So I have posted about this before..but Sheba has digressed even more so I am so upset now.

So it's about my uppity neighbors who let their dogs do whatever they want (the BC mix and terrier). Well the other day at 7:30 in the morning, it sounded like a dog fight was happening right outside my door. I run upstairs and it's just Betty and Bo trying to kill one of our neighbor cats that my neighbor and myself feed. I yelled at them and they left. Well we went to go for a walk and Bo charged down the hill and Sheba was on the defense automatically. If she had the chance, I 100% believe she would have torn him apart. I charged at Bo and yelled GO AWAY! Nope he tried to bite me. I kicked at him, and he tried to bite me. All the while Sheba looks like she has fricken rabies. So I just pick Shebs up and we walk away really fast. It was a nightmare.

So fast forward to later that day. We are on our second walk of the day and everything is going pretty good. Then I see a couple walking towards up with a little Shih Tzu and Sheba freezes up..this dog is at least three blocks away from us. I have both my girls, otherwise I think this could have gone totally different if it had been just me and Shebs. So I go off on the side of the sidewalk and try to body block Sheba's view of this dog. Not working. Kennedy starts to get excited so Sheba is getting more and more worked up. As the dog gets closer I can tell Sheba is starting to zone in on the dog so I just crouch down and get a hold of her so she doesn't do anything. Then she just lets out this deep, nasty snarl and growls. Scared the crap out of the little dog and it's owners, and I'm left with my face so red and a dog who won't stop growling. It was so embarrassing.

So, I have decided that Sheba is just too far "gone" for me to work with on my own. I have contacted a behavior based trainer. I am very excited to work with them and I cannot wait to get Sheba to better place with herself.

Has anyone else gone through something like this with their fuzzy butts? Should I put a muzzle on her just in case? Or does anyone else have a different suggestion?

I'm definitely not very good with behavior issues, but I think she might be starting to associate seeing other dogs as a negative, because of how many issues she's had with your neighbor's dogs. Even though she's never met the shih tzu before, she remembers what a bad experience it was to meet Bo on a walk and thinks the shih tzu will be the same. The only thing I can think of is to schedule meetings during walks with people/dogs that you know and trust and really reward Sheba when she does well. Kudos on finding a trainer though! They'll be able to help you a lot.

Oh yeah, I know. Her and I have been working on trying to desensitize her to other dogs, and it was working...until this happened. She is just so reactive right now, I know I can't do this by myself anymore. I feel so bad for her . She has always been a little unsure if herself, and then something like this had to happen. I have a feeling it is going to take awhile to turn her around.

I would strongly suggest looking into BAT... I have a very reactive dog and it has helped LOADS! Just don't use a behaviorist who applies punishment based training because it will only make it worse in the long run since this is a fear based response.

Yes, a behavior trainer would be a good idea.

"She is just so reactive right now"

In my small experience with our dogs getting into it, it takes one or more weeks for the dog to get off the "high" and become less reactive to whatever stimulus. It may be the response will not go away without extra effort on your part. The sooner you start with a behaviorist, the earlier you can start working on the behaviors.

It helped with our Malamute but it was not a magic solution. We still had to work hard and several years later we decided to re-home him. He is so happy in his new home.

Oh my goodness I would never get punishment based trainer, don't worry about that! They are strictly positive based..that was one of my requirements when searching for a trainer. I asked our local Sibe rescue for help and this is who they refered me to.
http://www.pawfectpetservices.com/

I have been working on this with her since she was first attacked at a young age (4months? I can't ever remember anymore). We had gotten to the point where we could walk around in a pet store and she wouldn't even flinch at other dogs walking by. That is what is SO frustrating! We came so far, and then those stupid dogs had to come around again.

I guess I should be thankful Kennedy hasn't had any negative fall out from those two either, because she has been there every time something happened too.

I am in no way an expert on this and am glad you contacted a trainer. I do know that my mother in law had a sheppard that was extermely aggressive (he was found in a yard that pretty much looked like an animal hoarders). In order to break his concentration when he "zoned in" on another dog, she filled an empty soda can with change and duct taped the opening. The when he was in the zone, she would shake it to distract him and get his attention back on her. It seemed to work, but again I'm not an expert.

See my problem is that I walk both my girls at the same time. So should I start to walk them separately in case we do run into a leashed or heaven forbid off leash dog?

Sheba&Kennedy wrote:

So should I start to walk them separately in case we do run into a leashed or heaven forbid off leash dog?

Yes, definitely. I can train only one dog at a time, regardless how many are in the room or on the leash. If one offers desirable behaviors and one offers wrong behaviors, how can I respond to both at the same instant?

I've never walked our two boys at once. They're too big for me to handle if something happens. Plus like the person above mentioned it's easier to train one at a time.

I figured so..just really don't want to lol. I walked them seperate when Shebs was a puppy and was learning her leash manners, but I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

Do you think Shebs needs a muzzle? Or not?