# Will Oscar ever love his Halti?



## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

_(Note: Long and rambling but I swear there is a question in there somewhere!)_

So on the advice of some people here, we bought a Halti for Oscar to help with his pulling/wild man jumping/arm biting routine that he is so fond of lately. :doh: I know it can take a long time for them to be comfortable wearing that crazy contraption on their faces, so before we ever tried it outside, I made sure we did lots of slow introductions inside... sticking the nose through for treats, wearing it while training inside, etc. He seems "okay" with it inside... sometimes he noses the ground or shakes his head in irritation, but overall I can get him to the point where we do all our "indoor tricks" with it on and he seems "okay".

Well today we tried a real walk with it on, and it was _overall_ pretty awesome!!! No jumping, no biting... no pulling!! : : Woo!

Now, okay, on the down side... He still did the face-punching thing, where sometimes he would shake his head and try and pull it off... and he did try to rub his head along the ground... or pull his whole body backwards and then try biting where the leash connects to the Halti & collar. He didn't do those things ALL the time, eventually he kind of ignored it, but he obviously still doesn't exactly LIKE it... and he protested considerably when I went to put it back on after we had some off-leash romping in the park. I didn't end up putting it back on, actually... and he walked like an ANGEL all the way back home -- I think mostly because he was tired 

*SO I guess my question is... do I make him wear it every time (or for at least part of the walk), and hope that he will eventually stop trying to yank it off his face?* I personally do feel a LOT happier walking him with it on, because if he does try his crazy man jumping/arm biting thing, I can just pull up and he can't bite. Fortunately, I haven't actually had to DO that, so that is awesome IMO. BUT I don't feel like I want to force him to wear something that bugs him, since I feel like part of his *occasionally* bad on-leash behavior is because he sometimes gets agitated to begin with. But then again, today he was overall SO SO GOOD -- and we haven't even been to the park in DAYS because it's been pouring here and the park was totally flooded!

I guess I'm looking for some hopeful comments about dogs who learned to tolerate it -- or even love it! -- since while it makes life sooo much easier for ME, I don't like to see how it is bothering him. Oh and I am positive it is the right size (in face I had to tighten it because he was getting the side part INTO his mouth somehow), and I'm pretty sure it is not hurting his nose or pinching him at all, that I can tell.

We are starting a new class at the end of March... we're doing a beginner class over again (though it isn't at Petsmart this time), and as he (obviously) needs a LOT of work on heeling/loose leash walking, I'm hoping to pretty much focus on that as much as I can.

Thanks for listening to my rant, if you got this far


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

My experience: Love? No. Accept? Yes.

I'd continue to use the off leash romping time at the park as the reward. IMO all dogs need some time to just run and feel free.


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## mm03gn (Sep 24, 2008)

He probably won't ever LOVE it, but be consistent...and he'll soon forget there was another way of doing things  Just ignore him fighting it, and he'll soon stop wasting his time and get on with his walks!


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

MyBentley said:


> My experience: Love? No. Accept? Yes.
> 
> I'd continue to use the off leash romping time at the park as the reward. IMO all dogs need some time to just run and feel free.





mm03gn said:


> He probably won't ever LOVE it, but be consistent...and he'll soon forget there was another way of doing things  Just ignore him fighting it, and he'll soon stop wasting his time and get on with his walks!


Thanks guys -- that really does make me feel better. I guess "love" is a bit idealistic of me... really, I just want him to be not irritated or frustrated with it. And he definitely needs his off-leash time... as do I! 

Oh and Melissa this probably makes me sound like a total nut :curtain:, but I showed Oscar your picture of Bailey wearing her Halti (or similar thingy) and carrying that giant stick, from your blog... I was like see you can be happy you crazy little man, she looks perfectly happy! LOL! I hope someday he looks as satisfied with the walk as she does in that picture.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Sounds like you've done a good job of working with it inside! Did you do any of that training while outside your house? Did you teach him what he should do when he feels pressure?

The other thing to think about is that different head collars fit differently. The gentle leader has been my favorite, I had serious issues with the Halti's breaking. But I know several dogs who fit way better with a halti than the GL. I've been working towards trying out other head collars with my dogs.

