Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT
One of the most common calls we get from prospective clients starts with something like, “My dog is aggressive with other dogs, can it be fixed?” I’ve learned over the years that dog/dog aggression is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. The situation is further complicated because there are different types of dog/dog aggression.
Normal Dog Play
Sometimes, what an owner describes as dog/dog aggression is actually normal dog play. The way dogs play can seem scary to some human beings. These owners are overly conscientious about their dog’s behavior and his/her interaction with other dogs. While being conscientious about your dog’s behavior is a very good thing, like any good trait, it can be taken to an extreme. I sometimes wish I could wave a magic target stick that would make some overly conscientious owners worry less by transferring some of their worry and concern to owners who do not have enough of it. There’s a hilarious blog called Three Woofs and a Woo published by a photographer. She has wonderful shots of dogs playing.
Playground Bully
Some dogs never learned the manners of polite dog play society. They are like some people, just kind of clueless about how their behavior affects others. Jean Donaldson calls these dogs “Tarzans”. The most common sign of a playground bully is that the dog just doesn’t read cut off signals from their playmate. The other dog throws all kinds of body language that says, “OK, we’re done now, that’s enough play from you” and these bully dogs just don’t take the hint. Some dogs handle bullies quite well while others, well; they get a bit snarky when being mugged rudely by another dog who just doesn’t know when enough is enough. These dogs are rude, but not what we would call “truly dog aggressive”.
Fear Aggression
Many owners believe that in order for their dogs to be mentally healthy, they must go to the dog park, or have social interactions with other dogs of some kind. This is not always the case. The reason that a dog is afraid of other dogs can stem from several causes. Some puppies were not exposed to other puppies during their socialization window. The socialization window is the first 18 to 20 weeks of a dog’s life and it’s the most important developmental learning period in a dog’s life. Puppies who never learned how to read other puppies’ body language and play cues can be afraid of other dogs later in life. Imagine if you lived at home with your brothers and sisters and never saw other children until you were 16 years old. When you finally left the house to go to high school, you’d probably be pretty uncomfortable around teenagers your own age, right?
Some dogs have had one or more traumatizing experiences from their interactions with other dogs. These experiences might have been terrifying, but not result in any physical damage. The damage comes in the form of fear of other dogs. When I see young puppies at the dog park being knocked down, run over, and played with inappropriately for their age, I cringe. What may seem funny or cute to the owners who think they are doing the right thing by “socializing” their puppy with other dogs inappropriately may be setting that puppy up for fear aggression around other dogs later in life. Its inappropriate to socialize a young puppy at the dog park where you can’t control the play interaction. If you have a puppy, find a Puppy Kindergarten that focuses on lots of supervised, off leash play with other age appropriate puppies. I’ve had clients call me because their dog was brutally attacked by another dog and now their dog is afraid of all other dogs. That’s the problem with fear; it has a tendency to generalize.
Leash Reactivity (aka Leash Aggression)
I don’t like the term “leash aggression” because many of the dogs that react badly on leash by growling, barking, and lunging at other dogs are not aggressive. They’re reactive. You can tell whether your dog is exhibiting dog/dog aggression vs. leash reactivity by answering a simple question, “How does your dog play with other dogs off leash?” If your dog plays well at the dog park, but acts aggressively toward other dogs on leash, you have leash reactivity. If your dog displays fear aggression towards other dogs off leash, you have what most people call leash aggression.
Sometimes the most difficult cases for me to handle are the ones where the owners have never let their dog off leash around other dogs based on their reaction to other dogs while ON leash. I got a call from a woman who adopted a black lab mix from a shelter. Whenever she took the dog outside for a walk and encountered another dog on leash, she said her dog “was uncontrollably aggressive”. She had never let her new dog play with other dogs off leash because she was afraid of what her new dog would do. I decided to have a look for myself, or I should say I decided to let my dog Conner have a look for himself (see my colleague Greta’s post about Canine assistants for dog/dog fear & aggression). My dog Conner is absolutely amazing with other dogs. He just “speaks dog” with the most beautiful, calming body language that he throws at other dogs.
I had the owner stand with her dog on the sidewalk. I got Conner out of the car a block away. As we walked closer to her dog, I saw her dog put his ears up and rotate them out (sexy ears!) and then he started prancing and throwing play bows. As we got even closer, he starting barking hysterically and lunging on leash. Her dog wasn’t aggressive. He was leash reactive. He was so desperate to get to the other dog to play that he acted like a total lunatic. When I told the owner to drop her leash, I dropped Conner’s leash and totally appropriate and hilarious play ensued. It’s wonderful to see an owner cry tears of happiness.
We had some work to do with that dog, after all, while the owner was relieved her dog wasn’t dangerous, she still couldn’t walk him in the neighborhood acting like a total hysteric every time he saw another dog, but we knew what we had and could fix it relatively quickly. The way we treat leash reactivity and leash aggression can be quite different, but to treat it appropriately, we’ve got to know what we’ve got; hysterics, fear, or aggression?
Dog/Dog Aggression
We do encounter what we call “true dog/dog aggression”, but it’s the most rare type of dog/dog aggression. Some dogs just find fighting with other dogs incredibly reinforcing. Other dogs, because of their breeding, or how they’ve been handled, or both, actually will kill another dog. This type of dog/dog aggression is quite rare compared to the dog/dog aggression that we see that is fear based.
