Sally's New Trainer....

sillysally

Well, we went to a new trainer recently.  She does positive stuff, and uses a clicker--this is the first time I used clicker training in dealing with this behavior.  However, this trainer is doing something different.  Instead of trying to get Sally to focus all her attention of me the whole time, thisd trainer is having me teach Sally to look at the dog without reacting.  We are teaching the "look at that' command. 

I always find this approach a little magic. Another one that i like is that when she/he looks at you, the owner of the other dog leads the other dog away. That really gets some dogs going!!! It is  ahuge reward.

This is exactly what my trainer does for this type of thing, trains the dog it's OK to look as long as we don't react.  A side benefit is that when you click for the look, often the dog automatically becomes conditioned to turn back to you to receive the reward (even though the calm look is what's being rewarded).  Nikon had some reactivity issues for a while so now when we are in class or in close proximity to other dogs, I still mark and reward calm behavior even though it's not really a problem any more.  If I always have food on me, it's simple enough to capture and reward.

I agree with PoodleOwned, show the dog that looking and remaining calm = control over the situation and the bad/scary thing (dog) moving away.  The same technique is often used with young dogs who don't have a ton of prey drive and/or lack some confidence when just starting protection work.  They get to "control" the helper by standing their ground or barking (also used a lot for dogs who are reluctant barkers).  Dog stays alert and/or barks, helper moves back.

She does this with most dogs to varying degrees-the degree depends on the dog.  The more excited--positively and negatively--the other dog is, the more she reacts.  I always say that I love greyhounds as they are some of the most calm dogs to walk by and she reacts very little if at all as long as we are not too close.  Loose dogs get more of a reaction than leashed dogs.

When she reactions she doesn't snarl, growl or bark.  If I just let her to her thing she will pull or jump to the end of the leash, and as she really gets worked up do the fish on a hook flailing thing.  The only sound she makes is whining--lots of whining.

She used to have dog friends.  The summer after we first got her we fostered a male pit mix that my landlord found for a few months.  When i took her to the dog park she would play with most of the other dogs there.  We had an incident where there was another female the same size and age as her who were kind posturing back and forth and at one point they just both went at each other.  There were no injuries to either but it made me uneasy enough to stop taking her to the park. 

When we used to go though she had several regulars that she played well with and was SO excited to see.  There was Rocky, a very large shepard mix that she absolutely adored and was very good with her even though he is often a jerk with other dogs (he bullys Jack) there were also some German Shorthaired Pointers that she really liked that she played with often.

Now here only canine contact is with Jack, who she gets along well with.

When we do let her greet a dog (which is very rare) she is OK sniffing the butt and body, but when she gets to the dog's face she will growl if the dog makes eye contact.

Sorry, that was more than you asked--lol-- I just kept thinking of things.....

I think Sally actually gets frustrated because she is not allowed to meet (and maybe play) with the dogs on walks. The whining while the dog is leaving, getting SO excited to see her regular friends, and the reaction to the prong corrections (which tells her that for sure she wont meet the other dog) makes me believe that she is just about play and a really sweet girl

Of course she should not meet every dog she sees (nor some want to be met) so is good that she is learning to ignore them. Some dogs actually think is rude to be smelled on the face (thats why so many people advised against face to face introductions) so i think thats something different to her dog's reactivity.

I think that if the new exercise is working is great. I just wanted to comment on what did i think that the issue was

To a certain extent, espencer is right, but sometimes they can get so worked up over not seeing that it gets, well, scary.

SillySally, have you read Control Unleashed? This is where this exercise and training method is coming from.

You won't regret reading it.

PS-the older my terrier has gotten (she's 6 now) the less she really likes other dogs. It's a terrier thing to big extent (to me).

I'm so glad you are trying this new tactic, and with what sounds like a progressive, smart trainer.  Sally may well just be frustrated, and my guess is that she would probably be fine with most dogs, however it's a well known scenario that some female terriers and mixes do take exception to other females, and unless you are dead sure of her intentions it's best to keep everyone safe.  If there are any Rowdy Rover, Feisty Fido, or Control Unleashed classes in your area, perhaps your trainer would know about them and recommend them once you have established better control, as a way to increase the distraction level once Sally is ready.  Good luck, I think you're on the right track.