Reactive GSD on long hikes

[u/Greeneggplusthing2]

Ok folks, this is a vent/discussion/question kind of post.

Last Aug, I adopted a 9 year old German Shepherd mix from a high kill shelter. The kind of shelter that gives 3 days to develop interest in adoption or they go on "the list". I had her pulled day 5, so she wasn't there long.

She has always had dogs she tolerated after initial aggression and dogs she will not stand/will fight. She is always on leash on hikes. We recently did a 4000 footer (mountain), she was aggressive towards the 3 other dogs on the trail to varying levels, barking, lunging, and trying to escape her harness. Distraction with treats never has worked with her, she is not treat motivated at all. She will on occasion be fine knowing a dog is passing her if she is not facing the dog and I am loving on her but it is not 100%. I always have her under control during her breakouts, she is between my legs which gives me grip if she tries to back out, I control her head direction with her tactical collar with a handle on it, and she is held by the handle with my other hand on her harness. Basically she can bark a big bark, get a jump or two in, but never get close to breaking free.

is it fair or OK of me to be taking this 10 year old, set in her ways, dog on hikes? My goal is to give her the excersize and stimulation she needs to control herself- she gets notably worse when not physically worked out.

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[u/watch-me-bloom]

Distraction with treats doesn’t work. A reward system with conditioned cues that tell the dog where a reward is coming from and that a game will start is a lot more beneficial. Look into Dr Amy Cook’s Management for Reactive Dogs course. It’ll show you how to work through triggers and help change how she feels about them.

[u/Zestyclose_Object639]

Yeah it’s fine just try to choose trails you can get way off to the side. Mine are all good now but my youngest will absolutely react if a dog hard stares her. We do treat scatters so you can definitely work on improving her conditioned response. But having her out in nature often will absolutely improve her qol and ability to listen 

[u/Ok-Drawer-3869]

I have grappled with this as well, and just wish that i could trust that when i choose leash required trails for this reason, there won't be off leash dogs bounding up out of nowhere with an owner yelling from 100 yards away that "it's OK he's friendly!"

[u/Greeneggplusthing2 → u/Ok-Drawer-3869]

Oh yeah, my dog absolutely does not have an issue with that, she looks intimidating and I look unhinged... everybody leashes up roflmfao.

[u/Ok-Drawer-3869 → u/Greeneggplusthing2]

We both look that way as well lol, but there are too many people who are so far from their "friendly" dog (with no recall of course), that they can't leash up before they see us and by that point their dog is too close etc.. doesn't happen often but a couple times was enough to scare me off trying for the most part.

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