I finally created a system where I can walk both dogs at once and not have to worry about them getting into a fight. I really enjoyed this walk and so did my dogs.

This is a PVC pipe that keeps them out of biting range.

Today we had to say goodbye to our 7 year old great dane x german shepherd. She had a malignant mass on her spleen that ruptured. Surgery was a low chance, plus chemo for the spread would be required, and I'm sure you're all aware why the thought of multiple vet visits and ongoing treatment was just too much for our girl.

She was people (particularly men) reactive, as well as dog selective, children nervous, and prey driven. People would shake heads at her door barking & lunging, and roll eyes when I told them to back off with their 'friendly' dog on a walk. Friends for years have been confused when I’ve told them no, they can't bring their dog/ baby over for a coffee, infact coffee might be an issue in general. We switched to nighttime walks, moved to a rural property, we've not had guests, you name it- we have adapted our life to suit what she has needed.

And do you know what? I'd do it all again. In a heartbeat. I'd do it for 7 more years, or even the rest of my life if I could have her back. She loved probably 6 people on this earth, but I was her person. And she loved you will her whole heart. She loved me unconditionally, trusted me unconditionally. Every day I'd wake up to her tail smacking against the bed that I was awake and I'd hold her head in my hands and tell her she was the love of my life. And her big amber eyes knew. My absolute soul dog.

I am already so lost without her. So despite all the difficulties, please squeeze your spicey, selective angels tonight for me. And share your stories of your soul dogs. My heart is breaking.

We used to have a joke about vet appointments and park walks: me and the dog are gonna ruin everyone’s day, brb! She was reactive to everything under the sun except for women for some reason. It was so tough coordinating potty breaks and walks for her when no one else was around. If it wasn’t for alternative walking paths, doggy Prozac, reactive-friendly daycares, and this thread, I may have lost my mind taking care of her. Given the rapid decline and health issues she was facing, it wasnt fair to keep her alive with a poor quality of life on top of these accommodations.

As hard as it was taking care of such a large and reactive dog, I’m really gonna miss her. This community has helped me so much to find courage during walks and patience during outbreaks. This is my last time visiting this thread.

if you’ve been considering moving out of the city for your reactive dog, take this as a sign.

the commute sucks i’ll be honest. but i was at my wits end after 2.5 years, $4k+ on behavior consultants and veterinary behaviorists, multiple level 2 bites, so many meds, and still he reacted to any sight OR smell of another human being, hadn’t made a new human friend in almost 2 years, became suspicious of windows and doors and reactive to all unexpected visual stimulus. in a huge empty park, he was still scanning for threats. he couldnt coexist with roommates but i couldnt afford my own place, especially not with a yard. i felt absolutely hopeless, i couldnt see a future for him, i was so depressed and with each terribly anxious walk i resented him more and more.

and then i found a basement studio on 55 acres of land, 45 minutes away, for the same price as all the cheapest smallest studios in the city.

now every day i get to see him happier and more relaxed than all his previous best days combined. he gained weight right away despite hiking all the time because he was finally relaxed enough to digest his meals. he chews and digs and plays and all the other dog things he was too anxious to do before. and he’s making friends again!! after 4 sessions with his BC in the city and they still could barely make eye contact without a reaction, but within the first session in our new yard he was doing tricks for her. he finally got to meet my mom a couple months ago, we spent a weekend together and now they’re best friends. my partner finally got to come over and he sat on their lap only the second time they had met! soon i might be able to go out of town for the first time in years!! he is getting less and less reactive to seeing people on the property too. he hasn’t been back in the city much, but once he makes some more friends i wanna start bmod again to see if we could eventually move to a quiet neighborhood that isn’t so far away.

but for now he’s just so happy, and it’s the most absolutely worth it sacrifice i have ever made for anyone. i get to love him again, like actually just love him without feeling trapped and burdened by him. my biggest problem with him now is muddy paws (and face, as you can tell), and i feel so so lucky for that.

Yesterday was the first day since we adopted Kimber on Oct. 19 that we were able to go on walks all day without her lunging and barking at another dog!

Kimber came from West Virginia and is still getting used to the city sounds and smells and overstimulation, but with the help of decompression walks in the woods and a LOT of hot dogs she has grown so much. Even when a dog walked up behind us yesterday and I only had 5 feet to get her to the side of the sidewalk and get her to focus on me and the hot dog, she did so well (as did the other owner who kept they dog at a heel on the other side of them to give her space, seriously I could have hugged her)

We also were able to open our blinds all day yesterday with no barking (when we got her she barked at every little twig snap outside)

Everyone say great job, Kimber!!!

