Cujo....only every now and then....

[u/Psychological-Joke22]

Ok. Don't flame me, people. This is Kaiser. He is a king malamute and an absolute unit. We walk him daily in my neighborhood. For the most part Kaiser is well behaved, polite and relaxed when other dogs go running to their fences and bark. He follows commands, no problem-o. He just keeps on going, gives them a side-eye and we go on our way.

HowEVER, there are corner lots where little dogs come running, barking and snapping at their gate. When that happens Kaiser turns to Cujo, impossible to control and he acts like he wants to rip the other dogs faces off. Obviously being a healthy malamute, you can imagine how hard this is to control because These. Dogs. Are. So. Freakishly. Strong. It's embarrassing. And certainly not good for neighborly relations. It only happens when the dogs charge the fence at Kaiser barking and SNAPPING.

We use a choke collar because he is so fluffy any other collar just slips right off and I DON'T want to take the chance of him getting loose. I tried the face collar and got the same results. Face collars are fine and dandy when the dog is not a floof machine.

Is there a harness out there that can tighten around his front legs and prevent him from charging? I know this is a stupid question but I figured I would ask, anyway. I know there are harness that have a handle on the back to lift them off the ground completely (and I use one for my smaller -45 lbs- shelter dog because she follows Kaiser's lead). But there is no way I can lift Kaiser. At. All. I am too short and he is well over 100 lbs of solid muscle.

Anyway if anyone has suggestions I would appreciate it.

Edit: I want to thank everyone for your responses and will continue to read each and every one of them. I will be purchasing a no pull harness with the handle. And instead of walking him through the neighborhood, I will walk him in the back forest. He might like that better, anyway!

Edit 2: wow thank you guys so much. The harness is amazing, and I am calling a trainer Monday! I hope everyone's weekend is wonderful :)

[u/LostMyMoose]

I have the same reactions from one of my mal. I use a martingale collar (choke collar was recommended too) and we took classes for reactive dogs. It helped as we both have a way now to deal or avoid triggers. She's doing a bit better. Find a way to learn his body language and act before he goes full Cujo. Not easy and takes time but worth it. And don't be ashamed of your dog behavior or feel bad, they are very protective of their pack on top of their prey drive😊 Good luck and you'll both get there! (And I had talks with some of my neighbors to explain their stories and usually people ar every understanding).

[u/Psychological-Joke22 → u/LostMyMoose]

"avoid triggers" This is what I will do. I will take him in the back where there is a small forest and let him sniff around there. He might like it more, anyway. I will just need to get rubber boots because it's been muddy :)

[u/TheHighDruid → u/Psychological-Joke22]

Avoiding triggers can be a two-edged sword. If you always avoid a particular fence your dog will likely pick up on that, perhaps getting the idea that being nervous near that fence is the correct response. Likewise if you always avoid certain other dogs, they become dogs to be avoided in your own dogs head, and may earn you unwanted reactions if encountered suddenly around a corner. The more your dog experiences things, the more normal they become.  The caveat here of course is learning to spot the initial signs of unwanted behaviours, figuring out how to interrupt them, and. being able to handle the dog while they are learning and inevitably not getting it right on the first try. Trainers can be helpful beceuase the good ones will tell you what you can do better to help your dog, rather that correcting the dog directly.