These cases are difficult because of the time and resources that it takes to counter condition this behavior. Performing this type of work to help these dogs takes controlled environments, a great deal of time, and many, many stimulus dogs before we begin to see any effect. Often the cost and time are prohibitive and we’re left with two choices; the 3 Ms (a lifetime of Management/Muzzles/Medication), or euthanasia.
Do you have stories from your trips to the dog park that you’d like to share? Have you or are you dealing with leash reactivity? Tell us your stories or share your thoughts. We love to hear from our dog owners.
I have a 22 month, black lab/coon hound mix. We have had him since 8 weeks. He has been the WORST dog I have ever owned. Extreme mouthing (my arms looked like raw meat), ripping of clothes, shoes. He went beyond the usual puppy playfulness into an absolute terror. I was in tears. The first animal behaviorist we took him to for 1) puppy kindergarten 2) multiple courses of classes, said that he might just be ‘hard-wired’ differently. He was so willful that even she couldn’t get him to behave at times. We were politely asked to leave the puppy program and referred to a local animal behaviorist who works with hard to train dogs. We have had great success in her class. He is definitely quirky and she allows a little lee-way for him (when she asks the dog for a sit, Charlie is the dog that sits in the chair)
He needs constant stimulation and extreme exercise. He is not interested in playing with other dogs, but needs hard running and ball play and swimming. Unfortunately I have to take him to the dog park as my yard isn’t large enough to throw a ball). Last week, A doberman pinscher 1 year old puppy kept chasing him and humping my dog. Before i could get to him, my dog had whipped around and bit the dog’s ear. I don’t know whether I need to euthanize my dog. He has finally gotten to the point where he is a loving dog at home. No more crying on my part. But if he can’t be at the dog park to swim or chase a ball, what life is it for him?
Hi Christina,
I have two dogs, a 4.5 year old female American Foxhound/Shepherd (or possibly Husky) mix, and full bred, 3.5 year old male yellow lab. I got Bella first from a rescue down South. She is the model dog – extremely well behaved in and out of the house, smart, patient, seemingly appreciative of my having rescued her. She is also, without question, the dominant dog in the household (often found humping Buddy around the house, which he fully accepts). She is also dominant at the dog park with other dogs, but in an acceptable way (in other words, she plays well with all dogs, but rarely initiates play… once she gets going though, she is never the dog on the ground, she is always dominating – even though clearly in play mode).
However, the problem I have is with my lab. I realize that any dog is capable of being dominant/aggressive/etc., but it seems so rare to see a lab who exhibits this kind of behavior, just due to their natural demeanor. Buddy is truly a specimen, a gorgeous yellow with outstanding features. He captures so much of what a lab is supposed to be, in his look, his athleticism, training ability, fetching/swimming, sense of smell, goofiness around the house, etc. I took him in at 8 mos old from a family up the street who bought him off Craigslist from some college kids (they had him for about 3 months before graduating and deciding neither wanted to keep him). His original owners were from China, but living in Boston at the time when they bought him from a breeder in Missouri. They moved back to China a short while later and decided to sell him to those college kids. In any case, Buddy was not fixed when I got him. I had been taking Bella to my local park which is very dog friendly since I got her, and she got along with every dog there, including a large Bernese Mountain dog who was the king of the park (his owner would let him out of the car, and he would run into the park and immediately pin every male dog to the ground for about 10 seconds, and then everything was totally fine). This dog was about 2-3 years old, and an award winning show dog, which meant he could not be fixed. You probably see where I’m going with this.
At first, he and Buddy and Lucky seemed to get along …but just a few weeks in, as Buddy started to become a full grown adult male, the problems started. Lucky, the Berner, one day turned on him and tackled him…. it looked like he was tearing into him and it was going to be an ugly scene, but after breaking it up, there was no real damage. This ended up happening a few more times whenever the two dogs were at the park together. In retrospect, we were absolutely doing the wrong thing having them there together. Both Lucky’s owner and myself were pretty close beforehand, when I just had Bella, and we were both thinking/hoping that the two dogs were just working the pecking order out, and things would end up being okay eventually. Things never got better. Every time all the dogs at the park would be playing in a circle together, Buddy would be keeping a huge buffer zone… at least 30-40 yards away, always with an eye on Lucky. Then something would happen, Lucky would chase him down and flatten him like a pancake. So we stopped going to that park altogether.
I got Buddy fixed at about 12 months old, but ever since those days at the park, he has had fear-based aggression towards dogs his size and bigger, particularly when first meeting them. It’s almost like he pro-actively wants to dominate or show aggression so that these dogs know he is not to be messed with. He is generally fine with female dogs (though big ones he is leery of), but male dogs medium-large he will sniff their butt, then usually go nose to nose and growl/try to make eye contact, and then often times try to hump. And not fun, playful humping…..more aggressive (almost like he’s thinking “don’t fight me off, or I’m going to turn things up a notch”). It’s not with every dog. He usually picks one or two at the park. I have taken him almost every day for the past 3 years day to a big dog park nearby in the hopes of continuing to socialize him and make things right, but I’d say there hasn’t been a lot of progress. I take him there after we run or bike through the trails, to tire him out before socializing. He is also a policeman, if other dogs are being too active for him, or humping one another, he will automatically go and break that up. And if a dog he doesn’t know is running toward him on the trails, he will lunge at them, even if it’s a large breed puppy, because I think he has flashbacks to Lucky charging him as a puppy. It rarely escalates, as most dogs back down after that, and Buddy doesn’t seem to want to fight these dogs, more just sending a message. He isn’t particularly interested in playing with any dogs other than Bella and a couple of other female dogs he knew before his run-ins with Lucky. I wish I could turn back the clock and just erase all of his interactions with Lucky from day 1, or intervene sooner. I really wonder how he might have turned out had he been fixed sooner and had he never had those run-ins. I hate to think it was my fault that he now can’t enjoy playing with other male dogs, but deep down, I know it was and am pretty guilt-ridden about it.
