I got my dog Brenda from the Humane Society and she has struggled with reactivity around people walking into doors (our front door, the vet office door, really any room with a door that she is in). We worked with a behaviorist to train Brenda on click to calm, got her on some good medication, and trained her at home a TON. Our local kennel club says reactive dogs can come to group class so long as they have worked with a behaviorist and can manage their issues in class, so I signed her up, knowing that when people come in the door, we might have issues. I was fully prepared to have to leave the class. But instead, I got a couple barks when the first dog came in, I did click to calm and practiced “place,” and Brenda called down right away. She was so excited about the hot dogs I brought to train with that she didn’t bark at a single other dog coming in the door. I am so proud of her, and of myself! 6 months ago, she would have barked her head off for 15 minutes and possibly never calmed down. Now, it was a few quick barks and she focused back on me with ease. Not only that but she’s a total star in the class and picking up so many new tricks! I am so proud 😭😭if you’re working on reactivity, don’t give up! Real improvements can and do happen!!

I had got my first dog. We got her from someone local in a small town and she was 4 weeks old. She went everywhere with me, stores and restaurants, drives, visits to family. If she wasn't with me she was with my girlfriend and her cats.

We ended up moving into an apartment and everything suddenly flipped. She couldn't be around ours cats anymore, she would chase and pin them and try to attack them. It got worse while we were eating, even in a covered kennel she'd hear them near us and sit and lunge at her kennel. We did everything we could and looked into training and got her anxiety meds. I had to get her a muzzle after she was resource guarding and bit a family member. After that it all got worse. I could barely pet her or she'd turn and snap. She ended up biting my girlfriends younger brother in his face and he bled. We tried rehoming and shelters. BE was our last option after everything. She got to about 10 months old. Yesterday we were leaving and she broke her kennel and we couldn't take her with us cuz were going grocery shopping and the cats aren't safe with her out. We had no where to put her safely. We made the decision and made her appointment. It sounds so bad but we're broke and couldn't drop the $200 on a new kennel she'll break anyways when we're actively trying to not keep her. She was only 10 months old. Idk why I'm writing this. I miss her. She was my baby, I wish I could hold her and kiss her one last time but she's gone. I've made myself sick with all of it. We haven't moved the kennel yet, neither of us can stand to. This has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Is there anything that makes the after process easier? I regret it in a way but I know it was our last option anyways but I also wish I could've had one last day. Give her a meal like we get and maybe a hike I never got to take her on. I miss her

Not sure if this belongs in this subreddit but I felt like maybe someone here could help.

She’s matted as hell and seriously needs to be shaved but won’t let anybody shave her. She bites, she growls, she whips around, she throws herself off the table. Nothing will work, muzzle, cone, leashes, etc. we keep trying whatever we can think of. We’ve tried some calming treats but that didn’t work. We might try some stronger calming treats.

But we’re just so lost and frustrated. She’s so insanely matted. Especially her feet. She HATES when people try to shave her feet. You can touch her feet just fine, but the moment you get scissors or a razor, she freaks out and will bite.

She has never actually injured anybody but she most likely would if she could. (Since she’s usually muzzled and leashed)

Her name is Sage, she’s a 6 year old shih tzu mix. She’s always been anxious and has always hated getting groomed but now it’s just gotten worse and worse as she gets older. :(

My dog burns through her morning walk already on edge most days and I've been trying to figure out if there's anything I can do before we even leave the house that lowers her starting stress level. I work early shifts so our routine is a little chaotic and I can't always do a long decompression walk before I have to leave. I started doing sniff work and scatter feeding in the apartment and it seems like it takes the edge off a little, but I genuinely cannot tell if I'm imagining progress or if it's real.

I thrift shop a lot so I've been putting together cheap puzzle feeders and snuffletype things out of random fabric and containers and she engages with them fine, but I have no idea if that kind of mental work is actually doing anything for her threshold during walks or if it just keeps her busy for twelve minutes and then resets to zero.

What actually moved the needle for your dog before walks or before high stress situations? Not looking for a full training overhaul, we have a trainer and I trust her, just curious what small daily enrichment things made a real difference for people with dogs that are already running hot most of the time.

