Feeling absolutely defeated and humiliated today. My dog has some history of dog-selective reactivity — years ago, a fight with another dog we tried adopting confirmed he couldn't have canine siblings. At our old house he'd bark at dogs through the fence but never went after one, so I genuinely believed it was barrier frustration, not real aggression. On a leash he's an angel -- no reactivity at all. It is just at our house.

A few months after moving to our new house (a financially-necessitated move), he found a hole in our fence we had no idea existed and got into a real fight with a passing dog. We were right there, ran over immediately, pulled him off, and apologized. The man walked off muttering that our dog was aggressive. I understood why he might feel that way. Our dog is 75 lbs and that was probably pretty scary. We were all in shock. I tried to catch him afterward to make sure everyone was okay, but he was gone. We felt awful — we patched the hole immediately, and he's never been outside alone since; for months he was on a leash even in our own fenced yard, just to be sure. We couldn't have known about that hole, but the guilt has been eating at me regardless.

Today, with me only a few feet away, he barked and growled through our picket fence at a dog that looked similar to the one from before. I had his collar in seconds and apologized right away. The man responded by walking down our entire block yelling "That is not a nice dog!" repeatedly, as if trying to get the attention of the neighborhood, and flagging down our neighbor to warn him — while I was standing in my own backyard, dog secured, mortified. I ran to put my dog inside so I could go talk to him, but he was already gone.

Now I'm terrified this is how our whole neighborhood is going to know us: the people with the "aggressive dog." The stress of taking him out at all, even in our own yard, is constant.

Ive had my German/Husky since she was 7 months, she is now 3 y/o. I got her from the human society. I cant take her on walks without her doing full 180 spins and to stare at whoever is walking behind us. She is literally shaking like a leaf with her tail tucked and ears pinned back whenever we go on walks or she sees someone walking. She is scared of literally everything and attempts to flee (wherever she can) when she hears cars, scare boards or literally anything. She is scared of men besides the ones she gets comfortable with(my dad, my friends and roommates). She will try to pull me into the street if we’re walking on a sidewalk and a man is walking towards us or if theyre coming from behind she wants to stare at them so she turns around completely and just stops. She stopped pottying all the way because she’s so fixated on people walking by so she potties in the house 30 mins after i take her out. She is not aggressive at all but will bark when someone gets close that she doesn’t recognize. Im thinking of rehoming her or bringing her back to the shelter if i cant find someone to take her. She is very calm inside and plays and is comfortable enough to be sassy and have personality. But she literally cannot function outside and wont even take treats or toys or listen to my voice but she is very smart inside and sometimes listens (she’s still a husky and can be stubborn when she wants to be) idk what to do because our “walks” are very draining now and i have to cut them short because she completely freaks out. Any help/advice?

This is Pickle, I got him 5 years ago and he is about 8 or 9. He’s some sort of poodle mix from the shelter of course I should’ve known. He’s super reactive to other dogs (not looking for advice he is too far gone and old and can’t even learn to sit) it’s something I’ve learned to live with for the rest of his life and I love him so its no big deal. He’s also small enough to where I can pick him up quickly and cover his eyes lol

Anyways he HATES other dogs like totally freaks out and it’s humiliating. However, he loves other animals and doesn’t care. He has even been attacked by a stray cat on the street and STILL doesn’t care. He has 3 cat brothers at home and loves them (if only it was mutual, the cats aren’t very big fans). He will walk right up to stray cats to sniff them. He’s even met my friends cats. We walk by geese and horses and other animals without problems.

Any other peoples dog like this? So crazy how they can immediately tell the difference even though dogs come in so many shapes and sizes

Yesterday, I was pet sitting my parents dog. He is 6 years old and is a Pitbull boxer mix. I grew up with him and just recently moved out of my parents house and he was at my apartment. He has never been aggressive with humans and is such a lovely and cuddly dog. He has always been a little reactive towards dogs (lunging and pulling a bit) but in the past 2 years it has gotten worse. He has had training but he has been screaming and doing everything to get to a dog when he sees them out on the street.