Is there any hope for Buddy? Are dogs with fear-based aggression from traumatizing incidents early in their lives ever able to rebound? Watching Cesar on TV taking red-zone dogs to his facility to rehabilitate/learn how to interact with his pack (and re-learn correct social behavior) seems like an ideal solution, but not a feasible one. I wish Buddy could be with some other big male dogs for a couple of weeks so that he could get used to being around them and learn how to interact/not be fearful. Thanks for your help, any tips would be appreciated. (sorry for the novel).
I would use the “time out” method. Let play get started but if Ryder gets too rough, say “that’s enough”. If he lets up, tell him he’s a good boy and let play continue. If he continues to be too rough, say “too bad” and put him back in the house by himself. He’ll learn over time that if he doesn’t properly modify his play intensity that all the fun stops for him. Give this a try and let me know if it works in your situation.
I highly recommend neutering your dog. In some dogs, I have seen a huge decrease in aggressive behavior. What we fail to realize sometimes is that neutered dogs see un-neutered dogs as targets. Much of the body language is silent (hard eye challenges for example) so we miss it until a fight breaks out. Contact a reputable pit bull rescue. They should be able to refer you to a trainer with experience in your breed. Good luck!
You are describing one of my pet peeves… owners who take their dog to the dog park on leash. In my opinion, owners should never do this. If they can’t trust their dogs off leash, their dogs shouldn’t be at an off leash park. Having dogs off leash around dogs on leash makes the on leash dog a target. I don’t know why, I just know it’s common. Since you can’t control other people, you have a couple of options: 1) Find a different park, 2) But a 30 foot cotton leash and use it as a drag line. Rocko is dragging the leash on the ground (you are not holding it) and if he goes for a leashed dog, step on the dragline and reel him in. 3) Install a super reliable recall (come when I call you) to keep him out of trouble: http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB810P
You have what we at Companion Animal Solutions call a Reactive Rover: http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/what-is-a-reactive-rover. The intensity of your dog’s reaction means you’ll probably have to work with a qualified professional to fix the problem. Look for classes titled: Reactive Rover, Growly Dog, etc. The good news is that your dogs reaction is based on barrier frustration, a form of behavioral thwarting, not fear. If you need help finding someone in your area, send email to info@companionanimalsolutions.com and we’ll try to help you find a class or private trainer.
You need to find a qualified canine behavior specialists (here’s a page with what to look for): http://www.companionanimalsolutions.com/why-choose-us-2/qualified-animal-behavior-specialists. You’re going to have breed bias working against you because of your dog’s breed and size so you have to begin working on this as soon as possible. Here’s a booklet written by a PhD that is very helpful in counter conditioning fear: http://astore.amazon.com/compaanimasol-20/detail/1891767003. If you need help finding a qualified professional in your area, let us know and we’ll help you find one.
This issue is more common than you might think and extremely difficult to fix because you can’t control the other people and dogs at the park. Even if you don’t take a ball with you, someone at the park will likely have one. The problem is one of generalization. You can counter condition your dog’s possession aggression but you have to do it with every single dog. If you tend to see the same dogs at the dog park all the time, coordinate with those owners. This work usually requires that you work with a professional trainer but you might find this book useful: http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB798. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Hi, I have 3 great dogs – a 13 yr old female golden retriever (Lucy), a 6 yr old Labrador boy (VJ) and a 4 yr old Lab X female (Heidi). All 3 dogs have been with me since they were puppies, they have all been raised and trained the same way. Both VJ and Lucy are relaxed, happy-go-lucky dogs. Heidi, however, is a different story. According to my Vet, Heidi (Lab X) has some anxiety issues as sometimes she frets if I leave the room, or if VJ is separated from her. She can be aggressive toward strange dogs (particularly toward leashed dogs and if she is on a leash herself). This week I had 2 nasty incidents where she has attacked my old Goldie – Lucy. The first incident (a week ago) left Lucy with a bleeding puncture wound on her cheek and ear. The second incident a few days ago was worse and left Lucy with an open wound on the same cheek. I wasn’t present when the attacks happened although I wasn’t far away, and I’m pretty sure Heidi attacked over her favorite toy. I think there has been an incident/s previously but nothing that has raised too much concern as they all like to wrestle when they play. However, over the last year or so, Heidi has been getting up close to Lucy while she is resting and eyeballing her, or even growling, and nudging her away from us, or lunging at her for no reason. My husband has told me that he has seen her snap at my cats on occasion, but I’ve never witnessed it and the cats seem relaxed around her. I just don’t know if I can trust her whenever I leave the room or leave the dogs unattended for even a few minutes. Everyone I have spoken to have told me that Heidi is aggressive and that I should have her euthanized (although none of my friends are dog lovers). I would like to think she can be helped, but I’m not sure what to do and I don’t want to make a decision while I’m so emotional about the situation. Please could you offer some advice. Lucy is an elderly girl and doesn’t deserve to spend the rest of her days being bullied. Can a situation like this ever be fixed? Many thanks for your help.
