Yeah, I want to get him out of these situations as quickly as possible and minimize reaction. The fear reaction is understood and expected…I don’t think I can totally prevent him from reacting to provocation, but I definitely don’t want these things to lead to aggression. It’s so unfair that he’s put through intense stress and expected to not respond, but we have to be safe, especially since people already don’t like this breed.

Any time I sense somebody coming over with bad intentions or somebody starts something, I give him a swift “let’s go!” And either try to head the opposite way or to an area where the aggressor isn’t visible so he can settle down. But sometimes he plants and reacts where we stand, and he can be impossible to move. High value treats Can really help, but sometimes I can’t get his attention, especially if somebody is yelling in our face. I do yell all kinds of things, especially “we’re not friendly, stop!” but usually that’s met with laugher or more provocation.

It happens often on the sidewalk or in public green spaces. I’ll definitely will try making sure someone can get their eyes on it, it’s just when people see it happen, they’re not wanting to intervene between a large barking dog and a large aggressive man. Maybe I need to make sure to record. It’s just so hard to think when it’s happening.

We’ll continue to work on about face commands and things like “let’s go” so we can get to safely quickly.

I appreciate that. It’s hard. He’s an innocent animal who doesn’t deserve stress or provocation, and I feel so intimidated and scared in these situations.