When dealing with dog-to-dog aggression, it is important to listen to our dog.
There are many reasons why a dog may act aggressively toward another.
- He may be afraid.
- He may be stressed because his space is being violated.
- He may feel the need to dominate.
- He may be protective of us.
- He may be very curious.
- He may just be over-excited.
Sometimes, what we perceive to be aggression may be the result of hyper energy, eagerness, or natural inquisitiveness. Therefore, in dog-to-dog aggression cases, it is important to understand what our dog is feeling, and what he is trying to say.
When my dog meets a new dog, I observe both of them carefully. As soon as my dog starts to get stressed, I step in and interrupt before the situation escalates.
For dog aggression issues, it is best to take a dog’s age, health, temperament, and preferences into account, while coming up with appropriate solutions.
1. Be Calm and Decisive
Dogs are very sensitive to what their human is feeling. My dog picks up on my emotions and reflects them, except with much more intensity. Sometimes, I am not even conscious of feeling nervous or stressed, but my dog notices it and starts to act up. Once I consciously calm myself down, his behavior also improves.
A common mistake when meeting other dogs is to tense up, and get fearful of what our dog may do. If we are afraid, our dog will pick up on that fearful energy, and that will likely trigger an aggressive reaction.
Be careful not to put undue or continuous tension on the leash. Also, do not pull the dog straight back, as that will likely cause a lunge forward response. To remove my dog, I pull him to the side and quickly walk him past the other dog.
2. Teach Our Dog Avoidance
When I see another dog, I usually just ignore him and move along.
I have found that avoidance is most effective when I avert my eyes from both dog, as well as owner. I keep my eyes forward, and keep walking at a natural pace. In this way, my dog learns that when we see other dogs, we avoid rather than confront.
Be careful not to crowd our dog while walking. If he feels trapped between us and the other dog, he may think he has no choice but to react aggressively. Do not stand still while trying to tug our dog away. Move away, and he will come along with us. At the same time, we are creating space so that he will not feel trapped.
I do not let my dog obsess or stare intensely at other dogs. Sometimes, my Shiba Inu will drop into a stalking-down-position, stare, and wait for the other dog to pass. Some people think that he is such a good boy for doing a Down, when other dogs are coming toward him, but he is actually just waiting to pounce.
Do not allow this bad behavior, do not let our dog practice it, do not even let him think about it. Just move him along, and ignore. If the other dog is somehow blocking us (e.g. if the owner is unable to control his dog), then walk away in a different direction. Do not stare the other dog down and do not confront him, either through posture or by physically engaging him.
Challenging unknown dogs is a good way to get bitten.
3. Create Space or Block the Other Dog
We can do this by moving across the road or into a driveway, and waiting for the other dog to pass.
We may also move our dog behind a barrier, for example a car. If there are no barriers available, we can try blocking the dog’s view with our body.
By doing this, we avoid a head-on, more confrontational passing.
I have tried all of these blocking techniques, but what works best for me is to create space, and quickly move past the other dog. Whenever I wait for the other dog to pass, my Shiba uses that time to start obsessing.
Dog treats and trying to get his attention do not work at this point, because the other dog is too close, and Shiba Sephy is no longer listening. The advantage of walking Sephy briskly past the other dog, is that he has less time to stare. In addition, he cannot fully obsess, because he must partly focus on walking.
However, using barriers and blocking may work better for a fearful dog.
Some trainers suggest turning and walking away when we see another dog, rather than passing him or waiting for him to pass.
There are two problems with this method:
- If we turn away, the other dog will be following us. This may cause some dogs to keep looking back, to make sure that the follower is not a threat. I have tried this, and indeed my Shiba keeps looking back.
- If we keep turning away, we may meet other dogs and get boxed in; especially if there are many dogs in our neighborhood.
4. Create Neutral Experiences
I try to create as many neutral dog-to-dog meeting experiences as possible. If every time my dog sees another dog, we just pass by and nothing interesting happens, it will become a non-event.
