Back to square one!!!!!

my staffie can be dog aggressive though he does tolerate small dogs and dogs that dont go in his face so off we set on a chilling walk with my other dog oh no how could i be so silly just enter a field not really a option to return over the stile as very narrow path other side i placed dogs behind me and lady spotted me and started calling her dog the dog looked like it was gonna return to her then turned and started towards us i called to the women my dog is dog aggressive to which she acknoledged then continued to walk at a snails pace towards us by this time her dog had reached me i shouted no at it and told it to sit but still carried on coming towards me which was to much for my dog (both mine on lead) and they started growling and trying to get the womens dog her dog retaliated it was a big dog and im on my own trying to split the three up not pleasent i then yelled get your dog to which she finally ushered her dog away admittedly she said sorry but now my dogs back to square one as ive been working with him with other dogs and now i feel that due to her lack of common curtacey has put him back so angry i was also put in a potition where i was in the middle of three angry dogs with no help i was carrying my pet corrector but due to me thinking the lady had control of her dog ie it did turn to go back to her i didnt have time to get it out while holding my twos leads time for a coffee and a sit down im thinking

Hope you are less shaken now.

It really is no help especially when you are telling the person your dog is dog aggressive and they still walk at a snails pace. I would of been running.

Glad you & your dogs are okay. xx

well I'm glad all the dogs and people involved are ok

This dosnt really sound like anyones fault to be honest. Just one of those things really. A woman has taken her dog to a safe field to let it off lead for a run, it probably normally does come back as you said it looked as though it was going to, then someone enters the field where the dog was already off lead, she called it didnt come and so she made her way towards her dog, then she got her dog and said sorry. That dosnt sound like a lack of manners/courtesy to me. Just an accident. Yes its annoying and shouldnt have happened but these things do happen. Sounds (from your post) like you stressed out the moment you seen it. She may not have run towards her dog for fear of her dog thinking it was a big game and running over faster.
As surely as she should have a recall she could be thinking you should have a sit/stay/leave...

Sorry, I probably wont be very popular on this thread for thinking 'out loud' but I'm just being honest. Its stressful at the time but when you think about it its just one of those things really isnt it. Its a shame if your dog has gotten worse with his DA since it happened though. Sounds a bit like handbags at dawn?

Hopefully it wont happen again but I have to say I dont like the idea of the pet corrector sprays really, its a negative that not only the approaching dog will hear but your own. But thats just me I know there are others on here that like to have it on them.

Best advice I was ever given was to focus on my own dog (easy said I know) but it has been proving itself over and over for us. When the dogs that we have been having 'issues' with approach I've been giving it loudy praise, whistle 'ball!!' whoops, whatever to get by instead of focussing on what the other dog is/isnt doing and it seems to be working although (I still 'body-block' the other dog..) I wouldnt say my dog was very DA.....probably seen the posts lol

I realise its stressful at the time but dont let it discourage you!

You may hear some dog trainers tell you that when you are rehabilatating a dog, he can never experience one example of the 'bad thing, due to reinforcement, so on so forth'.

But when you have such one-off incidents whilst you are going thru a behaviour modification improvement programme, their is no such thing as going back to square one.

It is just an alarmist notion which only serves to give unnecessary added pressure, guilt, and wrong focus to the owner/handler/trainer.

All your improvements are still their inside the dog's head, you and he just had a glitch.

Dog training isnt a straight line, its zigs and zags.

You learns the lesson you learn, you adapt accordingly.

I'm guessing in your case its to avoid blind alleys and stick to wide open spaces?
Where you can assess the environment for pre-emptive management?

What i'd do in your case is hook your dog up to a harness and collar or head collar with a double ended lead (or use a mekuti harness), and go some quiet for a couple of days, even if you have to drive, and walk very very slooooooowly with a drunk cowboy walk using nature and street furnitire to guide your dog into some ground work, such as walking over fallen tress, weave round fence posts, walk underneath things, wide circles, as long as its fluid, spontaneous, and slow.

Do that at least half hour at a time.

If your dog trues to shoot or step ahead suddenly, just stop and do this stuff again.

The idea to get his and your levels down - de-arousal.

Or you coudl set up a groundwork course in your garden using ladders lain on the ground, tyres, anything to make a novel walking experience really.

yep, keep calm and carry on

this area is a wide open space just if id gone back over stile would have been a bit enclosed it isnt the fact the dog came over that was really the issue and my dogs did sit behind me and they can be ok with some dogs its the fact that when it all kicked off she left me to deal with all three fighting dogs she was still wandering along in her own little world

well i dont know why someone would do that but perhaps from someones perspective a bit further off they werent actually touching?

like the big dog is sounding off and your two going at it but actually panic wont do anything, whereas when your in the middle of it, it dosnt feel or look that way?

yes i agree def worse when your in the middle i also i panic more if its bigga dogs coming full pelt at me and i know my two will redirect on each other if to frustrated but your right best to be calm and usually i am ill def be trying what you suggest krusewalker they both have head collars and mekuti harnesses plus will do some more one to one waks they are usually calmer on these walks and it takes my stress levels down

I know how you feel as I get this with Cherry my bitch who is always on-lead as she can be reactive to strange dogs. In your circumstances I would have used my pet corrector spray as Cherry is very badly sighted and would kick off at a larger dog running up like that. I also sometimes pick her up as I did today when there was a Staffy type dog that ran up to her but I guess that's not an option with you as your dog is probably twice as heavy?

My husband says people with friendly dogs have no understanding of the issues you face with a reactive dog and just think because their dog is friendly it can do what it likes. They don't mean to upset your dog but I do wish people would think that when another dog is on a lead it is probably for a reason!
I am thinking of getting one of those reflective jackets for Cherry to wear which will say "Small dogs only" so people are aware she has issues.

I have a good reason for people not to let their dogs near Cherry at the moment as she has kennel cough. A bit of self-interest makes people move amazingly fast to stop their dogs charging up to her! Obviously I am walking in quieter areas re other dogs but I can't keep her indoors for the next month which is when the vet says she can socialise with other dogs again.