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There is no behavior problem better than dog-dog reactivity to illustrate the effectiveness of Lure-Reward Training and the importance of prioritizing teaching ESL. Once dogs understand just a small vocabulary, for example, Sit, Stay, Watch Me, and Shush, and once the instructions have been proofed via a couple of very simple troubleshooting exercises so that the dog responds reliably in a zillion different scenarios, they'll begin to work even when dogs are excited, anxious, stressed, or scared. Whereupon these words may be used as verbal guidance to help reactive dogs cope, by getting them to calm and quieten down and focus on you, instead of barking, lunging, and eye-balling the other dog. Remember, highly reactive dogs are often stressed to the gills, and desperately need your reassurance, verbal guidance for how to act, and lots and lots of praise.

I recently had a case of a lovely little dog, Nell, who would bark and growl and hit the end of the leash whenever she saw another dog. During her very first training walk, Nell sat calmly and quietly, looking up at her owner's face, while other dogs walk by without issue.  The peace-of-mind-and-quality-of-life-destroying problem was resolved in a single session. Check out the video on the Dunbar Academy Facebook page.

Representative Observation and Feedback
Dog-dog reactivity causes many people to break the basic Behaviorist Code to
REPRESENTATIVELY OBSERVE and OBJECTIVELY QUANTIFY BEHAVIOR — to determine the frequency of each behavior and the severity of each behavior problem. For example, in a six-hour on-leash reactivity workshop in Japan, one dog reacted just once (early on) and for just 6 seconds, yet quickly acquired the reputation (breed inspired) as the 'aggressive dog'. This is NOT representative observation, we must 'time-sample' behavior, i.e., quantify what the animal doing every 15 seconds. Oh! Not fighting for 99.97 % of the time, i.e., 21,594 seconds of the six-hour workshop). By praising the dog during that time for NOT fighting, we could easily increase the percentage to 100.

The genesis of the 'dominance myth' in canids and primates, came from researchers observing animals for very short times and only paying attention to the obvious, i.e., noisy and combative adolescent males. This is NOT representative observation. Every animal must be observed for the same amount of time. When researchers spent their lives observing the same animals, they saw a different optic — largely group harmony.

When misbehavior comes unexpectedly, yet only lasts a few seconds: 1.  STOP the misbehavior (I like to instantaneously use my VOICE, as illustrated by the series of 'humping' videos, and the puppy-scrapping in class on the Dunbar Academy FaceBook page), and then 2. IMMEDIATELY PRAISE the dog for STOPPING lunging/barking, continue praising the dog while they remain calm and quiet and then, don't forget to praise periodically to reward your dog for NOT barking, lunging, or fighting during the other 99% of the time. To power-up positive reinforcement, it is essential to give REPRESENTATIVE FEEDBACK.
This procedure does NOT unintentially reinforce reactivity. A reward only influences behaviors within the previous three seconds; there is an exponential decay in power with any delay. In fact, after two seconds the reward has lost 80% of its power. And so, if you start praising the moment a dog stops misbehaving and then after three seconds reward the dog, your praise may reinforce 'lunging/barking' just a tad, but it will reinforce 'stopping reacting' and 'remaining calm and quiet' much MUCH more, and your reward will only reinforce the dog for being calm and quiet.

Don't think of a single behavior occurring in vacuo. Instead, think of an ongoing series of behavior-changes. Behavior is in a state of constant flux, ever-changing, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse and your consequential feedback should accurately mirror the dog's ever-changing behavior for the duration. This may only be accomplished with ongoing verbal feedback. Let's get back to using our voice again.

Off-Leash Puppy Classes Prevent Adult Dog Reactivity
Dog-Dog Reactivity is becoming more and more prevalent as off-leash puppy classes are quickly becoming a rare breed. Not only do off-leash classes enable puppies to socialize with and be handled and trained by a couple of dozen more unfamiliar people (the other puppies' families), and allow owners to master off-leash control from the outset in an extremely distracted yet safe setting but also, off-leash classes prompt puppies to bump-start their all-important play behavior so they may learn bite inhibition and develop social savvy so they have the confidence and knowhow to deal with other dogs that may not be similarly socialized. Moreover, trainers are on high alert to detect incipient signs of fear or reactivity and immediately, nip them in the bud.

Adult dog Reactivity is caused by normal (predictable) developmental changes that occur during early adolescence, whereby older puppies start to become increasingly 'wary of the unfamiliar', usually unfamiliar dogs, unfamiliar people, and unfamiliar surroundings, compounded by owners unintentionally reinforcing their dogs' fearful or reactive behavior. Essentially, off-leash puppy classes prevent dog-dog reactivity, enabling a walk a day to continue regular exposure (plus praise and rewards) to more unfamiliar dogs.

