# My dog is selectively aggressive, advice?



## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Has she ever injured any of these dogs that she's fighting with?

She doesn't really sound aggressive to me. What you describe reminds me somewhat of my oldest dog who is a lab/golden mix and female. She's always been the alpha dog of the household and will tolerate a lot, but will not hesitate to correct a rude dog. 

Our dog will also "guard" my husband against any other dogs, besides our own. We have to be sure to push her away and tell her to go lie down because she will snap at any dogs who come near her/him.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

How wonderful of you to take her in and give her the loving home she deserves. I am rather inexperienced at dog training in general, let alone a more complex issue like this. I guess I would seek out a behaviorist in your area an consult them. They should be able to give you ideas on how to handle Amber's issues in a positive way. Maybe they even have classes you could take with her designed to address her issues. Until then, I would avoid other dogs and dog parks so she doesn't have any negative experiences. Hopefully, with some guidance you can set up some positive training and experiences for her to teach her how to interact with the world. I hope it works out well for you both. 
P.S. Post a pic of her when you can!


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## ARBaumann (Dec 22, 2013)

fostermom said:


> Has she ever injured any of these dogs that she's fighting with?
> 
> She doesn't really sound aggressive to me. What you describe reminds me somewhat of my oldest dog who is a lab/golden mix and female. She's always been the alpha dog of the household and will tolerate a lot, but will not hesitate to correct a rude dog.
> 
> Our dog will also "guard" my husband against any other dogs, besides our own. We have to be sure to push her away and tell her to go lie down because she will snap at any dogs who come near her/him.



Yes she has injured dogs almost every time she's gotten into a fight. She's never sent a dog to the vet but she's never gotten into a fight without drawing at least some blood. The most recent fight was not her own fault but she was badly hurt and sent to the vet herself, that's why I'm so desperate for advice now.


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## ARBaumann (Dec 22, 2013)

Heart O'Gold said:


> How wonderful of you to take her in and give her the loving home she deserves. I am rather inexperienced at dog training in general, let alone a more complex issue like this. I guess I would seek out a behaviorist in your area an consult them. They should be able to give you ideas on how to handle Amber's issues in a positive way. Maybe they even have classes you could take with her designed to address her issues. Until then, I would avoid other dogs and dog parks so she doesn't have any negative experiences. Hopefully, with some guidance you can set up some positive training and experiences for her to teach her how to interact with the world. I hope it works out well for you both.
> P.S. Post a pic of her when you can!


Here's a picture of my baby girl! And I have considered getting help in my area from another professional but unfortunately my area is overwhelmed by Cesar fans and dominance trainers. I've yet to find another positive trainer outside myself in my area.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

ARBaumann said:


> Yes she has injured dogs almost every time she's gotten into a fight. She's never sent a dog to the vet but she's never gotten into a fight without drawing at least some blood. The most recent fight was not her own fault but she was badly hurt and sent to the vet herself, that's why I'm so desperate for advice now.


Have you had a full thyroid panel done on her? What was her relationship with her littermates? Was she the top, bottom or middle dog?

Have you researched APDT trainers? Dog Trainer Search


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## ARBaumann (Dec 22, 2013)

fostermom said:


> Have you had a full thyroid panel done on her? What was her relationship with her littermates? Was she the top, bottom or middle dog?
> 
> Have you researched APDT trainers? Dog Trainer Search


I have not done a thyroid test yet because my vet doesn't think it's needed at this time. And that I wouldn't be able to answer. Whenever the three puppies would try to play, my family member would yell at them and make them stop.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I would suggest the thyroid panel to rule out the possibility of "rage syndrome". Help for Canines With Hypothyroidism - Whole Dog Journal Article

I had a dog who had a tumor on her thyroid. She would attack one of my other dogs seemingly out of the blue. She had other mental issues, too, but the thyroid issue escalated a lot of them.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I have a rescue dog like yours. Hunter was very dog aggressive. I changed his behavior by deciding it was my responsibility to decide how he acts in public. I first put him on a prong collar. This gave me more positive control and let him know immediately that I was communicating with him with just a light touch of the leash. Some people refer to prong collars as power steering. I kept Hunter on a leash and always had him sit well in advance of another dog approaching. As another dog approached I would pop the leash if he had ANY behavior I thought was inappropriate. At the same time as the physical correction I would say NO. If he started to get up, I would pop again and make him sit. I would control his behavior completely until the other dog passed. At the same time we also attended many obedience classes and always had him on a prong collar and a leash so I could let him know when his behavior was inappropriate. Over time (it took a long time), we gradually were able to let him off leash on trails. He is now no longer aggressive. But I do watch his behavior and make sure to leash him if there is any possibility of him being aggressive. He was in many fights and was especially aggressive towards german shepards. It seemed to me that he was looking for the humans to let him know what the limits are since he was unable to figure them out on his own. We are pretty sure he spent all his life in a kennel before we got him and he had little interaction outside of that.

Good luck with your girl. Be strong. Don't let her make waves. Take control and guide her to a better behavior. She will get better, you just have to let her know when her behavior is wrong.


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## deknaack (Mar 5, 2014)

ARBaumann said:


> I have been training dogs for years but my own girl, a 3 year old Golden, is giving me trouble and I feel I am too close to the situation to resolve it on my own. Let me start off by giving a bit of a history on my girl, Amber.
> 
> A member of my family (a big Cesar Milan fan) got Amber and her two sisters when they were about3 months old. They never went on a single walk and in fact they never left the house at all. They ate inside but they lived outside in a pen. They never met dogs or humans outside our family. Now as I'm sure you can guess, they turned into crazy animals. Amber's two sisters got sold off because my family member couldn't handle them. She kept Amber until she was a year and 8 months old and at that point she no longer wanted her so I took her right before her second birthday. Now that she is in my care, she goes almost every place I go, knows many tricks and commands and is an all around perfect pet. Not coming when called is one of her only real issues. I have however had major issues regarding her social skills and manners. When she encounters a human, she's so happy and excitable she can barely contain herself (no big deal) but when she sees another dog, it doesn't always go well. What I do know is that she is a resource guarder over her toys around other dogs (only growls never bites) and especially over me. Strange dogs cannot be crazy near me or she gets upset. Here's a few things she does.
> 
> ...