Being consistent with neutral greetings will build our dog’s confidence. Through repetition, we are teaching him how to behave (just avoid and move along), and how not to behave (get over-excited, frustrated, lunge, and pull). He will be more calm because he is not waiting in anticipation of a highly charged encounter, either for play or for confrontation.
I try to set my dog up for success, and do not let him practice aggressive behaviors when meeting other dogs. The more he practices, the more aggressive he will be.
If my dog becomes agitated during a walk, I try to end the outing as soon as possible. Once in this mode, his adrenaline levels will be high for a fair duration, and he will likely react aggressively to all the dogs that we meet. In this state, he will no longer be capable of learning, and will only be practicing dog aggressive behaviors.
5. Protect our Dog
I usually keep my dog away from people and dogs with weak energy (e.g. fearful, excited, or frustrated energy). In addition, I also try to keep other dogs and owners from coming into my dog’s space. I say a quick ‘hi’ to the people I meet, and move on.
If people with weak energy stop and want to meet my dog, I ask them nicely to please move on, because my dog is easily excitable.
It is fine and good to let a dog meet people with calm energy, but make sure to let them know how to best meet our dog. In particular, turn away when he jumps, no quick movements, and no petting from above.
6. Keep Greetings Short and Sweet
While greeting another dog, we want to positively interrupt our dog every so often, and get him to refocus on us. Do this as many times as necessary, so that our dog does not get over-excited, and lose control of himself.
Whenever my dog is meeting a new dog, I interrupt him after a very short duration (2-3 seconds). I quickly move or jog away from the other dog, while giving the positive interrupt command, e.g. Hey, hey. Initially, I may have to lightly tug at my dog while moving away. I make sure to treat him well for moving toward me on a loose leash.
If our dog is too obsessed to move away and is strongly standing his ground, then we have waited too long to initiate the interrupt. Positive interrupts are also useful for dealing with human greetings, and getting our dog away from a dirty or unsuitable area.
The key to successful positive interrupts is to catch a dog early, before he starts to obsess on another dog or object.
7. Be Aware of Aggressive Triggers
Some dogs, for example Spitz-type dogs, have a natural look that may appear dominant (ears up, hair out, tail up). This dominant look may instigate other dogs to respond in kind, and start posturing as well. Conflicts may occur, and if neither dog is willing to back down, this may lead to a dog fight.
If I am unsure about a dog greeting, I just move on. Better to be safe than sorry.
8. Desensitize our Dog to Other Dogs
The problem with dog-to-dog aggression issues, is that in regular situations the “other dog” stimulus is too strong, and environment is too unstructured for any learning to occur. Often, our dog overloads quickly and becomes reactive, because the other dog is too close, is staring, is hyper, or is charging toward us.
In the desensitization process, we do training in a quiet, enclosed environment, and start with a very weak version of the problem stimulus. In terms of reactivity toward other dogs, we can use distance to weaken its effect.
In this way, we also weaken the strength of our dog’s reaction, so that he will be calm enough to listen and learn. This is necessary, to create opportunities where we can begin to teach our dog to be calm and relaxed, while in the presence of another dog.
I did quite a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization sessions with Sephy, when he was young, at our local SPCA. The trainers there had many balanced, friendly dogs, that we could do training with.
First, the trainer would engage the other dog in training exercises, so that he stays in a fixed position, and is not focused on Sephy (i.e., no eye-contact). Both dogs are on-leash.
I take Sephy a far distance away, far enough away that he is still calm and able to listen to me. Then, I get his attention by calling his name. If he looks at me, I praise, and treat him for behaving well. Sometimes, I also ask him to do very simple commands, e.g. Sit.
I let Sephy sit and watch the other dog as long as he is calm, and willing to give me his attention when I ask for it. Once we are both comfortable with this, I move one step toward the other dog and repeat the Focus and Sit exercises above.
