Overexcitement when sees another dog

[Cordelia]

Hello... I have quite a big problem and am desprate for help. So, my 10 month old husky is extremely overexcited whenever she sees another dog, I swear, I can barerly see a dog in the distance but she will see it and act upon it and I immediately know what’s going on. It is no aggressive behavior, but she is extremely playful and wants to play. She pulls like crazy in his direction, if I were to let her she would storm off, she jumps up and keeps on her front paws, will not obey anything or even look at me, if I try to walk away she plants herself and will not move, I can only walk very slowly with my hands hurting because I have to pull her, meanwhile she will not cooperate and keep her head turned, staring at the dog. It is a very big problem to me because her strenght is immesurable, my whole body and especially my hands hurt like hell. Ever since I got her I’ve been working on socialization and I’ve never isolated her, but looking back I think I can see the mistake on my part, I did let her go greet most dogs, but perhaps I should’ve had a different approach to it? I have no clue on how this problem would be solved, and the things I have heard and tried were of no use because, as I said, she will not pay ANY attention to anything and go for the dog as if it’s the only and most important thing in the world. That said, if anyone’s experienced something similar or can offer any help, itms be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[Shepsky5]

Hmm, will she walk nicely on leash with no other dogs around? That's a place to start...
I think the rest of the solution lies in training....

For passing: Training of the "Heel" command (or in our case, "Stay Close!" meaning a casual heel - close to the leg, but no specific side or position). Get the command working without other dogs around, then dogs at a distance, then finally use when there are dogs passing on other side of street...comes in handy for cars and bicyclists too!

For planting feet: I use a firm "Come On" and a sideways jerk on the leash when he is fixated and refusing to budge. He knows the command "Come" (and its variant "Come on") very well in normal conditions - so he is choosing to ignore me. I give the command, wait, give the command again, and if still no response, he gets the firm command + leash jerk. That snaps him out of it! (He does this for other dogs once in a while, as well as when he sees Prey).

Some people use a stern "Leave It" command and it works well. I use the "Leave It' for food, but have not tried it for other dogs.

Or you can train an incompatible command i.e. "Look at me!" + give treat  (start by training with no other dogs around, and work up to dogs passing closer). This worked with mine, up to a point. I suspect the reason it didn't work effectively all the time is that you need more distance for passing a lunging barking dog and less distance for a calm mellow dog, so it gets hard to calculate the passing distance based on the other dog's behavior! If I tried to pass too close, he would totally ignore the food. ( What threw off my distance calculations are those dogs that act very calm, and the minute you are passing, they lunge to the end of their leash and bark! So training conditions are less than perfect...:-)

There are a variety of no-pull harnesses / haltis etc. that people like. . . you could see if that might help...

There are people who use prong collars with this issue - but it must be done correctly or your dog may associate the sight of other dogs with pain (literally, a pain in the neck) and then you get a problem which is even worse - your dog fears/hates the sight of other dogs.

While in training, you could try walking at times of day when it's not "dog o'clock". When my dog had issues like this, I avoided walking between 5 - 6 pm, which is "dog o'clock" in our neighborhood.  That makes training easier. It's easier to train through 1 -2 encounters per walk, than a dozen! 

And if at-home approaches don't work, you could always try a group obedience class, or a session or two with a private trainer. I think this is a really common problem.

They CAN get used to the idea that they are not allowed to go greet unless you walk them right up to the other owner/dog. 🙂
I used to despair of ever walking at normal times of day. My dog would rear up, howl, lunge and bark at other dogs (desperate to go meet). Last summer, we went on a popular paved walking trail - passing dogs, bicyclists, joggers at close distances, and he went calmly by ( I use the command "Stay Close" and keep him walking close to my leg. He understands this command - I am holding the leash doubled up (short) but he is not pulling). When we got home, I realized how far we had come - I barely noticed that he was improving...but a year ago, we would NEVER have been able to walk that trail. It's a process....

 

[Rachael_Astro]

Try treat and clicker training. Take her most favourite treat out with you, try it with dogs at a distance first, get her to look at you when you have the treat and as soon as she does, click and reward. Every time she looks at you and not the other dog, click and reward. And then start doing it from shorter distances. It will take a while but you will get there eventually! A walking belt is great as your waist is your centre of gravity if you’re struggling with her strength, however it will give her more freedom to move about so youre best getting a lead attachment with a handle at the bottom that you can grab if necessary. If you have a friend with a calm dog that would be great to train her, get your friend to walk their dog a bit further down the road to you or at the other end of a field to start off with. You did the right thing socialising her, she’s just at the teenage stage now and needs to learn some manners!


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[2Huskyfun]

I feel you. My 10 month old male is the exact same way. 