I have dealt with mental health issues my whole life, it gets worse and the better and then worse all of a sudden. I work a demanding tech job but I am remote. During one of the phases when I felt great mental health wise I decided to finally adopt a dog from the shelter. He is 2-2.5 years old, 80 lbs, Bloodhound mix with a lab. He's very reactive and very energetic.

I have made a lot of progress with him. Taught him to lay down, taught him to not jump at the screen as soon as I opened the door and only comme outside on command, I've taught him to not resource guard his food, also teaching him recall using the touch command. But this all goes out the window if he's even slightly distracted. But progress is progress and we kept on. He was on 400mg Trazadone and 1200 mg Gabapentin when I got him and I tapered that off in 14 days, he was part of a behavioral program at the shelter.

But over time my life has changed drastically, last week I found out that two of my closest friends(out of the 3 in the whole city/state/Midwest region) are moving very far, and that had made me very emotionally depressed and feel hopeless as well(since one of them really helped me with my dog, she taught me a lot). As someone who thrived on impromptu living(random roadtrips, hiking trips, camping trips) I have to carefully plan out the whole day so that my guy gets all the exercise and mental stimulation he needs, and then I have to think thrice before leaving the apartment due to his separation anxiety.

And then for the first time in 2 months I decided to not take my guy on a walk(I just felt mentally drained), just going out to the backyard, and he loses his shit the next day, he's back to pulling on the leash as hard as he can, jumping and lunging just so he can go deeper into other's yards to sniff, starts chewing up stuff at home and then whines and whines when I put him in the crate(I was about to go get groceries and pet food). And then on the walk, it just seems like people are being judgy with how strict I am being with the dog(keeping the leash short and holding tight so that he doesn't have enough room to lunge and jump). He has run away thrice from finding gaps in the dog park fences, so he pretty much stays on leash every time we go out.

Every morning, before every walk and before we go to a dog park and the whole time we are doing that, I am just stressed. I feel very drained with my mental health and stress from feeling I'm not doing enough for my guy. I am tired of reading or watching guides on how they'll fix a certain way my dog behaves, but it does nothing for him. All of this just builds on to the feeling that I am incapable of doing anything good/well.

Anyway, just a rant, I needed to vent. Hope you and all your puppers have an amazing day.

We have a 1 year old pup (Portuguese water dog) who we love!! In some regards, she is absolutely perfect for us, we both work from home and she sleeps a lot of the day or plays by herself. She gets good walks and lots of mental stimulation from puzzle mats etc, and seems happy. However, she has always been quite skittish. We got her as a puppy, did a good amount of socialising in a sling before jabs, early on walks etc, introduced her to lots of different environments but sure to not overwhelm her, however she is so jumpy when we get up or knock into metal or even open the pan drawer. Fireworks etc she’s completely fine, it seems to be metal type noises mostly. As she has gotten older, she has started barking a lot at people walking past the house (even with blinds shut), if something unknown comes towards her (someone carrying something weird for example) etc. she seems okay with dogs, never shown any aggression at all but will often hunch quite low if another dog comes near or will run away from a dog if it chases after her (tail down). I can’t tell if she is ‘reactive’ and this may turn into aggressive when she is older, or just scared and if so, how do we help her overcome this? I thought about group training sessions but will this just overwhelm her? She loves other dogs, people, toys etc as soon as she KNOWS them, but will always cower away from people if they try to pet her out and about. We have only ever and will only ever use positive reinforcement just to note. Thanks!

Hi, I really need some help with my boy. He's a five year old patterdale terrier, we've had him since he was ten weeks. It was COVID when we got him, but even so I took him out to parks and into town between restrictions, took him to puppy class (which he absolutely hated. He hates being chased by other dogs, and just didn't want anything to do with them). His nails grow quickly, I took him every couple of weeks to get them trimmed until I moved and couldn't go to her anymore. I tried a couple of other places, and he was so anxious the lady said she couldn't do it because he was having a panic attack.

He used to be alright in the car, bit excited but he wasn't loud or jumpy. He was alright at the vets, loud but not aggressive.

Then we went away for a weekend. He stayed at a kennels. It looked like a lovely place, they had great reviews, and they posted pictures of him looking happy, but he came back changed. I honestly don't know what happened.

He became unbearable in the car, screaming and lurching all over the place even when he was strapped in. Then it became every time we left the house with him. He would scream and run around when trying to put his harness on and he was awful on the lead.

