Our vet visit today... Cassie didn't behave so well...

[binka_nugget]

Sorry you and Cassie didn't have a good vet visit It does sound like fear aggression rather than a dominance issue. It sounds like she showed a classic flight or fight response.

Unfortunately of my four dogs, two are fear aggressive.. my rescue Sheltie and my adult Malinois. I've paid thousands for dog training and behaviorists and fortunately have learned enough through experience to manage a fear aggressive dog now. I'm happy to say that my rescue Sheltie has been fully rehabilitated and my Malinois is well on her way.

The worst thing you can do is correct aggression with aggression (verbal or physical correction). I would suggest desensitizing at a pace Cassie is comfortable with.. however slow that is. It's important you don't let her get over her threshold. To give you an idea, I'll explain what I do with my dogs. Keeva didn't like strangers coming up to her. She'd flip out if they got to her level and tried to pet her. So whenever someone came over or we were out and someone wanted to say hi, I would explain our situation and ask that they just throw a treat. First it was about 10 feet away before she started hitting her threshold. We kept at it and slowly she accepted closer distances. Now she'll take it straight out of someones hand and accept a pat on the head. We also do focus exercises when we're around strangers or dogs (she doesn't like dogs either). Same thing.. she had to be far away enough to notice the dog/person but not be freaking out. Everything has to stay positive. We compete in agility with tons of people and dogs so the focus exercises have been great for us. We've never had a single incident in agility.

Good luck! PM me if you'd like more tips or have any questions!

[binka_nugget]

Oh! I forgot to add that a Thundershirt might be a good idea for Cassie in situations you know she'll be stressed out about. They have a 100% money back guarantee and I know lots of agility folks who use it successfully for many different situations.

[ToBeEvergreen]

I've never heard of the thundershirt, but it seems safe at first glance. Like a bodily meditation for dogs. Thank you for telling me about this, I may just invest in it. My vet won't come out to the car, and she is nervous in the car anyway, so that would not be the best choice for Cass. Besides the shirt, tiring her out good beforehand may help- she has a German Shepherd friend who helps her get her energy out, so maybe I can bring her to play with him before vet visits.

I have tried a trainer, yes. It didn't quite work, and once I took her pulling into my own hands, I found better ways to help her with that. The trainer I went to, despite her dog aggression, wanted me to take her to puppy socialization classes, even though she has small dog aggression more, which I explained to her. Despite seeing how uncontrollable Cass can be around other dogs she doesn't know, she told me to come on in. I didn't go back to that trainer...

Gradual desensitization is what we have been trying with her. While on walks, if she sees a dog ahead and gets excited, I'll try to give her a treat or toy (which she never takes) and then walk her away until she is calmer. It's fairly frusterating in a neighborhood where people aren't too kind about their dogs getting riled up, and not to kind to their pups in general.

I think this will take LOTS of work, but I know it's possible as long as we keep at it.