Adopted Aussie is Dog Reactive On Leash - Settling In Period?
We adopted our second Australian Shepherd, Holt, four weeks ago after having lost our first Aussie, Remington, in December. We raised Remington from a puppy and had him in training classes as soon as he had all his shots, so he was a relatively easy dog - only reactive when we would (rarely) see a skateboard. Holt is different and a brand new experience for us - approximately 5-years old and a stray from Knoxville, TN. It seems like he was a family dog at one point, but was never microchipped or neutered. He was brought in by a rescue organization in early February at which point he was neutered and lived with his first foster for 4-6 weeks. He was then brought to Massachusetts, where he stayed with his second foster for two weeks. Then we adopted him and brought him home to NYC (Hells Kitchen / Upper West Side on the river).
We were told he was good on leash, ran with his first foster, and was the easiest foster dog the second foster had. I don’t disbelieve those experiences, but ours is different.
Holt is extremely dog reactive on leash, to the point you would think we’re abusing him by the way he screams and flails. In the past four weeks he’s acclimated so well to the inside - he’s no longer scared of the typical apartment noises. He’s attentive to voices and dogs occasionally barking in the hallway, but he’s no longer getting upset. Outside it’s a completely different story and is constantly on alert. If he smells a dog or hears a leash we can’t get his attention, even with high value treats. If he sees a dog it’s game over.
It’s a bit confusing because he lived with two other dogs at the second fosters and was perfectly fine. He was excited but not this reactive when we saw another dog at a rest stop on our trip home. When we made an overnight stop, he would bound over to see the neighbors dog (fenced in yards).
We’ve hired a trainer that specializes in reactivity (no aversive methods), have been doing quick pee walks during the day and long walks at 11pm and 4am when we’re not likely to run into other dogs, and focusing on continued training inside (check in, touch, sit, down, 123, find it). We’re seeing some general improvement and comfortability with the outside environment, but he still has a hard time breaking focus and checking in. When he’s tired at the end of his walk we’ve started getting him to ‘down’ outside (which I take as a huge win).
We’ve only had Holt for four weeks, so we’re still moving through our 3-3-3 period. We’ve read a lot of threads here and picked up a lot of information, so I guess our main question right now is if anyone has had a similar adoption experience and seen their dog get better as they get closer to the 3-month period? We recognize that he needs continual training and time alone isn’t enough, but has the settling-in period changed how reactive anyone’s dog is? I’m sure he doesn’t fully trust us yet with how much he’s moved around and surely that must play a role. We have no idea how long he was a stray or what past trauma he might have faced. We love him to pieces already and are committed to working through this with him, but the odd schedule is quite exhausting.
TLDR - we adopted an Aussie that’s dog reactive on leash 4 weeks ago. We have a trainer we’re working with, and see some improvement, but he hits threshold so quickly. Has anyone seen their adopted dog get less reactive as they’ve built trust and a bond over the first three months of having them?