What is it about housing complexes that seems to create dog-dog reactivity?
Growing up, I lived in a neighborhood where it seemed as if every house had a family dog. As a general rule, all of the dogs in the neighborhood got along. Sure, a dog in a yard would bark at another dog walking down the street, but the dog passing by would never bark back. It was almost as if the walking dog knew he had the upper paw. And the same dogs who would bark from their yards would politely greet other dogs if they were out on leash.
After moving into an apartment, I was shocked by the number of reactive dogs living there. I'd estimate that 80% of the dogs there were reactive to other dogs (I couldn't say how many were reactive to people because I always had Iris with me). After moving into the condo, I was again shocked at the number of dogs who are either very reactive or very inappropriate in their greetings. I would say that about 80% of the dogs here are reactive and another 15% like other dogs but are way over the top in their greetings (barking, jumping and pulling in excitement). I can only think of two other dogs here who are well behaved around other dogs.
Why such a high percentage of reactive dogs? I'm guessing that it's a combination of factors. Without a yard, every dog in the complex is walked on leash multiple times a day. It doesn't matter if they behave well in public or not, they still have to be walked. That makes reactive dogs a lot more visible than in a neighborhood where all the houses have yards. With a yard if your dog doesn't behave, you don't have to walk him. Even still, I can only think of two dogs from my neighborhood who were never walked because of behavior. It was a much lower percentage of reactive dogs than the apartment/condo.
Everything about the housing complex environment just seems to really encourage dog-dog reactivity. Because there are so many apartments and condos that don't allow dogs, the ones that do tend to have a lot of dogs. So there's a lot of dogs on leash in a relatively small space. It's also a lot of untrained dogs in a small space. Odds are good that with that many dogs, there's going to a few reactive ones and I wonder how much of a domino effect that has. I know that every time Iris sees another dog outside, she's anticipating that the other dog is going to explode at her. And nine times out of ten, she's right. That certainly doesn't help. It seems like a pretty quick way to turn a non-reactive dog into a reactive dog. Without proper management do a few reactive dogs very quickly "poison" the atmosphere of the entire complex?
I'm curious to hear if anyone else has any thoughts on reactive dogs in housing complexes. Has anyone else noticed the same scenario?
6 comments:
I don't have any experience with housing complexes and reactive dogs, but it does sound as though there is a chain of reinforcing (for the canine) behavior occurring that is really difficult to stop without everyone on the same page....and even then I think it would be hard once it is patterned.
I totally agree that the only way to really fix the problem would be to have everyone on the same page, which is just not going to happen. I think the thing that surprises me is how many people don't think it's a problem. The "Oh he just wants to say hi" mentality. It's unfortunate too becasue I've seen dogs who were not reactive become more reactive over time.
I walked a reactive dog who lived in a complex and yes, I totally agree. I can't think of any other situation that puts so many idiot dog owners in a condensed space (except perhaps chain pet stores -- but people/dogs don't live there full time!). Numerous times, I had to shout at owners with dogs off-leash (against apartment complex rules), on long flexis, or who were letting their dog drag them towards the reacting dog I was walking. Sometimes I would turn around and they would follow us, oblivious to the fact that we were desperately trying to avoid them. The dog I was walking had a pretty high threshold, but hey, even *I* get reactive when a dog suddenly starts rushing into my space!
I think your post is spot-on. The other potential solution is to require that all dogs are screened. Just because an apartment is pet-friendly doesn't mean they are obligated to accept every dog that applies. When I was trying to rent a couple of years ago, everyone we wanted to rent from insisted on meeting Strata before we even filled out any paperwork.
A workaround is to drive a short distance -- even five minutes away -- and walk from there. I encounter far fewer crazy dogs while walking in "typical" residential neighborhoods.
Cat, I can't believe how many oblivious owners are out there!
I'm really surprised that potential landlords wanted to meet Strata first. When I was looking at apartments, no one wanted to meet Iris. As long as she met breed, size, and vaccination requirements, I could have her. Maybe that's part of the problem. "Anything but a pit bull" doesn't guarantee nice dogs (or smart owners). It'd be much harder to enforce a screening process in a condo complex than an apartment, I would think. My roommate actually owns the condo so the condo association has less control. It seems like their policy is to approve any dog (except a few breeds), and then deal with problems later. It seems like the only problem they care about is whether or not (too often not...) people clean up after their dogs.
I'm lucky that I live fairly close to the entrance of the complex, so we've been heading over to a nearby neighborhood for exercise. We only stick around for quick potty breaks.
Just stumbled across your blog and was doing some back-reading... I agree with your statements and the comments about reactivity (and stupid owners!!!!) in apartment complexes. But from my own experiences with this scenario, I also strongly feel there is another issue playing into it, which I consider to be a form of barrier frustration. These dogs all associate the space (or at least a portion of the space) in the complex as "theirs" but they also routinely see/smell others using "their" space without opportunities for normal interactions. In a neighborhood, each dog has their own yard, and if they're out on the street going for a daily walk, they are "out in the world" and seeing/smelling the other dogs that are getting to experience the same patch of world but it doesn't *belong* to either of them. Unfortunately, this additional insight doesn't help resolve the problem - mostly because of the uneducated and clueless humans that can't or won't work on improving the interactions - but I think some of it is innate to the set-up no matter what. You're right to walk Iris in the nearby neighborhood when you're able (assuming you're still in the complex almost a year later).
Hi Jenn! Thank you for commenting! Now that you mention it, I think you are right about the dogs feeling that the complex is "theirs." I have noticed that Iris is less reactive if I bring her somewhere neutral (another neighbor hood, the state park, etc). I wonder how much of that is that it's a neutral space and how much is that there isn't a history of other dogs barking at her there. Probably a combination of both! We are still living in the condo, and probably will be for the foreseeable future. While it's certainly not the ideal situation, I think we're both pretty happy here. With the right management, we make it work :-)
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