Dog Aggression

[Muggsmom]

Hi Everyone,

My 2 1/2 yr. old Shar Pei/English Pointer, Muggs, (good guess) is dog aggressive when on the leash or in the car. He's OK when off leash, although a little more tense when meeting dogs than I like. He has gone after dogs that approach him when he is on leash, so it's not that he just wants to go play with them. He has been thoroughly checked by the vet, so it's nothing physical. The vet checked with a behavioural specialist. His advice was to keep him away from other dogs. Very helpful. He has been socialized, attending day care from 5 mos. to 1 yr. He is neutered. I'm running out of ideas (and patience). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Dog Obsessed]

Maybe your dog feels a need to protect you, like when you're walking him or when he's in the car. That's just my guess because you say he only is aggressive when on a leash or in the car. So my guess is he's just Over
Protective. If I were you, I would try and socialize him with the other dogs on your street and around where you walk him. Socialize him with the other dogs when he's not on a leash and see what happens. Like you could try putting some neighborhood dogs in a fenced in backyard with your dog. Just see if he reacts the same way as he does on a leash.

Best of Luck,
-Dog Obsessed

[BrianP]

That's good you're keeping him away from other dogs if that is sparking his aggression.

It sounds like your dog needs good old alpha dog training. Especially at leash time and car time. You may need to start using the leash in the home too, so that he doesn't only associate it with going out, although definately avoid tying up your dog outside for long periods.

Brian

p.s. I'm no dog expert, I'm just flicking through a dog training book I have in front of me. It does say that the number one thing is to establish yourself as your pet's leader or alpha dog.

[Muggsmom]

Thanks guys. I think I do the alpha thing. He has to sit and wait for his food, not allowed on furniture (except the bed, he sleeps with me), I go out doors first, make him heel on walks, etc. We live in a rural area, so not many dogs. He will play with the dog across the street. He's OK with any friends' dogs that come to the house, as long as he's not on the leash. I don't tie him up outside. The biggest problem I have is in town. My ex lives in an apartment with other dogs. He just goes beserk when he sees them. I make him wait at the door to settle down before we go out. He literally shakes. Sometimes it has taken me 1/2 hr. to get outside. Then there are the dogs we see while walking. He goes from 0 to 10 in 0.25 secs. He totally zones me out. I will try leaving the leash on while in the house.

Thanks for the input. If you come across any other ideas, I would appreciate it.

[kuritsa18]

I agree that socializing him with other dogs would be beneficial. But to be safe and make sure he doesn't bite anyone I would get a muzzle for him untill the behaviour is fixed; it's not a punishment in any way but to make sure you and the other dogs are safe because the worst things is to have a dog fight and you don't want to get into the middle of that because you could get seriuosly hurt. Also, are your ex's dogs aggressive? He could be learning the behaviour from them or just trying to defend himself. If so maybe it would bette to keep them apart. This happened with my dog and my boyfriends parents dogs. Their dogs are very aggressive and when we go we now have to keep them separated at all times.

I saw a similar siutation about yor car problem on a tv show about dog behaviour. I also had a similar problem with my dog getting aggressive in the car. When they start becomeing aggressive or start braking tell in a firm loud voice NO. When they are quite and behave reward him by giving him a treat and saying "good boy" and petting him. Positive reinforcement always works best. You could also use a shaker, which is just a water bottle with a few rocks in it, that you shake when they start barking and it distrcts them and makes them stop and then when he stops and is quiet give him a treat.

Good Luck

[Muggsmom]

Sorry, I didn't say that right. There are other dogs in the building, not belonging to my ex. None of the dogs are aggressive. One of the dogs he hates the most is a 17 yr old little terrier mix. The poor thing couldn't be aggressive if he tried. Muggs just has to see or even hear them to go beserk. As for the car, he totally zones out. He doesn't pay attention to anything but the dog. Someone told me to give him a treat when he sees a dog, so he associates good things with other dogs. I can't even get him to pay attention to a treat. I also wonder if that would not reward the bad behaviour.

[Carolina]

Hi Muggsmom,
I too have a dog aggressive dog, but luckily (i guess) she's a little dog. Have you tried using a head collar in addition to a normal neck collar? You can control a dog a lot easier when they wear one. Introduction can sometimes be slow. Many people feel it's a muzzle but they are not. A dog can still pant, bark, eat, bite even if they wanted to while wearing one. I don't think keeping your dog away from other dogs completely will help at all in the long run. Certainly trying to desensitise your dog wearing a muzzle is a safer option. If your dog feels he needs to protect you, you may, unknowingly be reinforcing that behaviour. Do you tense up? Is there tension on his lead. Do you go quiet? I find that sometimes if i start talking in a happy, cheerful voice my dog doesn't react or react as badly towards other dogs. You might feel silly doing it but it may promote better behaviour in your dog. Using food (treats that your dog doesn't receive in normal diet - sausages, a little cheese, ham, turkey - food that your dog will go CRAZY for and praise (i'm a BIG food fan when treating/training dogs) to reward good behaviour. Rewarding your dog for simply looking at another dog from a distance and NOT reacting, REWARD.
Good luck.

