How to Do Dog Introductions with a Reactive Dog

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5 ай бұрын

We train hundreds of reactive dogs each year and this is how we do dog introductions with them. Keep in mind that you should never do a dog intro if your dog is still lunging and acting aggressively towards other dogs. You need to get a handle on that behavior first. This video is for when you are at the point in your dog’s training where they can pass other dogs and are doing fairly well, but you still don’t trust them fully around other dogs.
Before starting this process make sure that you teach your dog heel. Once your dog has learned the foundational heel, we will use it to condition them to be calmer around other animals. Make sure you start from a far distance away and eventually work your way closer. If you do not feel comfortable passing another dog on the sidewalk, they are not ready for intros.
We started off this video today by having each dog walk past each other and side-by-side. This is always a good way to start if you have concerns just to make sure the dogs are comfortable being close to each other without actually getting to sniff each other.
Once this goes well, we work on butt sniffs. We start here as there is less likely to be issues than if you go directly face-to-face too fast. Walking them in the heel command during this process helps keep everyone calm and less edgy.
It is important to not rush this process, especially if your dog has a ton of behavioral issues. In this video everything went very well, but sometimes it might take multiple sessions in order to trust your dog. Once they have received sniffing well, we will flip the roles and have the other dog sniff.
Once we see everything that we’re looking for, we will then progress the face-to-face sniffs. Even if the other steps went well it is not guaranteed that there will be no issues here. So please make sure you are working on small baby steps before moving on. It is important to pay attention to the dogs’ body language, and of course, keep the leashes on at all times until you fully trust them.
This last step that we mention can take place immediately or could take days if you are unsure. Once you are ready, take off the leashes and let them play!
If you have any questions regarding leash reactivity, or how to do dog intros, please drop a comment below!
#dogtrainer #dogtraining #reactivedogtraining

Пікірлер: 23

@SuburbanK9DogTraining 5 ай бұрын

We have had a few messages about how to perform introductions when your dog is lunging, barking, growling etc. To be clear, all of that needs fixed first! If your dog is still acting out, you are not ready for introductions. We have other videos showing how to work on leash aggression, but this video assumes you have already put in that time. Many people get their reactive dogs to a point that they no longer bark and lunge, but they still can't be trusted to meet a new dog and always be friendly. That is what this video is about. This is how to do introductions with a reactive dog who is halfway through their training. They may no longer act out constantly, but they still need slow and careful introductions. Hopefully this makes sense and reach out with any questions!

@PetsWrite 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for addressing leash pressure. That is such a debate in the world of dog experts. Also, the technique you shared about heeling and walking...then smelling. All controlled and super helpful. Awesome video!

@SuburbanK9DogTraining 4 ай бұрын

@@PetsWrite Thanks for taking the time to drop a comment! We have found that when people take it a little slower, intros tend to go much better. The heeling and smelling at the same time technique can feel a little awkward at first, but it works well. Have a great day!

@TDCamper 3 ай бұрын

@SuburbanK9DogTraining I have an older dog, just turned 11. She's good overall. Reasonable recal but I can improve that. She's good around other dogs, as long as they don't walk up from behind. This really upsets her and the normal routine you are showing here is not enough to stop her reacting, because she really has fear. She has been attacked from behind by 2 dogs, (still upsets me to this day, there is nothing worse than hearing a dog wimpering in fear of it's life) and has scars for it, including emotional scars. I do my best to give her confidence, and put her between my legs if I think she will react. There is one dog that the owner refuses to recal in the walking feild here. He bounds up and is all over my dog, my dog obvioulsy reacts to this percieved threat. How can I help my dog is who emotional scared and in fear, I don't have other dog owners here I can train with, it's down to me alone.

@SuburbanK9DogTraining 3 ай бұрын

Sorry to hear what you are going through! I would suggest chatting with other dog owners until you find someone that will spend a few minutes helping out. This can feel awkward, but we do it often and most people are willing to help. I would practice exactly what we do in the video, but don't be in a rush. If it takes a 15 minute walk (with the other dog behind her) until she no longer feels stressed that is totally fine. If it feels like too much at first you can increase the space and have the other dog 10 feet back if needed. I know you can do it, you just need to find someone to walk with!

@TDCamper 3 ай бұрын

@@SuburbanK9DogTraining Thank you, I will persist and try and try and make friends of local dog walkers, maybe if I see someone else struggling we do it together. Love your videos, really helpful, love from the UK

@i7bwn Ай бұрын

thoses two are already very calm. it's doesn't make it easy to know what to do when you have a dog that just turn around and fix and won't walk or kneel.

@SuburbanK9DogTraining Ай бұрын

Understood! The bigger dog is reactive but has already made a ton of progress and is ready for intros at this point. We see a lot of cases where intros are started too soon in the process and it creates a lot of unneeded stress for both dogs. Does your dog heel well when you pass another dog or does that create staring/targeting?

@i7bwn Ай бұрын

@@SuburbanK9DogTraining Hi, my dog loves other dogs and i'm working on staying at knee when we (or the other dog) gets closer. but he just wanna snif them and pull to greet and snif. once he sniffed he's good to work again. the snif is like 5 secondes and done. I'm working on keeping his eyes on me, but he's a hunting dog recue, it's hard for him to stare at me with his sniffer's past.

