Advice needed for reactive 13mo GSD
Three months ago, we adopted a 10-month-old male GSD with some working-line genetics from a shelter. We knew going in that he was reactive toward dogs, bicycles, and motorbikes, but we were happy to take on the challenge and help him.
From the start, we've been working with a trainer who is not force-free. I know that may not be everyone's preference, but we've also learned a lot of force-free concepts into our training. For context, I've had some bad experiences with force-free trainers in my area while working with a previous dog that had aggression issues, so we decided to take a different approach this time.
Overall, we've made great progress. We can now go on enjoyable walks without relying on aversive methods, and he's able to participate in group classes with only minor reactions. We've also discovered that he has virtually no off switch at home. If we don't enforce structured rest and separation, he simply won't settle or sleep.
To help with that, we're working through Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol in the hope that lowering his overall arousal will also help with his reactivity.
At the same time, I'm trying to incorporate more force-free techniques for his dog reactivity. I've mostly been working with LAT (Look At That), but I'm struggling with one particular issue. If we're at a distance where he notices another dog, he immediately fixates and starts whining in a very high pitch. He'll sometimes still take food, but he's clearly over threshold. If I increase the distance enough for him not to react, we're so far away that he doesn't notice the other dog at all.
Has anyone dealt with this specific stage of training? How did you bridge the gap between "reacts immediately" and "doesn't even see the trigger"? Some courses, books, or papers that we can work through in the future are always welcome.
For additional context, his reactions seem to be frustration-based rather than fear-based. We tested him with our trainer's dog, and he clearly enjoys interacting and playing with other dogs once he's able to do so appropriately.
I'd appreciate it if we could keep the discussion focused on the training question rather than debating the use of aversive tools. I only mentioned our training background to be fully transparent.