This is pretty textbook leash reactivity. I always recommend the book Feisty Fido as a good intro to understanding and working with leash reactivity. You can get a kindle version on amazon for less than $10 and it's a really quick read.
There are a lot of theories on why some dogs spaz out on leash and the exact reasons differ for every dog. There are "Frustrated Greeters" who just really want to say hi and others that are more fear reactive who might feel trapped being on a leash. It's hard to say without personal experience with your dog.
It takes time, patience, and a lot of love, but you will be able to work through this. There is A LOT more to all of this, but that's just some basic stuff.
A couple other random things to watch out for:
There's a book! Psilocybin Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide. It's a great. You can easily find it on the internet. You can get it on Amazon also. https://www.amazon.com/Psilocybin-Mushroom-Growers-Handbook-Enthusiasts-ebook/dp/B00BOE16V8
Dogs can be choked out, too. That said, my dog may not have the luxury of that much time so, since I also practice FMA, the GS might end up with a knife in a carotid.
On a side note, while it doesn’t specifically address saving a small dog from a big dog attack, you may find this of interest: https://www.amazon.com/Self-Defense-Against-Attack-Loren-Christensen-ebook/dp/B018PUX2DS/ref=mp_s_a_1_32?dchild=1&qid=1626921562&refinements=p_lbr_one_browse-bin%3ALoren+W.+Christensen&s=books&sr=1-32
I usually start working on those issues with Look At That/Look And Dismiss (also called engage/disengage - I just learned it as LAT/LAD, so that's what I call it!).
Here's a good video on how to teach it, and how to use it when seeing those triggers: https://youtu.be/EdraNF2hcgA
What I really like about this technique (and make sure to prioritize getting to LAD over getting less distance!) is that it teaches the dog to self-dismiss those triggers.
I will say right now that you'll need more than just basic LAT for prey drive, but starting with it is going to be a great foundation. Later for critters, I like to do a lot of premack principle.
I haven't yet fully read the book (it's short, but I've got so many things on my to-read list!), but I've gotten through a good portion and watched several seminars by the author and I like Hunting Together by Simone Mueller. It takes the idea that dogs are naturally prey driven (in most cases) and it's good for them to be able to work on the predation sequence up to a certain point. You can also use portions of that predation sequence to reinforce paying attention to you, for example.
Check out predation substitute training (Hunting Together, Simone Mueller). Pattern games (Leslie McDevitt) are also really useful: 1,2,3,treat is my favourite because of how easy and effective it is for navigating by triggers.
Our lad used to have an absolute meltdown at any small animals, especially if they ran or behaved in a “fun” way. Now he can calmly watch, disengage, and keep walking :) he’s still got a super high prey drive don’t get me wrong, just more desirable (for humans) outward behaviours in response to it.
We surprisingly don't have many squirrels in our neighborhood (mostly rabbits, which are less triggering for my guy), but I did let him off leash at a nearby empty park to chase the squirrels there once. He had the time of his life but his arousal was SO high that I honestly thought he was going to drive himself to a heart attack.
All that said, clearly my dog has a prey drive I'm not fulfilling so I'm going to try prey substitution training. He sometimes likes cat flirt toys, but loses interest quickly. This book seems highly recommended: Hunting Together by Simone Mueller.
what has the trainer recommended for the prey drive? predation substitute training is an awesome way to work with the natural prey drive and not fight against it
are there times where birds aren't active? eg: walking later at night
Here's a book that might interest you. I haven't been following it exactly, but I like some of her ideas for working with your dogs impulses and giving the appropriate outlets.
https://www.amazon.com/Hunting-Together-Harnessing-Motivation-Based-Substitute-ebook/dp/B085X18GMC
You can start with aluminium casting. It's not like it's free of dangers, but since the temperature is relatively manageable it's a good way to get a general feel for it and assemble the correct equipment. There are lots and lots of guides out there. David Gingery has written a series about creating a metal workshop from scratch at home. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005STTBBM is the first book, about a small charcoal foundry.
How does he do off leash? Leash reactivity is fairly common.
My dog sounds can seem straight up viscous when out for walks, but at daycare she does great.
Here's a comment of mine from a similar post that may be useful. Even if he isn't doing well off leash, the recommendations there are still good for helping him be more comfortable on leash.
>This is pretty textbook leash reactivity. I always recommend the book Feisty Fido as a good intro to understanding and working with leash reactivity. You can get a kindle version on amazon for less than $10 and it's a really quick read.
>
>There are a lot of theories on why some dogs spaz out on leash and the exact reasons differ for every dog. There are "Frustrated Greeters" who just really want to say hi and others that are more fear reactive who might feel trapped being on a leash. It's hard to say without personal experience with your dog.
>
>It takes time, patience, and a lot of love, but you will be able to work through this. There is A LOT more to all of this, but that's just some basic stuff.
>
>A couple other random things to watch out for:
>
>Make sure your dog is getting enough exercise (if possible, wear himout a bit before a walk)
>
>Make sure he is getting enough mental stimulation (google dog enrichment)
>
>Make sure you are being as calm and composed as possible on walks. If you tense up every time you see a dog, you're telling your doggo that there's something to worry about. Dogs are very good at picking up on tension and stress like that and it can directly feed into their reactivity. Deep breathes, try to keep the leash loose, and redirect as calmly as possible.
No problem!
Dropped or pinned ears can mean a few things - it really depends on the rest of her body language. Is she wagging her tail, does her posture look comfortable and welcoming otherwise? Sometimes dropped ears can simply be a way to appear friendly and non-threatening in a social situation. Other times it can indicate nervousness and discomfort. Sometimes a dog can be friendly, nervous and uncomfortable!
Physical affection can be tricky. Tolerance for/enjoyment of physical affection varies by breed, and can also increase/decrease with age. Are we talking about petting? Hugs? What parts of her body are you touching? Lots of people instinctively reach over the top of a dog's head for pets, which most breeds will find fairly intrusive, and they may instinctively duck away. Hugs are also not in a dog's vocabulary - they might tolerate them, but will most likely feel uncomfortable. Obviously, there are exceptions to this, usually in the form of some ridiculously affectionate golden retriever.
My pup grew into enjoying physical affection, but there are still certain things that he doesn't like, so I try to work with him. I offer my hand for pets, or make room on the couch to cuddle, and he can take it or leave it. I try to always give him a heads up before I go in for a scratch, and I do a lot of body handling work where I reinforce physical contact with treats so he's more excited than annoyed when I'm poking his ears or checking his toes. He's 10 months now and his enjoyment of physical affection has skyrocketed in the last 3 months.
Hope that helps! There's also this really awesome little booklet about dog body language that you might like, On Talking Terms With Dogs by Turid Rugaas. I found it incredibly informative and it's really improved how I work with my guy.
you might get away with melting Aluminium, but to be honest if you plan on doing casting you'll want a forge and a foundry. the foundry is a better shape to handle a crucible, and inappropriate for most forging - but it can be done.
but for that you want to go with something like a kaowool and hot face - if you want portable.
have you looked at http://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Foundry-Build-Metal-Working-ebook/dp/B005STTBBM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463618766&sr=8-2&keywords=gingery
There are many unexpected dangers in metalcasting and I didn't watch the whole video to see which ones they warn about. A good book is the first book of Dave Gingery's series.
If you aren't machining the material afterwards, cans are probably OK as a source material.