Reactivity to other Dogs/ sometimes people

[Henrythedobe]

Hi my dog Henry is 1 year and 10 months old, when we first got him we were renting an adu (backyard unit) so we had plenty of access to the backyard, i walked him in the mornings. I didn’t have much interaction with other dogs because the neighborhood walked their dogs at different times. since then we moved into an apartment in a more urban neighborhood, I still take him out on walks at night, sometimes I let him run for 15-20 min to get the extra energy out.

Henry has a problem with seeing other dogs face to face in the hallways of my apartment unit, my biggest fear is taking the elevator down to let him use the restroom, and when the elevator door opens he will freak out at the other dog waiting to enter the elevator because it happens 100% of the time. When we are outside and he starts to bark at dogs on the other side of the street I quickly redirect his attention and walk away and usually he simmers down, I pair it with a small command “leave it”. When the interaction is too close in proximity he doesn’t even wait for the command and he’s barking and trying to lunge at the other dog

 

[Ravenbird]

Dog reactivity like this is not uncommon, so don't feel like it's only you or just your dog. At close to 2 years old you have a full grown powerhouse and he's not respecting your commands or leash handling. Many Dobes are impervious to "asking" to behave and you need a correction strong enough to get his attention and respect. My dog was extremely reactive and did as you describe: explosive barking and lunging forward. I used a prong collar which helped a lot and an e-collar when I was off leash (such as in the car) - yes she would explode barking if we came to a stoplight and there was a pedestrian walking by. I won't go into details of training here, but bottom line is that you MUST convince him that when you say leave it, there are serious consequences to pay if he ignores you.

The surprise element of the elevator is a hard one, but if you are ready *every*single*time* the doors open to correct his behavior if he reacts to a dog being there, he will soon enough learn. When you step out of the elevator have your dog on about 6" of leash sucked up to your left leg and put the other dog/person on your right. In other words, don't let him make eye contact or stare at the other dog for even a second. This puts you in charge and denies him a "reason" to react. Reactive barking at a distant dog while walking: You keep your eyes on your dog at all times, there will almost always be a head-rise, ear prick, body stiffening - many signs of body language a few seconds before he explodes. Correct that, no second guesses, if you see him prick his ears at the dog across the way, leash pop, "leave it", or whatever it takes. You will be miles ahead to blow out the match than trying to put out the forest fire.

Welcome to Doberman Chat from New Mexico. You are welcome to post pictures of your boy!

 

[Henrythedobe]

Dog reactivity like this is not uncommon, so don't feel like it's only you or just your dog. At close to 2 years old you have a full grown powerhouse and he's not respecting your commands or leash handling. Many Dobes are impervious to "asking" to behave and you need a correction strong enough to get his attention and respect. My dog was extremely reactive and did as you describe: explosive barking and lunging forward. I used a prong collar which helped a lot and an e-collar when I was off leash (such as in the car) - yes she would explode barking if we came to a stoplight and there was a pedestrian walking by. I won't go into details of training here, but bottom line is that you MUST convince him that when you say leave it, there are serious consequences to pay if he ignores you.

The surprise element of the elevator is a hard one, but if you are ready *every*single*time* the doors open to correct his behavior if he reacts to a dog being there, he will soon enough learn. When you step out of the elevator have your dog on about 6" of leash sucked up to your left leg and put the other dog/person on your right. In other words, don't let him make eye contact or stare at the other dog for even a second. This puts you in charge and denies him a "reason" to react. Reactive barking at a distant dog while walking: You keep your eyes on your dog at all times, there will almost always be a head-rise, ear prick, body stiffening - many signs of body language a few seconds before he explodes. Correct that, no second guesses, if you see him prick his ears at the dog across the way, leash pop, "leave it", or whatever it takes. You will be miles ahead to blow out the match than trying to put out the forest fire.

Welcome to Doberman Chat from New Mexico. You are welcome to post pictures of your boy!

This post really gave me some hope at the end of the tunnel. My husband will continue to walk with me during the day and correct him in the elevator and I do so at 4am when there’s nobody walking there dog.

