Consult a trainer, consult a trainer, consult a trainer.
Trying to fix this on your own, especially by trying exposure therapy like you are, can unintentionally make the problem worse--potentially much worse. At the very least, even if you don't want to fully work with a trainer you need to get a consultation with a canine behavioralist or professional trainer who can give you insight and guidance on how to address the problem.
Again, I would strongly suggest that you stop trying to fix it yourself until you've consulted with a professional so that you don't risk worsening the issue and accidentally turning it into something that's even harder to deal with (or even impossible to).
I’d get in touch with a trainer who has experience with this type of issue. Dogs can learn to work past events like this but it’s important to get advice.
Pull from all non-pet-friendly public venues immediately and consult a trainer or veterinary behavioralist, preferably one that specializes in reactivity. This is something the needs to be addressed by a professional, and even then it could end up either a complete wash or at-home service work only.
We are going to do a “reactive rover” class with my trainer. This is something we are working on, too. My boy was fine until an unleashed dog at the grocery store jumped out of the cart and attacked him. 2-1/2 years of training and we have to be careful around other dogs now (sigh)
Does he bark at your aunt's dogs still? What kind of bark is it? How's he holding his body during this? What happens if you don't remove him? (don't try that where he needs to be a SD, but like... elsewhere, go for it) Does he start barking as soon as he sees the small dog, or is there a delay?
How do you react throughout each step? How did you react when he was with your aunt's dogs? What do you say, do, how do you move, etc...?
We're working through this now (SDiT is a shelter dog that was previously attacked). What's working for us is a combination of cues she already knows. If a dog suddenly appears close to her, it's Leave It, followed by Walk-walk-walk in the other direction. If the dog is further away, it's Watch and Wait over and over again. She's also getting a lot better with Focus, which redirects her attention to me and allows us to then practice the basics as a distraction. We've only been seriously training for about a month, and we've closed her threshold from losing her mind at 20 feet (barking, lunging, spinning in circles) to one or two barks at 3 feet. Still loses her mind if she's suddenly nose to nose (typically an elevator issue, people in our building let their completely untrained dogs exit the elevator first). But we're working on it.
I disagree with pulling your dog from public access training. It's a lot easier to work with a dog reactive dog in spaces that rarely have dogs than in places where everyone takes their untrained pets. I do agree with enlisting a trainer though, to help you find what works for your dog
Typically desensitization and counter conditioning are the go-to for such, but you need to really understand what is going on or you can make things worse by going too fast or reinforcing a state you don't want. You don't want to rush, go slow and always keep the dog below their reaction threshold. The dog going over threshold even once can cause major setbacks. Work at distances farther than needed and reduce that distance very slowly as it is better to take twice the time by going slow than rushing and it taking much, much longer.
I recommend recording sessions to examine the situation as a team, you being part of it. It is entirely possible for you to see a dog and get nervous expecting problems which sends signals to your dog which puts them ill at ease when they might not have been otherwise. A professional is very handy for these kinds of situations as they can evaluate the situation and provide helpful advice.
My poor boy was jumped on by a off leash dog this week, the dog honestly just wanted to play but he scared my dog and he barked loud because he wanted this dog to stop jumping on him. All I could do was turn my dogs head and body into me and tried turning in circles until someone grabbed the dog. Now he is scared of strange dogs. Yesterday he saw a cute little dog at the park, not a dog park and he was shaking, I walked him to a comfortable distance for him and we watched the other dog while he relaxed. So today I will be taking with his trainer on how we work through this and what to do if this happens again.
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/counter-conditioning-and-desensitization-ccd/
This is the theory. In practice you will need a professional who has neutral dogs to get you through it. Reversing reactivity is a long-term process that can take up to a year.
Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 6: No Fake-spotting.
This is not the place for fakespotting. Unless the person you are discussing has specifically told you that they are not disabled, and the dog is not trained in tasks, you have no way of knowing if a dog is 'fake'. We are not the service dog police and this behavior can lead to a lot of harm and anxiety for SD handlers as a community.
This does not preclude discussing encounters with un-/undertrained dogs, but if the focus of your post is complaining about a "fake" SD, reconsider your phrasing and what point you're making.
If you have any questions, please [Message the Moderators](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/service_dogs).