Hi, I am having an issue with my dog’s behaviour towards other dogs on his lead, but I don’t know if its aggressive or not?
I have a 2year old Husky X malamute, I had him neutered a few months ago. It’s taken a really long time to get him to walk on a loose lead but he finally does OK at it, but whenever he sees another dog he forgets everything and acts like a fruitcake. He will pull towards dogs and cry and if they pass very close by me, he will jump at them. I don’t know if I should keep avoiding them or let him interact? I am worried he will fight. We have another lab at home who he runs and plays with in the garden all the time they are really close and have been since puppies and they have alot of rough play. I don’t know if he wants to play like this with other dogs and they don’t like him in their face? On the occasions I have let him go up to other dogs they nearly always growl and attack him, which is why I always just keep walking now and don’t let him go up to them. Off lead dogs have run up to him and attacked him on his lead as well. I don’t know why they do it? Ive lost count of the amount of owners that say to me ‘I’m so sorry, he’s never done that before!’ A big dog ran up and tried to go for him when he was a puppy, it actually pulled away from its owner and ran across a field to get to him?! Does he exude some sort of red card to other dogs?
I always keep him on a lead, I am bothered that because he has had these bad experiences with other dogs he will start fighting back (is this what all the jumping around is about?) so now I just avoid other dogs with him, but I’m not sure if this will help? I am just worried if I let him go up to another dog and he did bite because he is such a large dog it would be really nasty. He gets on so well with our other dog at home, they are always running and playing. I don’t know about other dogs though, my friend brought her spaniel round once and he was very antagonistic with it, kept running up slapping her with his front paw and then running off, it was like he was trying to wind her up! What is the best way for me to make him be calmer when he sees other dogs? Should I continue to avoid them on walks or let him go up to them and chance a fight?
Great article.
My question is: what should I do with a puppy that seems aggressive only towards other puppies?
I have a six-month-old Lab mix named Max that I got from a shelter three months ago. He was not kept in a cage, but lived in a fenced-in area with the rest of his litter until I picked him up. When I got him, I noticed that he was clearly the dominant one of the remaining three pups.
Once he got all his shots, I began taking him to the local off-leash dog park. Besides initial shyness and then the usual puppy shenanigans, he’s never given me any cause for worry at the dog park. He plays with other dogs of all sizes and has learned when to back off when the other dog doesn’t want to play. He likes to wrestle and occasionally makes growling sounds, but it is clearly play aggression as his tail is wagging and the other dog isn’t in the least bit scared.
But recently, a few times when I have brought him to the park, there have been younger puppies that are between 12 weeks and 15 weeks. Max will sniff them and appear happy enough to greet them, but after a few normal play interactions, it seems to rapidly go sour. He gets extremely focused on pinning them down with his teeth at their neck, and the growls he makes are nothing like the play growls he usually uses. He doesn’t break skin or do any kind of harm to them, but the other poor puppy is clearly terrified and unable to escape when he has them pinned down.
I have pulled Max away to put him into time out, which will settle him for awhile, and then release him to go play again under my supervision. But after awhile, if the other puppy approaches and tries to play with him, it seems to end up the same way. Yet whenever Max plays with an older dog, this side of him never shows up and he can happily wrestle and run for hours, playing both the dominant and submissive roles.
Is this a normal show of dominance, like him trying to establish where the puppy is in the pecking order? Or is this something I need to be really worried about? His behavior seems to me (in my untrained opinion) to be too aggressive to be considered just rough play, and I don’t want something like this to develop into a permanent behavior pattern, to the point where I can’t let him be around puppies, period.
Max is not yet neutered, but will shortly be (scheduled in a week).
Hey there! Thanks for the informative article! I was really hoping you could help me with a huge problem my dog and I have been having. I adopted a 7 year old Australian Cattle Dog about a year ago and she is the best pet I have ever owned. Affectionate, flawlessly trained, loooves people and generally tolerates other dogs (although she does not ever play with them, she prefers to be with people). We have never had any aggression issues with her before, she is so docile. But twice this weekend she caused problems – in one instance, her doggy friend with whom she is very familiar was playing with my boyfriend and I, and he is a very aggressive player – lots of snarling and barking. When he lunged at me to get a stick I was holding, my dog Abbey went ballistic and attacked him. We had to haul her off; she didn’t appear to want to stop on her own, even after the other dog displayed submission. Later this weekend, as we were coming home from a walk, she trotted over to our new neighbors dog and was calmly sniffing him. My boyfriend (who owns her technically) walked over to the other dog to pat him on the head and as he approached the other dog (an enormously scary rotty mix, who is really quite nice but has some bad manners) started to snarl aggressively. Before we could even try and reassure Abbey, she was attacking a dog three times her size. The other dog responded very aggressively and I almost cried with relief when my boyfriend was able to separate them without anybody involved getting hurt. My question is…how do we fix this??? Our normally docile and sweet old dog is suddenly incredibly protective of both of us, to the point that we can’t play with other dogs. Worse, we really need a solution soon, because we are going to my boyfriends parents house for Christmas and they have a huuugely annoying chihuahua who loves to bite and growl and is very people aggressive. We don’t want Abbey to hurt him, but she needs to learn to live under the same roof if Christmas is going to happen! How do we teach her not to jump in and viciously attack any time another dog looks sideways at her people? Did we do anything to reinforce this new scary behavior? Thanks!