 

[Henrythedobe]

Dog reactivity like this is not uncommon, so don't feel like it's only you or just your dog. At close to 2 years old you have a full grown powerhouse and he's not respecting your commands or leash handling. Many Dobes are impervious to "asking" to behave and you need a correction strong enough to get his attention and respect. My dog was extremely reactive and did as you describe: explosive barking and lunging forward. I used a prong collar which helped a lot and an e-collar when I was off leash (such as in the car) - yes she would explode barking if we came to a stoplight and there was a pedestrian walking by. I won't go into details of training here, but bottom line is that you MUST convince him that when you say leave it, there are serious consequences to pay if he ignores you.

The surprise element of the elevator is a hard one, but if you are ready *every*single*time* the doors open to correct his behavior if he reacts to a dog being there, he will soon enough learn. When you step out of the elevator have your dog on about 6" of leash sucked up to your left leg and put the other dog/person on your right. In other words, don't let him make eye contact or stare at the other dog for even a second. This puts you in charge and denies him a "reason" to react. Reactive barking at a distant dog while walking: You keep your eyes on your dog at all times, there will almost always be a head-rise, ear prick, body stiffening - many signs of body language a few seconds before he explodes. Correct that, no second guesses, if you see him prick his ears at the dog across the way, leash pop, "leave it", or whatever it takes. You will be miles ahead to blow out the match than trying to put out the forest fire.

Welcome to Doberman Chat from New Mexico. You are welcome to post pictures of your boy!

This post really gave me some hope at the end of the tunnel. My husband will continue to walk with me during the day and correct him in the elevator and I do so at 4am when there’s nobody walking there dog.

 

[Ravenbird]

Good looking Doberman! Don't give up on him, you can do this!

 

[Two Dobes]

'You will be miles ahead to blow out the match than trying to put out the forest fire.' Love this.
Agreed, I think that many of us have had a Dobe that was reactive, so you are not alone. @Ravenbird is spot on with suggestions. I took seminars years ago, with a boy I had who behaved the exact same way....we went over 'threshold' training, where you start from a distance with the dog looking at another dog, and work closer to them, correcting when the subtle signs are there. It takes time, and difficult in the situation that you are in, but you can do it!!!

 

[LifeofRubie]

This is definitely a hard scenario to prepare for because you just never know when those elevator doors open!

Question, though... Are you close enough with any of the other dog owners in your building who have a dog that you've observed doesn't react to other dogs (as in, is totally neutral) to be able to ask them to basically help you train for these scenarios?

Setting your dog up for success usually means first putting them in a situation in which you have a lot of control over as many variables as possible to somewhat desensitize him and build confidence.

Wouldn't take more than a few times up and down the elevator KNOWING there is going to be a dog there when the doors open and then also waiting for the elevator KNOWING there will already be a dog on it, if that makes sense? I don't think you even have to leave/enter the elevator the first few times. Wait until you get a calm or no reaction from him and then add entering the exiting, perhaps. Honestly, they don't need to be long "sessions" and always praise and end on a good note! If it's VERY stressful for him and he's not quite getting "it," I would stop.

Face on meetings can be very stressful for a lot of dogs and he's still young and in a new environment. Quite a big change but not insurmountable!

 

[WANTED]

Hi my dog Henry is 1 year and 10 months old, when we first got him we were renting an adu (backyard unit) so we had plenty of access to the backyard, i walked him in the mornings. I didn’t have much interaction with other dogs because the neighborhood walked their dogs at different times. since then we moved into an apartment in a more urban neighborhood, I still take him out on walks at night, sometimes I let him run for 15-20 min to get the extra energy out.