HI
HAve one worked for my dog a golden
take some zip lock sandwich bags and fill 3 or 4 with water and make water bombs, take them with you in a grocery bag when you are out an about
throw the water bomb at the dogs hind legs and use a command word to stop at the same time. after getting bombed a few times the message is clear that is unaccepted behavior.:wave:


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I think the OP is looking for positive training methods.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Amber is a beautiful girl! I'm sorry it's hard to find a good behaviorist near you. If you lived here I know a great one, she is very positive and has a wonderful philosophy. Here's a link to the website to search for one. International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) Maybe they do consultations closer to you sometimes or even over the phone. I'm sure you'll be able to help Amber, just take it one step at a time. The knowledge you have as a trainer will help you decide how to proceed. Sorry I don't have more specific advice.


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

Do you clicker train? If so fill up your treat bag when you go for walks. 
The trick is figure out the distance that you dog starts becoming "aggressive", whether it's 50 feet or 10 feet. Have her sit before the other dog reaches that distance, click and reward. Continue rewarding for a continuing sit. The idea is to reshape her response, so you have to catch her before she can exhibit that behavior. 
I would even continue to give her a variety of commands while the other dog is around (sit, down, stand, shake, whatever she knows) and keep the treats up. Eventually she will get the idea that another dog means lots of treats.
Rogue was a car barker - and I hated it. We had to work hard to get her over that. And remember that the older the dog, the longer it takes to completely reshape a behavior.


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## azzure (Dec 10, 2011)

Please read my thread "In Tears over Gus's behavior" below. I have had similar problems with Gus; though he has never injured or drawn blood on another dog. I have had a lot of useful advice, and fortunately have a number of behaviorists and trainers in my area.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

The book by Patricia B. McConnell - Feisty Fido, may be helpful to you.

Another I would suggest reading is 'Scaredy Dog! Understanding and Rehabilitating your Reactive Dog by Ali Brown

On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas, can be helpful in understanding dog body language as well.

Bless your heart for giving Amber a good home!


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## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

I just wanted to chime in and say that I feel ya, my guy can be reactive. I'm a dog trainer, and I can't figure him out. It can be so frustrating when it's your own.


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## ARBaumann (Dec 22, 2013)

Alaska7133 said:


> I have a rescue dog like yours. Hunter was very dog aggressive. I changed his behavior by deciding it was my responsibility to decide how he acts in public. I first put him on a prong collar. This gave me more positive control and let him know immediately that I was communicating with him with just a light touch of the leash. Some people refer to prong collars as power steering. I kept Hunter on a leash and always had him sit well in advance of another dog approaching. As another dog approached I would pop the leash if he had ANY behavior I thought was inappropriate. At the same time as the physical correction I would say NO. If he started to get up, I would pop again and make him sit. I would control his behavior completely until the other dog passed. At the same time we also attended many obedience classes and always had him on a prong collar and a leash so I could let him know when his behavior was inappropriate. Over time (it took a long time), we gradually were able to let him off leash on trails. He is now no longer aggressive. But I do watch his behavior and make sure to leash him if there is any possibility of him being aggressive. He was in many fights and was especially aggressive towards german shepards. It seemed to me that he was looking for the humans to let him know what the limits are since he was unable to figure them out on his own. We are pretty sure he spent all his life in a kennel before we got him and he had little interaction outside of that.
> 
> Good luck with your girl. Be strong. Don't let her make waves. Take control and guide her to a better behavior. She will get better, you just have to let her know when her behavior is wrong.


I appreciate the advice but as I stated, I am greatly against metal collars and will not use a prong on my dog.


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## Sarah~ (Sep 16, 2013)

BajaOklahoma said:


> Do you clicker train? If so fill up your treat bag when you go for walks.
> The trick is figure out the distance that you dog starts becoming "aggressive", whether it's 50 feet or 10 feet. Have her sit before the other dog reaches that distance, click and reward. Continue rewarding for a continuing sit. The idea is to reshape her response, so you have to catch her before she can exhibit that behavior.
> I would even continue to give her a variety of commands while the other dog is around (sit, down, stand, shake, whatever she knows) and keep the treats up. Eventually she will get the idea that another dog means lots of treats.
> Rogue was a car barker - and I hated it. We had to work hard to get her over that. And remember that the older the dog, the longer it takes to completely reshape a behavior.


This is the technique I use for my DA German Shepherd. He wears a muzzle in public because he is very dangerous if another dog is around, he goes in to kill and if you get in the way he will redirect to you. He also wears a prong, but the prong and muzzle are precautions for if he pulls and/or overpowers me, or if a loose dog runs up to us. You don't have to use a prong for this kind of training. My GSD has made a lot of progress and can get much closer to dogs than before until he gets agitated. It's slow as was mentioned but purely positive.


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## rigas (Feb 4, 2014)

*need help*

My sweet girl started to poop in the balcony and doesnt bark to go her to poop but when she was younger she was barking.and she doesnt poop after each meal. She just poops one time in the lunch time and then 2-4 times at night when im sleeping.She doesnt like the paper to poop and she just bite it.

what i will have to do.Need Advice :uhoh:


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