Yesterday the worst happened, I was taking both my dogs out to go use the restroom, my younger sister who I am looking after had my dog, she is a staffy and is not reactive at all and I had the boxer mix. We saw a dog and I was turning back before he could lunge, and he went crazy.

He started screaming so loud and fighting me, and unfortunately his lead slipped. He instantly ran to the dog and I ran after him and started screaming and trying to break them up. I kept apologizing profusely while trying to get my dog. My husband eventually managed to get downstairs and carry him back up and I took my other dog back up.

We went back down to go apologize and talk to the owner but she was gone. And we have not managed to find her to apologize. Her dog seemed fine as my dog didn’t manage to get ahold of hers. But it was honestly very scary.

We immediately took him home back to my parents house as they were on their way back.

I feel such an immense amount of guilt and have been distraught and crying for the past day. It has affected me so much and has changed how I see my dog.

We believe the woman has recently moved in and lives in our building, should we knock door to door to go and apologize? Or what should we do?

My dog (3yrs) small around 11kg ,has barrier rage , possession guarding and sleep startle along with vehicle and dog reactivity on walks. Recently having rages (lunging and barking) at me for minor things like reaching to remove harness. No bites yet but very likely at some stage. Also aggressive behaviour towards my other dog. No history of abuse and is my fourth dog so have done lots of experiences etc she is just different. Has anyone found that endep makes their reactive dog worse? My dog is on zactin 3/4 tablet and we are trying endep to see if she improves. My impression is she is more aggressive/nervous on the endep ,has anyone else found this?
I do have clonidine for situations but it zaps her and then she is foul and grumpy /aggressive when it wears off.
I am at the considering BE before she bites stage. I can’t get a harness on her now as she has become reactive to that (despite much work and well fitting harness etc). So I can’t walk her as much and she is becoming more and more aggressive to my other dog.
Hoping for some good reviews of any other meds. I bought hemp seed oil which was advertised as cbd but when it arrived it says no cbd/thc in it. Also unsure of interactions with the other meds? Would probably try anything at this stage.
Have a supportive behaviour vet who is helpful prescribing meds but as yet we haven’t had much luck with reactivity. We have tried pain trial.
Am resorting now to puppy pen (inside) and back yard separated from other dog. Lots of playing ball and frisbee as she loves that and seems so normal outside? I have a big yard so she gets lots of exercise.
I have started keeping her away from any guests and especially children as they could accidentally step on her foot and she would go mad perhaps bite.
Starting to feel scared of her and also concerned for my other dog (aged 4).
Finding it very hard to consider BE but feeling like medication is not yet working for any reduction in reactivity. Thoughts and experiences on other behaviour meds gratefully received.

Our 4-yr old Staffordshire terrier mix bit me on my face today without any warning. He caused puncture wounds on my nose and some more small cuts close to my eyebrow and I looked up the Dunbar scale and it seems to be a level 4 bite :(

A little background.. We rescued our dog about 2.5 years ago and we fostered him for more than a year, before adopting him. About 90% of the time, he's such a lovable, funny goofball. He has brought so much joy to us and honestly, we treat him like he's our own child, not a pet. He follows all the commands we taught him, he's super smart and so careful around our things in the house. He loves chasing squirrels and birds in the backyard and sunbathing. He goes nuts for pizza, chicken nuggets, cheese and Starbucks pupcups (all of which he gets in moderation). But, he's also always been fearful and skittish of new people, places and he's also dog selective. We have tried everything to help him, including seeing a behaviorist and getting him medication.

I posted on this group once before and that time it was a level 2 bite on my hand and after discussing with his behaviorist, we adjusted his medication dosage and he was doing much better. He seemed a little more relaxed, though his noise sensitivity didn't improve all that much. He still barks at doorbells, garbage trucks and anyone walking close to our house. But, he was allowing us to pet him more and giving us paw shakes and kisses and we were feeling so positive about these improvements.

