Because they feel threatened. That is one reason.
One might think that a dog who feels threatened would retreat, but how could she when on the leash and emotionally attached to the human? Simply walking away isn’t an option for the owned and human-controlled dog, so she’ll attempt to intimidate the other away or is compelled to get closer to gain more information about the risk involved. Is drawn like a magnet not to greet, but to inspect.
Why would a dog feel threatened by another dog? Because of direct bad experiences or when dogs were an associated detail of human-inflicted pain and discomfort: prong and shock collar, nose harness. Leash reactive dogs need comfortable walking gear the most, but get it the least.
General nervousness being off home turf is an additional factor. Some dogs feel only safe at home and are tense and vigilant when they are not. The appearance of a dog is then the drop that overflows the cup.
When a person, with or without a dog, wants to get into your dog’s space, protect her bubble. Say that she is in training. Most people respect that. If someone doesn’t, insist.
The still-popular outstretched hand to sniff is an intrusion, and a treat in said hand won’t change that. In fact, it can increase conflict in the fearful but also food-motivated dog: wanting the treat but not the hand that holds it. In addition, the general public tends to believe that just because the dog took the treat that they are friends now, and they’ll take liberties such a petting. That is a false assumption. With most fearful dogs a treat exchange is simply transactional.
The other reason is feeling excited when they spot a dog--and frustrated when they can’t get there because restrained by the human and the leash. A strong contributing factor to excitement and frustration are dog parks and daycares—anywhere dogs experience that they can access dogs at will. In that sense, it’s also the pup who has learned that he can pull his human to every dog he encounters on the walk. When free access happens a lot, it becomes the dog’s expectation—and frustration sets in whenever what’s expected cause experienced doesn’t manifest or not quickly enough.
Just like with dogs who feel threatened, here, too, keep others at bay. The environment should ignore your dog just like your dog should learn that naturally occurring stimuli are inconsequential to his life.
Don’t allow your dog closer even if you know that she’ll stop barking after she’s sniffed. The underlying problem is not addressed, and barking and lunging on the leash will continue. In addition, most people don’t consent to being CIAed by random dogs, and allowing an unsure dog within teeth range of another is not a good idea either. It could make the other nervous and if, things escalate quickly.
Better Solutions
A good fitting body harness, for example the Haqihana = comfortable gear.
Condition a feel-good emotion toward the leash. Normalize the leash by randomly putting it on inside the house, including when you hang out, when your dog chews a Kong, etc. It also includes following your dog on a walk, and allowing free sniffing. Begin walking in areas where your dog really wants to be, where you have tons of space, where there are no, or very few, of your dog’s triggers. The daily walk in the ‘hood is not a must-do. In fact, it can be counterproductive.
Incorporate the leash into every off-leash outing.
Make yourself interesting when your dog is on the leash. Instil curiosity in you, and what you have. Check this out:
https://dogidogblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/the-rucksack-walk/
Teach copout cues. A direct instruction is critical for a dog who is uneasy at the moment—it’s a roadmap to safety. And for the hyper-excited and frustrated pooch the signal should be the prelude to something super rewarding the moment she physically and mentally disconnects from the stimulus. What you provide must override the stimulus in importance.
“This Way” works very well. If you make it worth your dog’s while when he follows you, and if you practice this in areas of no or little distraction, there is a high probability that, in time, he also follows when there is a stimulus that provokes fear or excitement. However, provided your dog is fitted with a comfortable body harness, with “this way” you can also pull him along. With both hands on the leash and elbows tucked to your sides to get utmost physical control, shorten it to 2-3 feet—and move. Just move, confidently and with conviction, but without panic or anger. Don’t jerk or tug, but one smooth movement in the direction you want to go. Your dog has to move with you by virtue of being on the leash. Reinforce generously the moment he mentally connects with you again and follows willingly. Be playful and happy. I know that is difficult after your dog just embarrassed you with barking at that other dog, but try. Being relaxed and joyful defuses the whole situation, and makes you more interesting the next time.
Being grabbed by the harness can be a safety cue if it’s conditioned as a feel-good signal. Have something your dog loves, grab the harness and while your hand is on it, continually feed him. Hand comes off, yummies are tucked away. If your dog is of this, start with moving your hand toward he harness, then a little more, then a light touch, and so on. With incremental steps every dog learns that being grabbed is great. When that happens, the treat only manifests when he relaxes with the grab, settles into it, shifts his attention away from what he wanted to act on. You can even announce it a moment before you grab: “Got-Ya”. That word, like “This Way” can become a feel-good signals on it’s own.
“Wait” is another useful cue, but only when the dog/person already is increasing the distance. The often suggested “sit and watch me” typically does nothing other than cause more inner arousal, even if the dog sits and looks at her person.
By the way, and despite what you heard from some trainers and the general know-all-about-dogs public tells you, it is totally okay to pick your pint-sized pooch up.
For a dog who feels threatened it is critical to get information about that thing that provoked unease. But intel gathering must be from a felt-as-safe distance. Here you see Bowie confronted with goats. You can also see that there is still a slack in the leash. Had we approached closer, or had they, his behavior would have escalated. So we didn't. The goats also didn't, Had they, we would have retreated.
When your dog halts to suss a stimulus out, allow this. As long as she needs. Don’t interrupt, not even with a cookie. A dog who shifts her attention away has checked the stimulus off as safe, or irrelevant, and next time you can get closer. Orchestrate situations for your dog to observe and process. Watching and learning often is a missing piece during socializing. Allow them to gain knowledge about all kinds of things that are part of the world they live in. So whenever your dog stops an activity, flow of movement, hesitates, chances are that she noticed something that is unfamiliar, or familiar but she feels uncertain about. Take your dog’s lead and stop what you are doing as well. That includes interrupting a conversation you’re in with your walking partner. And FFS leave your cell phone at home or in your bag. Walking your dog to her satisfaction and being on the phone is mutually exclusive.
If your dog looks at you, reassure her. If she amps up, provide her with information via the taught safety cues. Increase the distance. Often a few steps are enough to allow her to observe and process again. Note! Hard-staring is not observing but targeting. How to tell the difference? The eyes don’t blink, nothing on the dog moves, the whole body is rigid and the dog’s gravity directed toward the target. Increase the distance: “This Way”!
Do you treat when your dog shifts his focus away from the stimulus on his own? You could, and do it when your dog asks for it. If he casually carries on sniffing, don’t bother. He doesn’t want a treat at that moment but explore. And be careful that shifting away becomes nothing but a trick to score a treat. The dog in this clip is, in my opinion, playing a game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTeCM0XZyno&feature=youtu.be That is fine in a chase/excitement context, but does little to change how a fearful dog feels about his triggers.
Make use of your dog’s innate drives and put her on a job. We invited my client’s dog-reactive German shepherd, via his person animatedly moving a few steps ahead, to control her movements. Traditionally German shepherds acted as a living fence when sheep were moved through the many small villages in Germany and Austria. That living fence, i.e. catching up to and then walking beside his person, worked like magic to this boy him past any dog. That might not work with your dog, but then sleuth out what does shift her focus from the environment to the task at paw. For one of my other clients, a Brittany spaniel, it was scent work. When asked to locate a ‘lost’ person during a recreational search and rescue game, he completely tuned the environment out—whereas before not even a shock collar’s high setting my clients previous trainer used deterred him from going after whatever caught his interest: dogs, people, rodents, cats.
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