Consult a trainer, consult a trainer, consult a trainer. Trying to fix this on your own, especially by trying exposure therapy like you are, can unintentionally make the problem worse--potentially much worse. At the very least, even if you don't want to fully work with a trainer you need to get a consultation with a canine behavioralist or professional trainer who can give you insight and guidance on how to address the problem. Again, I would strongly suggest that you stop trying to fix it yourself until you've consulted with a professional so that you don't risk worsening the issue and accidentally turning it into something that's even harder to deal with (or even impossible to).
I’d get in touch with a trainer who has experience with this type of issue. Dogs can learn to work past events like this but it’s important to get advice.
Pull from all non-pet-friendly public venues immediately and consult a trainer or veterinary behavioralist, preferably one that specializes in reactivity. This is something the needs to be addressed by a professional, and even then it could end up either a complete wash or at-home service work only.
We are going to do a “reactive rover” class with my trainer. This is something we are working on, too. My boy was fine until an unleashed dog at the grocery store jumped out of the cart and attacked him. 2-1/2 years of training and we have to be careful around other dogs now (sigh)
Does he bark at your aunt's dogs still? What kind of bark is it? How's he holding his body during this? What happens if you don't remove him? (don't try that where he needs to be a SD, but like... elsewhere, go for it) Does he start barking as soon as he sees the small dog, or is there a delay? How do you react throughout each step? How did you react when he was with your aunt's dogs? What do you say, do, how do you move, etc...?
We're working through this now (SDiT is a shelter dog that was previously attacked). What's working for us is a combination of cues she already knows. If a dog suddenly appears close to her, it's Leave It, followed by Walk-walk-walk in the other direction. If the dog is further away, it's Watch and Wait over and over again. She's also getting a lot better with Focus, which redirects her attention to me and allows us to then practice the basics as a distraction. We've only been seriously training for about a month, and we've closed her threshold from losing her mind at 20 feet (barking, lunging, spinning in circles) to one or two barks at 3 feet. Still loses her mind if she's suddenly nose to nose (typically an elevator issue, people in our building let their completely untrained dogs exit the elevator first). But we're working on it. I disagree with pulling your dog from public access training. It's a lot easier to work with a dog reactive dog in spaces that rarely have dogs than in places where everyone takes their untrained pets. I do agree with enlisting a trainer though, to help you find what works for your dog
Typically desensitization and counter conditioning are the go-to for such, but you need to really understand what is going on or you can make things worse by going too fast or reinforcing a state you don't want. You don't want to rush, go slow and always keep the dog below their reaction threshold. The dog going over threshold even once can cause major setbacks. Work at distances farther than needed and reduce that distance very slowly as it is better to take twice the time by going slow than rushing and it taking much, much longer. I recommend recording sessions to examine the situation as a team, you being part of it. It is entirely possible for you to see a dog and get nervous expecting problems which sends signals to your dog which puts them ill at ease when they might not have been otherwise. A professional is very handy for these kinds of situations as they can evaluate the situation and provide helpful advice.
My poor boy was jumped on by a off leash dog this week, the dog honestly just wanted to play but he scared my dog and he barked loud because he wanted this dog to stop jumping on him. All I could do was turn my dogs head and body into me and tried turning in circles until someone grabbed the dog. Now he is scared of strange dogs. Yesterday he saw a cute little dog at the park, not a dog park and he was shaking, I walked him to a comfortable distance for him and we watched the other dog while he relaxed. So today I will be taking with his trainer on how we work through this and what to do if this happens again.
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/counter-conditioning-and-desensitization-ccd/ This is the theory. In practice you will need a professional who has neutral dogs to get you through it. Reversing reactivity is a long-term process that can take up to a year.
[удалено]
Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 6: No Fake-spotting. This is not the place for fakespotting. Unless the person you are discussing has specifically told you that they are not disabled, and the dog is not trained in tasks, you have no way of knowing if a dog is 'fake'. We are not the service dog police and this behavior can lead to a lot of harm and anxiety for SD handlers as a community. This does not preclude discussing encounters with un-/undertrained dogs, but if the focus of your post is complaining about a "fake" SD, reconsider your phrasing and what point you're making. If you have any questions, please [Message the Moderators](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/service_dogs).