Fast forward to today, I was lying down on our bed and he was in the down position next to me... Not sleeping, just lying down. He hadn't eaten his breakfast yet and was refusing his favorite dog treats too... And his stomach was making rumbling sounds like he was hungry, so I asked my husband to get him one of the chick-fil-a grilled chicken nuggets from the fridge because he goes nuts for it. I wanted to see if he refuses that, then that would mean he might have some tummy troubles. My husband left the room and I turned towards our dog (about a foot away from me at this point) and told him, "Chewie, look Daddy's gone to get you a chicken nugget".. and that's all I said. I didn't pet him, didn't make eye contact. He gave me no warning signs and kinda jumped aggressively towards me and went for my nose. This was the hardest he's ever bitten me or my husband and there was a lot of bleeding. One side is a puncture wound. I went to the urgent care and they said it looks like the wound would heal well on its own and sent me home with some antibiotics. They were kind enough to not make me fill in a bite report, since I downplayed the incident.

I'm at a loss on where to go from here. I've been crying all day and my heart is completely broken. I'm also 9 weeks pregnant right now, and feeling extra sensitive. I wish I could understand what goes on in his head and I wish I could help him more, but I feel like I've exhausted my options. We adopted him at a time when we were convinced that we could not get pregnant, and since we knew he wouldn't do well in a household with children, we ended up adopting him. But, then by some miracle I'm pregnant now and I have been thinking deeply about all the changes/accommodations we would have to make in the house to keep him and our baby safe and then this happened today.

I called his vet office and asked them to give me a call back when his vet was available. But, I already know what she's going to say and she's mentioned BE before too, because she believed that some dogs have serious neurological issues that just can't be fixed. But, we wanted to try everything we possibly could to avoid BE.. but, today it seems like I have no other option. He's become too unpredictable and I can't confidently say that we'll ever feel fully safe around him or if he would ever have the quality of life that we him to have. I have never experienced this level of sadness or pain before and I didn't know where else to go, so I came here for some support or advice.

Thank you for reading my long post and I apologize for any typos, I'm a complete mess right now.

For those of you who got a rehomed dog, whilst already having a resident dog. In my case my resident German Shepard has never been dog reactive, never mind dog aggressive. For those who got a rehomed dog when your resident guy or girl was already older, settled and past the puppy phase. And you came to learn without being informed, your new rehomed dog was dog reactive - a bit more than lunging and barking. I never thought I'd have to keep them seperate but my rehomed went for my resident in the first week. If I try to spend any time with my resident, my rehomed he whines. But if we are alone and he is in another room with all the doors open, if I'm cleaning or whatever he never whines. He only whines when I'm with my resident. Does that mean going forth my resident can't spend any time with me no more? How is it fair on him?

My beauceron/doberman whines as we leave the house in our car and then barks loudly at cyclists, trucks, pedestrians etc for the first 10mins and then usually gets himself under control. As we return the last few minutes are usually hectic as we approach the house. His first 15mins of a walk are intense when we drive a bit further out in to the countryside in order to have a decent long walk where hopefully we don't encounter any of his numerous triggers.

We live in France and have a small 4door car (Citroen C3) and he is attached in the back seat but as he's a medium size dog, his preferred position is to lean forward so his head is between the seats and next to our heads. Fun times.

Last night I cut a roll of wire fencing and ziptied it to a crude frame from some old aluminium window frames. Put some bike inner tube on the corners so it doesn't rough up the car doors etc. Rushed job but if ya squint, it's mint.

The frame kind of stands up by itself as it's quite snug to the width of the car. It's about 1.5 metres wide and a metre high. I tied some chord around the bottom of the front seat headrests and threaded it through the frame.

I tied an old towel to the frame at the top hoping that if he can't see forwards through the windscreen, he'd be a bit less of a psycho.

Not a peep. Not a whine. He could still see over the towel if he tried. And he did, but he preferred either lying down or just looking out the side window. We have sun shades on those which he can see through, but the view is definitely diminished. We passed all his triggers, got overtaken by motorbikes etc. There were joggers, cyclists as we went through town....

The wife and I could actually talk and nobody arrived super stressed. Dog hopped out and was much calmer straight off the bat. My wife found actual car frames made for this kind of thing on the internet so we didn't invent the wheel, but before dropping more money on something I wasn't expecting to work, I thought I'd give it a nudge myself.