Henry has a problem with seeing other dogs face to face in the hallways of my apartment unit, my biggest fear is taking the elevator down to let him use the restroom, and when the elevator door opens he will freak out at the other dog waiting to enter the elevator because it happens 100% of the time. When we are outside and he starts to bark at dogs on the other side of the street I quickly redirect his attention and walk away and usually he simmers down, I pair it with a small command “leave it”. When the interaction is too close in proximity he doesn’t even wait for the command and he’s barking and trying to lunge at the other dog

Hi my dog Henry is 1 year and 10 months old, when we first got him we were renting an adu (backyard unit) so we had plenty of access to the backyard, i walked him in the mornings. I didn’t have much interaction with other dogs because the neighborhood walked their dogs at different times. since then we moved into an apartment in a more urban neighborhood, I still take him out on walks at night, sometimes I let him run for 15-20 min to get the extra energy out.

Henry has a problem with seeing other dogs face to face in the hallways of my apartment unit, my biggest fear is taking the elevator down to let him use the restroom, and when the elevator door opens he will freak out at the other dog waiting to enter the elevator because it happens 100% of the time. When we are outside and he starts to bark at dogs on the other side of the street I quickly redirect his attention and walk away and usually he simmers down, I pair it with a small command “leave it”. When the interaction is too close in proximity he doesn’t even wait for the command and he’s barking and trying to lunge at the other dog

A DOBERMAN is the only dog that has ever been bred for personal protection. Henry protects you, ur husband , his territory and which parts of the apartment is his responsibility. If it were me in that situation I would get a prong collar (learn how to use it). Have Henry at sit and stay in the elevator while holding the leash close to the neck. When reinforcing stay open hand in front of his face saying stay, he will get it if u are firm and consistent when he does it got boy and pat him ur positive reaction will reinforce his good behavior. Remember Dobermans aren't dogs they are DOBERMAN's and thankfully different. Good luck.

 

[Ddski5]

Yeah…a lot of GREAT advice up there.

Prong collar for sure and you have to be quicker and more observant than him. Stay alert and your head on a swivel to see that dog situation before it actually happens. Walking to the elevator may get him anxious because he knows what is coming, esp if this is a patterned schedule. Then he stares at the door waiting for boom…there’s a dog that appears out of no where and we are backed in this box.

First thing is that he has to know you are in control and you do not need him to bark/growl/lunge at these perceived dangers. So no nervousness or anxiety from you the entire time. You are confident and steadfast with your daily mission. Remember that emotions and anxiety flows down the leash and they feel/react to it.

No doubt get a prong collar- Herm Springer 2.25mm. It’s not gonna hurt him, but it does get his attention when HE CHOOSES to force forward.

My routine would be to begin disciplined obedience before leaving the apartment.
1. Must sit/stay first in order to receive morn food.
2. Heel sit to my left and wait as I open door, then I step outside and call him to locked in left side heel.
3. Between my door and elevator I want his attention on me, not anticipating the elevator. So on command, I get him to sit many times, down many times and stay on route to elevator. This would actually be a good time to feed some of his breakfast, as reward for performing said commands.
4. Depending on his anxiety, as @Ravenbird I would like to have him sit on my left heel and if elevator door opens and someone comes in then they are on my right. I am blocking space between him and them. The elevator will give you some warning before the door opens…you can confidently talk to him, reassuring him, make him sit then down then sit, down- get his mind on you, not what’s behind the door.
5. My last Doberman Ragnar was highly reactive and I would take him to the outer fence of a dog park and work threshold training as @Two Dobes described. I was demanding on Ragnar and would use the prong collar to let him know I did not accept his behavior. He didn’t want to but he broke from being reactive. He had some start up tell tale signs he would exhibit, I always had my head on a swivel to foretell the situation happening before it happened.

 

[Two Dobes]

Exactly....and just know that 'hopefully' you will not have to spend the rest of this dobes life managing him. It takes time, and wears on you, head on a swivel is a perfect description! But will be SO worth it once he understands what is expected of him. Keep us posted!

 

[BGpa]

16 month old female here, trained by me with BO beginning at 6mo, using k-9 trainer, then some R+ on basics, reinforced by 2.25 prong/choke and ecolllar as needed (very minimal) CGC at 9 months. Working on bulletproof off leash recall in high stimulus places now.

Advice: Always be going back to the batting cage, working on the basics, is what the pro's saay.

Good stuff on youtube free from AKC- read up on Canine Good Citizen training/test.