However, adolescent-onset, progressive 'fear of the unfamiliar' is insidious and often goes unnoticed. Owners become complacent when customarily seeing their friendly and confident dog play with familiar dogs in familiar settings, i.e., at home, or in their Core Social Group and so, they are surprised and concerned when their dog becomes reactive around unfamiliar dogs in unfamiliar settings. The sooner you intervene, the easier the resolution.

Resolution
You must realize that your dog is severely stressed, yet each day on walks must encounter their biggest nightmare over and over — unfamiliar dogs. Consequently, there is some considerable urgency to resolve the problem asap. First, you must learn how to control your dog when it is scared and worked-up, because your dog's reactivity is the number one reason why other dogs threaten yours. Second, you'll need to operantly condition and classically condition simultaneously. Realistically, this can only be done with verbal feedback and so, your'e going to have to learn how to talk your dog through it.

Assessing Danger
Even though 99%+ dog fights and scraps result in zero physical injury, we should not take dog-dog reactivity cavalierly; first you must objectively assess whether your dog is dangerous or not by objectively evaluating wound pathology of previous fights. This will offer an accurate prediction of expected injuries during subsequent fights. The Good News: Nearly all dogfights cause no physical damage whatsoever and so, the prognosis is excellent for you to proceed with any non-aversive training options of your choice.

The essential prognostic factor for dog-dog reactivity is whether your dogs acquired Bite Inhibition during off-leash puppy play. If yes (>99% of cases), the prognosis is excellent. If no, the prognosis is dire. Although an adult dog may be classically conditioned to feel more relaxed around other dogs, and to not want to bite, teaching a hard-biting dog to bite softer is an involved and time-consuming process that is not without danger.

A dog's bite inhibition may be objectively assessed by evaluating their Fight/Bite history. Dogs fall into one of three categories:

1. Dogs that have been involved in many full-contact fights or scuffles but have NEVER injured another dog sufficiently to require veterinary repair. (>99% of cases). For example, two, six or twenty fights but with NO damage. The prognosis is excellent. Although there is never a 100% guarantee for future dog behavior, (or human behavior), your dog is very unlikely to inflict injury in future fights, So, get started right away. Of course, you have no idea of the level of bite inhibition in unfamiliar dogs, which is why it is smart to reduce your dog's reactivity by first working with known dogs, whose owners may be given instructions for the repetitive-exposure proofing exercises.

2. Dogs that have severely injured other dogs (<1% of cases). The prognosis for successfully decreasing the force of their bites is not good. Consequently, commonsense management is essential, because future fights would almost certainly result in similar severe injuries.

3. Dogs that have never been involved in a full-contact fight. The level of bite inhibition is unknown, and so, the prognosis is uncertain. However, even when on-lead, if a dog were intent on causing severe damage, it would require a rugby prop to stop it. These dogs are so intense, strong, and quick. However, take caution; test them on-leash, or separated by a fence.

The Other Dog and Owner
When dogs are involved in a scuffle, scrap, or fight, owners often lay blame on the other dog and owner. But it always takes two to tango, or in this case four: your dog, the other dog, the other owner, and you. When two dogs and their owners approach each other, often, all four parties become increasingly anxious, stressed, fearful, and in extreme cases, downright scared. All it takes is for one of the four to react, and all four will erupt, causing the original trigger-dog or person to react more forcefully, thus, creating a vicious circle. Many owners feel frustrated and often scared, because they feel there is nothing they can do to change the other dog’s behavior. But there is: Change your dog's behavior (with the pre-training exercises), and then, concentrate on changing your behavior and demeanor..

When a reactive dog picks on your dog, there are three massive triggers for another dog to react: 1. Your dog is also reactive, 2. Your dog acts fearful, scared, or overly appeasing, especially if rolling over, wriggling, and extra-especially if squeaking, screaming, or running away, and 3. You are stressed and anxious.
Changing your dog's behavior radically changes the perceptions and feelings and hence, behavior of other dogs and owners towards your dog. The most effective approach to prevent another dog from threatening or attacking yours is to teach your dog to be calm, quiet, and still, and not to eye-ball the other dog, i.e., to "Come-Sit-Stay-Watch" and to "Shush" reliably on cue.

Utterly impossible at first, and difficult to do just using food rewards, but as you work through the pre-training exercises, you'll be surprised at how quickly you can change your dog's response-reliability and hence, perceptions and behavior.

