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Originally Posted by Lolli_lah  It's nice to know someone out there is having the same problem I am. Lolli does protective/territorial barking and growling, but never aggressive in the sense of biting.
There is this one other yorkie, though, that this lady walks sometimes and I run into her (though I actually try to avoid her, the only person I avoid). The reason is because well she has 2 yorkies but generally only walks the boy. And she always comes to me wanting our dogs to kiss and hug but the problem is HE IS MEAN. He aggressively barks but aside from that he nips with his mouth. They never get close enough for anyone to bite but I just hate how she wants to continue (after almost a year) to try to meet. I think that the problem is her dog more than mine.
The reason I think that is because Lolli, very much like you and your experience, gets to a social point when we don't run into her that Lolli starts being nice. From afar she barks but up close shes curious and sniffing all over the dog. But once we meet her again, it's all over. And now 9 months later Lolli was the one who started the aggressive barking at her dog.
I don't like that. Lolli makes break-throughs but gets set back because someone elses problematic dog. I'm not saying Lolli is perfect but I also don't put her into other peoples walking space knowing she is being territorial.
I only do the meet-n-greet on 2 occasions, one if she is not freaking out in a frenzy. I try to get her to sit still when she is barking aggressively rather than go up to the dog (because that's when she stops, I want her to be able to be calm before the up-close enouter too). But it's wishy-washy. She does it up close sometimes, too. Anyway, the other occasion is if the other dog owner is clearly ok with Lolli barking and freaking out.
There is this guy who has some kind of beautiful purely white dog, looks almost wolf-like but not sure which breed. It's a calm dog and very nice. And he is confident Lolli is not going to bite. But the problem is I don't run into him that often, but I wish I did because he seems a bit knowledgable.
I guess my problem is OK we are outside and she is barking at people walking or people walking their dogs and is really upset about it. What to do from there? |
Sounds like we do have a lot of similar problems.
Teddy was perfectly socialized until he had a couple of bad encounters with leashed and unleashed dogs. Now he is unpredictable.
I took Teddy to the city last week and we encountered a pack of 4 greyhounds. They were perfectly behaved and following their owner's commands. The owner invited me to pass them on the sidewalk. Teddy heeled perfectly and walked past them without a care in the world.
We stopped for a traffic light only a few feet away from the pack and Teddy stood admiring the greyhounds with great curiosity while I spoke to the owner. I wish I had asked him more about training.
My biggest challenges socializing and training my boys are: 1) finding good dogs and smart owners, 2) finding owners who aren't afraid of Max's barking, 3) handling dangerous situations without leaving a lasting negative impact on my boys. When off-leash dogs come charging at us, I cannot help but pick up my dog. No one is going to convince me to leave him on the ground to see what happens.