Meeting dogs..

As I might have written before, I've had some trouble meeting other dogs on the leash.
I've always focused on getting the attention of Aila, and have her stop barking. Cause she's the one that makes the most noise and that you see the most in this case.
I've felt a bit worried at meetings, cause it's not fun when a dog is lashing out at another one, barking like crazy. The other one starts and the leashes are what's keeping them apart. It hasn't been like that before...

Anyway, first time I came to Sweden I noticed a changed behaviour in Vazy. She got triggered by the signals from the other dogs, I think, and became this "monster" sometimes.. It's not that she's really aggressive, but she still lashes out and jumps towards the other dog. She's quite strong, so sometimes it's really annoying. Anyways, she hasn't been that bad in the beginning since we moved here, or, only sometimes. And Aila has always sounded louder and more than her, so I only saw here...

Well, yesterday I noticed that it was acctually Vazy triggering Aila! Aila has learnt with positive reinforcement that meeting dogs is not so bad. But the "tid-bit in the face" technique is NOT working with Vazy... So finally I noticed that it was acctually her I should have been focusing on from the beginning.. Lately Aila has managed to pass dogs without a problem, but the Vazy gets upsets and lashes out at the dog, and then Aila tags along, doing the same, but barking as well. puh!
It's like what Ceasar often sees as well when someone has trouble with one dog... that it's acctually the other one that's causing it. Vazy is definitley the leader dog of them two, so it would be only natural.. Why haven't I thought of this before?
Anyway, yesterday I started this new technique, only focusing on Vazy. I have to make her snap out of the "zoom-mode" before she starts. I can see that her ears goes forward, her neck longer, she's like tripping on her toes.. Then I try to do something sudden, like a little pinch in the back.. First few times she got quite upset, and I had to lie her down on her side. She wouldn't accept that I "broke" her hunting mode.. But after she calmed down, it came another dog, I made the same thing, and with a treat when she looked at me. And it worked!
The last walk of the day I had 2 dogs walking on heel past other dogs (a few meters away). So I think I'm definitley on the right way.. I'll keep you updated about the process, cause this is really interesting..

I have also decided to start training with a group of girls with Laponian herders on tuesdays and thursdays. They seem to be on the same level as me, and it was really fun last time! Maybe I'll take some pictures later on... So Agility monday, and other training (obedience and other) on tuesdays and thursdays.. Busy busy!