fear aggressive and hard work on lead...

Flower is becoming really..and i mean really hard work whilst out walking at the moment...she has become fear aggressive...but only on the lead If we are walking with her off lead..in an open area, she is fine, doesnt go anywhere near other dogs, and has a really good recall.

But on the lead is a different issue..she is strong anyway, I have been trying tot rain her to heel..with little avail... she just pulls and pulls, and when she sees another dog, she goes mad, and nearly pulls me over! She is fine with hubby, she seems to listen to him...and not me! But he hardly ever walks her, I walk them twice a day!

I have a normal collar on, I was suing a harness but that didnt do anything at all, and if anything gave her all her body strength to pull against me!

Does anyone have any ideas for me...I have a sore shoulder from this morning, so this is getting really hard work... And I really cant afford a personal trainer for her xxxxxxx

try a gentle leader I use one on both my GSDs and its brilliant. you can get them from pets at home

Stumpy went through a phase of this (still does it with some dogs but it is getting better).

There are a few things you can try, assuming that she is doing this out of fear.
(1) call out to the oncoming dog in a cheerful voice before Flower starts....you are showing her that you are dealing with the oncomer and that you don't consider it to be a threat. you must stay as relaxed as possible (though I realise this isn't easy once she 'kicks off' and is pulling on the lead)

(2) try and get her to sit before she has fully focused on the dog and treat/praise her for staying in the sit

(3) if she 'kicks off', try putting a hand on her. I have found that touching Stumpy has a really calming affect on her (don't know whether it will work for Flower).

(4) try and persuade the other person (though this is also not easy to do!) not to walk away until you have got Flower to stop barking/lunging...otherwise her actions are becoming rewarding - she barks/lunges, the other dog goes away - she sees that as success and it will encourage her to do it all the more.

Very importantly though, you need to get her around other dogs more, in a controlled way. Do you know anyone you can walk with that can help you with this?

Thanks Hali, well i walk her with my westie Willow, and we regularly meet other dogs whilst in the woods or on the riverbank...no quarms whatsoever!!! it is literally on the lead...and unfortunately I dont know anyone to walk with... It really upsets me when like this morning, the other person walking the dog gives me a filthy look as if im stupid and dont know what im doing!!! I admit, im not the strongest person (Im 5ft 4 and not even 8 stone!) so I dont have the strength to hold her sometimes! But I know why she has the problem...and it was down to a thoughtless owner who on 2 occasions allowed their gsd to run up to us and attack Flower!!

I will def try the sit before she gets near them. I also try and stand still, then I have more control of her, but it is hard when I have 2 to walk at the same time! xxxx

I know its a pain, but I might be tempted to try walking them seperately for a little while. If you are not careful, you could find her fear/aggression rubbing off on Willow and before long you could have two dog barking and lunging (again, I've experienced this where Hoki decided to join in for awhile)
In all honesty, if you want to try and cure this, she has to have your full attention, which you can't do if Willow is also with you.

Try and break her eye contact with the approaching dog and if at all possible, manoeuvre her/you so that the other dog is not coming at her head on - i.e. sit her to one side if a dog is going to come past you and try to put yourself between her and the other dog so she can see that you are trying to 'protect her'. Lots of praise and very high value treats if she remains focused on you and not the other dog.
I would be tempted to actively go out looking for places where other dogs are likely tobe , but only where you can sit her a bit out the way, on the lead, so that although the other dogs are coming towards you, they are not going to be walking up to her face. When she is good, lots of praise and treats and gradually over a period, move a wee bit closer.

i use dogmatics and they really help as Tilly my St Bernard is fear aggressive towards other dogs and it really helps me control her

Thank you..I will take her out on her own tonight! It is hard in witner as I live half a mile down a hill...so to get anywhere I have to walk up!!!lol, but as willow is a less active dog (so to speak) she can do with one walk a day while Im tackling flower. thank you, I will give these ideas a go tonight xxx
oooh what is a dogmatic? Sounds interesting xxxxx

Good luck

If you can manage to explain to other dog walkers what you are doing, I bet you find a large number will be sympathetic and helpful...the difficulty is that if you are near enough to explain, they normally can't hear you over the barking and if you're far enough away for her not to be barking, they can't hear you either!

Thats normally the problem! They cant hear me over the barking! I do always say sorry, and that she is fear agressive, some are sympathetic but may snuff at me..which makes me mad, but it just shows the level of some peoples mentality! I would never give my girl up, so Im trying to rectify the problem, its just a matter of time, and when I work full time, with dark nights...its not easy!!! But I will keep going xxxxx

I do understand the problems. The times I walk during the week, we never meet anybody, which doesn't help her socialisation.

I've been working hard at the weekends arranging to meet other people with dogs and this has made a huge difference....but she still doesn't like seeing dogs 'on her patch'...she's just not getting used to seeing them there and so doesn't think they should be!

Are there any other Dogsey members near you - perhaps you could see if anyone is willing to meet you at the weekends to help?