Once you can get your dog to turn around, sit, shush, and look up at you, they present a less scary optic to the other dog and owner — a waggy butt, no freezing, no lunging, no barking, and no eye-balling. Hence the other dog and owner begin to relax and feel less threatened, and so, threaten your dog less.

Changing Your Behavior
Your behavior is a huge part of the puzzle. First, you must have confidence in the facts: your dog has never harmed another dog in several incidents; your dog has stellar bite inhibition.

Second, you'll learn a variety of enjoyable confidence-building techniques for yourself, including, The Seven Dwarfs, Bill Campbells inimitable Jolly Routine, and how to focus on your feeback by lyrically praising and rhythmically petting to let loose a veritable pack of 'happy hormones'.

When I had my 'dog bite' clinic in the 70s, with mainly Level 3 biters and the very occasional Level 4, I was often scared, and in one case, terrified. To hide my fear (a massive trigger to get bitten), I used to recite nonsense poetry. Any rhythmic activity will help you relax and camouflage your fear.

We may gain another perspective on dog-dog reactivity by interviewing the dog: "Well, she's a lovely owner. Brilliant temperament. Totally trustworthy. Good breeding — Nordic stock. BUT... she has this thing about other dogs, especially little white dogs. Well, nearly every other dog really. Nowadays, I only feel relaxed when walking at 2:00am when there are no other dogs around. If a dog approaches, she just loses it. Her eyes cloud over, and she shakes and shouts and yanks on my leash. It's not pleasant and I worry about her. So, I feel that it is my duty to keep other dogs at bay. I tell them, 'Wrroof! Wrroof! Grrrwoof!! Grrrrrrr!!!. Keep away! Stay back. She's not to be trusted!" Sound familiar?


PRE-TRAINING — First at home and on walks with no other dogs present
After completing Steps 1 and 2 of Lure-Reward Training so you have a quick Sit and solid Stay, Step 3 comprises troubleshooting Come-Sit-Stay-Watch. If your basic training is not yet in place, read Barking Up the Right Tree or check out a Results-Based Dog Training seminar. You must learn how to control your dog!

Proof Come-Sit-Stay-Watch Instruct your dog to Come-Sit-Stay-Watch every 25 yards on walks: stop, take two-steps backwards (to prompt your dog to turn around), "Come" (to straighten your dog), "Sit-Stay", and "Watch" to focus on your face. Praise for several seconds, and then say, " "Let's Go" and resume the walk.

Training Interludes in Interactive Games When playing Fetch and Tug, integrate numerous Come-Sit-Stay-Watch training interludes. Use a tugtoy or ball as a powerful lure and to amp-up as a mega-secondary reinforcer, so that you don't need to use food once you start working around unknown dogs.

Wait & Reward Training If you're having difficulty, switch to Wait & Reward Training with food rewards. The only words you are going to say are "good dog". Whether walking or playing, just take two steps backwards, stand still, and wait. Eventually your dog will Sit, especially if you hold the food, tugtoy, or ball in front of your chest. When your dog eventually Sits, PRAISE for several seconds and then offer a food reward. With successive repetitions, praise but delay giving the food reward for longer and longer — a stay-delay, soon to be a lengthy Sit Stay. Practice until you have a quick automatic Sit and a solid 30 second Sit-Stay-Watch whenever you step back and stand still. Come-Sit-Stay-Watch must become mental- and muscle-memory.

Teach Speak on Cue In addition to keeping your dog still and watching you, teach your dog to Speak on cue to facilitate teaching Shush on cue many times over, at your convenience.

Teach Friendly Behaviors on Cue As training (your control over your dog) improves, teach your dog to perform friendly behaviors on cue, such as, beg, bow, tail and butt wags, shake hands, or high-five in front of you, and proofing their reliability every 25 yards on walks when no dogs are in sight, so that your dog is more likely to respond when other dogs are present. When dogs act friendly, they feel friendly. When other dogs see a dog acting friendly, they feel friendlier (less-threatened), and so does the other owner, and so do you.  

WITH KNOWN DOGS (AND OWNERS)
Time to check out your training skills but first, with known dogs and owners who have been instructed what to do.

Representative Observation and Praise You must be realistic about your dog's behavior. Your dog may be reactive for a few seconds at a time, but for 99.99% of the time, (especially when no other dogs are in sight) your dog is well behaved and so, PRAISE your dog. Do NOT take your dog's good behavior for granted and go unrewarded. Representatively Observe your dog's behavior and Representatively Praise. The more you praise the more confident your dog will become and the better you and your dog will feel.