He is trained. Knows ALL the commands: leave it, walk on, attention, heel, no, and I can have a raw steak in my hand and he wouldn’t care! Jumps 4 feet up in the air, screaming, whining, running backwards, and has even nipped at me or goes after his sister (who is being perfectly calm)

Knowing all the commands is fantastic when there are no other dogs around. LOL

I am mostly one handed and I have him coming up on 50 pounds and his sister hitting 45 pounds. I walk them together. 

I have had to get real creative! 

Yes, I use a prong on him. I also used one on his sister but she no longer needs it. I hate it but it works great! You will need to make sure it is the correct size, you are placing it in the correct spot (as far up as possible right behind the ears- it is the most sensitive spot), and most importantly you have her pressure trained before leaving the house! 

You cannot just put it on and walk out the door!

 Pressure training: it’s hard to explain but I found it by googling it. It is were you get them to turn left and right with the slightest pressure. Once they learn right and left then they will respond if they go forward and there is pressure they will stop.

All I can say is that it has helped so much! My girl is a perfect angel 98% of the time and is now in a  martingale as a secondary and could probably be put in a regular collar if I wanted. The boy.... I still use it but only as a backup because he still has bad days and I never know what will set him off. I added a link or two so it is at the base of his neck. It took 2 months to get my girl out of it and it has been about 3 months with my boy.

 I know have them in Non-Stop Freemotion harnesses with her in a martingale and him in a prong. I have a running belt, two bungee police lines with a long line to each of their collars. 

It works great for mine and my male does great with this setup.

I know how frustrating it is and how hopeless it feels. Each dog is different and just take your time finding what works. 

 

 

[Rachael_Astro]

I feel you. My 10 month old male is the exact same way. 
He is trained. Knows ALL the commands: leave it, walk on, attention, heel, no, and I can have a raw steak in my hand and he wouldn’t care! Jumps 4 feet up in the air, screaming, whining, running backwards, and has even nipped at me or goes after his sister (who is being perfectly calm)
Knowing all the commands is fantastic when there are no other dogs around. LOL
I am mostly one handed and I have him coming up on 50 pounds and his sister hitting 45 pounds. I walk them together. 
I have had to get real creative! 
Yes, I use a prong on him. I also used one on his sister but she no longer needs it. I hate it but it works great! You will need to make sure it is the correct size, you are placing it in the correct spot (as far up as possible right behind the ears- it is the most sensitive spot), and most importantly you have her pressure trained before leaving the house! 
You cannot just put it on and walk out the door!
 Pressure training: it’s hard to explain but I found it by googling it. It is were you get them to turn left and right with the slightest pressure. Once they learn right and left then they will respond if they go forward and there is pressure they will stop.
All I can say is that it has helped so much! My girl is a perfect angel 98% of the time and is now in a  martingale as a secondary and could probably be put in a regular collar if I wanted. The boy.... I still use it but only as a backup because he still has bad days and I never know what will set him off. I added a link or two so it is at the base of his neck. It took 2 months to get my girl out of it and it has been about 3 months with my boy.
 I know have them in Non-Stop Freemotion harnesses with her in a martingale and him in a prong. I have a running belt, two bungee police lines with a long line to each of their collars. 
It works great for mine and my male does great with this setup.
I know how frustrating it is and how hopeless it feels. Each dog is different and just take your time finding what works. 
 
 

The RSPCA wants prong collars to be banned and I agree, along with shock collars. Lazy people who want a quick fix for training, when actually although it ‘works’ it has an adverse affect on the dog and they don’t enjoy being walked anymore (as research suggests). Nothing that inflicts pain should be used for training


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[wolfpup]

Marley is exactly the same  -   goes nuts whenever he sees another dog   -  all playful - never agressive  - on his own or with our other dog.    Lunar on the other hand when he is walked on his own  chooses to avoid other dogs  whether he is on lead or off lead  (he is a Utonagan not a husky - and can be trusted off lead)  When he is walked with Marley however  -  he is all  "You wanna piece of me  -  just try it".     Marley is 25 kilos  and Lunar  36 kilos   so walking two dogs together is a nightmare  -  I walk seperately but hubby gives them the first walk around 4a.m.  when there is far less likelyhood of meeting another dog  (or cat)

[robke]

4 hours ago, Rachael_Astro said:

 

The RSPCA wants prong collars to be banned and I agree, along with shock collars. Lazy people who want a quick fix for training, when actually although it ‘works’ it has an adverse affect on the dog and they don’t enjoy being walked anymore (as research suggests). Nothing that inflicts pain should be used for training


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Unfortunately in the us these are not banned ...

[2Huskyfun]

I purchased every training  apparatus I could find, tried every training technique, and spent 100s and 100s of dollars on trainers. I also asked several vets if they ever seen a dog injured by a prong and the answer was no.

Using a prong was the last resort and at no time has my pups experienced any pain or any injuries while using it. 

It is what worked and was not a forever tool. When used correctly it is not lazy and does not cause injuries. 

Sure there are people out there that are lazy and yank and jurk and that will cause injuries. Throat injuries can be caused by a regular collar too when missed used.