I have just moved from Dublin, Ireland to Yorkshire, U.K. with 3 dogs and 1 cat. I am a dog trainer who has a huge interest in dog/dog communication and a big fan of Turid Rugass and Grisha Stewart. I have taken on a Malinois who is Leash Agressive and its a good thing for a dog training to go through after 2 calm rescue girls. My new girl has been fine with my two even on introduction and my Collie who has never played with another dog is now playing like the dog that she is with the Malinois. I am amazed and encouraged by the off leash attitude here in the U.K. and at the very relaxed dogs we encounter. Dog Parks do not exist, instead we have the woods, bridle paths and walking trails and parks. By contrast in Ireland dogs are becoming marginalised and sent off to far flung corners of our public parks. My local park back in Dublin had a dog park not fit for purpose. It was a flat fenced in area without even a tree. It was built and opened and dog owners who could not be bothered to teach recall flocked to it. They then spend their time on their phones letting their dogs just do as they wished. Because the parks board called this a dog park I saw many puppies experience bullying and aggression with no input from their owners who seemed to think it had a stamp of approval for dogs. I offered to teach a Dog Park Etiquette class as a freebee just to talk about what the park offered for the dogs. That was turned down due to insurance issues. I did film the park and talk to owners bringing in puppies and just hoped enough dog trainers would talk about the problems puppies could have with a bad experience. It has now gone from bad to worse in Ireland with Local Councils banning dogs from beaches for the entire summer months and imposing an off leash ban for the rest of the year. It is simply not enough to have your dog drag you to the dog park and then get freedom without stimulation and some training thrown in. My dogs are lucky to be here in Yorkshire. My Malinois girl will be doing lots of BAT set-ups to help her learn how to cope with dogs she meets and we will get there slowly, slowly.
You didn’t really seem to address what to do with the type of dog that you mentioned who does not know when to back off of another dog. The “rude” dog. When we got our puppy she came with a nasty case of giardia that took several months to rid her of. Because of this, we had to keep her away from other dogs during done of the most crucial dog socialization ages. I believe this is why she has shown some problems with backing off of a reluctant dog. She doesn’t seem to know the ques that say “I’m done playing!” Or “you hurt me! Please back away!”
Is there any advice you can give to help me to correct or ease this problem?
thank you
Hi we recently got a lurcher(?greyhound/pharaoh/collieX) we witnessed him being abandoned outside a rescue shelter and probably naively decided to take him. SO far he has been very gentle and loving to the whole family and particularly tolerant of my 2 year daughter. The problem is other dogs. He loves being chased and showing off how fast he can run. But lately he has started pinning dogs who are submissive or smaller to the ground(usually full mouth around throat). Yesterday he managed to pin down a Dalmatian and pressed so hard on her throat that she was sick. No skin has been broken and no growling. I really wanted to avoid nuzzling him as he is only about 6 months and wanted to socialise him as much as possible. Is this just lurcher puppy play or something more sinister? His recall is very hit and miss. We have started behavioural classes but he really does not enjoy the enclosed space and spends his time teeth baring. Any advice would be great as we are complete novices thanks Nicola x
I was out walking my two dogs the other day and spotted another dog walker 50 meters away.
My dogs ran towards him, barking, so I immediately called them back. Whilst my dogs came charging back to me the other dog walkers dog followed in the footsteps of my hound.
When my hound reached me he realised he was being followed by this to him unknown hound- he turned round and lashed out then returned back to me.
Unfortunately, the dog walkers hound got bitten and needed a few stitches. I gave my details and offered to pay all veterinary costs.
Now, it was obviously deeply upsetting to see another dog injured by one of my dogs, however, had the dog walker not let his dog chase after mine this incident would not have happened.
My dogs responded to my commando and were running away from this stranger. He could clearly see that I was removing myself and my dogs from him and his dog. Do I really have to carry 100% of the responsibility with regards to vet bills?
Hello there.. I have written you before regarding my two dogs Diesel and Savage. Diesel is very dog aggressive. NOTHING seems to work!!…After attacking my puppy Savage when he was six months, I kept them apart as I started searching for a personal dog trainer. I didnt want just any trainer, I wanted to know training methods so on and so forth. Two Weeks later my boyfriend decided to take my puppy on a early morning walk again without my knowledge and my worse nightmare came true. Diesel attacked again, this time ripping the stomach and spleen out of place. Saving Savage would only be for my own selfish reasons. I had to put my puppy down which was a hurt I have never experienced before not even with a family death. Diesel spent three days at the pound and I was set on letting them kill him off. He tore my life apart is how I felt, robbed me when all I did was love him. After three days of soaking up my pillows wit tears that I couldn’t control, I decided that I couldn’t be that harsh and the silence in the house was driving me crazy. I picked him up infested with ticks and a case of kennel cough. I took care of the ticks immediately but lagged on the cough out of anger. He’s fine now. Now here’s my new problem. Today my boyfriend and I had a disagreement and he took a few steps toward me and before I knew it Diesel started to attack him and he would not stop until I grabbed him. Even in attack mode he at no point made me feel like he would attack me. I made my boyfriend go into the room and Diesel went straight for the room like he wasn’t done. I put him outside and thirty minutes later he was just fine cuddled up beside him. I dont know what to do or think. Did he kill Savage because he was jealous?..attack my other half because he felt a threat towards me(never been physical with him) from my boyfriend?…all and all I’m starting to believe I’m the problem. Savage also at 4 months barked aggressively towards him in and stood in front of me in a argument. I’ve never been hit so why attack?..Thank you for your time!!!