If he's doing the rolling-pawing thing... try doing more of your headcollar training outside and use a higher rate of reinforcement while on walks so he doesn't get a chance to be worried about it.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

C still does the whole had bob and weave when I'm trying to put his halti on but he knows that no halti means no walk. Every now and again I test out his walking without the halti and he still pulls like there is a sale on dog biscuits down the street.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

C's Mom said:


> C still does the whole had bob and weave when I'm trying to put his halti on but he knows that no halti means no walk. Every now and again I test out his walking without the halti and he still pulls like there is a sale on dog biscuits down the street.


That made me laugh!! 

I agree with the sentiment above.

Love it, Nope. Accept it, Yes. My parent's wild-child rescue needs either a harness or her gentle leader or she pulls your arm out of the socket. She still will scrape her head on the pavement if you stop to chat with the neighbors and she has the opportunity to *try* to get it off. It sounds like you're on the right track, keep it up!!


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

RedDogs said:


> Sounds like you've done a good job of working with it inside! Did you do any of that training while outside your house? Did you teach him what he should do when he feels pressure?


I guess the answer is "yes"... but he wasn't exactly happy about it. We tried it out back of the building (I live in an apartment), but he was really grumpy because we weren't really going anywhere (like on a walk). He was actually much much much better ON the walk, I guess since he had other things to think about rather than that "thing" on his face LOL

But I think we do need to do some training outside... perhaps should I get a long line or something, so we can train outside while he's still on the leash? I have no yard, so off-leash is always at the dog park (but there is always other dogs/people), and so I've never tried actual "training" there.

What should I expect from him, when he feels pressure? He looks back at me, and I praised him for not pulling. I also went through 2 large pieces of leftover steak that I chopped into pieces, dolling them out when he didn't pull, looked back at me, and didn't claw at his face... he was pretty happy about that part LOL I will keep that part up for sure.

I think another thing that bugs him is that his front feet hit the metal leash clasp when he bends down to sniff the ground, and he sometimes steps on it. :doh: I was frequently bending down to get the leash out from between his front legs. Is that typical, or maybe another kind of head collar would be better?



C's Mom said:


> C still does the whole had bob and weave when I'm trying to put his halti on but he knows that no halti means no walk. Every now and again I test out his walking without the halti and he still pulls like there is a sale on dog biscuits down the street.


Haha! Yes he was totally dodging it when I tried to put it back on after the park... he actually accepts me putting it on inside, but once we get out the door he starts hopping around. I guess I have to work harder on making him like it OUTSIDE as well as he accepts it INSIDE... but that is kind of an accurate reflection of his whole inside=good as gold/outside=nut thing anyway LOL



CarolinaCasey said:


> Love it, Nope. Accept it, Yes. My parent's wild-child rescue needs either a harness or her gentle leader or she pulls your arm out of the socket. She still will scrape her head on the pavement if you stop to chat with the neighbors and she has the opportunity to *try* to get it off. It sounds like you're on the right track, keep it up!!


Actually, wow, you have totally reminded me that he was *suspiciously* good today... we stopped to talk to like 5 different people, and he was definitely WAY better than usual. Frequently he turns around and mugs me, trying to get off the leash and like biting at the leash where I have it in my hands because he wants to jump all over the over person. He gets rediciously excited by other people. But today I had him in a sit-stay or a down-stay, and other than giving some little kid a face-full of doggie spit (WHOOPS sorry...!), he was really good... LOL I totally forgot about that part! And we even walked by a ton of people without him trying to walk in front of them...

OKAY I'm totally charged up now!! I want to go on like five more walks right now!!  LOL


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## Mellow (Feb 27, 2010)

zephyr said:


> OKAY I'm totally charged up now!! I want to go on like five more walks right now!!  LOL


That's the spirit :


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## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

If you're home, put it on and leave it on all day in the house. We aren't doing that with Marty now, but did for a while and it really calms him. I don't think Halti bothers them as much as Gentle Leader. I have both.


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

Mellow said:


> That's the spirit :


Woo! Can't wait for tomorrow 



kaysy said:


> If you're home, put it on and leave it on all day in the house. We aren't doing that with Marty now, but did for a while and it really calms him. I don't think Halti bothers them as much as Gentle Leader. I have both.


How does that work?? If I leave it on Oscar and I'm not distracting him, he usually just lies down and tries to chomp on the end he can reach, right under his chin :doh: And the fabric is not exceptionally sturdy because it is so soft. Maybe if I just watch him for a while and tell him to leave it, he'll eventually learn to stop trying to chew on it? (Knowing him, that sounds a bit preposterous, BUT hey!


