Ugh...Dog lovers, I have a question.

LaughingWater

LaughingWater

Cathlete
Has anyone here had success training a dog-aggressive dog to become canine-friendly?

Snoopy, our 6 y/o Boston Terrier, started out fine with other dogs. I'm not really sure why, be he changed as he aged. There was so single traumatic incident ~ he literally went from being a sweet, wiggly dog to a snapping, lunging maniac overnight.

Long story short, our vet wasn't much help. Bringing matters to a head, today Snoopy got away from my daughter on one of our walks and mixed it up with another dog. Fortunately, neither dog actually bit. There was a lot of rolling, growling, and foaming though. Snoopy definitely wasn't playing.

I thought I could handle this on my own, reading about dog-on-dog aggression and applying distraction techniques. Until today, that is. I consider myself lucky that the other dog was big enough to protect itself (much bigger than Snoopy, which never seems to faze him), and that neither animal was hurt, but it served as my final warning sign and has delivered a well deserved kick in the butt.

I'm going to visit a highly recommended trainer tomorrow. I wanted to ask here though ~ has anyone had any success with training for this problem? If I can get Snoopy to the point where he at least can be walked without incident, I'd be happy. I'd love for him to actually be friendly with other dogs, but I'll settle for tolerance of them. Otherwise I just cannot walk him anymore.

Thanks for any input!
 
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Do you know about Cesar Millan? HIs techniques are very helpful. Also, what type of collar do you use? You may need a choke chain or pincher collar to command more attention and correct any negative behavior. We have two german shephards that are very dog aggressive and the pinch collars are a life saver....they really pay attention to their handler when they have that type of collar on. Hope the trainer is helpful.
 
I've seen a couple of shows of Victoria Stillwells - It's Me or the Dog shows where she uses distraction and treats. When the dog starts to react you put your body in front of the dog and give him treats and have him focus on you only. This is supposed to then associate other dogs with treats. Check her website forum, there might be more tips on this.
 
Buttercup, the trainer I'm going to visit today uses a pincher collar. It'll be interesting to hear what he has to say about Snoopy, who is otherwise such a sweet, silly, playful dog.

Parker, the kids love to watch Victoria. :) I've tried distraction and desensitization. Stepping in front of him does no good, and food only works some of the time.

I didn't see it before yesterday for some reason, but today I realize that my lack of complete control over this dog contributes to the problem. Had I been able to stop him yesterday, that would have been half the battle. He's my first dog, and I incorrectly assumed that because he's only 30 lbs and a very affectionate family dog (who loves his Mama ;) ), he'd always be easy to handle. Lesson learned.
 
Lori, I have no advice, and best of luck to you in finding a solution! I just wanted to say OMG look how adorable you are!!!!!!:D
 
Our Shiba Inu gets very aggressive when unneutered males are around him (he was neutered at 6 months). He is around 35 lbs, so if he starts to get that aggressive stance and stare, one of us will literally pounce on him, push him down to his side, grasp around his muzzle and quiet him. We keep our hands around his muzzle until he stops squirming. Once the squirming stops, he must stay in the lying position until we say OK. You havd to be fast and not dhow any fear when you do this.

This is a combination of what the breeder taught us, a dog trainer, and Dog Whisperer shows. There is a little aggressive Shih Tzu who lives down the block who is supposed to be on an electric collar who comes out of his yard snapping and growling. My dog will just pin the little dog now until it settles, no snapping, no barking.
 
Good luck with the trainer today, Lori! Let us know how it goes.

I have 5 dogs and one of them is a problem child. He was attacked at the dog park twice when he was very young and has developed fear aggression towards most dogs outside of his pack, particularly big dogs.

I had tried all methods that were mentioned, distracting him, feeding him treats, correcting, etc. I even hired a dog behaviorist because I thought I needed a fresh perspective. I guess you could say they worked to a certain degree. Whereas originally he would bark at any dog in a radius of 5 miles - geeh, I needed to get out my binocoloars to even see the dog he was concerned about :p with lots and lots of daily work I got him down to not barking and lunging when a dog came as close as 10 yards, and that was it.

What finally did the trick for Shiloh was a spray called "Pet Corrector", it is nothing but compressed air, it just makes a noise. http://www.petstore.com/ps_ViewItem...view-idProduct-OF40901-idCategory-DGTBHC.html

I always have all my dogs close to me, they are never allowed to be in front of me. If I see a dog coming and his body language changes I tell him "leave it" , if he doesn't I quickly give a correction with the leash, if he barks "NO" and spray.

These days I can actually run by dogs without having to stop my run because he goes ballistic. He has good days and some not so good days but I just have to show him that I have the spray and it is usually enough to keep him in line. I went through a lot of those sprays in the beginning though :eek:

If he runs with me by another dog without incident, I always praise him and give him a treat. So whereas the spray has a negative association that is a last resort messure, he also associates other dogs and his good boy behavior with treats.