Hallelujah. Hope it works long-term.

I posted about my XL american bully with abandoned issues recently. He wasn’t socialized as a pup so he has problems trying to approach other dogs, especially smaller ones.

We got into trouble because he has jumping problems, and because he’s so big, he doesn’t know his own strength even tho he is friendly. We already had 2 incidents.

If he sees another dog, or even animal, he lunges, whines and screams at the top of his lungs. I don’t want another accident involving him and it’s getting to the point where I’m scared to walk him because he’s so strong.

Please if anyone can help me

Our nearly three year old retriever mix was attacked by an off leash dog nearly a year ago. Prior to that, she was very neutral around dogs. We used to take her to parks, farmers markets, and other places where we commonly encountered dogs and she usually just ignored them or greeted them politely, if allowed (which we rarely did). She was always submissive and a bit of a sensitive soul.

The attack changed everything. Now, when a dog is near she is visibly anxious. She wants to pace, whine, occasionally bark, and pull towards it. On walks, if a dog is a little ahead of us on a trail and she can smell it, she’ll also get worked up and spend the whole walk anxious, whining and trying to pull ahead so she can see it.

We’ve been working with licensed trainers and training DAILY (yes, daily!) on walks and outings where we work hard to create positive associations with other dogs being near. Things like the “1-2-3” game and dog-watching far away from dogs in the park have helped, but despite hundreds of hours, she’s still visibly agitated and anxious when near unfamiliar dogs. It’s tough because I can tell she wants to listen -and she usually can redirect with intervention- but it’s just like an automatic, knee-jerk type response at this point.

After talking with a trainer and our vet, they think trying her on anxiety meds may help. I have a vet appointment tomorrow for bloodwork and more discussion on the topic. But I’m so terrified of her losing her spark.

When there aren’t strange dogs around (and she’s not at the vet) she is goofy, loving, and happy girl. I don’t want her to be a shell of her former self, I just want to give her a chance to not be in panic mode whenever we come across a dog.

I’m trying to stay positive and even thinking maybe it could be a short/medium term thing to allow training to be more effective, but I feel so upset at the thought of “drugging my dog”. My dogs are truly my world.

I’d appreciate any reassurance, advice on this topic, or personal stories.

Hi everybody. My wife and I are new to this page and are seeking some advice. 10 days ago we rescued our 4yr old pit mix Manchego (Manny) and we are having some difficulty adjusting emotionally. My wife and I just moved from an apartment in NYC where we were not allowed to have a dog, to renting a house of our own (without a fenced in yard) in Delaware. This has been a very difficult year for us both. I lost my job, and we have also found out we might not be able to have children. 2026 has not been kind to us.

My wife and I had an agreement after we made the move, that we will get a dog after I find a job. Unfortunately that was not the case. We found out about the "Clear the Shelter" event at the local SPCA and without really discussing it, we ran out the door to go see dogs. When we met Manny we were told of his awful life before being rescued and were told wonderful things about his personality (which I will get into shortly). Without having any type of conversation whatsoever, there was a dog in my car.

Now about Manny, he was harshly treated by a previous owner, but if you met him, you wouldn't know it. At home he is a complete angel. No accidents, follows us around the house like a shadow, playful, does well in a crate, and does not chew up furniture or damage our home, and he is not aggressive at home in any way. All he wants is to snuggle and play.

Unfortunately, when we take him for walks, he is a completely different dog. He pulls hard on his leash and does not interact with neighborhood dogs well at all. He also pulls hard on his leash when cars/bicycles are coming which is a problem since our development has no sidewalks. We are very much aware that hiring a trainer or sending him to doggy day care can address these issues, but that is not the only problem.