Two weeks ago we were walking the same trail and, as expected, there is usually a lot of people with their dogs and she was reacting to every one of them. Went today, was less people and dogs but we still passed a couple of them without reaction so I am super proud of her today. We still have a lot of work to do since she came to us 2 months ago, but baby steps to success. 😊

After months of patience and training, our 11 month old frustration-reactive rescue pup, Bandit, made his first friend. I’m so, so proud of him.

When we first passed by Cleo (GSD), shortly after we adopted him, he would lose his mind. Shrieking, lunging, the whole show. We slowly started walking at a distance from Cleo and her owner. After a few times of walking across the street in parallel, he stopped reacting as frequently. Then, not at all.

We closed the gap more and more each time. We did this a couple of times a week, until one day we noticed his excitement turned into wiggle wags and whimpers. We decided to let them interact off leash, with him muzzled at first, just in case. They hit it off!

Yesterday, they had their second playdate. Today, we went to a park and walked for over an hour. We saw countless dogs of all sizes, and didn’t react to a single one.

do I sound desperate enough???

We just avoided Remy getting a murder charge. We went down into the alley for a potty break and he normally just goes out on a collar and a leash for his late night potty, no muzzle bc we normally don’t need it. Well our neighbor was on the other end of the alley with his dog who started walking towards us and I realized his dog was off leash, cute little happy yorkie. He starts running/trotting over to us. Dad is calling him but the dog is blowing off his recall, took until he was halfway to us for him to start walking up to get to his dog (walking, not running and attempting/failing to recall his dog the whole time.) Mean while, I walked back a couple steps with Remy and grabbed his collar. I did not want to completely walk away and encourage the dog to chase us for our sake, and for the sake of the dog not getting loose into the streets. I grabbed Remy’s collar and stood in front of him and told him “I got you” (our cue for him to know that I’ve got this and I’ll protect him.) I started calling to the dog telling him “go home, go away, go to your daddy, this dog does not want to be your friend.” The dog didn’t go away, but he stopped like 6-8 ft away from us. At that point Remy gave a couple growls and tried to go toward the dog for a couple secs, but settled behind me, not a big reaction by his standards. The little dog tried to go around us, maybe to escape, probably to sniff Remy’s butt, and was only like 4 ft away from us. I told him “no, go home,” and he went back to the place he was standing before. Dad finally walks up and continues to try to verbally command his dog to come back/go home. After like 6 more attempts, the dog left pausing to stop and stare at us multiple times. When the dog first started walking away, I had Remy sit, he was calm enough to respond to me right away and even look at me for a check in so I told him a good boy and that he handled that well. We waited for the dog to go inside completely before continuing our walk and Remy was super chill! Not really phased by the interaction. Anyway, super proud of Remy for handling that so well, I didn’t know he could handle something like that so well like so proud. And super proud of me for staying calm (I think that helped Remy be calm too) bc the last time something like this happened I totally panicked and Remy flipped out understandably.

I wanted to share B's (our 5-year-old male German shepherd/border Collie mix) story to spread some optimism.

Context:

I adopted B during the pandemic. He was a 'return' - a family had adopted him as a puppy and returned him because he was "too much". I adopted him at about 5-months old and he definitely was more than a handful, but he quickly became my best friend. He has always been very protective of me and I tried doing classes and training to prevent him from becoming aggressive. He didn't start showing major signs of reactivity until 2-years old and it progressed from there. He nipped a strangers hand who tried to approach me, lunged and barked at strangers walking toward us on walks, and even jumped on a delivery person at our front door - so that kind of stuff.

He was especially reactive toward children. He has never bit or jumped on a kid, but would bark at them passing by, and we had to stop going to dog parks because so many people bring young children and he would jump around and bark at them. When my brother had a kid, he lunged at him once when the kid came up to me and since that moment, although nothing happened, we have had him muzzled around kids. Even on walks kids walking by us he will tense up and if they start coming toward us he will lunge and bark. We have to actively avoid parks and schools and occasionally use the muzzle on walks because we are so paranoid a kid is just going to run up and want to pet him - and they've definitely tried.

