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Feisty Fido
Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D.
Karen B. London, Ph.D
INTRODUCTION
Every neighborhood has at least one "Feisty Fido," and he can cause a lot of chaos as he barks and lunges at dog in sight. It's bad enough to have someone else's dog terrorizing the neighborhood, but it's harder still when your own dog is the trouble maker, just because you want your dog to be polite doesn't mean you know how to make it happen, so many people with reactive dogs find themselves avoiding walks altogether. It becomes a vicious circle—with a lack of both exercise and stimulation leading to a dog who is harder to handle when he is taken on walks. So of course, the walks continue to decrease, and the problems increase. Oh dear...this might be one of the times that a dog owner is wondering why she ever got a dog in the first place.
If you have a dog who fits this description, take heart. There's a lot of good news for owners whose dogs misbehave when walking by other dogs. First of all, if your dog is barking and lunging at other dogs when he's on leash, know that you're not alone. This is a very common behavioral problem, even in dogs who "play well with others" when running free at the dog park.
Although it can initially cause no end of trouble, on-leash dog-dog aggression is one of our favorite behavioral problems, because it has such a high rate of successful treatment. (We use the phrase "on-leash dog-dog aggression" broadly, as it is used by the general public, to mean dogs on leash who growl, lunge, or bark menacingly toward approaching dogs.) Almost all dogs who bark and lunge at passing dogs can be taught "street manners" turning what used to be stressful walks into relaxing strolls.
Be clear, though, that this little booklet isn't designed to create dogs who are good with all other dogs in all situations. If your dog is dog-dog aggressive off leash, the ideas in this booklet won't turn him into the dog everyone loves a doggy day care. What you can get from this booklet is the ability to leash-walk your dog around others, whether it’s down the sidewalk or at the vet clinic, knowing that your dog will walk politely by another dog, rather than causing a scene.
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Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., is an adjunct assistant professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. Her company, Dog's Best Friend Ltd., specializes in family dog training and treating aggression in dogs, and she is immensely popular as a speaker around the country. She is the co-host of Calling All Pets, an animal behavior advice show syndicated to one hundred public radio stations, and was the animal behaviorist on Animal Planet's Petline. She works daily with four dogs (three Border collies and a Great Pyrenees) on her sheep farm outside of Madison.
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