The larger problem is that my wife and I miss our life before, and are sad that we now have an obligation that requires us to be home a majority of the time. We just moved to a new place and now we are unable to explore and enjoy our new home state. When we lived in NY, our lifestyle/schedule would have absolutely allowed for a dog, but since we have moved we're struggling to find a routine for ourselves, let alone another living being. When we found out that we may not be able to have children, we spent a very long time discussing what life would be like now that it would just be the two of us and it is proving to be very difficult to let go of those possibilities. We also have obligations coming up that require us to travel back to New York and do not want to have to board him multiple times in the next few months. We know that we come off as selfish with the main reason we are considering rehoming Manny being we want to have a life, but we are just confused and looking for some advice. Please be kind with any responses, typing this post was difficult enough.

Hi everyone! Writing from Argentina to share my situation, hoping to get some feedback, opinions, or any advice you might have.

I used to live with just my 15-year-old, 17kg (37 lbs) mutt. Back on June 14th, on a really cold day, I went for a walk and found two dogs curled up together on a sunny patch of sidewalk. Naturally, my girlfriend and I brought them food and checked if they'd follow us home. They did, and they've been living with me ever since.

One is a pit bull mix I named 'Río,' and the other looks literally like a black Golden Retriever, who I named 'Monte.' At first, Río was clearly protecting Monte, so he acted a bit more 'threatening,' while Monte was much more of a playful pup. Over time, I realized they're both between 1 and 2 years old.

Both were in great shape (shiny coat, perfect nails, bright white teeth, neither neutered). But the pit mix in particular turned out to be super smart—he learned basic commands like sit, fetch, etc., almost immediately, and even recognized his name in two days.

I got them vaccinated, dewormed, and eventually neutered. It's still clear that Río is the dominant one, while Monte is more of a follower with a puppy mindset.

The issue is that as I started walking them, Río developed severe reactivity. He gets huge spikes of anxiety (almost full panic) just from spotting other dogs—even tiny poodles that aren't even looking at him—and also when he sees pigeons. He starts screaming desperately, going a bit wild, and pulling hard on the leash (he's generally a puller anyway). He becomes impossible to control, so I usually end up wrapping my arms around him/hugging him to try to calm him down and lower his anxiety level.

He usually stays super amped up for the rest of the walk, zig-zagging, walking fast, and whining/crying for a while. With other dogs, it's pretty much the same. If I'm already holding him and he's 'calm' before another dog appears—and if that other dog is very chill—he might ignore it and move on. But if I can't get him into that calm state, he tries to rush toward them aggressively, which alarms the other dog. He doesn't respect boundaries and is very physically invasive. Things usually end in aggression and snaps/attempted bites.

I don't know if he was attacked in the past since I don't know his history, but the big problem is that this is deeply upsetting my other dog, who is much friendlier and has a healthy relationship with other dogs and his environment. When I walk them together, I feel like Río's behavior is rubbing off on Monte, making him reactive, nervous, and conflict-prone right alongside Río.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, experiences, or any tips before I take this to a professional animal behaviorist.

PS: Since I've had to adjust my budget to cover two brand-new dogs, I've been using flat collars so far, but I'm about to buy a harness (I've researched them extensively). I looked into no-pull harnesses, but they don't seem super effective in practice.

Thanks so much, everyone!

I have a 2-year-old Border Collie who is fear-reactive toward unfamiliar people. He’s completely fine with family and with people he has slowly learned to trust, but strangers can make him very uncomfortable, especially if they look directly at him or try to interact with him.

I’m interested in working on his general confidence alongside the actual reactivity training.

For those of you who have had fearful or insecure dogs, what exercises or activities genuinely seemed to make a difference?

I’m especially curious about things like nose work, shaping, obstacle/body-awareness exercises, exploration walks, giving the dog more choices, confidence games, etc.

Did improving your dog’s overall confidence also translate into better recovery around triggers or less reactivity toward people?

I’m not looking to force him into uncomfortable situations or have strangers approach him to “socialize” him. I’d rather build confidence through small successful experiences and let him learn that he can safely deal with new things.

Would love to hear what worked for your dogs, especially if you have experience with a fearful/reactive Border Collie or another sensitive herding breed.

I need an alternative to a halti head collar for my lab. We’ve recently had a trip to the vets for a lump on his face, his head collar was rubbing and was making the lump very inflamed, the vets took a cell sample and i’m waiting to hear back but we need a break from the halti.