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

A long line can help you be safe for training outside. I don't do much of that because if it gets wrapped around your foot...or if your dog suddenly runs off REALLY fast... there will be pain for you..and maybe him! Doing training on leash in different places can help him learn to be more reliable.

The FIRST thing I (almost) always teach people with a head halter is how to use the leash (wihtout the dog intiially). If there is tension, it should only take two fingers to turn the dog back to you, and the leash should move 90* from the dog, not straight back. the second thing, is we teach the dog to move into leash pressure (usually this is introduced with the buckle collar). When the dog is pulling, stop, wait, and when he turns back, reinforce. If a dog knows to move into pressure...he will not be able to learn to pull hard on the GL and you will not ever be accidently reinforcing pulling.


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## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

The one Marty has isn't long enough for him to chew on.


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

RedDogs said:


> A long line can help you be safe for training outside. I don't do much of that because if it gets wrapped around your foot...or if your dog suddenly runs off REALLY fast... there will be pain for you..and maybe him! Doing training on leash in different places can help him learn to be more reliable.
> 
> The FIRST thing I (almost) always teach people with a head halter is how to use the leash (wihtout the dog intiially). If there is tension, it should only take two fingers to turn the dog back to you, and the leash should move 90* from the dog, not straight back. the second thing, is we teach the dog to move into leash pressure (usually this is introduced with the buckle collar). When the dog is pulling, stop, wait, and when he turns back, reinforce. If a dog knows to move into pressure...he will not be able to learn to pull hard on the GL and you will not ever be accidently reinforcing pulling.


Hmm well maybe I'll start trying to incorporate some of our indoor training into a walk (on his regular leash)? We have a very large field down the street (unfenced, unfortunately) where we could go and no one would distract us. Obviously we can't practice "stays" where I leave the room but I guess we could do some other stuff. I don't know why I haven't done anything outside... I guess mostly because he's been a nut and I haven't had his concentration LOL

Maybe I need to watch some videos of people using these things, I'm not sure I'm doing it "right" based on your description. The main thing I noticed was that now that he's not pulling (yay!), I can't just let the leash drag on the ground (or very low to the ground) because he just ends up stepping on it and it gets underneath him, which is not great because then his head would get pulled down if his legs step on the leash :doh: So I have to fish it out from under him.

I was walking with the end loop of the leash in one hand, and then the middle of the leash in the other so I could have it (loosely) pulled away from his body, off to the side, so he couldn't step on it as easily. However this way, I can't really walk without watching him -- which is not a problem because I am always watching him to be vigilant of him eating things -- but it does also mean I am constantly shifting the leash around his head by adjusting my hand position, to avoid him stepping on it. Is that normal? ... Maybe I'll try and get my boyfriend to take a video.

But regarding the turning back with pressure thing, we probably actually went backwards from our regular collar pull-stop-he stops pulling- good boy-keep walking work , because we switched to attaching his harness in the front. This really really helps with the pulling, but he does end up feeling the pressure of the leash constantly along the side of his chest in the front, and sometimes he'll do this sideways pull if he really wants to (although he can't pull hard). So I imagine he could do a similar thing with the Halti, if he turned his head like down and sideways... Fortunately I didn't find he was doing that at all, since he likes to have his head looking at whatever has his interest anyway -- but now I will be more careful not to let him pull/resist the leash with his head. It also seems dangerous if he really tried to pull that way? :no:

But what do I do if he stops? He stops a LOT to sniff stuff, which I don't mind... but if I waited him out, he'd stop in one spot for like 5 minutes probably. With the regular collar or his harness, I'd just say "let's go!" and starting moving, hoping he'd follow... or wave a treat... and sometimes he does... but if not, I'd gentle pull on the leash so it jangles on his end and he usually starts moving. I probably shouldn't have been doing that in the first place... but now I definitely don't want to do that with the head collar, because of where the connection is and it will scrunch up around his mouth if I pull on it. I guess my whole "walk philosophy" probably isn't great for his issues to begin with anyway, because it sounds like I should be practicing something more like "heeling" (his attention is always no me, no sniffing around the neighborhood yards) rather than "regular dog walk"... oy.

Anyway thank you, you have definitely given me a lot to think about! And I will definitely be bringing his Halti to class when we start, so hopefully someone can show me in person how a head collar walk is supposed to look.


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

Scout was the same way - we made him wear it in the house from time to time. He now "allows" us to put it on but he gets a really sad look on his face and gives us dead weight until it's on...he acts 100% normal on a walk... After that we are good until he is off the leash. Once off he rolls around on the groud and gets a zoomy going until it's off. He looks like a nut when he is not walking with it.