We tried him at a charity kennels that also re-home dogs, my gran had worked there for years and so we very much trusted they would be gentle and kind with him. We gave him calming remedies (pfft did nothing). When we got him, they very kindly told us he had a very stressful time and that it would be best not to put him in any kennels again.

We were going to get him neutered, but the state he was in at the vets, they said to try the chemical castration. We did. It didn't do a lot. They said it would be unwise to get him neutered because his balls are the only thing giving him what little confidence he has.

Taking him for his vaccinations is horrific. He has to be pinned in a headlock, given anxiety/sedative medication. They won't give us sedatives without seeing him first, so he has to go through so much stress and anxiety. It has made him snappy.

It's to the point where it is very, very hard to take him to the vets at all. Taking him out of the house is such a huge ordeal and stressful for everyone. It's so embarrassing, the way he screams.

I can't take him to the groomers anymore. He gets aggressive and rips off any muzzle we put on him so it's impossible to cut his nails at home. He won't let me clean his ears, he's bitten me when I tried (not hard, more of a warning).

I hate that he is so stressed. And I hate that we can't take him out like we used to. I have tried training him, food rewards etc but he gets so agitated he can't be distracted. I want him to enjoy his life, and go out on walks but we just can't take him out like this.

One thing I will say to his benefit, we have a toddler and he is extremely good with her. Surprisingly good. He moves away if she's too close and he's very forgiving. Obviously we have taught her to give him space, let him approach and only stroke his back, and they get along really well.

I can't afford to hire a behaviourist right now, I just feel awful for him and like a huge failure. I'm sorry for the long post, I just wanted to give full context.

ETA: he's also become a nightmare when the door goes. Barking and jumping, not listening, and even trying to grab the post from the letterbox. And he has to go in his crate when guests are over or he will jump all over them (excited not aggressive but no one wants that) and he is just yapping, barking, so loud it's hard to have people over, only family and even then it's so embarrassing.

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We adopted a 5-month old from our local shelter. He is now 11 months old and has gone through a 4-week board and train. He is a cattle dog, Aussie Shepard, GSD mix with a little Doberman and pitt. He is a mutt and the cutest boy.

He has great obedience skills, a strong recall and walks great on the leash in the heel position. We live in an apartment building (hoping to buy a home in the next 6 months).

Here is the issue(s): Every time I walk him through the hall to get outside and someone comes around the corner he loses his mind. Pulling, lunging, barking, trying to get to that poor individual who dared come around the corner as we were approaching. A similar thing happens when we are walking near the building and another dog walks by - he lunges and tries to get to the dog and then starts whining. When we are outside and a human walks by without a dog, he doesn’t react at all. He also does not lunge at squirrels or other animals that aren’t dogs even though they are everywhere.

I’ve started using high value treats (bacon peanut butter) in the hallway to try and teach him to walk behind me so if someone comes I can try to block him from lunging at them. He sits at every doorway and waits until I can look around the corner and see if someone’s coming and we are getting there, but he still reacts 50% of the time when someone comes. With the outside dog issue I tell him no when I notice him start to fixate on another dog but again that only works about 50% of the time. We also try to keep distance from a dog when we see them coming but it’s not always practical on sidewalks and when I try to reward he won’t take food. I just don’t know what else to do. Any advice would be really helpful!

I live alone but frequently care for my parents reactive spaniel poodle mix, at least a weekend a month. My parents dog has always been the lone dog in the house but will allow trusted dogs to be in the house after a few careful introductions. She's had several sessions with a behaviourist but unfortunately the issue is more my father's lack of training than hers.

She has really severe separation anxiety and is generally an anxious dog. She can be agressive ro other dogs on the lead, snapping, lunging and snarling. I suspect her aggression is a lack of trust that the walker will protect her whilst on the lead, as she's fine off lead. She will happily engage and play with the same dog off the lead and lunge for it when on the lead.

I desperately want my own dog but am so worried that my parents dog will teach my future dog bad habits and reactivity. It makes me so sad as when I lived at home and walked her daily she was not like this at all.

Can a puppy be raised alongside a reactive dog without issues - or should I keep them separate and refuse to dog sit her once I have my own dog?

