My experience of owning a dog-reactive dog has been different to yours Jackbox - whilst challenging at times of course. I think a lot depends upon where you live, I live in a rural area where people are generally dog friendly.

I was considering this when I took him out this morning, after weeks of BAT i.e when coming face to face with another dog I watch him carefully for signs of distress - it's normally a grunt or he will sniff the ground, with that signal I about turn and walk away calling his name, using the clicker and treating him - doesn't always work out that perfectly! We've now got to the stage where he is allowed to go up to dogs he doesn't know and sniff them for about 5-10 seconds and then I call him cheerfully along.

He now has a growing circle of friends with whom he is allowed to greet and I can tell this is ok because his tail starts to wag and he whimpers when he sees them.

When I was having problems with his aggression I learnt to muzzle him and he accepts that just fine. He is not allowed off lead where there are other dogs but is allowed off lead where I can see for miles and detect another dog coming well in advance. When he's on a lead I can quite happily walk with other dog walkers knowing I have control - and he accepts that too.

I think, as I've said before, it's about knowing your dog and pre-empting how they are going to react as best you can - my dog seems to hate brown labradors (although there is a brown labrador in his circle of friends now) so I'm careful if any labrador comes towards him.

I'm not out of the woods yet in fact I don't think I ever will be - but I'm not dreading walks or looking over my shoulder I feel more confident with him the more I get to know him. And like everybody else on here I love him inside out.

Sandy

I have no doubt in that, dogs and people are all different, and will react differently to every situation that comes along.

I also agree, its about knowing ones dog and "pre-empting all situations that may meet you, and to pr-empt you have to be aware and an element of "looking over ones shoulder" is always going to be with you, whether you dread it or cope with it , it will still be there.

Owning a reactive dog, does take some of the pleasures out of walks, due to the fact your walks have to be thought through, unless you live in the middle of nowhere and meeting other dogs is infrequent.

I have been there and got the t-shirt in all techniques on how one deals with a reactive dog,the problem is you cant pre-empt other dog owners and their dogs , and this will on occasion (depending on your location) fill you with many emotions, from pride to despair .

We cannot control other dogs only our own, and with this considered, we can never be at eas when we own a reactive /DA dog!!

I'ts fantastic that you've done so well because a short time ago you was frightened by your dogs behaviour. I'm really pleased for you.

I must be a truely awful owner,my girl is DA and I have had her since 8 weeks old.

Agree with jackbox owing a DA dog can be extremely hard work,especially when you have to deal with numpty owners on a daily basis,I feel like I need eyes in the back of my head!

To the OP well done on taking a dog with issues xx

Yes - I can see what you mean, there's always an element of checking the horizon forwards and back. I think I must accommodate things quite quickly as I've just got used to it. I think I'm very lucky in that I do have quite a few area where I can walk him which are largely dog free - not 100% but enough I think.

I think somebody else said on here - it might have been the OP herself, that no matter how annoying it is to have friendly dogs rushing towards you the bottom line it's always going to happen and as owners of reactive dogs we have to deal with it.

Again I think I'm lucky in that I don't seem to have that many come up to me but mine is a strong brindle staffie and if I don't turn around in time, owners tend to freeze and walk the other way when they see him - so all in all a RESULT!

The good thing about mine is he doesn't have a single ounce of separation anxiety, we can come and go as we please he doesn't mind, he never chews anything in the house and is really laid back most of the time, so I guess I take him as a package and his reactivity is one small part of him - bloody annoying and hard work - but a small part.

Sandy

It must be very difficult, I've never had a dog aggressive dog but I can imagine it's very hard work.
Does it feel like people are looking down on you for having an aggressive dog? I don't mean that to sound rude, I just imagine it's how I'd feel.
Was your dog socialised as a puppy? Do you know what caused the aggression?

I think as an owner of a reactive dog there will always be an element of fear, I know he can't hurt another dog with the strongest part of his anatomy i.e his jaw, because he's muzzled. Nevertheless he's strong and wilful and if he took it upon himself to jump on another dog then he could at the very least cause a lot of fear in the other dog and owner and I would find that very distressing and feel I'd failed him by allowing him to face such a situation.

I've worked very very hard with him and continue to work very hard - I've searched high and low for advice and paid out good money for a behaviourist. And I can honestly say it's beginning to pay off. I took him out this afternoon on his extending lead which is only used for when he plays with his boomer ball which results in a totally euphoric dog and owner.

I think life is good when you have a dog.

Shane - I see you posted this for Sal ... just putting in my experience

As i've said in other posts, I think if I lived in an urban area then yes I'd find it very difficult. It's not easy but it's manageable.

People are surprisingly supportive, I think because they can see that I'm very protective and responsible. This afternoon he rolled his ball under a car on a farm track and a woman I know came up and hold offered to hold him whilst I hooked it out and she held on to the back of his harness.

I don't feel people look down on me for having an aggressive dog they do look down at me for having a brindle staffie. I said once somewhere else that I went out and met a grandmother with her border collie and 3 or 4 grandchildren of school age, she literally threw herself around the dog and the children and I swear if I'd been carrying a samurai sword in each hand, had explosives strapped around my body and the bodies of children from previous hunts slung over my shoulder she wouldn't have looked less scared.

He was a rescue at around 16 months so I'm not sure about his puppy years.

Sandy

Yes she was socialised very heavily as a puppy and she was perfectly fine until a JR attacked her,she has encountered no end of dogs that have charged her & bitten her all whilst she was onlead,an encounter with one such GSD loose in the street with no owner caused her to have a seizure

Having owned the breed for years I tend not to care what other's think tbh,if they look down on me then so be it,I have more important things to deal with like getting them to keep there nice friendly out of control dog away from mine,the dogs which have caused the issue's in the first place.

Sandy - I wish Meg had that effect on owners,sadly they only recall when they see Tyler plodding towards them and he's as daft as a brush lol

We have had quite a few close calls but nothing in the last couple of years,most people around here know what Megs like though now,so we mostly avoid trouble and also walk at unsocial times.