Repeated-Exposures to the Same Dog to Desensitize Reactivity Most owners have been dealing with unexpected encounters on the sidewalk. They try their best to deal with it, and once the other dog has passed by, continue their walk, dreading the next encounter. Consequently, there is no way to practice standard desensitization techniques, i.e., repeated exposures to the same dog.
Any reaction to an exciting or scary stimulus is usually worst on the first exposure; subsequent and longer encounters become progressively less stressful. When walking their dog, most people experience a series of repetitive 'first and worst' encounters and so, progressively make reactivity worse and worse.

Stand Still It is very difficult to classically conditioning a dog if you and the dog are in motion because the myriad of stimuli in the environment change with every step and so, your dog cannot learn whether your praise, food rewards, and jolly routine are associated with a squirrel walking a wire, bird flying overhead, a McDonald's wrapper, cat poop, the skate boarder that just whizzed by, or the appearance an approaching dog on the horizon.

Repetitive Walk-bys The easiest repetitive exposure technique is for you to be stationary and try to keep your dog in a Sit-Stay-Watch. Periodically, you may have to reposition yourself to keep your dog facing you, (with its butt towards the other dog). Repetitive instructions are nearly always necessary: Sit, Shush, Watch, etc., when your dog is first learning.
For the first trial, the other owner and dog come from out of sight and a long way off on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. As they approach, acknowledge their presence, "Look there's a cookie dog!" and increase your level of praise. As they walk by and retreat, appear to be disappointed. "Oh dear, cookie dog is going away". Decrease praise as the other dog retreats and stop praising when the other dog is out of sight.
As difficult as this is, it will become easier and easier with each walk by. The other owner may now decrease the distance they walk back and forth until eventually, they remain stationary across the street. Then, switch roles: the other dog and owner remain stationary while you walk back and forth on the opposite sidewalk. Then try passing-by on the same sidewalk.

Simultaneous Classical and Operant Conditioning. When your dog is worried or scared, you must offer reassurance and lots praise, to comfort you dog, as well as teaching your dog to associate your praise and rewards with the appearance of another dog, (classical conditioning). This applies, even if your dog is barking growling and lunging. Your dog needs your help. You'll learn how to classically and operantly condition simultaneously, so that you don't unintentionally reinforce barking, growling, lunging, fear, and reactivity.
The feedback for both classical and operant conditioning is binary:
When classically conditioning, praise when the scary stimulus is present for your dog to make positive associations with the scary stimulus; ignore your dog when it is absent.
When Operantly conditioning, praise your dog for stellar behavior for your dog to learn you are happy when they are calm and quiet: ignore your dog for undesired behavior.
When classically and operantly conditioning simultaneously, at its simplest, your feedback needs to be trinary i.e., at least three levels: 

1. IGNORE (or instruct); 2. REWARD, or 3. MEGA PRAISE & REWARD

1. STIMULUS ABSENT and DOG BARKING:  IGNORE, or calmly instruct, "Shush"

2. STIMULUS ABSENT and DOG QUIET:      REWARD occasionally for NOT BARKING

2. STIMULUS PRESENT but DOG BARKING: REWARD/POSITIVE ASSOCIATION + instruct "Shush"

3. STIMULUS PRESENT and DOG QUIET:     MEGA PRAISE & REWARD

Use Your Voice — Offer a Running Commentary Of course, the above feedback only applies when the Reward is always the same, e.g., the same-old-same-old food reward administered to reinforce a single short Response. But the dog's behavior is in a state of constant fast-flux and every half-second, their behavior differs in terms of desirability and quality. Certainly, you can use a variety of more powerful rewards, such as multiple food rewards, or regular food and toys amped-up to be mega secondary reinforcers to more accurately reflect the varying quality of each and every response.

But verbal feedback ROCKS! Praise is much more versatile, and convenient — you always have your voice. PRAISE your dog differently every second by repeatedly fluctuating frequency, tone,  and intensity in real time, to precisely match the quality of your dog's ever-changing behaviors during longer duration behaviors. Very similar to listening a running commentary on a football game in a foreign language.

Unexpected Encounters with Dogs on Walks.
Now you have a good chance controlling your dog when other dogs unexpectedly appear. The procedure is just the same as above, with the exception that you never know on which side of the street, from in front or behind, or when another dog will appear and so, you must be vigilant so that you can up your level of praise the instant you see another dog and then, talk your dog through each experience.

Check out the videos on the Dunbar Academy Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/doctoriandunbar