My Dog Is Aggresive To Others

[lv4dogs]

No offense but with the aggression she is showing she does not seem like she would be a great specimin for breeding. Breeding should only be done to improve the breed. You want the parents, grand parents, great grandparents to be of great lines, all to free of any health problems, excellent health (tests etc.. to prove it), good standard for the breed, great personalities, good behavior and so on.

Spaying her may not only help with her behavior but will also make her healthier in the long run. It will reduce her chances of numerous cancers and infections by quite a bit.
And the sooner the better!!!!!
Granted spaying will probably just make her more focused on you the training, it might help with her aggression towards male dogs, but it will probably worsen the aggression with female dogs.
It is proven that spayed female dogs have more aggression towards each other than any other combination of sexes spayed/neutered or not.

Good luck

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by Lexi_Lover
We have a behavioursit in here and she is doing ok with Lexi. Lexi was amazingly good with her ....................after like a half-hour!

I hope there is some future in this dog! And she is only 10 months old!

What does your behaviorist say? You should be listening to them and not getting advice off the net. This will help you prevent conflicting advice. The behaviorist should be able to help this dog, especially since she is still a puppy. Work with them.

DO NOT BREED THIS DOG! I have bred my Golden and can tell you the amount of time it takes to research lines and getting health clearances is very time consuming and costly. You don't just have to search your dogs lines, but you need to check the other dogs lines too. All that is considering your dog has all the genetic making to be a contribution to the breed. From everything you have posted about this particular dog, the temperament is not what you would want to pass along to off spring. That may be a disappointment to you but it is a reality you should face.

I wanted to use my male as a stud dog and he has everything to make a great contribution to the Golden breed but he has allergies so I won't even consider it. Allergies are something that can be controlled with medications but why would I want someone to deal with that when it isn't necessary. There are many other dogs out there who don't need meds. Disappointing? Yes, but I'll get over it. It is the right thing to do as a responsible dog owner and breeder.

[Luna]

I have the same problem with my dog, though she only shows aggression towards other dogs. Someone called it fear aggression. When we walk past another dog, she growls, barks, and pulls so hard she almost rips my arm off. Her fur on the back of her neck stands so far up, I would sware she has some shark in her. lol Once she gets near enough to do something, she instantly turns into a scared dog. She has a puppy who seems to be picking up the same bad habit.

I'm taking my dog to the humain society where I got her. They are going to give her an aggression test and then we will go from there. I'm hoping I can get her into a class with dogs with similar problems. This way I can socialize her with other dogs, and I don't have to worry about other people in the class, because they are having the same problems as me.

[Pit Chick]

Originally posted by Luna
I have the same problem with my dog, though she only shows aggression towards other dogs. Someone called it fear aggression. Once she gets near enough to do something, she instantly turns into a scared dog. She has a puppy who seems to be picking up the same bad habit.

Prime example of how it can be passed to the offspring.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by Luna
I have the same problem with my dog, though she only shows aggression towards other dogs. Someone called it fear aggression. When we walk past another dog, she growls, barks, and pulls so hard she almost rips my arm off. Her fur on the back of her neck stands so far up, I would sware she has some shark in her. lol

Whether it is fear or dominance aggession there is a training tip you can use to try to desensitize the dog.

It's called " Bar Open" "Bar Closed". When you are walking your dog, and you see (and your dog sees another dog) feed treats over and over again (aka Bar Open) until the dog is out of site. The treats will need to be something really yummy to entice the dog not to think of the other dog coming. Use positive verbals during the feeding frenzy time too.

Once the dog is out of site, stop feeding treats (AKA bar Closed). Your dog will start to associate that every time a new dog is around it's a VERY positive thing.

Good luck!

[Luna]

" Bar Open" "Bar Closed"

This is a good idea, and I've seen it work for many dogs, but unfortunately with my dog, I could have a T-bone steak in my hand, and she wouldn't notice it's there.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by Luna
I could have a T-bone steak in my hand, and she wouldn't notice it's there.