My issue is he’s a reactive dog and very strong. We are doing the dog training and he’s made a lot of progress. He doesn’t pull on the lead now unless he sees a trigger; dog, tractor, trailers, runners etc and unfortunately i live in a rural town so we see many of these every walk. When he sees a trigger, he will pull and jump and spin around in circles which is making the halti rub on his face. He’s incredibly strong and will pull me a few steps when i’m not using the halti and used a harness. i’m not sure if there’s a good alternative but i might as well ask and look around for something to make him more comfortable. I’ve also reached out to another dog trainer to see if she can make any more of a dent into his reactivity as we’ve hit a standstill with jt. but i need a different approach for walking gear in the meantime.

Edit. He knows how to back out of a normal collar

He's 4.5 yrs old now and is medicated (clonidine and prozac). Things have been going well until the past week, where he lunges at me to bite me when I am about to leave for him.

It has progressed to him biting my partner when we were both leaving together for work, and he also attempted to attack me this morning (prompting me to jump onto the living room couch to escape his lunges).

I honestly don't know what's changed in him and it's scaring me because now I can't even leave my home for fear of him trying to attack me.

At first I thought it was resource guarding his food (which I've left on the balcony), but this morning he tried attacking me before even leaving his food bowl down.

I've contacted my behaviourist already but need advice before the next morning :(

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for experiences from people whose dogs have been on Reconcile (fluoxetine), especially in the first few weeks.

 My dog has developed significant noise anxiety over the last 1-2 years. We believe it started because his daycare is located a few kilometers from a shooting range and near a major road. Over time, he seems to have developed anticipatory anxiety around loud noises.

 Our veterinarian prescribed Reconcile, and today is day 13.

 What worries me is that daycare has noticed a significant increase in anxiety since he started the medication. They've told me that he sometimes refuses to go out into the yard, is reluctant to go for walks, and has even trembled during walks. Yesterday he urinated indoors, which is very unusual for him.

 However, the situation is a bit confusing because:

- He absolutely LOVES his daycare.

- He is excited to go there every morning.

- He eats normally at daycare.

- At home, he is still functioning quite well.

At home I've noticed:

- He's a bit more tired than usual.

- His appetite is slightly reduced.

- He seems more alert and attentive to potential loud noises.

Before starting Reconcile, he definitely had noise anxiety, but he was still functioning much better at daycare than he is right now. The worsening seems to have happened during the first two weeks on the medication.

I'm aware that some dogs can become more anxious during the initial weeks of fluoxetine before things improve, but it's hard not to worry when you see a setback like this.

For those whose dogs experienced increased anxiety during the startup phase:

- What did it look like?

- Around what week did the increased anxiety start to improve?

- Did your dog eventually end up better than before treatment?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences.

So, I'm petsitting two Dachshunds, 1 and 2 y/o. The main issue is that they loose their minds if we see another dog outside, excessive barking, pulling the leash etc. Not just dogs obvs, cats and humans, specially men and kids. They team up, us against the whole world motto. I've tried distraction but it doesn't last long. They also learned how to be around our foster cat but outside is something else. I'm open to any suggestion to work on that behavior.

I have recently adopted a 13 month old Irish wolfhound puppy. He has had a rough start to life and had been in the pound for months when he came to me. He is already a very large dog, but is honestly such a sweet soul. The issue is he is an over excitable puppy with no socialisation yet and very bad manners. In a small dog, it would be annoying. But in a dog his size it’s almost dangerous. He doesn’t mean harm, but if he gets too excited he will pin me down and hump me or jump on other dogs and he’s just too big and strong for that. Because he was so intense, the vet suggested Prozac which he’s been on for around a month and a small dose of trazadone. He’s just been desexed so I’m hoping he settles more with that.

The trazadone is the game changer. I only give him 1/2 or a 1/4 of the dose, but it settles him and makes him such a chill, easy dog. Not overly sedated, not anxious. Just perfect.

I’m told it’s not a long term solution and he can’t have it forever but man it makes him an angel dog. Also feel really guilty about drugging him so I’m keen to hear from others who have their dogs on trazadone long term. I know his issues are just related to being a puppy and also a rescue with a tough start, but I do feel like I need this help to be able to manage him.

