Correct the intention
Be the driver in the relationship with your dog, not the passenger, by taking control and addressing mindset...
The first place I start to look at, with any dog, is at the mindset. Are they calm? Are they worried? Are they excited? Are they distracted? Are they pushy/bratty? Are they patient/polite? No matter what we’re doing (or not doing sometimes), we always have time to take a few seconds to evaluate the dog’s mindset and address it if there is any over excitement, mental arousal, concern, pushiness, or less than wholesome intentions before moving forward with our plans (opening a door, walking down stairs, opening the crate, going for a walk, answering the door for a guest, etc.) Everything becomes easy when the dog is calm and handler focused but the same situation can be super chaotic and stressful on us owners/handlers if the dog is mentally aroused/over excited/tuned out/etc. When it comes to addressing an over excited/aroused mindset, the earlier we can catch and correct this stuff the better everything gets! So, learning your dogs ‘tells’ and how to read their body language is a super important skill to gain so that you can stay on top of things early and swiftly. Every time a dog starts to get distracted or over aware of the other dogs, I’m telling her what to do... the second ‘down’. I don’t wait until she’s staring at them, or until her body becomes tight with tension, I don’t wait until she’s broken Place, I don’t wait until she’s ‘loaded’ up and feeling intense about the dogs and I definitely don’t wait ‘to see what happens’. NEVER ‘wait to see what happens’! In this kind of situation, ALWAYS take control and tell the dogs what to do AND what not to do, so they don’t get the opportunity to make some really poor choices due to excitement/mental arousal. This is the difference between being directive and reactive. We handlers always want to be ahead of the action (like a director) by telling the dog what to do rather than behind the action and reacting to the things the dog chooses to do (which are usually very poor choices when the dog is over excited or mentally aroused)