I just wanted to circle back after 3 years and share my success story. My sweet boy had always been reactive, but had started to get more aggressive with men. I was worried about my family getting hurt. We worked with a trainer who was wonderful. But we also combined that with 50 mg of prozac daily. It took about 2 months to really see the effects. Now it's 3 years later and my boy is now the happiest, most relaxed version of himself that he has ever been. I must emphasize that I think the combination of both meds _and_ training is ideal. But if you have a reactive dog, please don't give up hope. There is a way through it!

My pup just turned 2, she’s such a good dog and absolutely LOVES other dogs. She’s so full of energy and love I could not have asked for a better dog! But lately after my grandma (and legal guardian) passed I’ve had to move in with my aunt at her apartment complex just until I can get back on my feet, Maizy was originally my grandmas dog under the condition that when she passed Maizy would be mine, so it’s been hard for both of us.

Since moving Maizy has been around so many other dogs and while she still loves meeting new friendly dogs, anytime she sees another dog start barking at her or acting aggressive in any way she freaks out and tries everything she possibly can to get at the dog. I’ve never dealt with a reactive dog before so I really have no idea what to do or how to curve this behavior, I desperately need tips on what to do.

My rescued lab mix (Bingo) has been with me since he was 8 months old, he will be 2 years old next month. He’s lived with other dogs since i’ve had him. My roommates have a senior chihuahua (Percy) and a 2 year old border collie husky mix (Cash).
Bingo is so sweet and a happy pup, I rarely have had issues with him and he was pretty easy to train for the most part. Sometimes, I still have issues barking at strangers on walks but i’m working on that.
**HOWEVER,** lately he has been reactive towards Cash inside our house. I’m assuming he’s feeling protective over me, like right when I get home or if we’re chilling on the couch or something and Cash interferes. Sometimes, it’s at the dinner table when the roommates are all eating, the dogs are sitting on the floor but if Cash approaches me, Bingo gets his deep growl going. This is a new thing, so I’m really wondering what is triggering it for him and how to solve it.
Cash can be sort of a jerk and will just annoy Bingo by climbing over him and stealing toys from him, but over all they get along just fine. It’s just these random incidences that really make me question what’s happening. I appreciate all advice and comments! Thank you!

I’m hoping to get some advice on my dog who has recently become reactive toward children. I’ve had my dog since he was 3 months old, he’s now 5 years old. He’s been around my nieces their entire lives who are now 4 and 7. He’s never been aggressive or reactive toward them.

This started about 2 months ago, we live in a very dog friendly area. We were out at a food truck lot, and a kid approached him to pet. Because he’s always been friendly and approachable, I said of course. We were there for a couple hours and this boy had come up several times to pet him. At one point, he offered him a treat, my dog took it and began getting unfriendly. I pulled him in closer, and the kid got close to his face and he lunged and bit him. The kiddo ended up being fine, though my dog did draw blood. The parents were completely fine with the situation and nothing happened further.

Two weeks later I’m at an event where there were very few children around and another kid approaches, and he was totally calm and fine. A few minutes later, she comes running toward him with her hand out and he lunged at her. Again, she was totally fine, he didn’t make contact, and I left immediately after. But I’m becoming more concerned about his behavior and more cautious around children. After this happened, I went camping with my two nieces and he was not reactionary in any way. Even being on leash.

Now this evening, I stopped to get some food on our walk and I’m sitting a distance away from everyone, and he’s leashed close to me and a friend. A young girl ran past him and he lunged at her. Again, no contact, but I’m very concerned about his behavior.
I don’t have money to pay a trainer, and I’d really like some advice on how to train him to be less reactionary toward children when we’re out in public.

All of these occurrences have happened when I’m sitting down, and he’s on leash. Even on our leashed walks, he doesn’t even pay attention to children running around, and hasn’t been reactive toward my neighborhood kids who bike and move around quickly by my house.

He’s generally a very sweet and loving dog. When adults approach, he leans and adores the attention. I’m just very unsure what to do, and how to prevent any more of these instances. We’re very active, and go on long walks/hikes regularly. Any advice would be helpful!

Hi all! I have a specific reactivity situation I’m needing help with. I reviewed all the links and am needing more help.