Do not move too close to the other dog, too quickly. If we move forward too fast, our dog may become reactive, and will no longer be able to give us his attention. At this point, I no-mark Sephy (uh-oh) and move back a few steps. Once we are far enough away, I try to get his attention again. When he gives it to me, I stop, praise, and treat.
Note – for desensitization to be successful, we want to keep our dog below his instinct threshold as much as possible.
I always try to make sessions short, fun, and rewarding. This helps our dog associate other dogs with being calm, and with positive experiences. I make sure to stop before my dog shows any obsessive behavior, and long before he becomes aggressive. Once a dog becomes reactive or aggressive, it is usually best to end the session soon after.
As we make progress, we can slowly increase the strength of the problem stimulus. For example, we may allow the target dog to start moving around, or we may allow him to play with his handler.
The desensitization process can be long and difficult. Dogs with lower instinct thresholds (the point at which they lose control and switch to instinct) will be harder to desensitize. However, consistent practice will also help to raise this threshold.
What to Expect from Dog-to-Dog Aggression Training
Do not expect too much, too quickly, from our dog. Make sure to treat and praise him very well, if he voluntarily engages in avoidance maneuvers, when there are other dogs around. This includes looking away from the direction of the other dog, smelling and exploring the environment, or looking at us for direction.
Initially, treat and praise even small avoidance moves, for example looking away for just 1 second. If a dog will not accept treats from us, then he is too far gone and it is best to lead him away. Treats are only effective for shaping behavior when our dog is still thinking, and not operating on instinct.
If we keep practicing desensitization exercises, and teach our dog how to behave with other dogs, he will improve. As he matures, he will become more confident, be less dog aggressive, and be more comfortable around new experiences.
For aggression issues between two family dogs, here is more on how I help my dogs get along.
hi i have 3 dogs (and sometimes look up to 5 dogs) and we are having aggression issues with our middle dog as we have just had a new puppy so he is always telling him off with food and toys and also when we look after my brothers dog he often has a go at him over food and toys. my mum is looking into neutering him and i am looking at training for him but i was wondering does having 1 neutered dog mixed with 2 other un neutered dog cause problems?
Aggression between dogs can have many different causes. As for neutering, here is a relevant excerpt from an ASPCA article-
Hi! I have a couple questions about dog on dog aggression. I recently moved in with my boyfriend who has a husky and a husky/lab mix. I have a vizsla/pitbull mix. It was very stressful with all three dogs when I first moved in. We have had to seperate the vizsla and keep him in another room due to the husky/lab being overly dog aggressive. The vizsla and the full husky get along outside and can play without a problem. But recently, the vizsla has become extremely overbearing and guards everything, He literally thinks every toy in the house is his!! he will growl a viscious awful growl and will lunge and attack the full husky who he can normally play fine with! Nevermind the husky/lab which gets nervous and bites or nips just about every dog she meets. I don’t know what to do anymore and am becoming so frustrated! I’ve gotten two trainers, one who uses only positive behavior techniques which don’t seem to be working at all and the other trainer I set up blew off our first meeting and haven’t heard from him since =[. Any advice?
What did the trainer recommend? What have you tried and how did the dogs respond?
One thing that was very important with my dogs is to control my own energy. If I got frustrated, stressed, or angry, my dogs will pick up on that, get even more stressed and anxious, and become even more reactive towards other dogs. When I supervise my dogs, I always try to stay very calm, and I make sure that I have multiple plans of action. This helps me to be decisive, consistent, and in-control.
Other things that help with my dogs-
1. I set up clear dog-to-dog interaction rules, and a consistent routine. This helps to create more consistency and certainty, which helps to reduce stress and anxiety with my dogs.
2. Supervision is very very important. During the training period I supervise all interactions with my dogs. If I am unable to supervise, then I separate them. Each dog also has a safe and comfortable place that they can go to relax without being bothered by the other dogs. I make sure to keep everyone safe and to manage the environment so that there is as little stress as possible.
