Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I'm sending you good luck vibes LuLu! Our dog also has a split personality. Loves her family and her doggie and people friends at playcare. Goes nuts over SOME dogs while on leash and SOME people who come to our house to do yard work. We have no clue what it is that brings out the Cujo in her. I know it's not a funny subject but sometimes we seriously think she'd be classified as bipolar. We just try really hard to control her environment as she is not super predictible. It is scary and embarassing isn't it? I think the idea of a trainer is a great one. It will give you confidence in walking so you and CoCo don't start to freak when you see another dog. Isn't there truth to the dog sensing your anxieties? We are going back to our trainer this summer as we need refresher courses in walking. I have learned the "shhhht" and hold behind the ears, that the Dog Whisperer uses, works well on our Beagle when she is starting to get into a frenzy. I just need to put my brain in motion more quickly so I can react to her actions. I hope this possible tenant and dog work out well for you and CoCo. Soon I hope to read a post that CoCo has a new friend
Originally Posted By pennyring I was going to saying exactly what beamerdog said. The only additional comment is to consider a muzzle if you think your dog may attack another dog. As soon as your dog calms down, the muzzle can come right off. Just have it incase it's needed to protect the other dog.
Originally Posted By LuLu Ohh I hate the idea of a muzzle, tho I certainly understand its necessity. "Aunt Maloo," our dalmatian lady, says she alternates using the Gentle Leader and pinch collar on her Piper - Piper is like the twin of CoCo: Hyper Piper and CoCo Loco! She said it's her 3rd dal and they've all had different personalities. Anyway, we switched back to the gentle leader today when taking CoCo for a loooong walk before meeting Cat. And it seemed to work very well. We didn't work on "heel" yet as there was just too much going on to deal with it today. Maloo suggested a class at Parks & Rec and I think I may try to call the teacher to see if he thinks CoCo can handle it. This would definitely be a challenge - I don't think *I* can handle CoCo around several other dogs. But the class supposedly deals with socialization issues so maybe the teacher has some amazing techniques... ;-)