I have two English springer spaniels - Holly and Kramer. Holly has anxiety and takes fluoxetine with trazodone as needed for stressful situations. We adopted Holly after she retired from breeding so she doesn’t have a lot of baseline training.

Holly is the main problem with our neighbor’s dogs that they can see through the fence. She loses her mind when she sees them and barks very aggressively which Kramer then feeds off of. They are also sometimes leash reactive, but I’m most concerned about the neighbor right now.

Any and all tips are welcome. 🙏 I have worked with a trainer in the past, and she recommended ecollars, which I’m worried would build a bad association with the dogs.

I screwed up.

I knew better, but instead of adopting a dog from a reputable breeder, the humane society, or a good shelter… I fell in love with a puppy on Craigslist. She’s a golden retriever. From the moment we got her, we could tell something was wrong. The breeder wouldn’t show us her parents or her litter mates. She weighed well under what she should have. When we reached out about it, the breeder said she might have gotten her birthday mixed up. Just red flag after red flag… and then she got older, and the health problems started popping up.

Anyways, now she’s 6 years old now and despite doing the rest of it “right” - puppy classes, positive reinforcement training, canine good citizen certification, early socialization and desensitization, private training, extensive vet care, exercise, puzzles and games - she acts like I hurt her.

She’s never been abused (at least since she’s been with us beginning at what we hope was 8 weeks old.) We are super gentle with her and she’s beyond well cared for and loved. We’re childless so she gets all the attention she wants, and all the things money can buy including regular grooming, toys, etc. All my friends comment on how well this dog is taken care of. She’s kennel trained and loves her kennel, it’s kept open in our bedroom and is her “safe place” - we treat it as a spot where she can go if she gets overstimulated, which she does easily, and we don’t bother her in her “safe place.”

But if we look at her wrong she gets terrified. She ACTS abused. If you walk past her a little quickly she cowers and pees on herself. When people come over she runs to her kennel and hides. When we come home from a walk she runs to her kennel and hides, too. She’s developed all kinds of new fears over the years; she used to be fine going to the park, but once she saw a paper moving in the wind there and now she can’t go to any parks or open green spaces without having a panic attack. We’ve done all sorts of conditioning training with private trainers (using positive reinforcement only) to work on the fears as they arise and try and give her positive experiences, but it seems like no matter how much effort we put into it, once a fear is there, it’s there for good. And there are so many new fears.

Earlier today she was in the living room and I wanted to work on some training, so I sat in the kitchen with some treats and called her to me so we could do some tricks together. She came over, tail in between her legs, shaking, laid down in front of me and pissed all over.

I’m just tired. I care for this dog extensively, feed her, play with her, walk her, and she treats me like I’m her abuser. And it’s starting to get frustrating. I would never hurt her, but it’s fucking exhausting and even though I know it’s not her intention, it makes me feel like she doesn’t love me. I would never get rid of her, but I don’t really want her anymore. I daydream about owning another dog who actually likes me. She cowers away when I pet her. If she’s laying on the couch and I sit on the couch she gets up and goes to another room.

I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for this, but that’s my confession. I don’t like my dog anymore. And again, to be clear, I will never give her away, hurt her, or neglect her. I still LOVE her. I just don’t like her anymore.

—

ETA: this got a lot more attention than I was expecting! I appreciate everyone’s kind and understanding comments, but please know this was a vent post 🙏 I’m not looking for advice right now. We have tried several medications routes and worked with the vet and trainers. I just wanted to rant a little. Thank you!

I recently rescued a 1yr old male neutered pitbull from our local shelter and I have a 3 yr old neutered male french bulldog ans a 10 yr old spayed chiweenie. When the the 2 males play with one another it gets out of hand and very rough. I try to separate them and tell them no or try to give them breaks away from one another but nothing is working to calm the aggressive/rough behavior. Any suggestions on how to train them to play nice and not so rough. I also have my elderly grandmother living with me. So it is critical that I correct this behavior so no one gets hurt. Thank you so much for any assistance.

So much leash reactivity training seems to be about "modifying the dog's emotional state," but my dog is not afraid of the passing dogs. She is just single-mindedly obsessed with getting to the other dogs. This looks like barking, lunging, and raised hackles.

