# Dog aggression?



## Sable (Aug 22, 2012)

Hi everyone I've been having a problem with my rescue lately that is getting worse so thought I'd get some help from you all
Ever since I got her she has been really hyper when she sees another dog jumping straight up as high as my hip play bowing whining ect 
I've had her since July got her from the shelter and she is about 4 years old 
I've only had her for about 4 months and she is doing amazing in other areas but when she comes across another dog now she will growl bark lunge hackles up doesn't seem to matter if it's big or small dog male or female or even if it's a puppy she still does it 
It started in the house when other dogs walked by now it's all the time 
I took a group class thinking she just needed to be around other dogs the first 10 minutes of every class she acted crazy and then settled down just laid at my feet staring at the other dogs the whole time 
we have gone to 6 classes and she is a little better with those dogs in class but outside of class she acts crazy again even with those same dogs 
I have tried feeding treats and praising when she doesn't go crazy far away from other dogs and she is better just stares at them hackles up until we get closer then she barks growls lunges (not very close they are across the street still) 
I bought a gentle leader which helps a lot on walks when other dogs are anywhere nearby but she still barks and growls and if they are really close she will lunge still
I have been trying to stay at least across the street from other dogs and she does ok with that mostly just staring until we get directly across from them but I can't do that in stores should I stop taking her to stores? I like to train in petsmart every weekend (we go early so there's not a lot of people) I was hoping it would help her with other dogs too
(She is doing much much better with cats and rodents when I tell her leave it because of training in the store) 
I'm just wondering if there is anything else I can try that would help her 
The trainer says she's aggressive but I always thought she was scared of other dogs not true aggression but fear based but now she does it with puppies too so I don't think she's scared now 
Do you think private classes would help? The trainer (which I'm not sure I want to keep going to) thinks private classes will help she says my dog doesn't think I'm the boss? But she listens to me really well except for this issue she is very well behaved does fabulous in her training sessions with me she doesn't even get on the couch or bed without me telling her she can so how can she not think I'm in charge? I control the food too lol 
Sorry this is so long I've only had one other dog in my life before and she loved all dogs so I don't know how to fix this 
I don't want to ever use a choke pinch or shock collar on her I don't know how to use them correctly and I really prefer not to try that but I'm willing to try just about anything else 
Any suggestions? 


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## Sable (Aug 22, 2012)

Here are a couple pics of my girl 

















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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I would start working on "leave it" with her. Do not let her focus on the other dogs. When she stares at them that is Aggression. You need to stop her from doing that. Get her to focus on you instead. When she starts that tell her "No- leave it" and I used the word "Focus" on my pit bulls and have the direct their attention back to you. When she looks at you tell her she is a good girl. If she looks back at the dogs tell her "no" and re-direct her attention back to you. It will take time but you can do this. Once she starts lunging at the other dogs turn her around and walk away telling her to leave it and have her focus on you.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

The trainer I work for always suggest that when a dog is lunging at another dog in what appears to be an aggressive manner, you need to step in front of the dog, facing your dog (if you are certain you won't be bitten), and turn your back on the "threat", give a verbal correction and then immediately turn back around. You may have to do it several times, but by turning your back on the "threat" you are letting her know you aren't afraid of what she's afraid of, and that should help her settle down.

The majority of dog aggression is fear based. You need to make her feel secure and that you have everything under control.


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## Sable (Aug 22, 2012)

Thank you for your replies 
She is good with leave it except with dogs lol we will definitely keep trying that 
I think teaching her to focus on me is a great idea and will start that today
I didn't think about her staring as being aggressive I thought she was getting better since she doesn't go nuts right away she use to not stare like she does now but immediately get crazy she also use to act way more playful with dogs now she's just scary acting 
I will give turning my back towards the other dog a try it makes sense that if I don't find the dog threatening why should she 
Thank you 



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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

I would also give her a treat very time you redirect her attention away from the other dog and on to you. So she associates the command with getting a treat. Praise her like she's the greatest thing!!


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## Sable (Aug 22, 2012)

I tried stepping in front of her while someone was walking their 2 Maltese yesterday she did not like it at first she started going crazy when she couldn't see them but soon settled down and gave me a sit (without me asking) and looked at me (again without me asking yet) she acted like they didn't exist for about 10 seconds as soon as they walked in her view again she started going crazy again although not as bad as the first time 
so I had to keep shifting over until they were out of sight 
They were across the street so she was just staring until I blocked her view 
But I think it's a good start 10 seconds of attention on me is better then none 
We also started working on her focusing on me yesterday which is prob why she decided to look at me 
But when I first stepped in front of her she kinda acted like she was going to bite me for a second until it clicked who I was I think that's when she went into the sit 
Do you think this is something I'm doing to make her act this way with other dogs? She was never this bad it just kinda slowly progressed to this in the last month or two she seemed to like dogs (maybe a little too much since she was so hyper acting when dogs were around) when I first got her but now she acts like she hates all dogs 
I am thinking about starting up private classes if she doesn't seem to be getting better in the next couple months 
I'm not sure I can fix this without professional help 
In a couple years I had wanted to get a second dog but if I can't help her through this that won't be happening 
We will continue to work on this and hopefully she will at least tolerate other dogs eventually 




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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I don't think it was anything you did you said you got her in July and she just started this about a month or so ago. That is about right for her to start to feel comfortable enough to be herself. I call it the grace period or the honeymoon. I have worked with allot of people over the internet with this problem all of the dogs were APBT but it is still the same problem and using the " leave It and Focus" commands the dogs are all able to be around other dogs and not act crazy. Give it some time she has been acting this way for weeks so you can expect it to take weeks to fix. Good luck.


