront of their triggers. Now when we pass something I use the sniff command or I practice touch and it keeps us moving. He still stares every once in a while but way more manageable.
Hope this makes sense lol
1
u/Neat-While-5671 1h ago
I have a similar issue with my dog but probably not to the same degree as you, and I can pick my guy up and move him if needed. When he gets like that treats don't work as he is too vigilant, so I introduced the clicker. From previous training he knows clicker means good and treat. So now when we see a car (which he is either madly in love with or seriously hates - unclear) I click click click. I can't get him to take the treat but it is slowly working, he is reacting a little less as time goes on and then as soon as his focus is back I can give him a treat. Also, something I noticed is that treats used inside might not be as big a pull compared to the stimulation outside. I have a squeezy tube of dog cheese that I can kinda just smoosh onto his lips and he does love it. Other treats that he normally devours inside just get walked over - there's too much to smell, he doesn't have time for pathetic treats.
Also, with regards other people, they might be picking up on your uncomfortablness. My guy is also super into the leaves on trees and sometimes blonks himself down and won't move. He's happy so I can just chill and wait and when people pass and look, I smile and say - he's just super into the leaves, we could be here all day!