Aggression towards other dogs

[Luna]

Our dog was rescued from Yellowknife. We got Luna a year ago, and two weeks after we got her, she had puppies. On her medical information sheet, her behavior concerns were: very timid, no signs of aggression. She has adjusted quite well, but when I walk her, she seems to show allot of aggression toward most other dogs I pass. It is just about impossible to correct her because she gets so out of control. It’s kind of embarrassing for me, and sometimes scares the person I’m passing. If I allow her to come up to the other dog, all she does is sniff the other dog and act scared.

How can I get her to walk calmly past other dogs?

[clara4457]

It sounds like you have a reactive dog. The timid part kind of leads me to believe that. My guess is that she is fearful of other dogs and her reaction is to scare other dogs off because she is afraid of them. There is a couple of great books that I would suggest that will help you out:

Patricia McConnell's "Fiesty Fido: Help for the Leash Aggressive Dog"

Ali Brown's "Scaredy Dog: Understanding and Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog"

You can get either or both books by going to http://www.dogwise.com

It is not a quick fix and is going to take some work. My guess is that you will need a combination of classical conditioning and redirecting. You need to teach Luna that bad things will not happen to her when other dogs are in the area. I would also suggest a head halter or a no pull harness for walking in the meantime. The problem with regular collars or even prong collars is that they are inadvertently reinforcing her fear. I feel that prong collars especially send the wrong message. Other dogs = discomfort thus other dogs = bad things.

You can also work with a local trainer. I would suggest finding a trainer that is experience in handling dog-dog aggression issues using positive methods.

Good Luck

[mruffruff]

Sounds like good advice.

The concept of "other dogs=discomfort thus other dogs=bad things" makes sense. It may also work for situations like "new people" etc. Even a regular collar can cause some discomfort.

Something to think about when I restrain my guys.

Mary

[Thandi]

Your dog reacts the same way as my newly acquired rescue dog. At the dog park she's absolutely fine with dogs and people, but on a leash around the neighborhood she goes insane when she sees another dog, even 100 yards away, and when someone (without a dog) passes us, she pulls my arm off.

Using the halti has definitely helped, but what I'm really looking forward to is the behavior/obedience classes we will start in January, where there will be a number of people with dogs on leashes in a small area and she will have to behave around them.

[Luna]

“she is fearful of other dogs and her reaction is to scare other dogs off because she is afraid of them.”

Makes allot of sense. The couple Luna came from had about 40 other dogs roaming around wild. Because Luna is a fairly small dog, and most of the others were quite large, I think she had to defend herself quite a bit.

I will definitely get the no pull harness, and one for my puppy "Jupiter". She seems to be learning the same bad habit from her mom.

Thanks for the advice.

[KYS]

clara4457 gave you very good advice.

I have a dog that has fear dog aggression too.
He can be quite the bully when it comes to strange dogs
and very embarrassing.

The gentle leader works on him.
I use that in more public places.
Using treats and positive training has helped
some too.

When I would pass a dog from across the street,
I would try and stick a treat near him to get
his attention away from the dog.
If he behaved he got the treat.
(he can spot a strange dog that is 2 blocks
away and he will start to get upset.)

A trainer who has experience with aggressive dogs and
uses positive training methods can be very helpful.