"Aggressive" "Reactive" -- Either way, this book looks good...

Good vibes coming your way.  We discussed this book in the clicker section a while back.

Ron is using the click when calm techniques on Shadow with good results.

Good luck. Hey, send me a PM when you post an update so I see it.  I'm interested to see how it works.  I've got the book and the clicker just never got started with it. 
Lori

OK-- Very discouraging day ... Yesterday we did well with the clicker and the treats on our walk. Dweezil slowed down when I called her name so there was less pulling, though (obviously) we still need work with getting her to listen when the stimulus (stressor? ... the other dog(s), haha) is there. BUT, today... was terrible. I actually began to feel bad because, holding the leash and the clicker in one hand meant that if she pulled, my fingers got crushed, and when she did pull I'd have to yank her back. There has to be a better way to do this.
 
BIGGEST PROBLEM: she doesn't listen for the clicker! She doesn't seem to hear it at all! It's like she completely tunes me out, COMPLETELY, when we're outside. At home, the second the clicker sounds her ears perk up and she's waiting for a treat. Obviously, because there's nothing to distract her... but... I don't know what to do now. She doesn't even hear me say "Dweezil" when we're outside if she doesn't want to hear me.

Oh, and, forgive me if this is a stupid idea, but I'm desperate. . . I'm of course going to continue to work on her behavior, and her reacting to things, but I was considering getting one of those vibrating bark collars (the ones that just vibrate...no shock, no citronella spray) just for when we're on our walks. When she goes on a barking/growling spree, there's no stopping her at all. I can't get her to pay attention ... I'll try to get her attention, but in the end, I have to get her by the harness and hold her right in front of me.

Granted, she has gotten considerably better over the last year, and (provided I remind her to not bark before she gets sight of a person) she can oftentimes walk right by houses with people on the front step/in the driveway ... but, I don't know.

I just really want to get her to be more predictable, to be more controllable ... I've never been afraid she was going to bite someone, but obviously, there should never be any doubt in my mind at all, and I would like it if she could stop startling people/other dogs. Not only is it embarrassing, but if someone is already afraid of dogs and my (tiny) Dweezil comes growling around the corner, we could be in trouble.
 
EDIT: Wanted to add.. (to make this an even longer post...) that I still cannot pinpoint what ticks her off... because like I said she loves little children but every once in awhile the kid sitting at the end of the driveway pisses her off (for some reason). But last week three little girls marched right over and Dweezil practically rolled over on her back for belly rubs, and I even got a, "WOW, miss! Your dog is SO calm, I wish my dog was this great!"  ... it was like the twilight zone.
 
But again, I consider her reactive rather than aggressive...but the aggressive techniques seem to battle the same behavior. But I know that she's always reacting to something...it's not just randomly barking/growling at anything that breathes. I'm so confused!!!!!!!!
 
I've been considering getting professional help, but Barkbusters wasn't recommended for fearful dogs, and it seems like just as much of a gamble just picking some other trainer off a list. I need to learn this stuff myself.
 
Thanks to anyone who read all this...

Have you tried a premier easy walk harness for pullin?  I got the pom one from ebay for 99 cents.

When the dog starts to go into the frenzy, with the harness, you can turn her toward you and get the focus off whatever she is wanting to spazz at.

Once you have her attention, then you do the clicker work.

If she is spazzing, then you are too close to the stimulus...move away until she calms down, then work with her at that spot.  The stimulus will still be in view.  Just at a more comfortable distance for her.

Another point I should add...if she is not listening to the clicker at all outside, then start in the house, then on the porch, then the yard, then outside of the gate...then around the block, etc.  Gradually move her to these areas.  Do not move on to the next area until you are able to get and keep her attention.

I've had a thought on this.  The way dogs learn is context specific right?  So maybe your dog has twigged that click=treat(inside) but not that click=treat(outside/anywhere else)  ??????
 
Suspend walks for a couple of days and go back to charging the clicker.  Charge it in different areas of the house and garden.  Charge it with the lead on and without, charge it while standing outside your front door....  Try charging it in gradually more distracting environments until you're sure she's generalised it and maybe then she will prick her ears just the same when you are out walking.... that is what I would try!
 
