Help me with my aussie! (please???)

[5kidsnadog]

I adopted a somewhere around 2 year old australian shepherd in September. He is a great dog, and my family has quickly become very attached to him. I grew up with dogs, but have not had a dog since we had to put our husky down 10 years or so ago, so I am rusty with all of this (also, our husky was a very different type of personality).

I try to walk him every day or at least every other, because he is a very high energy dog. We normally go about 3 miles (he can definitely go further, though!) I walk him with a halti type lead on, as he tends to pull quite a bit and I haven't found another way to keep him under control. Anyway, when he sees another dog approaching, he tends to go into a highly alert state -- little stubby tail up, prancing, pulling more on the leash, etc. As we pass dogs, he often barks excitedly and generally embarasses me. I have been trying to work with him on this, the best that I can. It seems as though if we are going fast, he does much better and will often be so focussed on running that he doesn't pay a lot of attention to the other dog.

Today, we were walking (not running, because my neighbor called me and I was talking to her on my cell phone -- my first mistake) when another dog approached with it's owner. I adjusted the leash so that I had him close to the opposite side that the dog was approaching on. The other dog was on a retractable leash, and was ranging over the path (it's about 6 feet wide). When the owner didn't retract the leash, I stopped on the side of the path, made my dog sit, and waited for her to pass. As her dog came close, my dog began to struggle, somehow disengaged the leash from the halti (which hasn't happened before), and jumped on the other dog. There was a lot of growling and snarling, which became worse as the owner ran in circles while I tried to capture my dog. I probably didn't do the right thing jumping in the middle of it all, but I leaped on my dog and layed right on him so that he was on his side -- he immediately stopped what he was doing and became passive. The lady was very upset and said that she had thought that most dogs liked to greet each other. I told her that I had stopped and held him to the side because I did not want to interact with them (I thought that it was obvious, but I guess not).

I apologized to the obviously shaken lady, gave her my name, reclipped my dog to the leash, and took him home - we passed several dogs on electric fences on the way with no further behavioral problems. Several hours later she called to check on my dog's vaccination status (he is up to date), said that her dog had a scratch behind it's ear that she was watching, and said she had concerns about my dog being around children as she was afraid he was going to bite her (he wasn't paying attention to her at all in this melee, and I have five kids that he is around and he is not aggressive with them). She then re-told the story as she had seen it and said that she had stopped and reeled her dog in, and that my dog obviously was going for her dog's throat. I didn't perceive it that way, but didn't argue with her as I didn't want to upset her further. She also made a vague comment about how she hated to take the next step, which she said was to force the city to take my dog, as our kids go to school together. I also didn't comment on that.

Anway, I guess the he said/she said is not the point, but it still scares me that she is saying she could have the dog taken away. I'm not even sure what the rules are regarding this. I'm equally as worried about why he would have been aggressive with this other dog. These are the things I am thinking are possibilities:
1) The lady was wearing a hat, so he couldn't see her face very well, and the dog was wearing a sweater and boots -- could he have been scared of who/what this was? If so, what do I do in the future when I meet a dog dressed up like that or a person with their face obscured?
2) I have seen him act scared of one other dog (actually about a 10 week old puppy made him really act stupid, but I didn't have a problem with his leash at the time, so I didn't let him near the puppy to see what he would do if he got near it). Is there something to the size of the dog?
3) I hate when people generalize that a dog from the pound always has to have issues because of some sort of negative experience he has gone through, mostly because I see lots of dogs with issues and they're not all pound dogs, but if he, for example, turns out to be afraid of small dogs, how do you get a dog over this? I don't know many small dog owners who would take the chance of exposing their dog to a dog who may be aggressive with theirs. (Come to think of it, my neighbor has a Yorkie that he hasn't acted weird around, and another one has a sheltie mix that he doesn't react to.
4) Since the haltie seemed pretty ineffective since the leash became unhooked, should I put him on the haltie to control his head and then hook another leash directly to his collar so that if one came undone, I'd have another? Or do you have suggestions for a better type of collar. He is mildly bothered by the halti unless he is fully engaged in walking, and will sometimes use his nails to unhook it from over his nose (it is still clipped to his collar, though, at that point, so I can just put it back on him).
5) What would you do if this was your dog? I don't have the option of leaving him in the home all the time, as he needs the walks to be balanced, and I'm not sure where to go from here. I'm trying to do the right thing for my dog (and for those around me as well), so I'd appreciate any positive suggestions any of you may have.

