# Very Aggressive Towards Other Dogs (animals in general)



## lagascaj (Feb 18, 2009)

Leo is the name of my Golden. He is 2 years old. I adopted him from an animal shelter about a year ago. He has always been aggressive towards other animals, but especially other dogs. I try to take him to dog parks but usually he gets so worked up that we need to leave. I don't know what to do....I would love to take him out to have more interaction with other dogs and people but I'm afraid of the possible negative outcomes. .What should I do?


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

First of all, if you know your dog has dog-aggression, please stop bringing him to dog parks. It's not helping him, and it's not helping make dog parks safe places for people to go with well-socialized and friendly dogs. 

I understand you are trying to help your dog overcome this, and I respect that. Hopefully a trainer can give you some advice here. Maybe a dog park is a bit overwhelming, and your dog would benefit from a play session with maybe one friendly dog, under close supervision of course. Do you know anyone with a friendly dog to set up a play date with?

I do think that some dogs are just not dog friendly. And no dog will get along with EVERY dog it meets, just like people.


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## Kohanagold (Nov 5, 2008)

First, I think you should talk to a professional trainer about it. I would be far more inclined to take him to a small beginners obedience class, where he wont become overstimulated. 

I would strongly suggest against taking him to the dogpark. He's feeling vulnerable in that situation and its no fun for him or you. You're really not doing him any favors by trying to push him into a situation that he's uncomfortable with. Problems like these need to be dealt with with extreme patience and very slowly. Unfortunately there is no miracle that will get him over it. But I would contact a trainer to help you move past this. Good luck! BJ


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Welcome to the forum,
I agree with everyone else. He is probably feeling overwhelmed. Not all dogs do good in parks and if he was in a shelter environment he might have had a bad experience there making him afraid of other dogs, which a trainer could help you with. And if you have some friends that have friendly dogs that might bring their dogs around to play with. Good luck with it and hope you will share some pictures with us. Thank you for rescuing him.


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Some dogs are just not dog-dog kind of dogs. They do great with people, not so great with other dogs. That's okay. It's not necessarily ideal but it's manageable. Maybe Leo would do better not being around other dogs?


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## Kohanagold (Nov 5, 2008)

Just another thing I wanted to point out. Just because you dont want to take him to the dog park doesn't mean you want to shelter him away from other dogs. That is, of course, the other end of the extreme and also is no fun for you or for him. Feeling isolated because of your dog isn't fair to either of you either. Things could actually worsen with a dog like that if you simply suggest "he's not good with other dogs" and shelter him completely. I really think the key is to teach him how to cope and deal with it, in a slow and patient manner. Of course, keep us updated on how things are going. I hope you are able to get some reprieve and restore peace for you and your dog. BJ


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

A trainer is the best idea. The trainer will determine what kind of aggression he has and how best to work with it.

As far as being around other dogs, my Gunner has anxiety/fear aggression with dogs he doesn't know. We have enough dogs we know for him to have social time and he is an excellent obedience boy so I don't have to worry if we are out in the yard and someone walks by with their dog. 

My goldens have been fine with other dogs but always prefer people over dogs.
I really don't think either of my boys would care if they ever saw another dog.


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

Since he's a shelter rescue, I'm assuming he is neutered. That's a major source of male dog aggression. I got two of my rescues from a shelter. One was male dog aggressive, but not with females. We have mostly gotten over it, but I still don't allow him off leash around dogs he doesn't know and accept and they are mostly female. On the upside, Copper now sleeps with the cats, ignores the chickens, has a "brother" bassettX who pesters him adn gets away with it and loves the horses (horses mean trail ride - yeah!). I've had him over 4 years and it did take a while to get to this point. Probably about 2 years. He had been chained (it was embedded when they found him so I know that) and not socialized when young (that's an opinion based on behavior).
First hurdle is to work on Leo's obedience and bond with you. Once you have him doing really well on that, you can see how he reacts (both on leash) around a female dog to determine if he accepts the ladies and see if he is only aggressive with males. A trainer would be good idea since they are more experienced with reading a dog's reactions and stopping things before they get out of hand. I took my other Golden rescue to PetSmart for obedience lessons because he was scared of EVERYTHING when I got him. We flunked three times (you get to take the class until you pass ), but he was much better socialized by the time we quit going. They also offer individual classes for real problem children.
If he does get in a fight and there is a water hose around that is the best way I've found to break one up, but yes I agree - no dog parks until this is under control. It's not fair to the owners of dogs who assume the dogpark is safe and their guys can just go have fun.
Good luck with Leo. If you can't find help, try calling your local golden rescue group and see if they can resommend someone to help you out. It's worth a shot and they have a lot of experience with dogs who started out wrong.


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## Joanne & Asia (Jul 23, 2007)

I agree that dog parks are not the best idea for a dog aggressive dog. We have been through this with Asia and I can no longer take her to areas where there are too many dogs as I never feel comfortable that she won't take a dislike to one. I also agree that the opposite extreme of isolating from other dogs is not the answer either. Consulting a trainer is the best initial plan to see if the issues are dominance related or something else and then socialize in small doses in areas where Leo can get away from dogs if he needs to. We send Asia on dog hikes twice a week and she does great with her hiking buddies. She always seems to need to get to know a dog well before she feels comfortable and then is very playful with them but as others have said, some dogs just like people better than other dogs. I hope things get better for Leo.


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## Victorialands (Dec 2, 2008)

You should definelty get to a trainer. Obedience is key. Dog parks are just not a good idea there is to much excitment which can become aggression.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Lagascaj*

LAGASCAJ:

I agree with everyone else. Check w/a dog trainer or ask someone about registering in an obedience class.

I would not take him to a dog park and risk that he might hurt another dog, person or himself.


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## janetd (Mar 2, 2009)

I had a golden who never really was comfortable around other dogs and I had him from a 9 wk old pup. No matter how many times we tried to take him around, it just didnt work for him. We had to finally be content with just keeping him around the dogs we knew well, which was minimal, and even then, no matter how many times we got them together,you could always tell he just was not as happy as when he was with people he trusted and/or just us. All dogs are different, just like people. A behaviorist pretty much concurred with what we found. He also was super super dominant and that was a factor. Good luck!


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