Also, I would try an anti-pull harness/head collar so you don't have to yank the dog back but you wont get your fingers crossed.  It might help to attach the lead to a belt loop to give you a hand free....?

*head is spinning* -- thanks for all of the advice everyone. I'm going to keep trying, and especially the "charging" of the clicker again. It seems like it's always stepping backwards. AAAAAAAAUGH.
 
Okay I'll calm down and start clicking again later. Thanks again... of course, welcoming any new ideas/comments!

Okay, when reading the click to calm book...this is what I got out of it.

Every behavior has a chain.  Say for instance the leash frenzy.  First the dog looks, ears go up, body becomes tense, then comes the stare/fixation..then moving on we get the lunge and barking.

You have to break that behavior chain.  You can break it at any point.  Now with Zeus, the harness itself stopped him at the lunge stage if something snuck upon me.  He is reactive to loose dogs and they can come flying out of nowhere. He cannot lunge in the harness if I am moving him forward.

Another thing, you may want to try helping the dog develope self control.  Do training sessions daily.  Hold sit/waits at door and gates, etc.  This really worked with mine.  I could see him reach down within himself and gain control of himself...even when I thought he had every right to react.

Also, you may be progressing to the outside too quickly.  In the book Feisty Fido it makes a big point of stating that they need to have it down really solid without distractions first.

You guys are probably right--we're gonna start (again) from the beginning, and work a lotttt slower.

Also, by suspending walks for a little while you will be allowing those tricksy stress hormones in her system to dissipate.  As it is, you're trying to train her with her "on a handicap" style of thing... too many hormones buzzing round her system making her extra jumpy.
 
When you are practising charging the clicker, do you randomly CLICK times when she is calm and relaxed round the house?  cos that's got to help right?

Definitely you need to make it easier when you expect new behavior. Does that make sense? Anytime you "up the ante" you've got to be ready to fall back a step if she's not getting it.

Think outside the box to remove levels of difficulty. Get in her head and really be aware of your surroundings when she's around.

Think of it as "making it easier to be right." Do not be frustrated when you don't see results in what you think is a reasonable time, or if you see what seems to be regressive behavior.

Think like a dog, one incident at a time. Dogs really don't have a way to accumulate emotional responses to repeated incidents, the way we do, so it's OK if you feel like you've screwed up. She won't hold it against you, and there's little you can do short of abuse that is actually irreversible. Just take a step back, get to a place where you can both succeed, and look for answers there.

Don't move on until you know how your dog will communicate either "I'm trying" or "I don't understand" to you. When she says, "I'm trying," accept anything she gives you at that point, and then ask again.

Good luck! I worked with a reactive dog for four years until I could walk her pretty much anywhere with very few incidents. I even ran her in agility and flyball, which she loved, with no problem - but it took a LOT of work, a lot of good advice, and things still went quite slowly.

In Scaredy dog, she recommends a two week period of destressing.  I did this with Zeus.  Under no circumstances was he put into a stressful environment.  He had certain times of the day that he went into quiet times.

We did do walks, but in isolated areas..  He was not allowed any outside barkfests with the neighborhood dogs.  Anything that I thought would trigger a stress reaction ...I kept him from.


As the stress escalates, so does the frenzies and the triggers.

well gosh I feel like a dummie... I was thinking, "we gotta get out there and get started, let her see the stressors, let's get her used to it all" -- as opposed to, "let's get some quiet time in first, and start with a "clean slate."
 
Thank you guys SO SO SO much for the advice and the encouragement; I felt so horrible earlier, but I'm feeling more confident about all of this.
 
I do have a graduation party (YAY! I'M DONE!) tonight...with a ton of people (noisy family). I've gotten her a bully stick and hopefully she'll be fine during the busiest time if I ut her in my room (or in her crate, in my room...) ... I really do hate locking her up, but it's just better than her barking up a frenzy the entire time, especially since I cannot keep a close eye on her behavior ... I almost wanted to avoid celebrating my graduation, but what can you do...the family seems to think it's a big deal. [] 
 
We'll do exercising in the house/yard, playing fetch, rather than walking and getting stressed, for a while. I'll keep all of you updated, but as always, please keep all the responses coming. I don't know how I would have gotten through this first year.5 without you guys..