3. I try to create as many opportunities for positive, structured together time as I can. At the same time, I try to minimize stressful and bad interactions. The more positive experiences my dogs have with each other, the more confidence they build, and the more they learn to see each other as being part of the same pack. The more negative experiences they have, the more stressed and anxious they will become, and their behavior will worsen as a result.
Here is more on what I do with my dogs-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Finally, finding a good trainer can be a big challenge. During my difficult period with Shiba Sephy, we visited with several different trainers. Some were bad, some were ok, and some were quite good. I learned something from each of them (some more than others), and at the same time, I also did a lot of reading on dog behavior.
In my experience, getting help from a trainer can be very helpful, especially in the beginning. None of the trainers were able to fully “fix” Sephy’s most problematic behaviors, but they each contributed to my knowledge, and helped me to get to a point where I could combine what I have learned, to get to a better place with my dog.
The key, I found, is to control my own energy, stay calm, reduce stress, establish a fixed routine, and focus on doing what is best for Sephy. As I learned more, I felt more in-control, and things slowly started to get better.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hi there,
I have had my chihuahua since she was born and she is now 6yrs old, she is a very loyal and laid back dog, a couple of months ago I adopted a 8 weeks old german shepherd, husky cross. They were very good together, they could eat out of the same bowl and my pup would let me take her bowl or bone off her. When she was 3 months, I was out walk on her and she got attacked my a rotweiller, she had very major surgery and was in the vets for a week. Since she’s been home she’s has been growling my other dog of she walks near her when she got her bowl infront of her or when she is eating, and she has been growling with her bone aswell, I have tried some things and been working on her trusting me and taking her bone or food away and she doesn’t really growl me anymore only the odd occasion but hopefully I can stop that complety but I have no idea how to stop her growling my older chihuahua, cause she is a lot bigger and could really hurt her if she wanted to! Pls help me!!
Some things that help keep the peace at home with my dogs-
1. I set up clear dog-to-dog interaction rules. During the training period, I supervise my dogs closely whenever they interact, and I slowly teach them what the rules are. I establish the rules, and I enforce them in a fair and consistent manner.
2. I create as many positive experiences as I can. As you have observed, bad encounters with other dogs cause stress, fear, and loss of trust. Similarly, properly managed positive encounters can help to create trust and reduce anxiety. I start by doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises (which I talk more about at the end of the article above), and later I also do group dog obedience training sessions with my dogs. In this way, they learn to stay calm and work together for me. I make sure to reward them very well for being calm together, and I create as many positive but structured together time as I can.
The key with my dog is not to push things too quickly. I always start small, for example with desensitization. Then I only move on to more advanced together exercises when I feel that my dog is ready. With my dog it was always very important to not only maximize positive experiences with other dogs, but also to *minimize* bad encounters, where my dog starts to show reactive or aggressive behavior. The more aggressive behavior my dog practices, the more likely he is to show aggression in the next encounter. Similarly, the more calm encounters there are, the more confidence he will build, and the more likely he will stay calm.
3. Supervision is very important. In the beginning I supervise all interactions between my dogs. If I cannot supervise, then I separate them to keep everybody safe. I also manage their energy and excitement level by controlling the environment and throwing in obedience breaks.