This will help you train yourself in how-to's for safe introductions, passing other dogs on street with no drama, reliable extended down stays, all good for socialization for typical suburban/urban outings.

 

[UnitySpirit64]

This post really gave me some hope at the end of the tunnel. My husband will continue to walk with me during the day and correct him in the elevator and I do so at 4am when there’s nobody walking there dog.

if your dog eats fast I suggest a slo mo bowl. I lost 2 dogs from bloat . Not saying it would keep them from it. But I do the best I can and at least I know I did. Fast eaters suck in a lot of air and one of the down sides in large chest dogs. Only a suggestion. beautiful dog btw

 

[UnitySpirit64]

Im not sure if my dogs neck has mosquito bites or if the bark collar is doing small lumps under there. Its not burning in and I don't put it on that tight . We have had so much rain of late and mosquitos are massive. I do keep a flea tick treatment on her back but not sure about a spray as well. i don't want to over chemical her. But not sure if the small round under the skin lumps were from bits or the collar. It would be odd a mosquito would go under her collar and to it. Its only when I got to town she wears it so as to keep the neighbors happy. she sees a lot of varmits and in her guard dog mode barks to much.

 

[BGpa]

Im not sure if my dogs neck has mosquito bites or if the bark collar is doing small lumps under there. Its not burning in and I don't put it on that tight . We have had so much rain of late and mosquitos are massive. I do keep a flea tick treatment on her back but not sure about a spray as well. i don't want to over chemical her. But not sure if the small round under the skin lumps were from bits or the collar. It would be odd a mosquito would go under her collar and to it. Its only when I got to town she wears it so as to keep the neighbors happy. she sees a lot of varmits and in her guard dog mode barks to much.

See the vet. Small animal practices may not be familiar with dobes skin issues.

Skin bumps in the neck are common in young dobes as they are prone to immature immune system until older.

Small breaks in skin from rough dog play, or prong collars or a too tight e-collar can become infected with staph- MSRP. If they persist past two treatments get a scrape and send to the lab.

Use Herm and Springer 2.25 inch prongs, to spread the pressure among more prongs. The larger 3" prongs most common on retail shelves for shaggy pups dont work as well on thin skinned dogs.

The Herm and Springer tips are also rounded, and cheap imitations on Amazon are not.

You may be able to find a throat latch sized to 2.25 in leather to add into your H&S, that protects the trachea, if your dog pulls too hard.

Take any prong or bark collar off when not in training especially if its irritating the skin. You are the anti-bark device when together at home.

Use a wide 2" flat band collar in supple leather or padded nylon to hold the dog tags. Wash it in hot water and antibacterial soap once a week.

Good luck and update us on what works please.

 

[UnitySpirit64]

See the vet. Small animal practices may not be familiar with dobes skin issues.

Skin bumps in the neck are common in young dobes as they are prone to immature immune system until older.

Small breaks in skin from rough dog play, or prong collars or a too tight e-collar can become infected with staph- MSRP. If they persist past two treatments get a scrape and send to the lab.

Use Herm and Springer 2.25 inch prongs, to spread the pressure among more prongs. The larger 3" prongs most common on retail shelves for shaggy pups dont work as well on thin skinned dogs.

The Herm and Springer tips are also rounded, and cheap imitations on Amazon are not.

You may be able to find a throat latch sized to 2.25 in leather to add into your H&S, that protects the trachea, if your dog pulls too hard.

Take any prong or bark collar off when not in training especially if its irritating the skin. You are the anti-bark device when together at home.

Use a wide 2" flat band collar in supple leather or padded nylon to hold the dog tags. Wash it in hot water and antibacterial soap once a week.

Good luck and update us on what works please.

Most of that just flew over my head. So I don't use the collar a while see if it clears up. Its just small lumps nothing like oozing fungus. I don't use it on her that long. I think its mosquito bites because she does seem to want to scratch at it a lot. I have some on myself as well. To much rain!

 

[Ddski5]

@BG1 is correct. Flaky dry bumps were pretty common with my Dobermans in their younger years. I really didn’t do much but be mindful of leaving their collars on too long. Makes sense too because I used the prong and ECollar a lot more then to solidify their training.