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## Sable (Aug 22, 2012)

Thank you 
I will definitely continue to work on it everyday. 
Should I start to use focus now with dogs? Or Progress to that? I started to teach her yesterday and she does well with no distractions but I haven't used it with distractions yet I wasn't sure if I should since I don't want her to ignore me and I'm sure she will right now since we are just learning it 
She knows leave it for food and does fantastic when it comes to food I can leave the room and she will not touch it even 15 minutes later 
In the last 3 weeks I have been working with leave it for animals too she does 90%(sometimes I have to say it twice for 100%) with rodents birds cats if they are not really close or are caged but with cats or skunks (she loves skunks now) if they are close I have to say it 2 or 3 times for her to leave it especially outside on our walks 
If a dog is really really far (I'm talking barely can tell its a dog far ) she will ignore them with a leave it but once they are within like 50 ft leave it doesn't work yet 
really she ignores everything I say once they get closer so I try to stay far away from dogs if possible 
One more question 
Should I try to stay away from dogs right now? Or push her limits to try to get closer without a reaction? 
Thank you for all the help I honestly never realized an adult dog would have so much to work on 
I know she will get better with work 
Everything we have tackled so far she has done amazing at she is so smart and catches on so quick 




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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I would not bring dogs close to her until you have focus and leave it under your belt. You can work on focus on your own with her and then add some distraction like as you are walking down the sidewalk and you have a person walking towards you. Give her the focus command when she does it praise like crazy. Every time you see something that has caught her attention use the focus command use it more and more until it is second nature to her.


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## olliversmom (Mar 13, 2013)

I would just add to the great advice:
Your feelings/anxiety will travel down the leash and your pup will pick right up on it. Anxiety from you can cause anxiety in your pup and lead to aggressiveness.
It is hard to not feel anxious in these situations but u have to project what u want your dog to feel.
Also, a good behaviorist can be a godsend in some cases. Don't wait too long if u r not seeing results. Good luck.


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## Sable (Aug 22, 2012)

Just thought I'd update on how Luna is doing 
I have been working on leave it which she does, kinda 
I tell her to leave it when we are somewhat close to a dog and she turns and ignores it but does whine a little then I usually have to tell her to leave it once or twice more cause she turns to look a couple more times as we walk by she whines more but she doesn't react anymore then that 
However if a dog is really close like on the same side of the street she goes completely nuts still lunging jumping barking and growling 
I think she is better but we defiantly need to work with getting closer to dogs 
She knows look at me but she ignores me still when dogs are anywhere close 
I had a pit bull get out of his house the other day and run straight at us with his owner yelling at him from behind I think I reacted worse then Luna lol but when he got to us it was obvious he just wanted to play Luna just looked at him but she was relaxed not staring like usual and I think she actually wanted to play with him she did a play bow and wagged her tail until I jerked the leash behind me and grabbed her collar my heart was racing until the dog got to us and I realized he was friendly but that's when Luna started jumping and growling she didn't go really nuts but I think my reaction triggered hers 
I'm upset with myself for reacted that way I really do think she would have been fine with that dog 
I use to not tense up when other dogs are close but now I do and I'm not sure how to stop because I think that might trigger her reaction now but I feel like I have to be prepared for when she lunges so I grip the leash tight every time I see a dog now
I have been working 60 hr weeks the last 2 weeks so we are only taking 1 walk a day instead of our usual 2 and she is a little more hyper ok a lot more hyper lol and slightly destructive which is not like her normally at all
I am feeling guilty about not being around as much she is more clingy now when I am home and every morning when I leave for work she lays in front of the door lol guess she hates my hours too 1 more week and i get 2 weeks off to make it up to her then hours are back to normal 
My son is home with her half the day but he ignores her for the most part she is use to being the center of attention after work lol the training use to be everyday now it's weekends only we use to go to the pet store most days too now weekend only we have only been to the park 1 time in 2 weeks 
I've got a lot of making up to do next week lol 
I am going to start private training classes in January hopefully that will help even more 
Is it ok to let her whine? I'm not sure why she does that when I tell her to leave it for a dog but she does look away usually the direction we are walking but she whines really loud I never hear her whine any other time 






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## Sable (Aug 22, 2012)

I realize this post is 3 1/2 yrs old lol but we are still here and thought I'd give an update on this thread 
Luna still reacts to other dogs taught her the "touch" command to distract her which helps immensely but the only time she will walk on the same side of the street with another dog is if I've completely tired her out right before she sees it 
She doesn't react at all if they are across the street but she will react if any closer I basically stay away from dogs with her at this point 
She is still an amazing girl! And we are still working on getting her threshold closer 
It's funny she loves other dogs once she gets to know them all the neighbors dogs she plays with 
my sons dog she loves and I have a puppy now she does great with but still having this leash reactivity  
She's recently had a lot of health issues unfortunately and old age is having her slow down a lot but she still reacts crazy with a loose dog if they come to her really wish people would leash their dogs lol 
She is still beautiful and a sweet heart 





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