Thanks so much for reading my overly long post!

[Macawpower58]

I am not a fan of Halti Harnesses first. Second, it was an accident, your dog saw another dog advancing on it, and went into defense mode. I doubt you'll have him taken, but not sure what the rules are in your area. In my opinion, neither dog was controlled. She allowed her dog to come into your area, and your dog escaped you.

As for collars, I like using a pinch while training/walking. Halti's control behavior, but teach nothing. Your dog needs to learn that any show of aggression is not allowed by you. A pinch makes a good correction if used properly. If you use a pinch, don't allow the lead to be kept tight on your walks. Your dog should learn to walk on a loose lead. This way, the collar can be used to correct bad behavior by using a 'pop' of the lead, causing the collar to give a correction.

[suebgone]

I agree about the halti's & those flexi leads should be outlawed. they are dangerous & for lazy owners IMO.

no matter the circumstances & all the "what iff's, neither of you had control of your dogs. since you can only control what you do you need to make some changes.

the prong or pinch collar is excellent for teaching & control but make sure you have a professional teach you how to use it properly & fit it properly. get a substanstial 2" wide lead, keep the dog close to your left side while walking.

this dog needs a lot more exercise than he is currenty getting IMO - a minimum of 2 30 minute jogs every day would be good.

is he neutered?

I would strongly urge you take him to a couple levels of obedience classes. visit the classes before signing up & see how the trainer relates to the dogs & people

for your own protection you should find out exactly what the laws are state & locally. not the "sweetsy" version they had the public
in a pretty brochure but the actual law.

don't be surprised if she isn't brewing up a real case of whiplash!!!

[smokey774]

when you take walks take him to where there is a dog fenced in or something. be far enough away to where your dog does not bark. praise him and give treat.

walk a little bit closer and praise and give treat or even use a toy it helps more sometimes. if he barks or begins to pull or what not, pull him back a few feet. then try again when he is calm.

eventually he should become desensitized to the sdog. i did this with my dog. this could help him not care when passing another dog. : )

[5kidsnadog]

Update -- I just had a trainer out to the house. She worked with us for about an hour, just to get a feel for him. She loved his behavior in the house, and then took him outside where she had her dalmatian waiting. He did great with her dog. She didn't feel that he has a dog aggression problem, but thought that it might be good to see what he did with a small dog. She also had him walking pretty nicely on a regular buckle collar.

I think maybe my reaction to seeing another dog out on the street probably gives my dog the idea that he needs to protect me. I know that I get pretty nervous when we're out on the street and see another dog and immediately shorten him up on his leash and tighten myself up. Don't know why I'm like that, but I'm going to work on it. Also, even though I would probably have to enroll him in a beginner class with the trainer that I met with (just based on how my schedule works right now that's the only timing that fits in), I think I might anyway just to have him around other dogs in a controlled setting where I can learn to relax a bit. He has his basic commands down, but I think I'm the one that needs the training!

[Macawpower58]

Glad to hear you got some help.

Your probably right about it being your reaction that is setting your dog off.
Dog training is more than half training us, the handler. The dog actually needs much less training....:rolleyes:

[That_girl]

Dogs are quite similar to people, some dogs just don't like other specific dogs. They may get along with 100 dogs, but come across 1 they dont' like.

Also, you mentioned that the other dog was wearing a sweater - maybe if your dog has never been exposed to a dog wearing a sweater, it threw him off. From your story, it seemed like your dog was fine until the other dog was about to pass. Maybe the sweater moved, scared your dog, and he went into fearful (or protection) attack mode. I've read both of Temple Grandin's books, and it makes me think about things like this from the dog's perspective.

If you had a trainer to the house and your dog did fine, make sure that you have some sort of documentation from the trainer that your dog had no dog aggression issues. This should protect you from having your dog taken away. Many cities have a 3 strike rule. I would call your local animal control and find out exactly what the rule is.

If the other dog had to go to the vet, I would offer to pay the bill. The owner could take you to small claims court otherwise.

I hope this helps, let us know if there are further developments.