[Frogzlovzy]

I feel like a complete jackass tonight. I took Cj on his nightly run. We rarely see other dogs on the route that I take him. He has made small improvements with his reactivity over the last 3 months since we got him from the pound but is still a handful when we encounter dogs unexpectedly. We were a half mile away from home when I see a lady walking towards us with two boston terriers about 60 yards away. There was really no way to avoid them from where we were on the street. Cj had been really well behaved on the run so far. I knew he was pretty warn out at this point especially since it was about 80 degrees tonight. His leash was tied to my camelback but when I saw the other dogs I wrapped the leash a couple times around my right wrist to take in the slack. As we get closer he is still doing fine, just running along side of me. But just in case I move about 5 yards into the street since there were no on coming cars at the time. I kept him on my right as the lady was going to pass on my left. He didn't look, didn't yank, or start barking. I thought wow, this is going to be fine. As we get ready to pass each other I exchange greetings with the lady. Then just as I'm finishing saying hello, BAM Cj darts for the dogs and takes my legs out. I take a tumble in the middle of the street. He yanks the leash out of my hand and rips my camelback where the leash was tied on. I pop up and race to get him. At this point he looks like he is getting ready to bite one of the dogs around the neck. I yell NO, and luckily he backs off. I grab him and step away. The boston terriers were fine, luckily. And the lady was very understanding but I feel HORRIBLE. I know I scared the crap out of her while she was trying to enjoy her evening walk. I know I shouldn't be tense tomorrow night when I run him but I'm not sure I will be able to keep from being nervous. Any similar experiences? Suggestions?

[Munccoughe]

Take an obedience training course that focuses on reactivity. And don't tie your dog's leash to something, have it firmly in hand.

[masterboyz]

Teach your dog some manners. Seriously. Plenty of people have reactive dogs who behave in public.

What you SHOULD have done was stop moving, put the dog in a sit, and keep his attention while the other dogs passed. You stopped paying attention to him for a split second to greet the woman, and he took FULL advantage of that moment.

He needs to learn that when he sees another dogs, to look to you for treats. So, take treats with you on runs... when he sees another dog, whether he's behaving or not, stop running and make him focus on you. You just don't have enough control over your dog right now to maintain motion, obviously.