 

[Henrythedobe]

if your dog eats fast I suggest a slo mo bowl. I lost 2 dogs from bloat . Not saying it would keep them from it. But I do the best I can and at least I know I did. Fast eaters suck in a lot of air and one of the down sides in large chest dogs. Only a suggestion. beautiful dog btw

Thank you~
Henry isn’t a fast eater, he’s more of a picky eater with a sensitive stomach, I’ve been struggling with training because treats are making his stools “jelly-like” and I googled the reasons and it may be that the glycerin in the treats are upsetting his stomach but I’ve been debating on whether I should switch him to slow feeders

 

[Henrythedobe]

Yeah…a lot of GREAT advice up there.

Prong collar for sure and you have to be quicker and more observant than him. Stay alert and your head on a swivel to see that dog situation before it actually happens. Walking to the elevator may get him anxious because he knows what is coming, esp if this is a patterned schedule. Then he stares at the door waiting for boom…there’s a dog that appears out of no where and we are backed in this box.

First thing is that he has to know you are in control and you do not need him to bark/growl/lunge at these perceived dangers. So no nervousness or anxiety from you the entire time. You are confident and steadfast with your daily mission. Remember that emotions and anxiety flows down the leash and they feel/react to it.

No doubt get a prong collar- Herm Springer 2.25mm. It’s not gonna hurt him, but it does get his attention when HE CHOOSES to force forward.

My routine would be to begin disciplined obedience before leaving the apartment.
1. Must sit/stay first in order to receive morn food.
2. Heel sit to my left and wait as I open door, then I step outside and call him to locked in left side heel.
3. Between my door and elevator I want his attention on me, not anticipating the elevator. So on command, I get him to sit many times, down many times and stay on route to elevator. This would actually be a good time to feed some of his breakfast, as reward for performing said commands.
4. Depending on his anxiety, as @Ravenbird I would like to have him sit on my left heel and if elevator door opens and someone comes in then they are on my right. I am blocking space between him and them. The elevator will give you some warning before the door opens…you can confidently talk to him, reassuring him, make him sit then down then sit, down- get his mind on you, not what’s behind the door.
5. My last Doberman Ragnar was highly reactive and I would take him to the outer fence of a dog park and work threshold training as @Two Dobes described. I was demanding on Ragnar and would use the prong collar to let him know I did not accept his behavior. He didn’t want to but he broke from being reactive. He had some start up tell tale signs he would exhibit, I always had my head on a swivel to foretell the situation happening before it happened.

i‘ve been having Henry sit and heel before we leave my apartment door, as well as me being physically outside the door and having him wait for my command to step outside, we are still not at a point where he can step outside AND heel, he kinda gets too excited so it’s more of “ wait” “ steps outside” “tries to wander off” and then I correct him then he comes to a “heel”

So far we haven’t met with any dogs coming in and out so I have been able to test to see if he’s doing better, but the other day there was a lady who joined us in the elevator, I blocked him in the corner and he was able to ride up 3 floors without trying to go up and sniff the other person nor bark which I was ecstatic about.

His improvements so far are gradually becoming more noticeable but he also has a few spastic moments here and there

 

[Kaiser2016]

Thank you~
Henry isn’t a fast eater, he’s more of a picky eater with a sensitive stomach, I’ve been struggling with training because treats are making his stools “jelly-like” and I googled the reasons and it may be that the glycerin in the treats are upsetting his stomach but I’ve been debating on whether I should switch him to slow feeders

Have you tried giving probiotics to help stabilize his stomach?

 

[UnitySpirit64]

Thank you~
Henry isn’t a fast eater, he’s more of a picky eater with a sensitive stomach, I’ve been struggling with training because treats are making his stools “jelly-like” and I googled the reasons and it may be that the glycerin in the treats are upsetting his stomach but I’ve been debating on whether I should switch him to slow feeders

slow or fast eating either way its my vet that suggestion not using raised bowls. might want to research it yourself. I rather be safe than sorry again.