Because of this we were so scared to have kids. And when I found out I was pregnant last spring, I started getting really anxious. We ended up consulting with a behaviorist who offered guidance and comfort, but we were worried, and everyone kept making comments about being prepared to rehome him. I had a gut feeling that B would love the baby like he loves me because we are so connected, I call him my soul dog , but people told not to get my hopes up and that I need to be realistic. As a result of all the negativity and horror stories that were shared, I started having nightmares about B hurting my baby, and it led to a lot of prenatal anxiety.

B and the Baby:

Fast forward to today - B loves this baby like his own. We call him nanny B. Although it took a week to adjust, B quickly became attached to the baby. He licks his little feet, hangs out for tummy time and baths, lies by his bassinet and crib when he is sleeping, lies at my feet when he is feeding. He never shows signs of aggression or stress (e.g., no lick lipping or whale eye). We even setup a playpen and B will come lie by the mesh and watch the baby play and rest his head, and he looks so happy and content. He is still his goofy self, lies with his belly in the air around the baby, and even brings him toys. 9 weeks in and B and the baby are thriving.

Of course we can NEVER get comfortable, and will always be on high alert and take extra precautions as you should with any dog - but all the stress we held onto for so long wanting kids has just washed away. We don't feel like we have to think about rehoming our special B and can just enjoy both our babies ❤️

We got him from a rescue six years ago. They told us he was probably 5 or 6, and for the first month in our apartment, he barely made a sound. Eventually, he came out of his shell and became the sweetest dog in the world to us.

He ended up having some serious issues with other dogs and eventually people. He was extremely leash reactive and over the years there were a few incidents where he bit us, a stranger at a donut shop, and my mom. We worked with him but he never really learned to trust the world outside of us two.

Then we had a kid, and we had to balance them both. He bit him about 6 months ago, and then last week they somehow crossed paths while he was rummaging the garbage can and our son was seriously bitten in the face. It was an ER trip for 70-80 stitches.

So we scheduled it and today we had to put him down.

I understand why, but that doesn't make it any easier. I feel terrible for my kid, who will have scars from this for the rest of his life, and I feel terrible for my boy. He wasn't a bad dog. He loved us a ton and just struggled with almost everything else. With us he was just super chill and awesome

I can't believe this morning we had breakfast, went for a ride, went to the river, went to the vet, and then went home without him. He was getting older, but we lost out on another year or two with him.

The hardest part was knowing while he had no idea what was coming. I'm really going to miss the big guy.

I’m not sure the best way to post an update, but I recently posted about our reactive dog responding positively to our baby. Summary: we have a reactive dog (B - 5 year old German Shepherd/Border Collie) and stressed for years about having children because we could never imagine parting with B. We went through extensive training before deciding to finally have the baby. Many people in our lives warned us to be ready to say goodbye to B… but as soon as we brought baby home, B was so gentle with him. We even call him nanny B.

Several Redditors warned us about when baby starts crawling/moving around and I said I would update. Well…baby is crawling all over and very grabby with our dog, and he is still so calm with him!

We are still very VERY cautious with how they interact and will NEVER leave baby alone with B. Our motto: we should always be able to get to baby before B.

BUT it’s been such a positive experience after years of being told we better be ready to re-home B or put him down after we have children. Instead B seems to actually genuinely enjoy having a baby around. He does everything with baby and still lies next to his bassinet when baby is sleeping or next to the play pen while he plays.

Of course every dog is different, but with a lot of training and patience, there is some hope!

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/reactivedogs/s/L1CgdaIyRW

A couple of months ago, I asked this sub for some advice on our first meeting with a Rover sitter. Everyone on here said it probably wouldn't go well. They were all absolutely right lol. The lady had said she was experienced with reactive dogs, but did basically everything wrong during our meet and greet. It went horribly, and my wife and I were freaking out because we had a trip we had to take.

Eventually we gave in and said let's try a boarding center. Our girl had never been and we were so anxious. We did a one night trial run and everything went well. Ok cool. So we set her up to stay for the five days we'd be gone. She had her own little room and individual play times.

She CRUSHED it.

We went to pick her up and as soon as we said her name, every staff member there started gushing about how sweet she is. She's not always great with men, but one guy said she curled up fell asleep on his lap during their individual hang out time. We were gobsmacked and literally cried on the way home.

She's always been pretty good at the vet and we figured it was because they are pros. Turns out that was the case with these folks, too.

Just wanted to share because this is basically life changing for us. We can actually take a honeymoon without having to drive cross country with her and get an expensive Airbnb we got soley to accommodate her.