You would think that the fact that Shiloh was attacked would make him back off other dogs but noooo. I don't think he will ever be social with other dogs, I am just teaching him to ignore, even at the dog park.

Although he did very much surprise me when I found a stray dog a couple of weeks ago. I was afraid he would go nuts if I bring the dog in but nothing, no barking, no lunging, no aggression :D

I am not a big fan of pinch collars because most of the time they are used incorrectly and can cause injury. However Boston Terriers are a strong breed and with their short nose the gentle leader collars don't work really well either. I use a very thin (but sturdy) show collar for Shiloh and some other dogs I train and keep it high on their neck (right behind the ears) that way you have a lot more control over your dog and you don't hurt his/her windpipe by jerking too much or the dog constantly pulling when wanting to get away. This is the collar that I use for training

http://www.petedge.com/Extra-Fine-Chrome-Snake-Chains-ZT138.pro

One of the dogs I trained with had a "Illusion collar" http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/products/collar_offer.php. It worked well for that dog, it doesn't work for all dogs.

Boston Terriers are one of the hardest breeds to train, it's going to take a lot of persistance and dedication on your part, and also making sure that your dog learns that you are the one who calls the shots. After all you are the one who puts the food in his bowl :p

There also is a good program called NILF - nothing in life is for free that you can use on a day to day basis. For example, I make all my dogs sit and wait before I put the food bowl down. They all have to sit before we go out the door, they have to wait until I give the command to jump in the car, etc. Here is an article which describes NILF http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog_nilf.htm

I think it is a great decision to get a dog trainer to nip this in the butt before your dog's behavior escalates and it will if you don't interfere. Not all dog trainers work for all dogs and all clients. Most good dog trainers will train the dog parent first :D

HTH
 
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Lori - I love your pic! Snoopy is adorable. :)

I had Bostons in the past, and one female who was very, very picky about the dogs she would tolerate. She was fine with submissive males, but situations with females or any other dominant dogs were always touch and go. Nothing in particular set this off, it's just the way she was.

Firstly, I wouldn't use a pinch collar or a choker. While Bostons are strong, they have delicate windpipes that could be damaged. There is a warning on the web site for the Illusion collar that recommends NOT using it for dogs with "pushed in faces". We used a plain flat collar for Chelsea (our problem child) for training and it was okay, but in hind site I wish I'd known about the Easy Walk harness for day to day use, being out and about, etc. We use this with Rascal and it's great for deterring pulling and overall control.
http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/easywalk/productdescription

Regarding behavior, Chelsea's BIGGEST problem was confidence. We found that she would act out most in situations where she felt vulnerable...which is easy to understand if you're the littlest guy in the pack all the time. :)

I think working with a trainer is great as long as he/she uses reward based methods. Bostons are tough to train, but once you find the right motivation you can make really great progress (Chelsea loved cheese), and it'll build Snoopy's confidence...and yours. Training with rewards is also a lot of fun to keep in practice...you always get to be the good guy. :) Carola's NILF suggestion is excellent.

While Chelsea was never 100% reliable with all dogs, this training helped make her much less reactive to most dogs in general, and she also managed to have several canine pals that we could let her play with. We were able to take to places like PetSmart and such without a fight.

I had the unfortunate experience in working with a trainer who trains by aversive/punishment/leash popping and it was a freakin' disaster. Chelsea actually "shut down" during one session (as did my Boxer at the time with the same guy)...I'm still feeling guilty over it.

Good luck with your training!! Hope this helps. :)
 
Thank you for sharing your experiences and your suggestions. :) I'll be checking out your links tonight.

As everything with Snoopy, this will be an experience. :rolleyes:
 
Hiitdog offered some very good insights. I would highly recommend against a pinch or choke collar and encourage you to look for a trainer who uses postive reinforcement techniques to modify your dog's reaction towards other dogs. Generally choke collars and punishment will actually increase a dog's anxiety over time as he associates the pain of the correction with the presence of the strange dog.

Patricia McConnell's pamphlet Fiesty Fido: Help for Leash-Aggressive Dog has some great recommendations - it breaks the process of behavioral modification for leash aggressive dogs down into discrete steps. Check it out on Amazon. The best $8 you'll spend. Check out the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Feisty-Fido-Help-Leash-Aggressive-Dog/dp/1891767070/ref=pd_bbs_sr_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240173352&sr=8-9
 
Thank you! I'm heading over to Amazon to check it out now. :)

I took the opportunity to check out this particular trainer's place of business today. I wanted to go so I could size them up a bit and not get a hard sell right away. For someone who comes so highly recommended, the building itself didn't look too professional. In fact, it seemed a bit run down.

Not that I should judge him and his employees based on this alone, but it wasn't the best first impression.
 
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