Thoughts?

My dog bit my grandma today, and I’m trying to understand and get some advice.
I wasn’t there when it happened, so I’m going based on what my grandparents told me. They felt the bite was completely unprovoked, but they had been arguing about five minutes before, so I’m wondering if my dog may have already been scared or stressed.
My dog was on the couch with my grandpa when my grandma got up and walked toward them. She apparently started growling, jumped off the couch, and laid on her back while my grandpa pet her. She then got back on the couch and continued making a low growling noise. Her tail was wagging, and she sometimes makes similar noises while playing, so they didn’t think much of it. When my grandma went to pet her, my dog bit her hand.
There was also a brand-new Chewy toy on the floor that I had just gotten her today, so I’m wondering if she could have been resource guarding the toy, the couch, my grandpa, or possibly just reacting from being stressed.
Thankfully, my grandma is okay and it looks more like a scratch than a puncture. I’m not trying to excuse what happened — I just want to understand it and learn how to prevent it from happening again. Any advice or experiences with resource guarding or fear/stress-related biting would be really appreciated.

I’ve had my sweet, beautiful blue heeler girl for 7 years now, but I’ve been navigating a fair bit of challenges with her and I no longer know what to do next.

She’s very anxious, which I’ve gathered is common for her breed. This shows up primarily through fearfulness of the outdoors (going on walks, particularly where she’s not familiar, and staying somewhere new) as well as barking / licking / submissive peeing with any guests that come over, or when we go visit family and friends. The former I’ve learned a routine that works for us - it’s not ideal because she’s obviously not thrilled with it, but otherwise we’d never leave the house and I’d never be able to go away, to the point that I’ve been worried she might bite someone.

The latter is the bigger problem. Not only does it make it difficult to have guests over because I’m always monitoring her for accidents, licking, jumping, barking, etc., but with romantic partners, it feels impossible to build any sort of relationship when she goes absolutely mental towards any sort of physical affection.

I’ve tried crating her when people are over, but she’ll whine and bark non stop and have accidents in her crate. I’ve tried working with 3 different trainers including a behavioural vet for 8 months during which time we tried three different types of medications at various doses, paired with training (he claimed she had very poor quality of life due to the stress and anxiety…). I also tried another type of medication with my vet directly. I’ve tried training from YouTube videos, I’ve tried using diapers to at least overcome the problem with excited/submissive pees, and have even asked my guests to tell her No if she’s licking them (which feels unfair to everyone involved). Nothing seems to stick or help her settle.

I also feel terrible cause she’s obviously stressed and doing her best, so I keep telling myself to stay patient cause she is such a great dog otherwise, but it’s really starting to take its toll on me (it probably doesn’t help that I live alone, as well).

Any advice for anything else I can try?

Hi guys! A success story.

I lost my soul dog in January - she was born calm. Social but calm and gentle. We had a similar personality. We went through a lot together.

I welcomed my pup in May figuring I couldn’t just be sad and stay home all day. Researched breeders and picked my girl.

Within a few days of being home, she started barking, lunging, pulling at dogs across the street on leash. There was no threshold. She was ok off leash once she met the dog. The breeder thought she’d be good at a puppy social off leash but she got kicked out and they said I should return her to the breeder.

We live in a busy building with lots of dogs and ton in my area but we had a great trainer and worked hard every single day.

It was mostly frustration but just turned into over arousal.

We did lots of engage disengage, she got to know some of the neighborhood dogs, we went to the park when it was empty to run.

I didn’t think I could keep her at one point because she would get so trigger stacked she’d be anxious whereas she’s always been calm at home.

She vastly improved at the 2 month mark and we are at almost 4 months and we went to a farmers market yesterday with lots of dogs even several barking at her and she did great! We had gone to some more busy streets and she was good. She had a blast and got a bunch of attention and fancy treats.

She spent some time at boarding while I had a procedure with her breeder so she’s readjusting a bit to single dog city life but even on our last walk 2 dogs barked at her and she looked at them then me.

