I adopted a cattle dog pit bull mix last October and have been working on her dog reactivity the last few months with mild progress. we’ve lowered her threshold to when she gets riled up/barks but we still can’t pass another dog on the same side of the street.
she’s extremely calm and a huge cuddle bug inside but as soon as we get outside she’s on high alert and seems wired. she’s constantly scanning and hunting, peering into neighbors lawns looking for squirrels, rats, etc. This wired/erratic vibe also contributes to the reactivity because she’s already halfway to blowing up before even seeing a dog.
we do a lot of counter conditioning and also tethering/“watching the world go by” but after 6 months she still can’t even sit in the park for 5 mins without crying, whimpering, pulling to leave and continue hunting. shes also so wired when outside that she won’t play w toys (she takes treats when outside but won’t fetch/tug even though she loves that when indoors).
Any advice? i want to be able to bring my dog to a picnic in the park and have her chill or even just be able to actually play outside with her.