Entering a building with my reactive dog next to a yard with another reactive dog
Hi all,
I have a 5yo Yorkshire Terrier who has been reactive for most of her life, mainly because we lacked the knowledge to train her properly in the past.
Recently, we’ve started working with her more seriously and have made tremendous progress. We can now walk her normally on the street without her reacting to people or other dogs (as long as they don’t get into her personal space).
Our main problem happens at the end of our walks. We live on the first floor of an apartment building, and on the ground floor there’s a yard near our entrance where another reactive Shih Tzu lives. Every time we pass by, this dog disrupts our otherwise successful walks by charging the fence and barking aggressively.
You can clearly see how stressful this is for my Yorkie, she just wants to run as fast as possible to get around the corner and inside the building. I either have to run with her or she pulls the leash like crazy.
This happens even when I carry her. While she seems slightly less stressed off the ground, she’s still very agitated by the noise and the other dog hitting the fence and barking.
Please see this photo on how the entrence in the building is:
Does anyone have suggestions on how to handle this situation?
Thank you!