Snapping at people who approach on walks
 Ecco has had leash aggression with other dogs since she was about 8months old. I am aware of this and we have worked with a trainer to reduce her anxiety, but never managed to fully get her to "greet" other dogs when she is on a lead. I have learned to warn other dog owners to keep their pooches at a distance, and Ecco is forever wearing a red bandana to signal that she needs space. She is usually good with people, though we did go through a jumping phase that we managed to train out of her. Well, today on her walkies, a man came hurrying across the park, waving us over. He was excited to see a sheepdog, since they are rare in our town. I walked toward him, not thinking anything bad would happen, and Ecco jumped up, snapped, and scratched him! Of course the man was upset. He said, angry, "That dog needs some training!" I asked if he was okay, and he waved us off and left. I was so upset, I cried on the way home. Ecco has been to training! We've done obedience and agility. She goes into stores with me, and she's fine when people come up to see her. I don't know why this happened. I also don't know what to do. I don't want to risk this happening again. |
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| The guy if he knew animals at all shouldn't have hurried across to him, he should have been calm, Ecco may have been guarding you. |
| I am sorry to hear of this encounter. Oscar is generally not a fan of other dogs, or people, so I feel ya. A couple of thoughts. I agree that the man approaching hurriedly, waving his arms, probably put Ecco on high alert. (I hate, hate, hate when people do this!!) She saw this man as a threat, and reacted accordingly. When folks approach Oscar, I watch his body language closely to see how he is reacting to them. Is he erect? Head up, body completely still? This would indicate that he is on high alert. If he puts his head down, extends it, with full body "wagging", I know he is okay with greeting people. If I see him "all puffed up" and still, staring intently, I tell the folks that he is not friendly. Generally, that slows them down, which puts Oscar more at ease. Sometimes, that's all it takes to calm Oscar down, and then he is fine to say hello. If not, I wave them off completely. Is there a way to work with Ecco and some people she likes, to reward her for good behavior in greeting? You could start with people she knows, who give her nummy treats when she greets them with "four on the floor"  (as my friends with a soft-coated wheaten call it). Then move to some dog savvy trainers who are strangers to her, and have them nonchalantly give her nummy treats. If she is highly food motivated, you might be able to get her to view all strangers as positive humans with nummy treats in their pockets. We don't have aggression issues with Oscar, more like evasion issues. If someone comes up to him, and he's still unsure, he hides behind my legs, all 110 lbs of him. All folks want to do is pet him, and all he wants to do is get away from them.  There is a man up the street who had an OES years ago, and now has a soft-coated wheaten. He just LOVES Oscar, but for the first few months he saw us, Oscar would just evade any attempts to be petted. Jim saw my treats, and grabbed a couple, and bent down to Oscar's face. Oscar took the treats and gave him a big, wet, sloppy sheepdog kiss on his cheek. Now, Oscar takes me across the street to see Jim, head down, body wagging. Also, you might want to check in with your trainer again, and see if he or she has any thoughts on this situation.  Laurie and Oscar, the Expert Evader |
A method our Trainer has me use is to put Bailee into a "sit" before he is allowed to be petted by anyone. Although he is now a lot better at not jumping up I still have him sit especially if the visitor is a child. Funny thing is that when he sits he also "leans" back into the person and can just about knock them over. He also gets excited when people, unthinkingly make a big fuss and approach him in an excited manner. If a passerby acts in a calm way there may be no need to "sit." Bailee is a true gentleman and will just walk up to them to get his share of attention. I always try to tell the person to stay "calm" and NOT to get hyper since Bailee senses their energy and responds in a like manner. One thing about these big shaggy guys is they attract more attention than you can imagine. Bailee will be 5 next month and he still stops traffic! People will pull over just to get out and "talk" to my dog. It really is amazing and when Bailee behaves nicely I feel proud to be owned by him.  |
| It's the same way with Ecco. She is LITERALLY the only sheepdog in town, so everyone wants to pet her. It's weird because I've taken her to Petsmart and Lowes regularly and she doesn't react that way to people in the stores. She did this one other time when my wife was walking her, but we thought maybe it was because she's not used to being walked by someone else. The scary thing is that I don't know when or if she'll do it again. So, you're right. The best bet is probably to warn people before they approach and keep a good eye on her body language. She doesn't give a lot of warning, but I think the new rule is: If her butt's not on the ground and wiggling happily, strangers stay back. I also bought a gentle leader. I think it will help with redirecting and getting her focus on me. She's a good walker, but when she gets focused on something, it's hard to get her eyes off it when we're using a regular harness. (I've been watching a lot of Sophia Yin videos today, and this seems to be one of her preferred tools.) |
| I am sorry that happened! I have gone through the same thing with Ramsey, he does the same things on walks, especially if it is a man, heading directly towards us. He will growl and bark at them in a DO NOT COME NEAR MY MOM STANCE. But it is definitely him protecting his "flock" aka me. Anyone that is a complete stranger, coming up to me, Ramsey must stay next to my side as they are approaching, I don't let his leash out between me and them. I also watch his body language, if he isn't calming down, I tell people he's not friendly and we go on our way. Maybe they aren't! Especially if we're out walking alone at dusk, or in a field/park/beach alone! We have worked on this with a trainer so he will calm down when I let him know it's ok. I make him sit and wait, and they can come up to him. If it's someone I know who he hasn't met, I make sure they have treats. He will be cautious, take the treat, and then it's extreme wiggle butt and so many kisses and don't you get up because he is not done kissing you. I did not use the gentle leader, but he was HORRIBLE with refocusing also. I could stick a steak in his face and it wouldn't even make a difference. Someone on the forum recommended the PetConvincer, it definitely has worked wonders. It breaks him right from whatever he is obsessing over and right back to me. I hardly use it, I just make the noise. Hope you have success too! |
| Sorry to hear this but wouldn't be overly upset. Dogs are like people. They don't always get along with everyone. We are just so trained now to do the dog park thing, etc we all think all dogs act the same. I personally do not do dog parks for this reason. You know your dog is not good with greeting strangers. When out on a walk, a and stranger is approaching, I would put him in a sit stay and put my leg sort of across him. And I would be sure to tell people, sorry, do not pet. He is in training. Be sure to hold the leash but not too tight or he will pick up on your tension. And not too loose with the slack so he can get away from you. If he stays sitting, once the stranger goes by, give a big okay release and treat him. May take a long time but meantime, don't allow strangers to greet. |
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