It is a tough 'problem' and not one I am wholly unfamiliar with with one of my own GSDs (but we have managed to get it under control now and she hasn't reacted in over a year that I can think of).

If the places are busy I would be tempted to keep my dog on a flexi (pain I know) and use the whole holiday as a chance to do a bit of training. This is just what I would do:

As soon as you see a dog coming towards you, try to get his attention with a ball/food and try to keep his eye-contact on you, then if he behaves, heavily reward/praise. You could also feed/play tuggy while the other dog is walking past if he is behaving. This does two things - teaches him to focus on you, and also counterconditions a positive association to other strange dogs (strange dog close by = lots of food and attention and ball from mum = good thing). It does take time and many reps though, as well as good management to ensure he isn't allowed to practice his 'bad' behaviour while being re-trained.

Also you might want to look into a book by Leslie McDevitt called Control Unleashed, as it has excellent exercises and games for reactive, insecure dogs to help them relax and teach focus on the owner.

Hope that is helpful.

Thanks for your reply. Yogi is quite ball driven in usual circumstances, and I have tried to get him involved with a tuggy game whilst walking by strange dogs (with Yogi onlead), but he alternates between barking at the other dog and snatching at the ball ... but it is definitely something I will work on, on this holiday.

Thanks for the book recommendation - I will certainly look it up.

I can't really add to what's been said already.

Make sure you've got plenty of liver cake or equally amazingly stinky treats, and his toys, and you will get there

Remember the more exciting you are (yes, you do look like a twonk whilst bouncing around, making high pitched noises and being highly amusing to your dog), the less likely he will be to react as he will be far more interested in you.

Thanks Jen. I have no doubt I will get there with him, as he is an intelligent boy who likes to please me and is usually very responsive. Thanks for the reminder to take lots of high value treats with me, as well as his ball. Will do!

With regards to the treats as well, something that I find helps is taking a variety of stinky treats, so they don't get used to one treat.

For example, at training today, Jess had sardine cake, liver cake and cheese. All high value, but nothing like each other, so they don't get bored.

I am very pleased and proud to report that Yogi behaved like a star He met new people, dogs and other experiences (lunch in a busy pub and coffee in a busy cafe) and didn't bat an eyelid. Only once did he run up to a strange dog and even then he just said a quick hello and came straight back for his ball without any charging, barging or barking The rest of the time I was vigilant and recalled him back when I saw strange dogs approaching. I also tried hard to remain very relaxed and kept his lead loose on most occasions when passing other dogs and he didn't show any of the tension that he has shown when I have also felt tense and kept him on a tight, short lead.

It was a really positive and confidence building week

thats great news way to go both of you

Well done You can come work on my two now please

Sounds like Yogi was a real star for you Kirsty, but then why wouldn't he be, I think you did the right things there with that loose lead. Afterall, it's YOU he wants to please and if he's on a loose lead he knows that means you don't want him charging over to any other dogs, he's not even gonna try, simples! I'm lucky coz I've got that "with me" well under my belt with Zena plus the ball in her gob with the rope which I can grab in an emergency, but that's only if I spot the dog first and give that "with me" command, otherwise she could well go over out of curiosity, and if it's aggressive I've got no hope with my usually 100% recall, she'll be up for a fight, so I have to be extra vigilant with eyes in the back of my head here, unlike you with your super friendly Yogi there! Bless his heart, considering he doesn't see or meet many people up there I think he did admirably, give him a hug from me please, and one for my favourite girl too.xxx

yay Sounds like you both had a good time