My dog reactive dog! :(

[mojomoo]

Hello, I'm new here
I have a 2 year old fixed female Bernese mountain dog and she has been reactive to other dogs since I can remember. She throws a fit almost everytime we are walking and see other dogs, alot of drama but all she wants to to is sniff them and she's done until the next dog....... she pulls me of course when she acts like this. I am obsessed now with her obsession!! She has so far shown no aggression outside of our yard but I noticed just recently after my daughter brought over a dog about my dogs age she was excited but threw a hissy fit when he entered the yard, she jumped on him growling and was slapping his head (I have no other words to describe it) and I yelled "Hey!" and she stopped and immediately did a play bow. They played for hours...
Does anyone have any insight on that behaviour and why she would react that way? i know she would never behave like that with an older dog. I hope her behaviour isn't spilling into other areas..... Help please!

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

Hi mojomoo!

Welcome to the site! What you are describing, is generally a behavior of dogs with a more assertive personality type. A "hissy fit" as you described it, is pretty right on. The fact that she generally acts normally once she arrives at the other dog is showing that the behavior is mostly due to frustration and being unable to assert her desire to control the situation/meeting. One of the main problems with this behavior is that it can cause the other dog to feel threatened and sometimes trigger a fight when the other dog possibly goes into defense mode.

A good plan to start with is really study the "pack structure" section good so you are in a good position to lead her. If she is calling any shots within the home it will be natural for her to be frustrated when she is being restrained from calling them outside the home.
Then, really understand the concepts of the "dog training trinity" found in the obedience section. A good direction to take with this dog is to teach her that if she really wants to get to something, the best way to do it, is not by a "hissy fit" but by doing what you expect. For instance, you can teach her to sit calm before you let her chase after a ball, or get a treat on the floor, or before you let her play with another dog. Anything that seems to difficult at this stage - just ask less of her, like maybe calmness for just a second or practice in a situation that is not too difficult. Set her up for success and manage for now the situations that are too intense.
I would try to practice these concepts without thinking of any type of correction for now. Work in the + and D portions of the trinity found in the self help section. If you need something to give you a little bit of a physical advantage to help from being dragged I would recommend an Gentle Leader Easy Walker Harness. You can find them here on clearance cheap at least today: click here search "gentle leader" you'll see the gentle leader harness. It's not in the regular harness section.
Keep us posted and if you need anything clarified just let me know.

[mojomoo]

Thanks for responding! It has always been a challenge with her getting her to calm down when greeting dogs and she has mostly gotten her way since she is strong and pulls me to them. I have tried the easy walk harness, head halter, slip leash, martingale, prong collar... you name it I've tried it but she still pulls and only when she wants to greet dogs. maybe I should just start turning her in the opposite direction until she can learn to behave? If it's an older dog she still whines to greet them but she knows better than to act like she's the boss. She has mainly grown up playing with older dogs and they have always put her in her place so maybe the younger ones she does feel more assertive?
I will read what you suggested. This is her main downfall, she is a bit suspicious of men but I can seem to control that. Thank you so much again for responding and I think your training is great!

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

Thanks for the compliments on the site - I have more stuff in the works for it. I am guessing the head halter is your best bet then for turning her. Just be cautious with those because of the risk of neck injury. The very intense and resistant dogs are the ones prone to injury with those. Either way setting up drills where she does get to interact after doing even one second of calm obedience is the way to go - then add time from there.

[mojomoo]

I did notice with the head halter that I had more control but she becomes so depressed when i get it out and I even tried conditioning her with treats etc.. She lets me put it on her but lowers her head, won't look at me and shows her top teeth when I put the loop around her muzzle. She had never shown her top teeth before so I run my finger along the loop around her nose and every time I did that she showed top teeth. No growling or anything, just head very low,her muzzle wasn't wrinkled up like she would bite. Does she hate it that much? and should I continue trying?

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

What kind of head halter are you using exactly? gentle leader, halti, or other? Sometimes you can switch up the type since they are all a little different and reintroduce in a very positive way for at least a week without a walk - just posive training.

[mojomoo]

gentle leader. I could try putting it on her a few days without the loop on the muzzle and then slipping the loop on for a minute and then taking it off and keep doing that on and off for a week with good treats. When she gets more used to the idea I'll use it again for a walk. People think she's the most well behaved dog when we are out walking (she automatically sits at crosswalks now) and is happy to see and be around everyone and everything but when she sees dogs she goes ballistic but I know she just wants to meet and greet and socialize so I do want her to always associate other dogs as a good thing. We walk alot so if I can get this issue under control more it would be such a relief. I'll do what I said above and keep you posted on the progress.
Also, about the pack structure at home she does sit before I throw her ball etc.. she has to wait for me to go in first through the door, she is allowed to sleep on the love seat but can't half the time cause the cats take over,lol so she mostly sleeps on the floor beside my bed, she waits patiently for feed time and is usually laying down when I give her the food (the cats will take over her food if I don't stop them) she has no guarding issues. She can be very excitable and rambunctious still. She does demand attention though which I try really hard not to pet her when she does that. I'll stop rambling on now!

[mojomoo]

Well I've been putting it on her without the loop around the muzzle for a few days (finally not raining here so we can walk more again!) mainly still using the prong but have both on her and today she was very excitable in the beginning of our walk and pulling alot actually and we seen a couple of dogs, she did her dance and whine so I put the loop over her muzzle. Her whole demeanor changes, head down, tail down almost depressed then she puts her nose to the ground and doesn't want to move her head. Afterwards I let her run off leash on the school grounds to get some energy out (she really needs to run!!) then she walked nicely after with just the prong. I'm going to continue putting both collars on her and have the head halter for backup when needed, sound okay? Also started her on salmon oil to see if it makes a difference with impulse control, how long before I see any difference if it does help?

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

Too bad she gets so depressed with the halter on

Can you get her to "heel" with it on? have her walk behind you with a loose lead? Will she do that without the dog distraction at least?

generally what I would do is take my time in LOW distractions to teach the "heel" to at least phase 2 level with low distractions. It would be VERY helpful if you could find someone to help you with another dog. If she "heels" nice a few steps toward a dog you let her "free" and play. Then, you keep adding a few more steps. This might be possible with the halti if she can get used to it. You want to make sure she is walking behind you on a nice loose leash first.

Let me know your input..

[mojomoo]

I think I could get her to heel with the halter on, she will heel with the prong (without distractions) I'll try to get her to walk more behind me since she knows the command "back up" really well. I know this will take some time and consistency When I add a dog distraction I could use my friends dog next door that she plays with alot. Yesterday I asked the lady if my dog could meet hers and she said " Oh no, my dog is intimidated by big dogs." OK, I guess it's her choice but.... not helping her dog any. I also notice when she isn't able to meet the dog she sees she puts her nose to ground and intensly sniffs in excitement, any input on that body language?