Bear
Bear on the left is a 4-year-old mix of Jack Russell, Springer Spaniel and Shih Tzu. He lives with JR Nellie and an older Border Terrier.
All three dogs are very friendly without being pushy and life would be fine if Bear could be trusted with other dogs when out on walks. Unpredictably, he can mix with some other dogs when they are all off lead, but more often he is reactive and aggressive, particularly when either he or the other dog is on lead.
How did it start?
Nellie
It probably all started when Bear was a very young dog; he would race up and down the fence with the neighbour’s very dog-aggressive larger dog doing the same thing the other side. There would have been lots of barking and snarling.
With hindsight it would have been a lot better if Bear had not been allowed to do this because he was already honing his hostile dog-to-dog skills – learning from the older dog.
Bear has attacked a couple young dogs out on walks which may well be doing them the same harm that the big dog next door did to Bear. It’s important that he never has the opportunity to do this again.
There is work to be done
In order for Bear to learn reliable recall, working for food is the easiest and most efficient incentive (play and praise also can be used).
One might think that the work starts outside the house, but no. A dog that is pandered to where food is concerned isn’t going to want to work for it. Bear won’t eat his very good food unless extra fish is added. I offered him a piece of cheese and he just walked away!
Soon he will eat what he is given, he will go to his bowl rather than having it brought to him and he will eat it up without tasty extras added. Only then he will begin to value the more tasty stuff and they can then start to work on his dog-reactivity.
It is essential that he comes when called – not just when he feels like it but when there is another dog about. If he ignores them at home when they call him or want him to do something, he certainly won’t come running back when called if he’s spotted another dog.
When food gains value as a currency and they themselves gain more relevance so he more willingly does their bidding, they can then be using the special tasty stuff for rewards and reinforcement rather than bribes added to his food to make him eat!