[Muggsmom]

I do use a head halter, it's the only way I can contol him when he goes off, but he's all muscle and even with the halter he has pulled me into a run. I know it's not me because there have been several times I haven't even known there was a dog in the area until he's started acting up. I've tried the treats, but he is so out of it it's all I can do to hang on, he pays no attention to the treats (even cheese, his absolute favourite). The other day he actually nipped me in his frenzy trying to get to the other dog. The muzzle makes him even worse, although I didn't think that was possible. For now I'm working on basic training and being the 'Leader'. I'm doing a lot of Downs, especially outside when I see ANY warning signs.

Thanks for the input, keep it coming. Appreciate it!!

[kuritsa18]

Have you tried taking him to a trainer? A trainer can work with you one on one to solve the problem and show you what you should and should not be doing. Giving treats is not going to help and obviously doesn't since he doesn't pay attention. Also, you can find a trainer at a facility where they also have doggy day care. Once your dog starts becoming better they can go in the day care where he can become properly socialized. A trainer can also work with you with the dog aggression. I would also suggest getting a choke collar. They are really effective.

Some tips I have are: make sure he is calm before you take him outside; if he is hyper or anxious he won't listen to you and he will only focus on what is contributing to his mood. A calm dog will listen better. Have him on the choke collar. If he pulls give a quick snap to correct the behaviour and then say good boy and even give a treat; lots of praise is key after correction when he does the good behaviour. He should learn quickly if you re-enforce the good behaviour after the correction. Do not reward bad behaviour. If he becomes anxious, hyper, ect. give a quick snap and NO and then ignore. You have to be a leader for your dog. If your dog sees that your anxious he will be too but if you are calm and confident he will follow; dogs feed off our engery. Wehn he sees another dog and has a "tanrum'/acts out give a quick snap while saying NO loudly and firmly untill he stops; repeat untill he gets the point then when he stops lots of praise and good boy. You have to correct the behaviour as soon as you see any sign such as a change in posture, body language, ect. It is important to do so so that the anxiety and aggression doesn't go any further and escalate into a full blown uncntrollable dog and by doing this you are stoping his mind/emotions from going further into the behaviour. Once the dog is in that behaviour and becomes uncontrollable it is too late.

I hope that helps and I really strongly suggest a trainer. Also visit this website it has really good info on how to be a leader for your dog and much more: Cesar Millan - Dog Psychology Center
Good luck!

[mriver]

Your dogs aggression seems a lot like my dogs problem. I have received many suggestions about getting a qualified behaviorist or trainer. Where we live, the closest one I can find listed on all the referral lists is 3+ hrs. away. I did use a trainer here in town who helped some, but she uses shock collars and can get pretty rough. It appeared that the change he did show was more of a fear of her and he still would not socialize at all with the other dogs, just ignored them. That was better than nothing though. As for getting people to bring their dogs to a fenced area to socialize, good luck. Not too many people are willing to put their dogs into that situation even if you use a muzzle. As for just not taking your dog around other dogs, that is the answer I get quite frequently. I do not go to dog parks (obviously) and I do not purposely walk anywhere that I know other dogs will be. However, as I stated in my original post, we do a lot of RVing and it's pretty hard to walk your dog and avoid dogs. Tons of dogs are either being walked on the same path or are tied in front of their RV's and often bark and lurch at our dog. So it makes it difficult. However, we have made progress by making him sit and watch us when we see another dog coming. It seems to work most of the time, but not always, plus we don't always foresee another dog coming like when we turn a blind corner. In the almost 2 yrs we've had him, I've only been able to get him to tolerate one other dog and that was after 3 days of camping together and going on many walks keeping him some distance and gradually bringing them closer. I never did feel like I trusted him even though we were able to have them both in one RV together often during dinner or other social times. Only because our dog and hers are well trained and if I tell him to lay down and stay, he will. They played once for a short time, but the minute a toy was grabbed by the other dog, I could tell by my dogs body language that he wasn't going to let the dog have the toy even though it didn't belong to my dog. We are meeting up again in two weeks. I'm curious what will happen, but you can believe that I will not trust him. I'm just hoping for 'indifference' which is better than all out aggression. Good luck.