My 6-Month-Old German Shepherd is Leash Reactive

[@Ms.OliversLife]

100% correct. Too much too soon. I also have a GSD. He only needs to socialize with me. Honestly. He’s not great with other dogs or people. Do what this man says! He’s an expert!!

[@kashka176]

Excellent advice. I have a 14 month old german shepherd (my 3rd GSD) and I had to change my ways. Following the usual advice of correcting and thinking that it will get better is not working only a source of frustration. I've been doing what you are recommending in this video and it is much better.

[@onthespotwithtaalibah983]

Thank you for sharing this information. I am glad you guys are sharing information to help people. Not all of us have money to pay a trainer. Stay safe.

[@DF-te2vm]

Great honest advice, working with 2nd or 3rd person and dog who know what they are doing could expedite situation plus show pup how to learn

[@edubassplayer2]

Yeah. Same question and sure enough i was doing It wrong. My boy was ok when we are mostly alone. Sitting. Heeling etc. Soon another dog or kid comes along hell breaks loose. I'm asking too much top soon

[@samali4327]

Great video Ed.

[@efrawley55]

LOL - not mIchael - didnt you hear me say my name is Ed Frawley? Misssed the graphic too :-) Michael is has done online courses with my company - leerburg.com but he doesnt own any part of Leerburg.but he is one of our best friends and a gfreat dog trainer.

[@hannahgreene2241]

@@efrawley55 you and Michael are the best!

[@samali4327]

@@efrawley55 sorry ed. Was watching after a long day before bed. It's just what I needed to hear as my 11 month old corso reacts to other big dogs. When I took him to new quiet parks yesterday he was a lot better.

[@csc-photo]

Always appreciate your knowledge and insight Ed, thank you sir! 👏🏻

[@scottuwc8790]

I’m wondering is this dog actually reactive or is it demonstrating leash frustration. My clients that use dog parks and day cares seem to get these same behaviours because the dog gets value from the environment and others dogs none stop all day. So when they see them on lead they exhibit the same behaviours as they are demanding and frustrated they can’t go play. My own 4 month old GSD does the same and I’ve pulled her from classes and environments she gets value from so we work on focus and building value with me. Advice is similar but root cause slightly different and outcome if the dog got off lead is different

[@pothszabina]

The situation is not really much different in my opinion: the dog is not neutral to the environment, not focused on the handler but focused rather on the other dog or person. We need to achieve neutrality first, so the goal and the basic issue is kind of the same as I see. I have a dog who is reactive to some strangers (weird looks like big dark outfit, etc) and she also shows the frustrated greeter type of behaviour as she tries to pull me over to the firend dog or firend person who she knows well and loves - different signals but in the dog's mind it is very similar: she/he wants to engage with the other thing but she is not allowed. I think I am on the right track, try to redirect before anything really happens - both situation is handled the same by me basically 🙂

[@scottuwc8790]

@@pothszabina I think it depends whether you consider one an emotional state or a learned behaviour. With reactivity it could be caused by a negative experience and the behaviour is to keep a trigger at distance and is self reinforcing. With lead frustration it’s caused by not being allowed the reinforcer and the actions are communication to alert to what they want access to. Both different in my Opinion and how I would address both would also be different in that I wouldn’t correct a reactive case depending on what caused the emotional reaction. The words being used synonymously or the self diagnosis of the author of the post would be confusing this for me. I’d like to See the “reactivity” in question. I’ve got a reactive dog that was attacked as a pup, and my GSD with lead frustration’s.. both different cases, triggers and methods used to rectify. Not disagreeing with the advice but I’d be seeking observation

[@pothszabina]

@@scottuwc8790 what do you do for each one? I'd redirect for both situations before it escalates to anything like barking, whining, etc. I am not sure what caused my dog being reactive by the way. How can I identify the root cause?

[@pothszabina]

@@scottuwc8790 little back story. She became 1 year old in January. I went to meet dogs all the way through her puppy stages and more, until December basically when I realised this is not good. We have a little field in the neighborhood, similar like a dog park, because most owners bring the dogs there, but its quite big, without amy fences. Well, She was friendly with most of the dogs, some she loves and anoyes them with licking their face off (I don't like this by the way) but most small dogs and specific breeds, she just doesn't like at all. And I don't want to punish her for this. And also like I said I'm not sure why or it is just her personality. At this point basically I cam say she doesn't like meeting new dogs. She is a Border collie by the way.

[@m4rtin419]

What you say makes sense to me. I have a dog with behavior, similar to the one described in the video. What I noticed is that she is more reactive to other dogs the day after I have let her play with other dogs. We made the early mistake of letting her play with any other dog, so in her eyes that is now her constitutional right 😊

[@ICantHandleThis]

The only stupid question is the one you never asked.