I talk more about what I do with my dogs here-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Note however, that dog behavior is very context dependent. Given what you describe, it is probably best to get help from a professional trainer who can visit with the dogs, get to know their temperament, and read their body language within the context of their environment and routine. In cases of aggression, we want to keep everyone safe, and a trainer can also help with that.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hi, I found your blog recently and all the articles you wrote are so helpful! Really appreciate your kindness to share all these valuable tips. I have 2 dogs, both are about 2 1/2 year old and fixed. One is germen shepherd and another is rottweiler mix. They bond with each other so much and there was times when they escaped they always stayed together. They don’t go out much because we have a huge yard for them to play and run, but recently they have escaped from the yard and now it becomes a habit when they go out they cross the street! It is definitely my bad not taking them out. I tried to walk them before but the problem was: whenever my 2 dogs were together, and they see another dog, my female germen shepherd started making some noises and ear up, tail up, then instantly looking at my rottweiler, and soon they start fighting with each other. It is very hard to pull them apart. I really don’t know how to deal with it, but every time it happens, my female will look at my rottweiler first and they start fighting. And it is not only for walk, whenever there’s something that causes them to be alert, my female germen shepherd always look at my male rottweiler like she’s waiting for his cue or something. Now, I decided to walk them again and whenever I have noticed the germen shepherd started become alert(she certainty knows there’s dog nearby in one of the houses in neighborhood), I instantly turn around and walk back and want her ignore it. And after she’s calm, I walk them again to the same place, and repeat. Am I doing this right? Or should I walk them separately for easy training individually?? My rottweiler is calm most of time, whenever I walk him ALONE, he’s fine, but if my other dog is around, they start reacting with each other. Thank you so much for your time!
When retraining dog reactive behavior, I walk my dogs separately. They get a lot more crazy together because they amp each other up, so I always start small and go in small steps. Only after my dog is doing well in single walks, do I start walking two of them together. In the beginning, I get a friend to walk one, while I walk the other. In this way, I can better control and train the one that I am walking.
With Sephy’s dog reactive behavior, I found that it is necessary to not only create structured opportunities for calm greetings, but also to minimize bad encounters where he becomes reactive. My first goal is to manage our walks so that we have neutral encounters, and Sephy doesn’t become reactive. I do this by using distance, barriers, and more, which I talk more about in the article above. I also did shorter but more frequent walks at the start. In this way, I minimize bad encounters and at the same time I create positive encounters through controlled desensitization exercises.
The more Sephy practices dog-to-dog reactive behavior, the more likely he is to repeat it. The more calm greetings he has, the more he learns to associate other dogs with being calm.
Based on what you describe, it sounds like there may also be barrier frustration issues, combined with redirected aggression.
http://www.kathysdao.com/articles/Leash_Aggression_in_Dogs.html
http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/how-do-i-manage-my-dogs-barrier-frustration
However, dog behavior is very dependent on a dog’s temperament, surrounding context, past experiences, and more. This is why it is often helpful to visit with a professional trainer, especially in dog-to-dog aggression cases. A trainer can meet with our dog, get to know his temperament and routine, and can read our dog’s body language within the context of his environment.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hello, I just recently adopted a german shepherd, st bernard retriever mix named Harley from my local SPCA about a month ago. I regularly attend a place in which there are dogs on a daily basis. Harley has been aggressive toward other dogs and in few circumstances has actually bit other dogs. He will not react being in the presence of another dog and usually will ignore them and extend attention toward me when doing so. He will act excited when confronting another dog but will then result in lunging and trying to bite the dog upon nose-to-nose confrontation. I would like advice as to what to do to have him be less aggressive upon these confrontations. most of the dogs he is in contact with are friends dogs and dogs he sees almost every day. Id like him to atleast be comfortable approaching and being in contact with dogs as he is a very sweet loving and well behaved dog aside from this issue. He is nuetered as well and i admit i have been a bit on edge when hes around other dogs but have since learned to calm myself, yet his reactions have still been the same. Any Advice I could get in regards to this issue would be very appreciated.
Also i would like to add that he is four years old which presents me with the fear that I cannot break him out of this habit. It is my belief that his previous owners had not had him socialized around other dogs which could possibly be the catalyst for his behavior now.
What helped with my Shiba Inu’s dog-to-dog reactivity issue is to start small and in a very controlled environment. I did dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with Sephy by using distance to weaken the “other dog” stimulus. In this way, he is calm enough to listen to me, and calm enough to learn.
The key with Sephy was to not only create positive and successful situations with other dogs, but also minimize bad encounters where he loses it. The more Sephy became reactive, the more likely he will repeat this behavior on the next encounter. The more calm experiences he had, the more likely he will stay calm on his next encounter.
