Our 2yr old rescue (dutch Shephard mix) had a great walk with us today! We took him and our other dog (2.5yr old rescue boxer mix) on a walk around the local state park. It was a gorgeous day, so there were other people out and about. We kept to lesser traveled trails, but figured any people or dogs would be good exposure.

Sure enough, we encounter a couple with their dog. We stepped off trail slightly to let them pass and put our boys in sit stay. The 2.5yr old doesn't care and loves everyone and every creature, but the 2yr old is dog reactive. We think it's him just being super anxious and unsure how to handle those feelings about new dogs since he is fine with family family friends dogs who he knows. Anyways! He sees the dog and starts dolphin screaming. Basically talking and screeching, sort of how I think huskies do? No hackles or snarling, but definitely having a lot to say. We gave him a moment to see if he would get it out of his system, but when he continued we brought our his greatest love.

A ball.

Immediately he focused solely on me and the ball and was responding to commands again. He spared a glance over his shoulder as the dog passed, but then looked right back at me. Once they were fully by, he got lots of praise and his ball! He carried it for a few strides as a sort if pacifier of sorts, then dropped it and we continued out walk. We did this every time we saw a dog and it worked! We're hoping to use this has a training method for him to understand other dogs aren't scary.

But yeah! Super proud of our boy.