Dog Leash Aggression
What causes dog leash aggression?
When we put a dog on a leash we are taking away its options. In normal situations when a dog comes into contact with something or someone that it dislikes or fears it has two options – fight or flight. When is dog is on a leash it no longer has the option of flight i.e. to run away so it may decide it has to fight. For example if a dog sees a strange dog or person walking towards it it may become anxious and perceive the person or dog as a threat. As it can’t run away, dog leash aggression may ocur resulting in growling, barking, lunging and general aggressive behaviour on the leash
Dogs are incredibly receptive to our moods and emotions, it is thought that they can detect an increase in our heart rates, and some people compare the leash to a telephone line where we as the owner are transferring out anxiety to the dog. It can be a vicious circle – you become anxious when another person and dog are walking towards you, then your dog lunges on the leash. The next time you see another person with a dog you become anxious that the dog may lunge again, and tense up on the lead. The dog misinterprets this as a warning that there is a problem and so lunges again at the new dog. Before even beginning to work on training to stop dog leash aggression, it is necessary to try to change the negative human attitude to a more positive one (which I realise is more difficult than it sounds). A couple of things you can try is to control your breathing, when people are anxious they often unknowingly hold their breath, so try breathing in deeply, then letting you breath out slowly. Try deliberately smiling as well, as it is believed that the actual act of smiling actually releases endorphins which makes you feel better and more relaxed.
Using a headcollar on your dog to help prevent dog leash aggression
Using a headcollar can help stop a dog lunging as it gives you the ability to turn the dogs head away from the thing it is reacting too, it also helps the owner as it is much easier to hold a dog on a leash wearing a headcollar, the dog is unable to put all its weight into pulling you which means you can relax more knowing you don’t have to brace yourself in order to keep the dog under control.
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How to stop dog leash aggression
When you are walking your dog, and you see another dog and owner walking towards you, don’t get too near to them, curve/or zig zag around them giving the dog plenty of space, if the dog doesn’t react praise and treat. At first this should be a very big curve leaving several metres (as much as the dog is comfortable without reacting or lunging) and gradually over time make the curve smaller. If the dog lunges or reacts you have gone too close and must start further away again. If you can enlist the help of a dog owner with a friendly dog to work on this, it would be very helpful. A clicker can also be incredibly useful for helping to stop your dog lunging. If you have clicker trained your dog, use the clicker to mark the dogs good behaviour when he walks past the person or dog without reacting, then give the dog a treat. Patience is the key to stop dog lunging on leash.
If you find that you are walking towards another person and dog and you don’t have space to curve around them turn round and walk in the opposite direction. You can also add in a verbal command such as “this way, ” said in a lighthearted jolly manner.
Other options which may help prevent dog leash aggression
Teach your dog to “look at me”
Teach your dog to “look at me” or hand targeting, either of these can be used so that your dogs attention is on you rather than the person/dog it reacts to.
To teach the “look at me” take a treat in your hand and put it near the dogs nose, your dog should start to look at the treat, then draw your hand with the treat up to your face near your eyes and say good boy (or click a clicker if your dog is clicker trained) an give your dog the treat. Repeat this several times. Then start adding a verbal command such as “look at me” once your dog is looking at your face. Once the dog has got used to this put the treat in your other hand and draw you empty hand up to your face saying “look at me” if the dog looks at you give it the treat.
Teaching a dog to hand target/touch
To teach the dog to hand target your hand (touch your hand with its nose) start by rubbing a treat on your hand – something smelly like cheese or hotdogs would work well. The dog should then touch your hand with its nose when it tries to sniff it. Praise the dog when its nose touches your hand and give it a treat. Keep practicing this until the dog understands what you want, then when the dog touches your hand with its nose, introduce a verbal command such as “touch”. Once a dog gets good at this you can move your hand to different positions – high, low to the side and the dog should still touch it when you say “touch”. Hand targeting can be used to help distract a dog when there is something near that it fears or doesn’t like.