I talk more about the desensitization exercises I did with Sephy at the end of the article above. In fact, when Sephy was young, we did a lot of desensitization exercises at our local SPCA with appropriate dogs there, and under the direction of one of their trainers. Consulting with a trainer can be helpful in dog-to-dog interaction cases, especially where the trainer has balanced dogs that he can use in the training session. Our trainer(s) were also able to read Sephy’s body language, and give us good insights into his behavior.
Have you talked to the people who cared for Harley at the SPCA? Did he get along with the dogs there? Were there particular types of dogs that he got along with? They may also give special training rates to their own dogs.
I did in fact talk to some associates at the local SPCA about Harley’s behavior prior to adopting him and they had said that its the hyperactive dogs that he particularly doesn’t like, which is understandable with the fast movements toward him and all. I have gotten him to atleast have a positive experience with my friend’s 1 year old black lab, whom for his age is well trained and although he growled at him did not bite. I will arrange a controlled meet with harley and my friends dog though that is a good idea. Another positive instance happened last night. my friend has just adopted a 7 week chocolate lab mix in which Harley was more curious and not a bit aggresive with. im not sure if its because he can pick up that the pup is merely an infant or what but that was good of him. Thank you for all of your advice i really do appreciate it and i hope to nip his behavioral issue in the butt. Happy Holidays!
please help me my dog (that is deaf)when ever she sees a nother dog she cant stop looking at him nothing will move her away,when she gets to the dog and sniffs him she bites him and then will not move ,i loooked every were on google to find some help but there is nothing there ,i really wont her to like aver dogs what do i do??!
How old is your dog? How long have you had her? Has she always displayed this behavior?
Some dogs may feel more vulnerable due to a physical disability. For example, my Husky Shania is a three legged dog. She absolutely loves people because she has had very good experiences with them. They give her affection and sometimes, dog cookies. 😀
She is a lot more wary about other dogs, especially big dogs because she feels more vulnerable around them. Also, we got charged a few times during our walks, and those encounters were not pleasant for either of us. Here is a good article by Suzanne Clothier that talks more about this-
http://www.suzanneclothier.com/the-articles/he-just-wants-say-hi
I do controlled desensitization exercises with my dogs to help them re-associate other dogs with positive experiences. I did a lot of this with my Shiba Inu at our local SPCA, under the direction of one of their trainers. I talk more about this at the end of the article above.
With my dogs, I try my best to only let them meet other dogs that I *know* they will be successful with. All other times, I create neutral encounters and teach them to ignore. I also try my best to protect them from rude dogs, so that they learn to trust me to take care of things, and need not do it themselves through aggression. The more successful encounters my dog has, the more calm he became with other dogs. The opposite is also true.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent, and each situation is different. This is why in cases of dog aggression, it is usually best to get help from a good professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I have a dog that I have had for two years and a dog that I have had for six year I got the two year old when she was four weeks old and my other dog raised it and now the two year old tries to attack the six year old now and I don’t understand why
What are the dogs doing before the start of the behavior? Was there any food, toys, bedding around? Was one trying to protect something? What were the people doing? What was happening in the surrounding context?
Did anything change when the behavior first began? Is there any other unusual behavior? Are the dogs eating, drinking, and doing everything else normally? Sometimes, when dogs are in physical discomfort, they may feel more vulnerable and may use aggression to protect themselves.
What are the dogs’ daily routine like? Have there been any changes there?
hi !
My father, as much as i love him, is a terrible dog owner. He owns a german shepherd – that he loves very much (almost 3 years old)
The dog is scared of other dogs and will run over and leave a warning bite and run away with his tail between his legs and has actually bitten a small dog that lives nearby, that keeps barking and teasing my dads dog though the fece, badly enough that it needed to be stitched back together. also he has the usual problems of an underexcersized dog – nipping, jumping and barking. i know what most of the problems are, but i can’t get it though to my dad that he needs to walk the dog instead of just letting him out in the yard to pee.