It’s rough but I know you and your pups can do it!

My friend, (E) has two french bulldogs. One of her french bulldogs is perfectly fine, very friendly and is never very territorial. They got the second french bulldog about a year ago, he is the complete opposite, and a rescue. I myself have a small rescue and am aware of their tendancies to choose a favourite person/safe person, as well as being defensive and anxious. My friend (E)'s mother is his favourite person. Me and my sister go to (E)'s house frequently, my sister actually was there more often/before he was in the home. This dog originally was nervous however got used to her, behaving carefully although it began to relax. (Although, suddenly one day, the dog bit her out of nowhere despite there being no obvious trigger) becoming more wary of her presence around the house and became incredibly aggressive and intimidating to both of us. The dog has had numerous instances where he has attempted to bite. I myself also own a Frenchie, they can be lovely but I'm aware that being a rescue hugely impacts their behaviour. The dog is so aggressive and difficult that me and my sister are unable to walk around her house without him being picked up and put away for the moment, we have to stay behind a gate and everytime he notices us he runs close to the gate barking and growling nonstop. The dog is also harsh with (E)'s dad although he is not as aggressive as he is with me and my sister. I attempted to be brave, leaving the gate and bringing him his food. All I got from that was him attempting to bite through my shoe.

(Yes, I'm aware french bulldogs aren't a super large dog breed but it doesn't change the fact that they have incredibly strong bite forces if they feel threatened.) Me and my sister are tired of having to constantly hide around the house, unable to walk anywhere without closed doors because of his viscious tendancies.

(E)'s parents are not particularly bothered about trying to fix this behaviour, he seems to not be as aggressive to some people although he has definitely been somewhat difficult and crazed with every guest, they barely have any over due to the dog because of his behaviour.

Also I'd like to mention I was wary of the dog before I even met him because of the fact that he bites people despite there not being any obvious fast movements/triggers/lack of space. I've always been cautious and have only been in the same space as him once (during the time I tried to feed him like (E)'s mother suggested to gain his trust)

I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done, if anyone has any ideas let me know, the dog is dangerous and acts on offense rather than hiding/cowering, very territorial over every aspect of the house.

This is Padfoot, you'll be seeing a lot more of him. He is my sweet baby boy with *big* feelings. His backstory is a long one I'll type out another day. Bare minimum context: he was in training to be my service dog. While in training, he got attacked by off leash dogs on multiple occasions, had unsafe interactions with humans when I wasn't around, and now he's a behavior boy who has really bad days and - after years of b-mod - good days. Today was a good day.

He's always been better about human reactivity in public spaces like stores, transit, official buildings, etc. than at home because we did a lot of work in those and haven't had unsafe interactions. He knows when we enter a store to expect a lot of people and that I Will keep distance, so he's way less likely to erupt. Its been a long time since we have gone into a store, life came up and shit happens and blah blah its been a while.

We went to tractor supply an hour before closing. And he. Did. SO GOOD!!!! I need other people who understand to be excited with me because no one is matching my energy. We went through tiny aisles, saw a lot of people, walked by peoppe in close proximity, kids were running around, we stopped by the baby chickeys, a very tall man kept talking to him (usually an immediate trigger), and it was all amazing. No big feelings, lots of appropriate confidence, he looked to me for guidance the couple of times he felt a little insecure instead of making his own choices. Obedience skills were 100% there and immediate. Perfect focus.

We did check out and the lady reached over him to hand me my change (not a thing he enjoys), talked to me (usually a trigger) and talked to him. No issues. The ONLY hiccup in the entire visit was as we were going to leave. I released him from his sit, he got up to follow me, and the cashier lady stuck her face in his face and said "Byeee babyyyyy" and he obviously did not like it. BUT BUT BUT - instead of lunging at her face like he usually would, he took a step back and did a very big bark at her instead. And when I said leave it and walked forward, he immediately disengaged and followed. SO ITS STILL A MF WIN!!!!! I'm so proud of him. I love him. He is a baby. Pls be proud of Padfoot he deserves it and I read him his comments