Aggresive dog

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ABC

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Hello,

My friend has an agressive bitch. She is a lovely dog, apart from the fact with other dogs she is aggressive.

With some dogs she is totally fine, but with other she just flips.

My friend is very responsible and makes sure the dog is in control at all times, but she is looking for a way to curb the aggression. She knows it will never go away completely.

Any advice? :)

I'll get more info from my friend so you know more details.
 
I second what CC said its impossible on a forum to give an answer to something we cant see as the dog may be signalling long before the attack that the owner is unaware of. A good behaviourist is a must for this as someone who has owned a dog aggressive dog I know there is no one definitive answer.
 
Do you know what the dogs she's aggressive with are doing prior to her flipping out. Could be that the other dogs are causing her behaviour (eg acting rude/dominant/jumping at her) :o
 
I asked my friend what Bella does,
"Well she stares at it, and then puts her hackles up and lunges for them"
it is normally any type of dog and she has been doing since she was 8-9 months, despite being well socialised as a pup, and now, even though now she is kept on a leash at all times just in case.
Its mostly occurs around the owner, so I was thinking the dog may be protecting her? I've walked the dog both with and without the owner, and when its just me and her, she hasn't gone for a dog at all. However when S is there Bell will lunge for other dogs.
S has tried 2 trainers and both have failed. She's tried making Bell sit whilst the other dog goes past, tiring the muscle (have no idea what that means :o ) I have tired making sit and let the dog walk past, treats and also tried to let her meet really soft dogs but she will still snap.
Bell also plays rough with S's other dog, and has started to get hold of the dogs neck, but not in a vicious manner.
Bella is absolutely fine with some dogs, such as my cavvie, but with others she won't tolerate them.

Any help appreciated :)
 
She shouldn't be 'letting' her bitch stare out other dogs.
Sitting is a bad idea too, that just helps build up the tension into a nice Mexican stand-off where the owner WAITS for an explosion, and lo and behold, one happens.
Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, like with a nappy horse, keep distracting, DON'T let the bitch lock onto other dogs, if she has to give a sharp lead pop to get her attention so be it (if the dog is in a proper collar and lead, hopefully not a harness, which is useless for this sort of thing, no control over the head, which is where you need it), it won't kill her, then reward her when she gives attention.

As you say she will probably be picking up on the owner's nerves, used to do the same thing, reel the dog in, panic, sweat, then of course, the dog reacts negatively - I was setting him up to fail.
 
Thanks CC, will pass on the info. :)
I, personally think that the bitch needs to be spayed, as she is 100 x worse when she is in season. Then, when she is not in season the dogs she snapped at are wary of her, which seems to irritate her more.
With my cavvie they go off playing together etc and are fine together but when an introduction is avoided I think Bell becomes wary and becomes aggressive.
She has the dog on a choke chain, and just a normal lead, though she has tried a full body harness and one of them halti things

Thanks :)
 
OK, with a choke chain, you have to be very careful to use it properly.

Apologies if I am teaching granny to suck eggs but here are a few pointers!

To be used correctly, a choke chain needs to be sitting quite high on the neck, not down around the shoulders.

It has to be on the right way around, so that if the dog is on the left, the chain comes up and over from the left, through the top ring, not up and under from the right of the dog's head. There is no release if it is worn the latter way, not good.

The length and size of chain is important.
The thinner the chain, the more severe the correction. Those big, long, chunky ones are as much use as a chocolate teapot.
If the chain is too long, you issue the correction, it takes so long for the chain to run through the ring, the moment has passed. Too late, useless.

It is NOT a tug of war. If the dog is at the end of the chain, eyes bulging, strangling itself, chuck the chain in the bin.

The purpose of a choke chain is - quick check - release. So dog gets starey, quick check, wow, what was that? Chain is released. Looking at me! Good dog/reward. All very, very quick, in one movement.

Maybe a headcollar would work better while she is working on this issue so she can turn the dog's head towards her.
 
Hiya,

You don't say what breed the bitcying h is, or how old she is. I agree about trying a halti (headcollar type), it works in the " where the head goes the body will follow", when faced with another dog this would hopefully help draw her attention back to Mum and away from the other dog.
Personally i don't like choke chains, in this situation especially as whilst she is focusing, on and being agressive to the other dog she is also getting pain in her throat (in her mind will be the other dogs fault!).

Try "googling" APBC - association of pets beaviour councilors (or something like that), they are fab...I am a vet nurse and we refer alot to them when clients have problems. APBC have various clinics around so would be worth contacting them.
 
Breezer, respect your opinion but if a chain is used correctly then it is used BEFORE the dog is allowed to become aggressive as a check to take attention away/break the focus on the other dog.
Many of us have used chains for a long time without any issue and I personally have never had a dog associate a lead check with another dog, but could see how that might happen and have seen it with other tools, the pressure is applied when the dog is-mid attack, far too late and riles the dog up more - correct use of any of these tools comes from being able to identify the dog's body language and 'warning signs' and use it as a distraction as opposed to a punishment, sadly a lot of people are not able to do that.
 
Thanks, bitch is a 2 year old german shepherd x newfoundland.
I asked her if she would consider reusing the halti but she said if the dog lunges at another with a halti she has very little control, whereas with a choke chain she does.
The type of choke chain is a long, thick gold one...I have a picture but can't upload it :o
 
Wow, that's some mix!!!

Is it a long link one? Where the links themselves are thinnish and oblong shaped? They are actually pretty good.

The trick is to get her attention before the lunge. If you type in 'focus training' into the search bar you can see me and others rambling on about how to use food or a toy to manipulate the dog into giving you attention. You can practise it in the living room, watching Corrie, out in the back garden etc!

The principle is that you the handler make yourself more interesting than everything else, including other dogs. In the beginning, yes, she might have to play 'tough mummy' in order to get her attention back, the bitch I assume is a big girl, of two working type breeds so she can take a bit of pressure (awaits flaming!)

BUT having said all that, there is no substitute for a good trainer right there in front of you.
The trainers she may have tried before may not be experienced with large working breeds. Not to be disparaging but sometimes you cannot treat a lab or a collie like a greyhound or a GSD or a Newfoundland, they have different quirks, strengths, weaknesses, stimulus, likes, dislikes etc.
GSDs can get very gobby between 9-12 months so it is something you have to keep an eye on and nip in the bud.
 
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With that bizarre cross I would imagine your friend is dealing with a fair sized bitch, so she really does need to correct this behaviour. I have used a gencon headcollar, which I prefer as it controls from behind the head. I would be very surprised if your friend finds it gives less control than a collar, the very fact that the dogs head is being turned towards you helps check the behaviour. However you can't really give the same sharp, attention getting check on a headcollar as you can with a choke collar so if she can persevere and use it properly that is probably the way to go. You say she was socialised as a pup, but imo socialisation should continue throughout a dogs life, perhaps try and find a decent training class and enrol in that.
 
Erm cummon ladies, new AAD rules...employment status must be clarified before advice dispatched...... :p :D Or does it only apply to vet nurses? How many are there in here now anyway? We are fast becoming outnumbered!
 
Yeah, she is a big dog, very strong, which means she is even harder to control.

CC - yeah, its one like that, it is far more effective than some of the choke chains I've seen.

I'll have a search for focus training but it does seem like the most sensible thing to do, I'll have a proper search in the morning :)

Thanks :)
 
I have similar issues- would recomend a headcollar- NOT a halti one though as they can get them off I use a gentle leader, and training an infailable "watch me" whilst as CC says keeping moving!!

Also a training class- we go not really to learn anything new- but for him to be around others in a controlled environment.
 
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