– however my biggest concern is the dogs fear of children, so far nothing has happened other than warning growls. but i actually, and i’m not proud if it, had to threaten to put his dog down if he ever attacked a child before my father agreed to never let the dog of leash again in puplic.
also my dad is so concerned with the dogs comford that he lets the dog get away with everything and is annoyed that when i visit i bring a special leash and walk his dog with it. i’m not very strong and can’t hold this big dog back if he decides to run. (it is a head collar, so his head will turn if he pulls)
His dog doesn’t even mind the odd leash, he’s just happy to be outside.
All that being said, he is a well behaved dog as soon as he is with my dog (a one year old pekingese mix) for some reason, he is on best behavior as soon as my dog is around – the only dog he doesn’t attack.
How would you recommend getting a dogowner to understand how dangerous it is for him not to do something about the dogs behavior before he attacks another dog again og even worse, a child?
Sorry for the bad spelling and the very long question.
Heh, I don’t know, people are a lot more difficult to handle than dogs, especially family members. 🙂
In my situation, I have observed that it can sometimes help to bring in a professional trainer. I think taking advice from family members can be difficult for some people, because it can be taken personally. However, getting information from somebody outside is different, especially from an experienced trainer. In this case, we are simply paying for a service, and there is no added emotional baggage.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hi. I just came across this site, hoping to get help with my problem. I have a 6 yr old fixed male 135lb American Bulldog. He is the most gentle and docile dog I have ever met. He is friendly with all dogs and loves all people. We have had him since 12 weeks old. We also had a 6 yr old fixed female German Shepherd, and they were the best of friends as they grew up together both since 12 weeks old. She passed away this past spring and it has left a void in us all. I decided to buy another sister for Frankie ( my AB ) so he could get some of his old self back again. I bought a 7 month old female American Bulldog pup. The breeder is a very good one and well known, so this pup that she was going to keep herself for her breeding program decided I could buy her as she is a very calm friendly pup, and would be perfect for Frankie. I have had her for a week now and everyday since I brought her home, she has attacked Frankie. She is the perfect puppy in every other way. When she walks by him, she will just strike out growling and go for his neck or face. This happens everyday, She is fine when we go on walks, they eat together in kitchen and they are fine. It seems to be whenever the mood strikes her. She is not play fighting, she is real fighting. I for the life of me can not understand this. I have gotten to know her face expression when she is going to attack him, so a firm NO will usually distract her, and she wanders off. Frankie being the gentle giant he is, just turns his head away from her when she comes near, and after the attack will walk away from her. Yesterday she went up to him and I thought she was going to try to attack him, but she laid down beside him waking her tail, and I think wanting to play. This time Frankie growled at her loudly, got up and walked away. He has never growled at another dog in his life. This has me worried. Last night after our walk, she attacked again, only this time Frankie was going to fight back. Being the size he is I am sure he would do a lot of damage, I got them apart in time. I don’t want to be unfair to Frankie, so I really don’t know how to handle this situation. Does anyone know why this little girl is attacking him all the time. Like I said she is a very good mannered pup, except for this. On walks she just wags her tail at other dogs we run into., and has never attempted to attack them. Please help. Thank-You.
Hello Carrie,
Congratulations on your new puppy. Introductions can sometimes be tricky depending on the personality of the new dog and our existing dog. Surrounding context and past experiences will also come into play.
Did Frankie’s behavior change in Spring? How was Frankie’s behavior before the Puppy? Was he back to his old self, or did he still seem sad/subdued?
In terms of introductions, here are some things that have helped with my dogs-
1. I set up clear dog-to-dog interaction rules right from the start. When my Husky Lara was a puppy, she would always be trying out new moves on my other dogs, so I always supervise her very closely. If she does something she is not supposed to, I no-mark and redirect her into doing something else. If she redirects, I make sure to reward her well for it with a game and other rewards.