He loves to hate it, but will use it.


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

Whoops! I should have waited until after today's walk before making that last post! :doh: 

We had an AHA moment! :: I totally figured out what I've been doing wrong... or most of it, anyway. :crossfing I was giving him way too much extra leash, and that was why it kept dragging under him or he kept walking into it. I've also been letting him get too far in front of me, therefore every time he stopped to sniff something, I'd keep walking, and then we'd get all tangled up and have to start all over again... or he wouldn't want to start walking again and I'd have to coax him into it.

Well today I just walked to and from campus (which is maybe a bit over a mile away) and I tried to keep a much shorter leash by keeping most of the leash loosely gathered in my hand, and encouraged him to stay next to me, *and he did SO MUCH BETTER*. Minimal face-punching or fighting the Halti, and he was walking next to me so I could sort of manage his sniffing and encourage him to keep walking, therefore we didn't get into a cycle of start-stop-start-stop and get all bunched up. I gave him treats when he walked nicely and when he turned to look at me for guidance. We even had to walk along a very busy street for a block and he was great.

Also, sort of unrelated, but he was GREAT on campus!! This was his first time visiting. There were so many people out and about (gorgeous day here, plus it's St. Patrick's Day so they were wearing all crazy get-ups... oh university students!), and he was walking right beside me. He didn't even try to run over and play frisbee with people... though he was gazing at them wistfully I think LOL

He didn't appreciate having to walk up all the stairs to my office because the stairway is a bit narrow and winding, plus he doesn't like when he can't see where it ends (up or down). But he obliged, which was great because I didn't want us to have to use the elevator (not everyone appreciates dogs and I didn't want to trap someone in there with us).

Now I have a tired & happy dog and a tired & happy me! Yay! : I am so happy I started this thread, thank you guys for all of your advice... Oscar thanks you too because now we can have a pleasant walk EVERY DAY! Woohoo!


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

You can do "regular indoor training" outside, on a regular leash. You can use a longline in a field if you are able/capable of safely handling the line... I'm not able to with all dogs!

There are tons of other ways to practice stays outside. Can you sit on the floor? With your back to him? can you turn in circles? Wave your hands around? Talk to real people or invisible people? Have him stay while you tie your shoe? "Spill" all your treats and then pick them all up? Move things around? Play with the grass? Read a book? Eat a snack? Make a pretend phone call? Run around him as fast as you can, move slowly around him... throw items...

If he's having trouble doing -any- task, just make it easier on the next rep.

I haven't been able to find videos of people using GL's well... 

Here's one of someone teaching a dog to wear one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_R9TkyVl20

My "Right" is different to "right" with other people. My goal is to have very little pressure on the dog's face, and that the GL is there as a back up, in case he pulls, rather than to make him walk nice due to the discomfort....if that makes any sense... I'm also very "light" with my hands... literally all the pressure you need is two fingers gently holding the leash, in almost all settings.

You don't want the leash to drag...and esp with smaller dogs it's impossible to have the clip hanging straight down... but we really don't want to be putting sideways slight pressure on the dog's face if we can help it. It's a balance to get enough slack for good walking but no tangling!

I tried to get some video clips... but uh... you have a really great view of a happy cat. And she's blocking everything else.... 

The pressure with the leash is what we do if we're over-faced in a situation. Stopping and waiting for the pulling to stop before continueing on can work well.. if the dog is pulling -really- hard or is -really- aroused...turning and going a different direction can sometimes/often be a better choice. There's so many variables!

My dog has learned several techniques of trying to pull in a head collar (...either put his chin way tucked and just GOO! or turn around so he is facing me and pull back, sometimes with the leash in his mouth. He's pretty strong and so this on occasion has at least made me stop!

Decide if you want to stop and sniff or not. We have our exercise parts of walks and our entertainment parts. Sometimes I will cue my dog/s to go sniff. And they get to sniff as long as they want. Initially that was forever, but even a glance at me got a tossed treat. Now they're happy to take a quick sniff and then they come back to me. this is really easy to establish. 

I do not require heads up attention on me heeling with the GL. We're just walking, but my walking rules are: stay on one side. Stay close. slack in the leash. Keep moving. And so that's what we've worked up to.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

And YAY for today's successes!