This is the first mention I’ve found regarding the ‘playground bully’.. I have an 18 week old Akita puppy who is a perfect example. How do I stem this behaviour?? He has been to puppy school and even then at 8 weeks was the bully. Biting till they would yelp and would keep on going. 2 dogs of 10 would tolerate him a boxer and a border collie. Is this typical for the breed? Playing with puppies with thicker skin and more fur? I have had him at the park everyday since he was 12 weeks with puppies and adult dogs and some will tolerate him others won’t. He has never been aggressive, training and obedience is coming along well and he LOVES children. I just can’t get him to understand that when another dog yelps that it’s time to stop.
Hi!
I rescued a black lab/great dane (I think) puppy who is now 9 months old, his name is Bo Bradley. He had been going to off leash dog parks from the age of 2 months to 7 months. Up until 2 months ago we have moved twice to two different cities where he only went swimming or played with his roommate dogs. At 3 months he was run over by a car and had a fractured pelvis and had to be in his crate for 6 weeks with no play. After the accident he was a different dog but still listened to me and could play with other dogs off leash.
He is incredibly energetic and if he is left alone or not had enough play he will let it out on my sister’s house so I take him to the beach off leash (with no other dogs around) once a day to swim and run and a bike ride or walk at night. Up until recently he has been acting like a totally different dog. I took him to the dog park and he started attacking other dogs, like he is dominating them which he has never done, when my mom took him without me he was perfectly fine. I took him to another dog park with his dog friend and there were at least 15 dogs around and before we walked in (on leash) he went NUTS, I brought him inside the dog park (on leash) and acted the same way. He is a pretty large dog right now and is really strong and can be difficult for me at times. I don’t want to let him off leash anymore in case he tries to hurt another dog.
He is pretty good on a leash; he gets pretty distracted but doesn’t pull too hard or anything. I take him on bike rides with me while he has a leash on and he doesn’t try to throw me off of a bike. He is also crate trained and loves to be in his crate. He is incredibly calm and relaxed in his crate.
He just recently started peeing in the house again even though he knows to use a bell when he wants out. He also will NOT listen to me anymore, if I call his name he refuses to listen or even acknowledge that I am saying his name and just goes about whatever he is doing. I feel like he doesn’t like me anymore and wants nothing to do with me. I give him new toys and new bones all of the time and feed him really healthy food. I bring him with me almost everywhere I go. I try to make sure he is happy all of the time and since he loves playing with other dogs I try to get him to the dog park but he can’t even walk outside of it without freaking other dog owners out.
Is there any advice you can give me. I would never give him up for anything but I also will be living in a town where everyone has a dog and you need to have a dog who will be off leash and get along with others. I am desperate, anything will help! Thank you so much!
Savanna and Bo Bradley
I think that I may be the overly conscientious owner…. and i may have made my dogs behaviour worse. But how do you go to the park and not be embarrassed when your dog seems to attack all other dogs… even if it is just rough play, the other dog owners aren’t very happy about your dogs antics… I have one dog who is a perfect play mate with other SMALL dogs but scared of bigger dogs, and one who just seems to want to fight ALL dogs… small dog syndrome… I cant stand the “misbehavior” if thats what it is, and we’ve had lots of training… i just dont know what to do!
My dog is five yrs old. He’s a German shepherd mix. He use to play very well with other dogs. One day.he got loose and came back covered in blood. His ear was shredded, had holes all over his body and his cheek was very swollen and saggy. There was at that time a group of stray dogs that run around our neighborhood. I am more than sure they were the culprits behind his injuries. Ever since that incident every dog he sees he attacks. There’s no warning signs or anything. He sees them charges at them, dominates them, even after they’ve submitted to him he will not let up. He will continue to brutally attack them mainly their neck area. His fur on his back will be standing straight up, his tail stiffand I don’t know what to do or how to fix it. He is not neutered. I think he’s traumatised and feels he can’t trust any dog that comes around and needs to defend himself at all costs. Any ideas tips???
Hi there
i have a 1 1/2 black lab he is fix and is really great with kids he is fine with ot her dog on leash and of leash. but i seem to have a problem with him when it comes toureds people he is really aggressive toureds them. he will launch at them, bark and growl he has bitten my father ones when he came for a visit. i dont know Whay to do any more he has to have a dog mask every time we go out but that dosen’t work he still the same. he is okay with kid no matter how they are its just adults is this normal or does he have a trauma of some sort.
