Hands up who has...

 I agree. The little girl (and of course, the dog she's loving on) is beautiful!!!!

Emma is like Achilles. She is a little too quick to teach a lesson to a dog. Polite dogs, she's great with. Fortunately, we know a good number of well rounded, polite dogs, and we're making a new one, right now, LOL.

I hate to say this but i think owners create the majority of reactive dogs- lack of proper socialization while the dog is young, and improper handling of the leash and dog due to lack of understanding of doggy body language- the number of people I've seen freak out about totally normal doggy behavior and infect their dog with fear of normal behavior is astronomical. I've never had a reactive dog, but I know a lot of people who every single dog they get mysteriously becomes reactive. I carefully teach my dogs to act like people, i.e. you don't talk to strangers, you just calmly ignore them and go about your business. Think about when you go to the mall- you ignore all those people unless you see your best friend. That's your goal with your dog.

mudpuppy

hate to say this but i think owners create the majority of reactive dogs- lack of proper socialization while the dog is young

I believe this is Kaiser's problem. I did not do a very good job socializing him with dogs. He's actually a little too friendly with people...literally loves everyone, but he was around tons, all the time.

That may be true Mudpuppy, but there are times when the dog is already that way when you get it and sometimes it's too late to change the behavior much.  At least that's what my experience has been--I can muffle it a bit but it will never be to the point where I can trust her.  I think it depends on the breed too, some breeds are just more prone to this type of behavior for whatever reason than others.

mudpuppy

I hate to say this but i think owners create the majority of reactive dogs- lack of proper socialization while the dog is young, and improper handling of the leash and dog due to lack of understanding of doggy body language- the number of people I've seen freak out about totally normal doggy behavior and infect their dog with fear of normal behavior is astronomical.

I agree with this...I see a good majority of people who freak out over nothing, making the situation worse, making their dog afraid of the situation and in turn aggression is displayed.
But what about people like me? I've never owned a reactive dog and I've had a couple dogs...until Apollo. I got him at age 6-8 years old. He was chained his entire life. He has a ton of scars on his legs, which my vet thinks looks like old dog bites. The very first time I was out walking him he displayed this reaction toward a small dog, and he was walking loose leash with no training collar on. No, he's never attacked a dog since I got him...but I don't let him loose with a dog he's reactive with on a leash. How do I know he'll be ok with it? Usually his hackles go up, he lets out this deep, loud growl...I do not want somebody else's dog to get hurt ever.

willowchow

That child is gorgeous!!!

Hehe, I agree! She's my cousin's.. I was her full-time nanny from the time she was 2 months old til just a few months ago (and I still babysit her and her baby brother on Fridays, and see her at least one other time most weeks), so she's been around Cherokee practically every day of her life. I have a miiillllion pictures of her...maybe I'll post some in the photos section one day. I'm not even sure that picture does her much justice..she's such a pretty little thing!

Sorry, back to topic.. I just can't resist an opportunity to talk about Alleen!

 It's true that improper socialization or genetics can play a role, but that isn't always the case. I got Indy at 16 weeks from a GREAT breeder- he'd already been started on his obedience, had been to handling class weekly from 8 weeks, lots of visits out and about to see things, and came to me a very bold, confident puppy. It was something that just developed over time- I'd *like* to blame it on an incident at a dog show (got snarked at by a shar pei in a crowd when the building was being evacuated due to a fire alarm) but to be honest, I'm not really sure.

mudpuppy

I hate to say this but i think owners create the majority of reactive dogs- lack of proper socialization while the dog is young,

Oh definitely..and remedial socialization just never makes up for it, does it. I didn't get Cherokee til she was over a year, and she spent the first year of her life chained to a tree, with very little human or dog contact.. kind of hard to erase that. Plus then my sister (whose dog she was originally) and I (her primary caregiver, since my sister worked full time) had no clue how to deal with a reactive dog..so our ignorance promptly turned her into an aggressive dog...sigh...

Pwca

 It's true that improper socialization or genetics can play a role, but that isn't always the case. I got Indy at 16 weeks from a GREAT breeder- he'd already been started on his obedience, had been to handling class weekly from 8 weeks, lots of visits out and about to see things, and came to me a very bold, confident puppy. It was something that just developed over time- I'd *like* to blame it on an incident at a dog show (got snarked at by a shar pei in a crowd when the building was being evacuated due to a fire alarm) but to be honest, I'm not really sure.

I have had the exact same experience with Zoe - she came to me as a very well socialized, confident and friendly pup.  I continued her socialization by enrolling her in puppy K, basic obdience, agility and twice weekly doggie daycare including meeting new dogs on walks in the neighborhood regularly.  Her reactivity and dog aggression developed gradually over time.  I have a suspicion that she got bullied at times at doggie daycare because of her tiny size and learned that beign around other dogs can be a bad experience.  Although, that wouldn't explain her reaction towards strange people.  She is fine around strange people unless they are heading straight towards us or acting in a way that she views as threatening.  She is very protective of her humans.

jenns

 I read an article recently (I wish I had bookmarked it, I have to look for it) that said that reactivity isn't always due to fear like commonly believe.  It could  be drive based or an over reaction to stimulus, and that truly fearful dogs are more likely to want to avoid confrontation, but will act aggressively when cornered.  Just like a truly fearful and shy child is more likely to retract from social situations rather than being the bully in the schoolyard.

This one??

Nyx is prey reactive.

mudpuppy

I hate to say this but i think owners create the majority of reactive dogs- lack of proper socialization while the dog is young, and improper handling of the leash and dog due to lack of understanding of doggy body language- the number of people I've seen freak out about totally normal doggy behavior and infect their dog with fear of normal behavior is astronomical. I've never had a reactive dog, but I know a lot of people who every single dog they get mysteriously becomes reactive. I carefully teach my dogs to act like people, i.e. you don't talk to strangers, you just calmly ignore them and go about your business. Think about when you go to the mall- you ignore all those people unless you see your best friend. That's your goal with your dog.

I think this is dead accurate.  This is what we have done with our youngest dog and she is pretty good.  SOmetimes she wants to go and play, but if she noticesd the other dog at all, it;s usually like "ooo, a dog!  hang about, what's my person got in their pockets?" because the appearance of a dog has usually meant a treat or ball for her

I am fairly convinced that the attack when my terrier was young was a massive factor in his aggression later.  A GSD picked him up and SHOOK him.  HARD.  He was yelping and squealing and I was kicking the GSD and hitting it to try to make it drop my dog.  In the end I twisted its ear and yanked hard and he dropped him.  I'm lucky I still have all my fingers.