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## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

I was going o do Marty's nails today (oh what fun) started off OK and then he started doing "ugly face" I put his Halti on him and finished w/o a problem.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

"Tuckers Nail Trim" video is fabulous. Using a head collar/muzzle/backpack/body wrap to inhibit behavior can be very reinforcing for -us- but can negatively impact the behavior/associations long-term.


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

RedDogs said:


> And YAY for today's successes!


Thank you! 

Oh that is a great video! I probably did rush the end part of the desensitization. I did get him used to it initially almost exactly the same way as on the video (even with cheese!), but I probably wasn't giving him treats rapidly enough when we did our indoor training because he did paw at his face.

His "stays" indoors (haven't tried outside really -- except for "stay" whilst I scoop a poop LOL or we are waiting to cross the street) are OKAY but not great by any means... I have tried walking around the room... sitting behind him where he can't see me... going out of the room, coming back, getting close to him but not release him, go back out... BUT he definitely can't "stay" if I start _running_! And we are still working up to longer and longer times... he gets extremely fidgety after a couple of minutes  Well I can understand his feelings LOL but we do need to really work on that. We just started a "stand-stay" which he does not like as much. "Stand" in general is a fairly new one for him. And I've been trying a stand-stay where I touch parts of his body or adjust his legs... he does not understand what I am doing!  I am sort of thinking (very far ahead...) in the future as I think there is something similar to that for the CGC... well anyway we still have a lot to work on since he can't be pulling at the leash for THAT. LOL! Also he tries to gnaw on the brush whenever I brush him... basically I need to work on everything! :bowl:

How do you teach "sniff"? Just label it when they are sniffing? He seems to know "go to/on the" ...whatever, is when I point at something and he'll go over to it or jump on it (chair, blanket, bed, whatever)... maybe I can point at the ground...?? haha! (Although I actually think he would probably think I meant he should go potty... although that is called "hurry up" so maybe not. Hmm.)

Anyway overall he was so much better today, like I said. I think I was complicating our learning-to-walk-nice by letting him wander around a bit TOO much, because then he'd try and go onto someone's lawn and I'd be standing on the sidewalk like "Nope over here buddy!" So today I was just trying to keep us moving and keep the leash as short as I could _without_ pulling on him or pulling him close to me, and that seems to work sooo much better. It was also easier when he was closer to my side because I can also see and "feel" whether the Halti is pulling at his face or about to get stepped on much easier. And like you said about keeping it at ~90 degree angle to his face-- that is way easier to do when he beside you rather than in front of you!

Also we would love some videos of your dogs in action, even if there are cats in them!! I imagine even your cat is well trained :


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

Oookay, and several hours later, I've found myself another Halti issue... :

We went on another mini-walk this evening, and ran into a couple of dogs (on leash) -- AND I realize now that that is not going be much fun while he's wearing the Halti.

I tried to have him sit nicely while we greeted them... ahhh not so much. He hopped up to greet them and ended up writhing around at the end of leash and making quite a commotion. We ended up all tangled up, of course. They walked away eventually, as he was now thrashing all over the pavement trying to rub the Halti off of his face. :doh: 

Sooo obviously we need some better greeting manners in general, he is WAY too excited when we meet other dogs. He is SO good now meeting PEOPLE, but we have a long way to go with the dogs. I'm thinking my general strategy should be...

1. Always have him in a sit-stay while the other dogs approach us (not sure if he can sit still for this though!)
2. Don't always have him greet other dogs? Sometimes just walk right on by because he shouldn't think he can always say hi to them, he must wait for permission?
3. Keep the leash short? I hate to guide him TOO much because I think it's supposed to be better for dogs to meet each other without the owners fumbling around or pulling them on the leash -- but as his typical greeting is I WILL JUMP ALL OVER YOU AND HOP AROUND YOU EVEN IF YOU ARE TRYING TO SNIFF ME NICELY -- I'm not sure if letting him just "do his thing" is really helping.
4. I'm not really sure... making this up as I go along 

Anyway, must keep working on this issue now. I really hate to have him hopping around while he has the Halti on, because I really don't want him to hurt himself in his exuberance. He does get lots of off-leash socialization at the dog park, and in general (I think?) he has good doggie "manners"... he is frequently the one flopped on his back. (Although he is very eager to lick them in the face, which they don't always love quite as much as he does.) But, I think it probably confuses him to have so many off-leash greetings, where he can run around as much as he want, because obviously that doesn't work ON leash.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Not trying to cause an issue here...but I can't resist mentioning this. I've used the pjrong on Lucky and he loves his walks, loves it when I get the prong out and is totally and seemingly happily while I'm using it and have exceptional control.