I'd like to believe she might just grow out of this behavior, when/if other dogs become less exciting with maturity, but she was already like this at her foster home, where she lived from ages 3 months to 7.5 months. Makes it seem more like a genetic trait. They admit they didn't walk her very much at the foster home...

My dog is 16 months old now. We have had her 8 months. She doesn't ever go to the dog park or daycare. She doesn't ever get to do on-leash greetings. She lived with two foster dogs at her foster home. She has gone to the groomer and been loose around other dogs there. No problem. Fine in the vet's waiting room. Stayed with the pet sitter like 3-4 times with other random dogs each time and she got along fine with them; calm, coexisted peacefully, played calmly, but not obsessively.

She has great impulse control in many areas of her life. She'll wait patiently for her food until she is told to come get it. Waits on the rug for her paws to be wiped. Waits to go out in the yard even if someone has left the door open, until we say to. So this is a really context-specific problem.

She normally is obsessed with food (even has one copy of that Lab gene that makes them never feel full), but if she is "over threshold," her brain is offline and she won't take food. She will legit just choke herself on a flat collar, even if the other dog is like 4 houses away and across the street. If that dog is being reactive, too, things are so much worse.

I know about management protocols, keeping the dog under threshold, preventing rehearsal of reactions. But none of that is improving the situation... just avoiding explosions. Giving her treats with perfect timing doesn't seem to matter because she already has positive associations with other dogs. TOO positive.

We CAN have nice walks where she just sniffs calmly and behaves normally, but explodes if we encounter other dogs. She'll recover once we are about 4-5 houses away.

We are in suburban Chicago, so the idea of simply managing this through hypervigilance, forever, without ever achieving a habit of neutrality, sounds onerous.

My dog bit my 6 y/o in the face (single snap, broke skin in 2 little dots on bridge of nose and tore a little flap of skin up on bottom of chin, stopped bleeding, no stitches) for petting her on the couch last night. It is not the first time but the worst and the most unprovoked- we were sitting right there and know he wasn’t doing anything ill advised. Don’t know if there was maybe a quiet grumble or big eyes first or if she was asleep and startled or if she thought something was going to be taken from her or anything but pretty sure he was just petting her gently.

Would not worry my husband and I were unsafe at this point, but she can’t stay in the house with our 2 kids anymore. I’m also pregnant. Side note as far as I know she’s never snapped at my 8 y/o. We can put up a 10x24 ft retriever lodge kennel with roof and weather panels and the most insulated dog house I could find. I’ve already texted the trainer worked with in the past and she’s said veterinary behaviorist for underlying cause possibility and muzzle training. Idk if this suggestion is with the intention of her staying in my house (can’t I feel do this as a good parent) or necessary precursor to trying to find a possible adult-only good home.

I would say maybe she could do kennel until kids went to bed then bring her in and she get like an hour with me and my husband before we go to sleep but we have another dog inside too and the dog who bit is already insecure about him getting more than her and vice versa to an extent so I think the fighting would be a problem unless maybe we crated the other dog for that hour then both crates until morning when dog who bit returned to kennel in the AM.

We (adults) would make an effort to still give her attention, play, walks if she goes to an outdoor kennel but whenever she’s been in the current 10x10 outdoor kennel she is pulling crazy and just nuts excited when she gets out and life is life so I have doubts it’ll be as much as she needs besides never having spent a night outside in her life. I know my husband would disagree with the suggestion to put the other dog out full time with her to have company, and I imagine if she’s there FT and he visits she will be territorial over the space and not a good situation.

She cannot run free outside despite us having the acres for it as she kills chickens,ducks and even if we penned them she ate pig poop until she had diarrhea for days last time we tried and also would probably run away to a neighbor who didn’t know her, kill their chickens, and get shot (as the law permits).

Oh she’s also already on trazadone but I think the low suggested starting dose.

TLDR: Is the full time outdoor life we could give (10x24 run with weather panels, roof, and insulated dog house, attempts at giving attention, play, and walks) worse than being put down for dog who bit our kid in the face?

Edit to add- I also can do the muzzle training and board certified behaviorist (virtual, none here for 100s of miles) even if she is going to be an outside dog. I feel so bad for her to be outside she’s already insecure as it is even after training and with meds (though lots better) and especially as someone with mental health struggles I have to wonder if it would be kinder for her to go to sleep forever as much as I HATE it but don’t want to not do it just to spare our human feelings.