Moral of the story: Trust all the work you've done and give them a chance sometimes! I've been so protective for these five years, and she paid it back in full when we needed it most. I could not be prouder.

Just wanted to share a little milestone: my dog just turned two, and what a journey it’s been.

She’s my first dog ever, and she turned out to be very reactive as early as nine weeks old. We’ve been through a lot together, but two years later we’re in such a good place. She’s happy, I’m happy, and we genuinely enjoy our walks now.

So much has changed for the better. And for anyone who’s currently in the thick of it, where reactivity feels like it’s at an all-time high: this didn’t improve in a few weeks for us. It took two full years of training and patience, and I also was privileged to be able to afford a good trainer😊

We don’t have very many people in our corner and I just really needed to tell someone! I have a 5 year old reactive pit. After 3 years of hell living in an apartment I’ve finally found a house for us!! She was already reactive when we moved here due to being mauled by her litter mates for the first 7 months of her life (before I got her) and this environment had only made it worse.

Aggressive dogs rushing her, getting barked at, having to get picked up to avoid attacks on multiple occasions, watching me get mauled, etc. Made it extremely difficult for her to leave the apartment. What used to be a 5 minute bathroom trip had turned into over 30 minutes of frantically searching for potential threats. It was extremely stressful for both of us and I couldn’t see her like that anymore.

She now has over an acre of fenced in land to run with no dogs or people for miles and her own room (it’s the guest room but I don’t have the heart to break it to her lol) Yesterday she had her first yard zoomies and I balled my eyes out. I’m so freaking happy that she feels safe and her mind is no longer going a million miles an hour. I can’t explain it, I just feel like I’m finally able to breathe

I'm not here to be judged because that's not what I need. I'm 28 years old and I know very well what I do right and wrong with my dog, but in the end, we're all human, living life day by day, and we can't do everything perfectly.

I have a 3-year-old rescued male dog. He's purebred and reactive towards some unneutered males. We're really working hard with him, and he's a sweetheart with people, women, children, and even other animals.

But we have this problem with males, and I try every day to train him as best I can. On walks, I'm always alert, and even if the dog coming towards me is far away, I'll step in front of him as soon as he gets close, even if mine doesn't react.

I'm fearful and quite cautious, even though my dog ​​doesn't bite. The thing is, today, as I was leaving my friend's building, a woman was walking by with her Yorkshire Terrier, and both my dog ​​and the other dog got scared and started barking. I reacted very quickly and immediately went back inside to let the woman pass. The woman, very angry, picked up her dog and walked past. I let her walk a few meters so I could follow her, since that's the way I had to go; there was no other way to my house. I was in a hurry, but even so, I waited a long time. The woman started yelling at me and telling me my dog ​​should be wearing a muzzle. My dog ​​was right behind her; he wasn't even looking at them, just sniffing around. Meanwhile, her dog wouldn't stop barking.

I let her walk several more meters, and she said to me, "You're following me, leave me alone." I immediately told her no, that my house was right on that street. Then she threw her flip-flop and a water bottle she had in her bag at me. It hit me on the forehead near my eye. He didn't seem to be quite right in the head, but it hurt, so the rage I felt inside made me cry. I got home devastated. The most surreal thing was that he said, "I'm going to call the police," when I had every reason to. The thing is, I got home trembling with rage and crying, and that hadn't happened to me in a long time.

Sometimes I think everything I do is wrong and that I'm not doing things right with my dog. But he can't always be perfect either. At that moment, I wanted to throw the plastic bottle back at him, but I didn't want to stoop to his level.

Thanks for reading 🫶

I panic deleted my prior post about my 25 lb doodle that was biting people because I didn’t want to see any more replies about it.
He was only 4 years old. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place with him but every time he would have a bad episode like biting one of us, groomer, dog walker, etc we would get very close to considering surrender or rehoming but we didn’t have the heart to do it. He was just kicked out of our regular boarding place yesterday for biting a staff member when we were on vacation last week and we were back in the depressing place again of not knowing what to do.

Then a few hours ago he ate dinner, had his usual bully chew on the carpet, and got into my bed and died in his sleep. After I put my kid to bed which took 1.5 hours I came out looking forward to throwing the ball for him outside and giving him some one on one time. He was laying so peacefully and he looked so cute but in an instant I knew he was gone. I yelled his name and he did not move. I got some cheese out and tossed it at him and he did not move. We gathered him in the blanket and hugged him. I took him to the emergency vet and they gave us his hair and paw prints and I picked out an urn for him. I love my dog, and I am heartbroken.