@SuburbanK9DogTraining Ай бұрын

Ahh. That makes sense! If your dog is friendly I wouldn't spend much if any time working on this particular method. Instead I would work on mastering the heel command and spend a lot of time passing other dogs without saying hi. Make sure you don't let him say hi to the majority of dogs you see or he will always expect that. I wouldn't worry to much about him watching you the whole time and instead would just expect some self control on his part. I don't care if he tries to look at the other dog or is very curious, I just expect him to maintain composure and not pull hard. I hope this helps and definitely let us know if you have any questions!

@i7bwn Ай бұрын

@@SuburbanK9DogTraining Thank you, he has a hard time focusing on me as he use to be a hunt dog. scent, noises and movments are still very attractive to him. wich one(s) of your videos do you recommand me to watch ? Thank you a lot for all your replies, i appreciate your time very much!

@SuburbanK9DogTraining Ай бұрын

@@i7bwn Here is a video showing how we acclimate a dog to a training collar and then how we use it. The start of the video shows the dog pulling and then we immediately switch to a new collar and start using it. You can see the results of 20 minutes of work. Then later in the video we show the results after one week. Let us know what questions you have after watching it! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/esqVe9WUmdannXU.html

@teresa4578 5 ай бұрын

I have a 5 month old vizsla I just picked up yesterday. He seems so scared of his new environment. We have got him to eat some food but he still hasn’t drank any water. He seems like he misses his home with his brothers 😢. He his very attach to us in the house but only sleeps. Outside he is a little more active and is willing to sniff out his new surroundings but in the house he sits in a corner. We have to pick him up and then he will sleep on us. Is it just a matter of time?? Is there anything we can do to help him?? I had a vizsla before but picked him up when he was 8 weeks and didn’t mind the transition .and I had two labs. both lived to be 13 years old with no problems. Unfortunately our first vizsla was hit by a car last week,so this guy is a replacement being we can live without a dog. We do understand that this one will never be Ole. Just wish this guy would fill more at home😢

@SuburbanK9DogTraining 5 ай бұрын

Sorry to hear your last pup passed away 😔. Your new one sounds like it is going through a very tough time. Most dogs will come into a new house and do fairly well immediately. That being said, if they have fear issues and were either mistreated or under socialized in the past then the transition can be tough. I would try and find anything that he seems to enjoy or find fun. You could experiment with really exciting food and try and make a game of it. Get some chicken (or any other meat) and practice having him come to you to get it. If that doesn't work you could even just toss it and have him go get it in order to encourage him to explore some. If he is happier outside I would spend a lot of time out there letting him sniff. There is a chance he hasn't lived in a house before and it could be overwhelming to him. Not drinking water would concern me quite a bit. If he doesn't drink anything be tomorrow I would definitely call your vet. It might be worth seeing if he will drink something exciting like low sodium chicken broth. Good luck and let us know how it is going!

@teresa4578 5 ай бұрын

@@SuburbanK9DogTraining will definitely try the chicken broth. Excellent idea thanks. He was always in a very well kept kennel with his siblings so ya , in the house is probably a big deal for him.

@SuburbanK9DogTraining 5 ай бұрын

I hope the next few days go well! Definitely keep in mind that training should be modified based upon the dog’s personality. Right now your main goal is to build confidence and excitement in him. Lots of treats, lots of games etc. With your last Vizsla and Labs you probably had to spend most of your training time calming them down. Your new pup will be a take a much different approach. Have fun with it and reach out any time!

@SuburbanK9DogTraining 5 ай бұрын

How are things going? I hope your pup is starting to settle in!

@teresa4578 5 ай бұрын

@@SuburbanK9DogTraining he was ok with bottled water and did transfer to tap water 😀. He is fine in the house now and outside. He had a vet appointment the other day ( more of an orientation, did get one shot) he did better than I thought he would but was still very nervous. Now the problem I can see is the truck. He just lays down and buries his face in the seat , won’t even eat a piece of hotdog. I have been trying to orientate him to the truck before the vet, So he was not so scared but we had to go. He probably needed more time. I hopefully didn’t harm him emotionally by going. We will try again with just orientation and just sitting I the truck. He came from a breeder that claims there dogs are some of the best hunting dogs ( south Dakota) yet he is afraid of vehicles. Can’t go hunting if he is deathly afraid?? I feel so bad for him now because we live in North Dakota and the weather has turned -5 degrees below zero and windchills to 45 below for the next week. So it’s go potty and back in. It’s hard to get his daily exercise in. Just a lot of play time inside. And yes we put a coat on him which he is good with. Thank you so much for getting back with us. It means a lot. 🥹

@Lucky888s 5 ай бұрын

Reactive? How do you do this with a really reactive dog? These dogs look totally docile.

@SuburbanK9DogTraining 5 ай бұрын

Great question! The doodle is super dog friendly, but the larger dog is with us for reactivity. He has been extremely reactive to dogs but is now no longer lunging for new dogs and is making a lot of progress. You should always fix the lunging, barking and growling before attempting dog introductions. We have another video on that topic showing how we train leash aggressive/reactive dogs. This video is meant to show how to perform intros with dogs that are in the in between place of no longer lunging at all new dogs but can't be fully trusted yet. I hope this helps!