I didn't opt for the gentle leader as I had heard if a dog went wild it could be dangerous...and Lucky could go nuts when a squirrel or cat crossed the road.

I don't use the prong now because we have less distractions, he does well without it (mostly) now and it breaks my fingers to put it on.

But you might consider it as an option because I think the gentle leader/halti type collars might not be the right thing for all dogs.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

I avoid (almost all) on leash interactions, and definitely ALL with dogs I don't know. People often say "my dog is friendly" and it's just not true in that setting. Many dogs are more likely to be reactive on leash, there's anxiety about not being able to escape, and the forced/artificial greetings of direct approaches and the people dancing around to keep leashes straight. 

It's just not safe for us and there's no reason for it.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

RedDogs - I completely agree. I hate the fake surprise when the owner's dog growls and/or snaps. "Oh Precious NEVER does that!" Yeah right. 

I was out hiking with Ranger on Sunday and we were coming up on the 2 ft wide trail to a person with a little american eskimo dog. I pulled Ranger in a little closer out of courtesy and when we were 15 ft away, the little eskie started growling and snapping at us. My friend (who is a non-dog person) commented really loudly, "oh great" in a highly sarcastic voice. The lady had to pick up her dog to let us by without getting attacked and she was telling us the whole time about how "really friendly" her dog is. My friend looked her in the eye and said "Yeah, obviously." How is a snapping/growling/frenzied dog possible friendly? 

I am sometimes surprised when people believe ME when I tell them Ranger's friendly. He does a weird, belly-to-the-ground freezing thing while he stares at other dogs when they approach. People usually hesitate and ask me if he's friendly and I say "yes, he's just a weirdo" and then when the dog gets closer Ranger pops back up and sits. Not sure why he does the belly-to-the-ground thing but all he wants to do is play with other dogs if they'll let him.


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

RedDogs said:


> I avoid (almost all) on leash interactions, and definitely ALL with dogs I don't know. People often say "my dog is friendly" and it's just not true in that setting. Many dogs are more likely to be reactive on leash, there's anxiety about not being able to escape, and the forced/artificial greetings of direct approaches and the people dancing around to keep leashes straight.
> 
> It's just not safe for us and there's no reason for it.





Ranger said:


> RedDogs - I completely agree. I hate the fake surprise when the owner's dog growls and/or snaps. "Oh Precious NEVER does that!" Yeah right.


Hmm I guess I hadn't really considered NOT saying hello... but your reasons definitely make sense! We fortunately haven't run into any unfriendly dogs, but definitely ones that did not appreciate Oscar's level of... uh, enthusiasm.

I'll try keeping him in a sit-stay while they go past! New challenges


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

zephyr - Ranger had to work up to the point before he was allowed to greet other dogs. Mostly because he was a rescue and hadn't been socialized for his first 9 months and I wasn't sure how he'd react to other dogs or how the dogs would react to him. The first few months I had him, other male dogs would always react to him with a growl and a snap because of the way Ranger would approach (chest puffed up, head up, direct eye contact). Ranger entered a hard-core socialization program and learned how to meet dogs properly. Until then, we never approached another dog in case they'd react to his "cockiness". After that, he was allowed to meet dogs around the neighbourhood that I knew he'd be fine with and we're now working on ignoring other dogs on our walks. 

The sit-stay backfired on me as anytime Ranger saw another dog (even from 3 blocks away), he'd plant himself in a sit and I could barely get him moving again. If your dog is well socialized, I'd try walking him past other dogs so he learns there's "playtime" and "walk time" and can start differentiating between the two. Especially since it sounds like he gets excited when he sees other dogs so he might as well learn now that walk = work time. Just my 2 cents - the whole "ignore other dogs and keep focused on the person holding the leash" is the hardest thing I've been teaching Ranger!

Edited to add: Whether or not you let your guy meet other dogs, my rule of thumb has always been to never let my dog meet a strange dog who is out in front of his owner. I don't necessarily believe the whole "human in front means pack leader" but I do believe if a dog is 15 ft ahead on a retractable leash and something happens...the owner can't get there in time to control their dog. Likewise if a dog starts pulling frantically on a leash when he sees Ranger and the owner looks out of control, we cross to the other side of the street and I call out "sorry, he's in training". It's more polite than "your dog is out of control".


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