Leash Aggression

[helps]

Had to deal with my pup being reactive on leash in the past and used the exact approach as Caro described. It took some time but he realized that he doesnt need to snarl at other dogs and that best is to ignore them and focus on me. As Caro said we started from the distance and eventually he was even able to go past dog that was snarling at him and ignore that. Clicker and treats worked well for us.

 

[Cowgirl32]

I agree with Caro as well. The only thing I would add is as soon as I spotted the thing that would likely cause a reaction ie a person, animal or car, I would allow them to see it before doing a redirect.
Mirkka once talked about this and we practiced it even though we didn't have to worry about aggression. She said " imagine walking through an alley at night. You hear a noise. How would you feel if someone wouldn't allow you to look to see if you could discover what the noise was by blindfolding you? The dog needs to look first and be rewarded for not reacting badly.

Caro has a great response! I find it helpful to redirect their energy to you before the bad behavior happens.

 

[romeosangiovese]

Pick up the book Control Unleashed. That has helped quite a few people with reactive dogs.

What I typically do is click the dog for looking at other dogs (echoing what Caro said about letting the dog see first because not seeing I think does increase the anxiety), but I do this "below threshold" when the dog can still hear you and isn't reacting by barking or lunging and isn't so focused on the other dog yet. The idea is to slowly desensitize and counter condition your dog to the sight of other dogs on leash.

The distance between your dog and the other dog may be great, but don't worry. Over time this will shorten. I had the same leash reactivity problem with Romeo but now he lets dogs pass right next to him (and even lets them sniff his butt) without reacting and looking at me instead. It took a while though!

 

[Toffee's Mom]

Pick up the book Control Unleashed. That has helped quite a few people with reactive dogs.

What I typically do is click the dog for looking at other dogs (echoing what Caro said about letting the dog see first because not seeing I think does increase the anxiety), but I do this "below threshold" when the dog can still hear you and isn't reacting by barking or lunging and isn't so focused on the other dog yet. The idea is to slowly desensitize and counter condition your dog to the sight of other dogs on leash.

The distance between your dog and the other dog may be great, but don't worry. Over time this will shorten. I had the same leash reactivity problem with Romeo but now he lets dogs pass right next to him (and even lets them sniff his butt) without reacting and looking at me instead. It took a while though!

Same with Toffee, he had a Chihuahua full blown charging at him the other day at an agility practice he actually didn't lunge at that dumb dog!! The chi, of course was was just bluffing and grandstanding, but Mr T just kept walking and looked at me like see?? I did NOT do it, Mom, how about that cheese for me now???
He of course feels less threatened by a little dog, but I can't say enough about it being a long road, so patience is key, and celebrating the small victories so that you never forget to reward your dog for rewarding the GOOD behaviours!