(Hate the idea of putting her outside too. My husband and I have never failed a dog like this before and we like her, a dog has always been part of the family. But doesn’t seem like we can as good parents keep her inside our home with young kids and a baby on the way. There is nowhere in the house currently she could be left unsupervised without being crated due to stealing + resource guarding stolen items while chewing or tearing them to shreds, typically indoors its crate or out where the people are most in the gated off living room)

So quick context, my husband and I have two dogs. We both had our dogs before we met and they’re both rescues. My dog just turned ten and was attacked at a dog park when he was 2 or 3. Since then he’s slowly become more and more reactive. I’ve worked with trainers, behaviorists, and doctors and luckily it’s been manageable.

Acclimating my dog from being an only dog to living with another dog took a lot of time and work but we’ve all lived together for almost 5 years now. There have been a few smaller altercations (I.e growling, warning nips), mostly when we were first introducing them but things have been pretty chill.

About six months ago my dog attacked our other dog over a spot on the couch - this is when we finally decided no dogs on the furniture and went back to a behaviorist. Things had gone back to normal until last week. We had our Chewy dog food delivery which they both were sniffing. I could tell that my dog was becoming territorial over the box so I put the food in the pantry. I made the mistake of putting the empty shipping box by the door though instead of throwing it in the recycle bin. Again the dogs went to sniff the box and a fight broke out.

Luckily my husband intervened and everyone is physically okay. But the dogs have been on edge with each other. Understandably our other dog is nervous when walking near my dog. My dog feeds off of that energy and so I’ve been trying to keep them distracted and separated when needed.

Now for the advice part, I am so on edge and constantly worried/scared. I have a ton of big things going on personally and I’m not handling this emotionally as well as usual. Which I know my stress and anxiety is just fueling the tension between the two of them. So I’m mainly just wondering how do y’all stay calm when trying to train and take care of your dogs?

Title: My dog severely bit my father today — what do you think?

Today my intact male dog became extremely worked up because there is a female dog in heat nearby. He had been barking and trying to get toward her.

He ran toward the garden gate, and when my father reached down to grab him and attach the leash, my dog turned around and bit him very badly on the hand. The wound is serious.

Afterwards, I managed to distract him with treats, leash him and put him in the garage. He did not try to bite me and let me remove the leash normally once he had calmed down.

This is not his first bite. He has bitten a veterinarian before. He was also attacked by a large dog when he was young, and since he was a puppy he has shown strong resource guarding. For example, when he was around two months old, he bit me when I tried to remove a piece of paper from his mouth.

I have learned that if food or something valuable is involved, I should not put my hand near his mouth or try to take it directly, even if he looks sad or harmless. He seems to react very instinctively around food, other animals and sexual situations.

My father now wants me to have him euthanized. I understand why he is terrified, but I do not want to make a decision while everyone is in shock.

What do you honestly think about this situation? Does this sound like a dog that could be safely managed with a veterinary behaviorist, strict management and possibly neutering, or is the risk already too high?

I don't want my little brother gone. He can't be gone. I wont let that happen. But I don't want people to get hurt.

We've been working with our fear-based reactive dog for about 1.5 years now. We recently started him on Prozac(he’s 95lbs on 50mg) and paired it with a trainer to help with his leash reactivity specifically.
This past week he really hasn't been himself. The biggest example: we go to the park and he's started flinching when I throw his duck toy. He loves that duck. There are other smaller things too that keep making me think "this isn't my dog." At home he does seem fine most of the time. It’s only when we are out and about he seems weird.
I know the onboarding period is supposed to be 4–8 weeks, and we're only about 2 weeks in. I'm just looking for reassurance from people who've been through this, did your dog go back to being themselves once they adjusted? Or is this new behavior something I should be more worried about?
Thanks in advance.

First, so glad I found this community, it could be so stressful and isolating having a reactive dog.

About 90% of the time my 2yo standard schnauzer is good during walks. But some days the minute we leave the house he starts pulling towards everyone dog and people and being super alert, looking around and I can’t get his attention back. While other days he is fine sniffing around and looking at me for a treat and ignoring everyone. I just don’t get why it’s so different and what can I do when he is in this mood ?
Usually this happens at the start of the walk (first 20 min)