Hi my friend has recently taken my black Labrador sam as I cannot care for him and walk him like he needs he is a 18 months old and always been good around adults and kids but my friend rang me tonight to tell me that sam has been growling at his youngest son who is 6 yrs old it was literally as soon as this child walked in the house his other son who is 9yrs he’s been fine with I’m just dumbfounded anyone any advice or ideas why he’s being like this thanks Emma
Hi there was looking for some advice on why my dog growls at people and how I can stop it. Willow is our 7month old West Highland Terrier she gets along with our other dog Lady who’s 4yrs old and is a Shitshu X Pug, sometimes Lady will put her in her place sometimes if she’s had enough of playing and do little growl and mouths her and sometimes pins her, they are both brilliant with our 2 and a half year old daughter. Lady and Willow bark when they hear noises and people knock on the door which is great protecting their territory. Lady was always the nervous sort around some people and other dogs when she’s out ever since she got chased by 3 pug’s, Willow has brought her out of shell and she seems to be less nervous when their together. Lady is great when I take her out alone without the buggy and with the buggy and never barks only indoors and never growls only when she doesn’t want to be picked up and playing, but Willow with and without the buggy pulls a lot without the buggy she sometimes heels when told but with the buggy its hard for me to that doesn’t really bother me but when alone or with the buggy she growls and pulls to get to people and everybody who goes past but she’s fine when they come and stroke her she wags her tail and everything but walking past, behind she growls and pulls and sometimes bark and I don’t know why she’s not aggressive generally very friendly what can I do to stop her and why is she doing it? Even when I tap her on the nose and tell her no and stop but she doesn’t stop please help thank you
I am experiencing some leash reactivity as described above with my dog (almost 2 1/2 years). She is an extremely friendly and social dog. I take her to the dog park almost every day — she plays well with the dogs and gets a ton of exercise. She almost always is fine on her leash and interacts peacefully and playfully with other dogs on leash. We live in a big city and she may see anywhere up to 10-12 or more dogs on a given walk. However, there are 2-3 dogs we run into on occasion who make her nuts. She starts growling and lunging and acting very uncharacteristically “aggressive.” In each case, the owners of those dogs are skittish people who sort of lurk on the outskirts of the sidewalk and seemingly don’t want their dogs to interact. I’m wondering if my dog is just frustrated by being kept from them? But primarily, is there anything I can do to quickly calm her down or a way to prevent the behavior completely?
Here is an article that I wrote about the various reasons dogs can act aggressively on leash: http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/what-is-a-reactive-rover. Here is a booklet/DVD set that I highly recommend: http://astore.amazon.com/compaanimasol-20/detail/0578033798. Good luck and thank you for reading Behind the Behavior!
I have an 8 month old pitbull. She hurt her back paw and we had to keep her home for the past 2 months to allow it to fully heal. We just started taking her back to the dog park and she has on 2 occasions been aggressive with the other dogs. The first day we took her back she was overwhelmed with the amount of dogs in the park and growled at another dog. The 2nd day back…she was trying to approach another dog and he attacked her. The 3rd day back…she would follow the pack of dogs around but not really interact with them when they were playing. I threw a stick for her to fetch and she went to fetch it and another dog went to get the stick also and she was aggressive with the other dog. I mean teeth bearing and hair on her back sticking up growling aggressive. I am lost as what to do!!! We immediately left the dog park when this happened. should we keep going back every day or not? She is not aggressive when other dogs approach her except for the first day she was snarling but not attacking. I want more than anything for her to be social and get along with other dogs. Am I pushing her too hard?
Well, I have found being positive helps many problems with our doggies. Example.: Walking your dog when along comes another (or two) First, cross the street, turn around etc giving positive affirmations all the time. When a dog or a jogger etc comes by. Start feeding you treats .Greet and giving positive afformations until the dog person has gone by. Then praise them for behaving. Offer a treat for being good. Do have a water spray, but try not to use it at all. It is just my last backup.
I recently bought two Rumba Floor Cleaning Machines. I absolutely love them! The first day was very tough with the dogs constantly barking and growling..I fed treatss and positive affirmations the whole time. it worked! Now they don’t move a tail when I vacuum/ wash clean the floor. Just one training session on positive reinforcement is all it took! Please use POSITIVE Information,treats and love to,your animal friends… animals.
Great, great job using treats to build a positive association to scary things! Keep up the good work and thank you for inspiring other owners to engage in this scientifically proven method of training and behavior modification. All hail positive reinforcement!
From your description of your dog’s behavior, you may indeed be pushing her too hard. At her age, she entering what biologists call a “fear periods” so its critical that ALL interactions with other dogs be positive. If you want to keep taking her to the off leash park, I recommend going during “off peak” times when there are not so many other dogs or setting up play dates with dogs you’re sure have outstanding play manners. I would also recommend a follow up visit to the veterinarian because in our experience, pain is one of the most under diagnosed causes of aggression and other behavior issues.
i have a friend who recently blamed my dog for her dog’s aggression to other dogs. She would come over to my house with her dog who was a puppy at the time. My dog( border collie) didnt like her puppy, but was fine with other dogs and puppies ( i was fostering dogs at the time) . i often suggested that she leave her dog at home but she never did. We only got together once a week or so. Her dog was fine for a while but now attacks other dogs in their home and at the dog park. She blames my dog. I want to take the blame if i should but I’m not sure this is my dogs fault. please help.