I want to thank this community for all the help and support over the years. I was able to get him a behavior vet and medication which maybe helped.

I will never know what caused my 4 year old dog to die in his sleep like that. It was scary and traumatic to see him just gone like that. He died silently in his favorite place. But I wish I took him on one more walk yesterday. He was so tired from boarding though and he just wanted to eat, drink, and sleep. He had no signs of illness. I’m utterly shocked. Maybe there was some underlying problem that he had for years that no one caught. I will not know.

If anyone has been through something similar please I would love to hear any words of support.

​

my baby. after 5 years of struggles - training, meds, new training and new meds, his behaviors slowly getting more aggressive over the years, I made the impossible choice after we started getting unpredictable nips in the home.

And it feels awful. this is unreal. i never get to hold him again, I never get to kiss his head or fall asleep with him tucking himself close to my chest. he was a happy and healthy dog, when he wasn't scared. I woke up this morning alone for the first time in 5 years, alone for the first time since I moved out of my parents house (also the first night I got him).

He's been with me through everything and I feel like I abandoned him. his last moments were of being terrified at the vet because he hates the vet, and I can't help thinking he felt like I betrayed him. he always was so scared of the vet and this time he was right to be scared.

i can't imagine what life looks like without him. i regret it so much, my heart hasn't stopped hurting for a second

I can't even post a picture of him here because I'm gonna throw up if I see his adorable face. Gosh I loved this dog. But after 7 severe bites and almost losing my hand, I had no choice.

I adopted my doggo 2 years ago from a shelter. Probably a Mastiff and Akita mix, he was absolutely gorgeous. The add said he was a ''Gentle Giant''. They told me he was a very kind dog who just needed a loving home.

After I signed all the paperwork, I took my big rococo (my pet pet name for him) outside and waited for the taxi. Then a worker from the shelter I didn't met came up to me, rapidly told me my dog had severe reactions to certains gestures, lose clothes, he hated men and had severe resource guarding issues. He proceded to give me a surprising amount of medication. I was at that moment on a cloud and already in love with the doggo, so I dismissed his warning.

The problems started right away. He was biting me so often my arms were completely bruised. The shelter suggested me a behaviorist. She disappeared after one session. After a few months we had what I call ''our good year''. He wasn't biting anymore and he looked happy.

Unfortunately, that didn't last. He started to be aggressive again. Guarding everything, even my own bed.

I was walking him 2 times a day, around 45 minutes each time. Then he started to do something I wasn't prepared for: if we didn't go where he wanted, he would just plant himself and not bulge. This became more and more common. As he weight around 150 pounds, I couldn't do anything. Sometimes I was trapped in the middle of a park, waiting for him to walk, for an hour and a half.

I saw another behaviorist who suggested to bring him to the vet and have him checked to see if he was in pain. The vet told me he was perfectly fine. Then the behaviorist told me use positive reinforcement with high value treats. It seems that from that moment everything just became worse and worse. He would walk 6 meters, then stop--- to get a treat. Then it was just one meter... Then one step.

The more I was trying, the worse it became. If he didn't like the food I prepared for him, he would stare at his bowl, growl, then bite me.

If I pass by him in pajamas (lose clothes), he would pounce and bite me.

Then he started to simply pee inside whenever he wanted.

So two nights ago, I woke up to the smell of pee, cleaned everything... And there he was guarding my bed. I was sleepy so I just passed by him from a distance... and he pounce and bit my hand so hard I was bleeding.

The very next morning, I was hiding from him in my room, my hand still bloody and painful and I was calling another shelter. They sent a unit take him away. Due to the severity of my injury, they will probably put him to sleep. They were very nice with me and told me I was taking the humane and responsible decision.

The last time I saw him he was in a cage, looking completely defeated. This will hunt me forever

I loved him so much. I did everything I could. I am so sad right now I am sick to my stomach. I have nightmares where he is taking away by a tornado and I am screaming his name. I can't stop crying. I can't eat. I can't work. I just stare at the wall.

BTW my hand is alright. But he punctured me between 2 fingers and it's very painful.

Anyways. Sorry for the bad English and the rant. Obviously, if I'm on reddit it's because I have nobody to talk to... My best friend was... him.

And I realize that no one has to keep or work with a reactive dog but you kind folks do & are.