My Dusty is not food motivated either. However, he is a crazy man when he sees his frisbee! When other dogs are around he can care less if his frisbee is visible. He marches to the tune of Mr. Frisbee! On the other hand though, I have to be careful another dog doesn't try to take his frisbee. He thinks it's only for him.

Most dogs have some kind of motivational item. That's what you could use for the Bar Open, Bar closed training technique.

[clara4457]

I have to agree with Dixieland Dancer here. If you had a consultation with a behaviourist, they must have given you a behavior modification protocol - you need to follow it religiously. She is at an age where behaviour modification is very valuable and could improve both your lives immensely. Getting advice over the net from people who have never met your dog with aggression could be dangerous.

My guess is that she/he has recommended putting her on a NILIF protocol and possibly suggested a "Grumpy Growler" class for her (possibly the one you mentioned at the Humane Society). Whatever she/he recommended - please follow it. It will make a huge difference in both your lives.

PS - breeding an aggressive dog is not only irresponsible, it is downright dangerous. Passing on aggressive traits could mean someone somewhere sometime could get hurt as a result.

[cali]

question: how does she carry her tail when she acts this way? how she carries her tail when she is acting agressive is VERY important to know wheather its aggression or fear aggression. becaise if its fear aggression we have to make aboslute sure that you do NOT punnish her in any way, shape, or form when she is doing this or you could only make it worse...

[Lexi_Lover]

When she sees other dogs she carries it high, yet when we get closer it goes into a "hook like" position where the bottom part of her tail is up and the tip and a bit more is down. But sometimes she will carry it high or low!

[cali]

hmmm sounds like its more then likley regular aggression, in which case I cant help, sorry

[vinjashira]

Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer
Whether it is fear or dominance aggession there is a training tip you can use to try to desensitize the dog.

It's called " Bar Open" "Bar Closed". When you are walking your dog, and you see (and your dog sees another dog) feed treats over and over again (aka Bar Open) until the dog is out of site. The treats will need to be something really yummy to entice the dog not to think of the other dog coming. Use positive verbals during the feeding frenzy time too.

Once the dog is out of site, stop feeding treats (AKA bar Closed). Your dog will start to associate that every time a new dog is around it's a VERY positive thing.

Good luck!

I am not convinced with this technique. The last thing I want the dog to think is that she is being rewarded with treats for showing aggression. I know the idea is to distract the dog before it even shows the signs of aggression but does it always work?

[cali]

yup, I did this with Happy, but you dont reward the dog for showing agression, you keep an eye out for other dogs and when you see a dog you take the dog aside and start handing out treats BEFORE she shows any signs of aggression, keep her attention on you, and everytime she looks at the other dog without barking or snarling or whatever, treat immedietly. however you do need to stay outside your dogs comfort zone, so for the first while you do this it will have to be cotrolled, if the dog starts acting up then you are to close for comfort, and you need to back up, the comfort zone will slowly shrink the more you do this. when I did this with Happy, her comfort zone shrunk rather fast, she went from no closer then 40 feet away from the other dog, to walking 4 inches away from him.

[rattiluvr]

well one reason she is acting the way she is, may have something to do with the fact that she is a terrier. terriers are naturally territorial dogs. she may be fine around you and some certain other people, but that's beacuse she knows and trusts you. she doesn't know starngers/new dogs, or even just people she isn't frequently around so she feels like they are invading her space. also a lot of smaller dogs(especially terrier) tend to be nippy. she needs to relize that other people and dogs aren't going to hurt her or take her home away from her. you should try to socialze her more. keep her on a fairly short leash with a choke chain. that when she tries go after the other dogs or people you can pull her back and sternly say NO. then we she turns around comes to you say good, reward her with kind words and treats. this will definatly take time to work due to the servarity of her case, but hopefully in time this will work.(please keep in mind that this problem will never fully go away, and that breeding this dog will only cause a long line of problems and heartache.)good luck
p.s this is my rat terrier.