I’m back again. So my dog, the greyhound mix, Stew, my boyfriend and I went to the dog park a while back and I experienced some leash aggression from another dog. Stew was off leash playing and doing very well, he’s still rude and a little bit of a bully but doesn’t snap at the other dogs or even bite when playing rough. He walked by another dog whose owner decided it was “better” to keep her on the leash even though she was visibly anxious because if it. Her dog turned around and attacked Stew and he retaliated. He bit the other Dog’s paw and we had to yell at him a few times before he finally let go. Since he didn’t initiate the attack we didn’t take him out of the park we just kept him away from this woman’s dog. She had another dog there who was off leash and as sweet as could be so we suggested she let this one off leash so she wasn’t so jealous and anxious. The woman didnt listen and when her dog went after another persons dog the woman left. I thought it was very sad because this dog was a pit and the owner was scared of her own dog. She was very sweet and I think she would have played just fine off leash. I’m glad not to have seen how bad it can be and that my pup just gets growly/ over excited when he’s on leash around other dogs (but never at the park.)
I Have A Pembroke And A Cattle Dog. Both Female And Around 6 Years Old. The Have Been In A Fight About Every Six Or Ten Months. The Corgi Usually Has No Marks, The ACD Usually Get A Puncture Wound On Legs Or Torn Ears. It Normally Start From The Pembroke Lunging At The ACD. Then We Have To Pull Them Apart. I Have Gotten Stitches And A Puncture Wound. The Pembroke Is Very Emotional With Humans And The ACD Is Not. But The ACD Does Nose The Pembroke In A Dominate Way. What Can We Do. We Have A Baby On The Way. If We Can Not Resolve This We Will Give Our Dogs Up. We Do Want To Keep Them. Please Help.
I have a little dog who is somewhat needy sometimes more than others. She doesn’t seem to have overwhelming separation issues, though she does whine sometimes if I am in another room and she can’t follow me.
This is at least part of the backstory…some has been posted before. Dubs is a Corgi mix who was adopted as a very young pup from the Humane Society. She mixed in well with the two dogs that I already had…two very mellow labs or retriever mixes. She dominated them and they happily allowed her to boss them all around the place. She was the baby of the family.
She was socialized, but in puppy class and other activities she would become withdrawn and a little clingy. (Hiding under my chair at the puppy class and only coming out when coaxed. Often she would ball up and fall asleep.)
She didn’t seem to be bothered by other dogs, but seems to prefer big dogs. Would have some really rousing playtimes with an enormous neighbor Dobie.
When she was two, I brought in a rescue dog. A female cocker who is just about the same size and age as her. It was a little tense and there were a few squabbles, that we managed to deal with and things settled down after getting good advice from dog owning pals.
Now they are about 4. Things go along well for the most part, but the Cocker has plainly become dominant. Dubs is becoming more withdrawn and will huddle in a corner during hectic moments. I would like to help her…do we need a behaviorist? I am careful not to coddle, but wonder what I can do for her to get her confidence up.
Please ask questions, because although I took my time with this, I almost surely left out something that might be relevant. And thanks for any advice you can give.
I have a leash reactive dog. Have taken him to classes where he acts like an angel. He has even recently been able to meet a few other dogs on leash, sniff them and be sniffed. He does well going on group hikes. Still when I walk him and a loose dog appears he often goes into cujo mode. He also does this riding in the back of the car when he sees a dog on the street.
I have read all the various ways to try and train this out of him but I find no information on what I should do when it is too late. Large dog is on the leash pulling, rearing up on his back legs, screaming like a maniac. Full blown red zone cujo attack. He is not going to listen to anything I say. Should I just drag him away or calmly stand there until he stops acting like an idiot?
Hello. I have a lab/pit mix named Kyla that I rescued when she was 6 months old. She was a great dog right from the beginning. When we introduced her to the dog park, she was the quiet dog in the group. Eventually she loved it and was very playful and mostly stayed out of other dogs aggression issues. About a year ago, while my mother and I were walking Kyla, a stray ran up on us and we were all very terrified. She was on leash and could not defend herself or us to her best ability. Luckily no one was hurt. but since that day my dog has been completely different. She can no longer go to dog parks because every dog is an enemy to her now…she doesnt let other dogs get close to us and she is very aggrressive. She once got loose from her harnest when she was tied up outside and bolted after a neighborhood dog and nearly took his ear off. We havee done training, but I feel the trainer didnt help because she used muzzles, gentle leads and leashes while other dogs surrounded her. I dont know what to do anymore and its so heart breaking to see Kyla in fear like this instead of enjoying being a dog. She is now almost 3 and I fear itll only get worse. :’(
help please: our english mastiff, emma, has always had an aggression problem towards other dogs. she occasionally goes after the house dogs (we have 3 other dogs) but we could get her to quickly release and she didn’t hurt them, just scared them by grabbing and pinning them while growling thrashing. This past month she has gone after the house dogs 3x, and would not let go. tonight it took my husband and I both to get her to release. We are very concerned and afraid of her transfering this behavior to the kids or other small children who come to our house with friends. We are seriously considering re-homing her (as much as it breaks our hearts to do so… she is our baby) but are at a loss as to what to do. She is pedigreed, spayed, graduated basic and advanced training, and will be 2y in april. Any help is appreciated….