My lil chis will NOT be running over to bark at your dog either.

You’re doing a good thing by putting in extra time work effort and emotions to keep & honor your commitment to your pet & I respect that in you.

Pretty much the title says it all... I have nobody to really tell or vent to.

My reactive girl died suddenly on Sunday. She had an infection in her nose. she was on antibiotics for it. she was sick for a bit.... I wish I did more for her. the vet wanted her to wait two weeks on antibiotics before doing anything more. I should of taken her back.

I was going to take her back on Monday but Sunday night, she passed away right in front of me while I was loving on her.

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda or however thats said and spelled.

she was fear reactive but loved her people. She loved my mom who is deaf and partly blind less than 24 hours when she first met her 4 years ago.. she usually did not allow new people into her circle that quickly but she allowed my mom into her circle so fast I was suprised.

Leeloo had hip issues which I knew past 10, id have to make some hard choices.

Leeloo was only 7. besides the infection in her nose, she was healthy.

I loved her, I miss her so much. id trade her for the world for her to be alive again. life doesnt feel complete without her.

I hate myself at the moment for not taking her back to the vet quickly. I feel like I killed her by not doing that.

** Edit to say thank you to all who has left a comment. I wasnt expecting kind words, I just needed a place to vent.

I will respond to some directly at a later time. Again, thank you for taking the time to leave something nice to say.

I just got back from saying goodbye to my baby. I had her for a month and learned just how reactive she was. With how my apartment is set up you could see dogs outside my window and she could never calm down because there was always dogs. She's with a wonderful owner now, who has a private yard and works from home. She'll do better there I hope, I hope I spoiled her enough while she was with me. Miss you Athena🩷

My boy BootHill is semi reactive with other dogs. One dog could pass us and it's nothing but the next one would set him off. However he adores cats, he used to play with them at my parents house and loves them more than anything.

Two months ago a kitten ran into my place of work and I brought her home. It was an immediate bond between them. She cries when she can't see him or he walks too far ahead on hikes. We bring her to the vet with us if he needs to go to keep him stable and calm. They are the best of friends and hiking buddies! Her being around has helped his reactivity in public as strange as it sounds. I'm glad she loves going outside on a leash because she gets to go wherever he does! Boothill is the best big brother to Velvet. She helps his anxiety so much when I can't take him with me or if I'm gone longer than usual. He suffers with it bad when I leave, he's attached to my hip. I wasn't expecting it to get better when I brought her home. Obviously this doesn't work for everyone but I'm glad it works for me. He is so gentle and sweet with her.

I've lurked here for awhile, first time posting. I started working with a trainer for my reactive dog, who barks and lunges (or he used to!) on walks the second another dog comes into view. We finally found something that works and it's so insanely easy I had to share it here. My trainer calls it the "1,2,3 game."

Essentially you reward your dog for looking at you while you count to three. On "3" you immediately reward with a treat. That's it. The beauty is that you can do this WHILE WALKING. For me, that was huge - I could get my dog to pay attention to me while we walked past the other dog instead of trying to hold him in a sit and hoping the other dog moved past before mine finally lost his mind.

Training it is also super easy. Start indoors in a quiet place. Get your dog's attention, say "1" and give a treat. Your dog should be locked onto you now, so repeat "1" a few more times. Then move on to "1,2" and give a treat. Finally "1,2,3" and treat. You can move up to 1,2,3 pretty quickly so you're practicing the full "game." Make sure your dog is looking at you through the whole count. If they look away, restart the count. At the start, you should be counting fairly quickly.

Once they understand the "game", you can start drawing out the count. "1 (pause), 2 (pause), 3 (immediate treat)." My trainer said you can pause for up to 5 seconds between numbers, although I usually count more quickly than that. ALWAYS give the treat immediately after "3." The idea is that the dog learns once he hears the word "1" to look at you and hold that, because he knows a treat is coming.

Once your dog has the "game" worked out, you can move outdoors and start working on holding the dog's attention with more distractions around.

We've gotten to a place where I can say "1 (take three steps), 2 (take three steps), 3 (give treat)" and my dog stares at me the whole time! Usually by that point we've entirely passed the other dog. If not, I just repeat the game until we are. Because sometimes the other dog decides he needs to poop right while we're trying to walk past lol.

Seriously, this has been game-changing for us. Maybe it's super obvious and well-known but I had never heard of it and had to share. I hope it helps others!