My dog

[JuniorxMyxLove]

My dog is part black lab, border collie, and beagle. Is it normal for her to be aggressive towards other dogs? Or is she just a freak of her breeds?

[MajesticCollies]

No your dog is not a Freak. You need to Socialize her with other dogs.

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_SocializationAdultDog.php

[JuniorxMyxLove]

Thanks. She's fine with most dogs, though. It seems to be only males she hates though. She doesn't like this dog in my neighborhood, Scooby, or Rugsby - both males - or any male humans, other then the ones she sees everyday in my home... and its not like I've deprived her of being socialized with other dogs and humans...

[MajesticCollies]

She just needs to keep working with these male dogs and male humans and gain some trust with them. It's hard to say what her background temperment is but I am willing to bet she can overcome this. Bring her to festivals and crowded areas, but be prepared to bring special measures such as a muzzle or what ever else you think may be useful. Make sure she interacts with strange male humans to gain her trust with them. Theres plenty of dog lovers out there that would be happy to help you out and talk and pet your girl to help socialize her. You just may have to work a little with this. Never give up.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

I usually use a gentle leader on her[http://westwoodanimalhospital.com/images/Products/Gentle_Leader_apr_21_00e24.gif ] which is almost like a muzzle...she's not so much aggressive like angry, but excited and rough. Though sometimes she can get kind of scary. I'll try that and see if it improves her temperment around males and dogs. She's normally such a sweet, cuddly, 50 lb *lap dog*, its so wierd when swhe's around males and dogs.

[angelbow20]

Both of the dogs we have that had border collie in them were more aggressive towards other animals then any of our other dogs. borders seem to be more protective and such than alot of breeds but you would need make sure shes around other dogs.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Aggresiveness doesn't usually go in breeds. (as pit bull banners fail to apprehend :( ) It goes by how well the dog was sociallised as a pup. I've got a greyhound X, a dog usually listed as good with other dogs, and she is aggresive with all female dogs. When on leash. If your dog is aggresive on leash, it might just be defencive. If you let her off leash she would be better. When she is on leash, she cannot run away if she gets scared. My dog is fine if both dogs are off leash. You should meet in a tennis court (fenced in ) and let your dog and another off-leash to socilaise her. This helped Jens socialsation.

Heck, she might be scared of other dogs. If you haven't had her since she was a pup, she might have been attacked when she was young. Now she is just protecting herself when she can't rune away.

Good Luck with whatever you do. :)

[Giselle]

Both of the dogs we have that had border collie in them were more aggressive towards other animals then any of our other dogs. borders seem to be more protective and such than alot of breeds but you would need make sure shes around other dogs.
Actually, that is true to a certain extent. Due to their intense herding background, Borders have drastically different body language compared to other breeds, mainly Labradors. This is why some Borders have a lot of conflict with Labradors which can often lead to fear aggression, a rather common problem in BCs. Of course, there are many factors including socialization, whether the dog is intact or not, natural breed characteristics, etc.

I recommend The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell. Her book will provide you a step-by-step guide to desensitization. However, your dog may require you to go sit in a park every single day for weeks at a time to successfully desensitize her and "get rid" of her aggression.

In the meantime, I agree that socialization is key. Pat McConnell will provide you with this same step-by-step guide but here's my breakdown of it:

- Sit down in a quiet place with your dog on a relatively loose leash. Make her sit as well. Treat her whenever she's acting calm.
- Have a man (your friend or uncle) walk towards your dog but stay about 10 feet away. If your dog starts overreacting, turn her attention back to you and stop the session. This is her breaking point. Don't push it.
- Eventually, the man will inch closer and closer to the point where your dog will tolerate him standing right next to her. If you did this right, she will be calm throughout this session. If she starts getting nervous to the point where you can't get her attention, you've crossed the line. Stop and don't go any further.
- When your dog can tolerate the man standing NEXT to her (not face to face), ask the man to give your dog a treat. He should have had a handful of treats in his pocket beforehand.
- The man will drop the treat on the floor. If your dog eats it, stop the session and congratulate yourself.

Eventually, your dog will allow a man to waltz up to her and she will take the treat directly from the man's hand. She will connect males to positive attention and, in essence, you will have "fixed" her aggression. Good Luck!

Edit to add: This is a prototype. You can follow these steps to desensitize her to male dogs, as well.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

that's a good idea, thanks. I've had her since she was 4 weeks old [yes, i know, she was really young, but her mom's owners seperated them]. it seems she mostly territorial, but we were on vacation and she still went crazy, trying to go after a dag right after we got to our cottage[that we hadn't been to with her before...]