Snoot Loop

Fozzie has already completed a fantastic Reactive Agility class, which gave him a great chance to do agility work while protecting him from situations in which he would feel reactive. And we have been working regularly with the skills I learned from coaching reactive classes at Your Dog's Friend, which are exclusively positive and focused on working below a dog's threshold.  These methods have worked wonders for fear-reactive dogs.

But Fozzie has a different issue, which is that he is so excited to see other dogs that he can't bear the frustration of being on the leash. So he still rears and lunges and barks when he sees another dog on-leash, although he calms down, and 99% of the time simply sniffs and wags, if allowed to greet said dog.

I got a Snoot Loop as another training accessory.

 








We've been using it, but it rubs poor Fozzie's nose raw! After two walks he had a red swollen scar that lasted for a few days after. It did seem to calm him down a bit, but only because he was too preoccupied with the discomfort to pay as much attention to his triggers! 


Too busy pawing his nose, rubbing it against Lamar, sticking it under water.


So do Snoot Loops and other head halters work simply by means of aversion? If so, are they really different from prong or choke collars? The company, which seems very good, is sending me a piece of Polartec to cushion Fozzie's nosie from the Snoot Loop.

Dad doesn't make me wear that thing!

We will continue to explore the question of equipment--my hope of course is that working in more structured ways around other dogs on-leash will be just what Fozzie needs to learn calmer ways of responding when he sees other leashed pooches on our strolls.