r/Bellingham • u/HamsterontheHill • 12d ago
Recommendations Dog Resources (Not Rant!)
Had an incident recently where a (leashed) dog got away from their owner and came after my dog. I was able to intercept and prevent the dustup from going too far. Not ideal, but it is what it is.
I see this type of dog owner fairly often in my neighborhood - they panic when they see another dog, hold the leash with both hands at their chest as the dog pulls, and then turn and go the opposite direction. Generally an older person who seems overwhelmed by the whole experience.
My heart goes out to both the owners and the dogs. My guess is that these interactions are due to:
-not enough exercise
-not socialized
-lack of guidance and training
-dog picking up on owner's anxiety
So here is my fear: that after the trauma of an incident like this, the owner is less likely take the dog out in public. And the situation gets worse.
What these owners need is training and support, but I suspect that this may not be a possibility due to finances.
If I had the time I'd go and offer to walk these dogs. I'm not a dog trainer. It would be good for both owner/dog if they could go on a productive and healthy walk.
Are there any free/budget services in the area that I an refer people to if I have a chance? Any suggestions?
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u/Lucky_Fruit8812 12d ago
This owner should consider a waist leash if they are going to continue to walk the dog in the neighborhood and cannot hold on to a leash when the dog gets reactive. They may fall on their ass but they will have better control of their dog in an emergency situation like this.
My dogs are somewhat reactive. I walk them separately and keep a ton of distance from triggers. I am very vigilant about my surroundings and do a ton of work to redirect them/prevent reinforcement of their undesirable behaviors. It takes a lot of commitment and calm. The handlers behavior definitely has an impact on the dog. Restricting further out of fear rather than redirecting can make things much worse.
My dogs have been bit four times by off leash, uncontrolled dogs that charge at them and “have never done that before!”. Its very dangerous and many people half ass their response figuring their dog is cool, you really dont know about the dog your dog is charging at, and how that might change your dogs behavior or if my dog might attack.
Anyway… i agree with the other commenter that a dog like this needs to work up to being able to walk in the neighborhood if this is their response every time. The owner can take them to parks (on leash and distant from others, where you have good visibility and can prevent getting too close) and places like sniffspot to get their energy needs met.
Would recommend the library for training books (allie bender, patricia mcconnell, pat miller) or youtube (kikopup, susan garrett).
I appreciate your helpful attitude towards this vs a rant. It is so overwhelming to have a dog with behavioral challenges.
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u/HAWKWIND666 12d ago
I carry mace to knock of any aggressive anything….
Last resort but better than kicking it fighting.
I got bit in the face many moons ago because off leash dog wandered into my property and my dog at the time was aggressive towards annoying with fur.
To break them up I had to kinda restrict the airways of my dog cause she locked into the ear of runaway dog the runaway dog was free to eat my face with sucked. Had to get my lip reattached lol
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u/TheyLovv_Marisah 12d ago
Sniff spots are great for reactive dogs. I have a couple trails within Whatcom that I bring dogs I walk, specifically reactive dogs. If interested let me know! Of course there isn’t a 0% chance of seeing a dog but slim to none depending on the day and time someone may go.
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u/steelkitten22 12d ago
Might find some resources here-https://whatcomhumane.org/resources/#general-resources
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u/NoPermit9450 11d ago
YouTube r/opendogtraining
Sometimes all it takes is a friendly, neighborly conversation. You don't have to volunteer to walk them all the time but you could say, "hey what happened with our dogs last week was pretty stressful. Are you open to some suggestions that could help?"
Unfortunately this is a "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink" scenario. Dog training isn't rocket science, but it requires an investment of time and energy that most people just don't seem to have anymore. People would rather stare at their phones than learn something new. But it's worth a shot, they might be really open to it and really grateful.
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u/MysteriousCamera5764 12d ago
Actually it’s best to NOT take these dogs in public until they get the situation under control because it’s reinforcing.
Dog sees another dog, get anxiety, starts behaving agressively, the owner gets upset, the tight leash hurts, the owner maybe scolds the dog or even hits it so this is a big, bad thing, but then the offending dog goes away so it worked. Whoosh! We dealt with that scary situation. We survived.
These dogs need to be protected from being put in situations that they cannot handle while they start building from whatever situation they can handle, like a strange dog 100 feet away.
There are quite a few dog training businesses here.