2. During the training period, I put a lead on Lara when she starts interacting with my other dogs (only with a flat collar and not an aversive collar). In this way, I can quickly and easily stop her from harassing them, and I can teach her what interaction behaviors are acceptable and what are not. When my adult dogs have had enough of Puppy and just want to rest, I make sure that she does not disturb them. Sometimes, my adult dogs just want some alone time. Setting up a fixed routine really helps because it establishes some consistency and certainty, in a period of change, which can be stressful for the dogs and people in the house.
3. During play, I manage all my dogs’ excitement level, to keep things safe and under control. I do this by throwing in many play breaks.
4. I try to create as many positive interactions as possible between the new puppy and my resident dogs. For example, I start by doing obedience training sessions with my puppy with *very very good* rewards. This will get my other dogs to join in as well, then I can reward all of them really well for being calm together, and for working with me together. In this way, they learn to stay calm and cooperate rather than compete with each other for resources. They also learn to see puppy as a plus to their lifestyle.
5. In addition to maximizing positive interactions, I also try my best to minimize negative encounters. If there are any conflicts, I make sure that I am there to resolve things in a fair and consistent manner. In this way, my dogs learn that I will settle conflicts and they do not need to deal with it themselves through aggression.
Here is more on what I do when introducing a new puppy.
Hope this helps. Big hugs to Frankie and his new sister!
Hi, I have a almost 2 yr old husky wolf hybrid named Deuce. He’s very sweet and loves everyone but when it comes to other dogs that’s another story. When I first got him up until about when he turned one, he was great with other dogs and listened really well but now he’s super aggressive toward any animal he sees and as soon as he sees them you cant get his focus back. It’s really weird because we have 2 other dogs, a border collie/cocker spaniel mix and a pure bred poodle, and 3 cats and he’s perfectly fine with them. He even lets the cats bathe him every morning. The first time i ever herd him growl was this last summer and it was the first time he had ever shown aggression. It was toward the neighbors dog which is a blue heeler mix and since then its just been down hill, he’s rolled and fake bit the other neighbors toy poodle, he’s gone after the blue heeler multiple times, the chihuahua down the road that travels to our yard to harass him, and any dog we meet walking. It’s getting out of hand cause now i’m scared to even walk him for fear he’s going to attack another dog. What makes the situation even weirder is a random husky showed up out of no where and they cuddled and loved each other it was adorable, but no aggression? So why is he vicious toward all other dogs? I’ve tried bring calm dogs around but he ends up being aggressive. Any suggestions?
Yeah, different dogs have different tolerances to other dogs, and this may change with maturity and experience.
http://www.badrap.org/dogdog-tolerance
For example, I used to take my Shiba Inu to the dog park. There was very little structure at the park, so he learned all sorts of bad behaviors during his time there, and his behavior with other dogs got worse. He does much better in smaller, very structured, and highly supervised playgroups. With small groups, I can manage his excitement level, and teach him what are acceptable interaction behaviors and what are not.
Otherwise, he thinks everything is ok, and that there are no rules.
With Sephy I did highly structured dog-to-dog desensitization sessions at our local SPCA with one of their trainers. We used distance to lower the strength of the other dog stimulus, and we did the training in a very controlled environment. In this way, Sephy was able to stay calm and we were able to slowly reduce his dog reactive behavior. I talk more about it at the end of the article above.
Other things that help with my dogs-
1. I pick their playmates carefully.
2. I supervise all their play sessions, set up clear interaction rules, and I enforce those rules (usually by stopping play briefly, or with short timeouts).
3. I manage their excitement level by throwing in many play-breaks.
4. I try my best to protect my dogs during walks and keep away rude dogs. It is really unfortunate that many little untrained dogs are left to roam about freely, and they get to harass other dogs with impunity.
http://shibashake.com/dog/my-dog-is-friendly
5. I try to not only maximize positive encounters with other dogs, but also to minimize negative interactions.