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.
I’d be interested in hearing your response on this: My Aussie Shep. / Cattle Dog mix was well socialized as a pup. I took her to obedience classes, and we even did agility at a local animal shelter with a training center. We also frequently visited a local dog park. Early on, I was concerned about her tendency to be too submissive, as I had heard this could “flip” into aggression later. Fast forward to about 1.5 to 2 years, and she first attacked a larger dog while both were practicing obstacles on the agility course. The attack was the circle and strike kind, not the dominance kind, and the trainer told me that this was very serious. She is no longer able to do agility. About a year later, she again attacked while I was playing frisbee with her (wounded other dog on leg, circled, then tried to attack again). She has been in an obedience class specifically for dog aggression and had a visit from a private trainer. I always carry treats on our walks and practice the “look at” behavior, and generally try not to allow her to fixate on other dogs. I also try to give her a reasonable level of exercise, including daily bike rides using a device that keeps her secure on the bike; however, this problem behavior has seriously constricted my ability to give her a variety of stimulating exercise, because I have only a small yard, cannot take her to the dog park, and can never allow her off leash.
I’ll close by saying that she is unpredictable. Sometimes, when off-leash dogs run up to her on hikes in the mountains, she is as friendly as can be, perhaps on account of being away from familiar territory. On other occasions, she is highly aggressive.
I have not been able to figure out the specific triggers, and I am worried that at some point her behavior could expand to aggression against humans. She is a very loving dog and in general very obedient, and I would hate to have to put her down.
Well, the circle and strike sounds like part of a prey drive sequence. Did she fixate on the other dogs first? What was her behavior like before the attacks? Were the other dogs nervous or fearful? What did the private trainer say? What did the trainer suggest in terms of rehabilitation?
What were her interactions like at the dog park? Did she try to herd other dogs? What kind of play did she do with the other dogs? Were there any negative incidents? Does she usually fixate on other dogs? Does she fixate on all other dogs or only particular types of other dogs? What is her behavior when she sees cats or squirrels? What type of training is she used to?
With a more submissive dog, aggressive behavior can sometimes be fear based. However, the circle and strike behavior that you describe sounds more like prey drive sequence. This ASPCA article has more on predatory dog behavior. It is difficult to say given the very limited context here.
With my dog, the first thing that I do is try to ascertain the source and triggers of the aggression. This is where a professional trainer can be very helpful. I try to remember as many details as I can from when the behavior occurred, I try to look for similarities not just in the dogs, but also in the surrounding context, I try to look at my dog’s past experiences, and I try to identify predictive signals. For example, does my dog get stiff, fixate, change posture, etc. With my dogs, there are usually signals that indicate they are starting to prey-stalk, or that they are nervous. If I know what those signals are, then I can take steps early on to prevent escalation.
I also manage my dog’s environment and use leashes, gates, or a basket muzzle to always ensure the safety of everyone.
When I was having issues with my Shiba Inu, we visited with several professional trainers. There were some duds, but I learned a fair amount from the good ones. For dog reactivity issues, I tried to find trainers who had access to balanced dogs that can help with Sephy’s retraining. For a herding dog, it may also be useful to find a trainer who has herding experience. Teaching a dog to properly herd gives him an outlet for his prey-drive, while at the same time putting the prey behaviors under command control.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Thanks for the reply. The private trainer suggested redirection and desensitization. Her training has always been positive feedback, with and without clicker. The trainer also recommended the class that I attended. The problem I had was that the humane society was so concerned about liability that we were never able to work the dogs in close proximity, even with muzzles and cages available. She was completely relaxed the entire time — not so much as a muffled growl over the 3-week course.
She will often fixate on other dogs before becoming aggressive. However, in both instances where she attacked, there was almost no warning. In the first case, we were actually doing weave poles at the time, and I believe that she ended up face-to-face with the other dog, which was coming off another obstacle. In the second we were playing frisbee — the other dog appeared from behind some shrubbery very nearby and started barking at my dog.
She grew up with two other dogs and still remembers and likes both of them. She also seems to like certain other dogs that she knew when she was young. Any dogs that display tense energy, like terriers and huskies, are a big problem. However, with certain unfamiliar dogs, she is very gentle and friendly — my only observation is that it seems depend on where the dog is when she first sees it and perhaps also on its body language. She becomes more aggressive when she is in the car or running on the bike attachment. She is generally, but not always, less aggressive when in unfamiliar areas, like hiking trails.
Basically, I have had a hard time sorting out the triggers. Some of the aggression seems to be territorial (car, bike, backyard), some of it fearful (other dog’s body language, how the dog approaches, whether it is coming down a hill from above, size of dog, etc.), and her pattern of attack, as you noted, resembles a hunt. She has a very strong prey drive and, without leaving the backyard, has managed to kill several times, inc. a skunk.
All of this built up gradually over a single summer — she went from being very submissive at the dog park, to gradually more reactive, up until the point where I had to stop taking her because the only thing she would do is growl. Negative incidents usually involved other dogs dominating her. I tried to create positive experiences and to keep her involved with responsible owners and familiar dogs.
I actually feel that working with balanced dogs could help her — it’s just not an easy opportunity to find. On one occasion, for example, she had the opportunity to meet a very well-balanced sheltie, and did just fine.
Hmmm, could it be that she is trying to protect herself, and views other dogs as possible threats? Could seem more so when the appear suddenly, startle her, and invade her space.
For example, my Shiba Inu (Sephy) can be protective of his personal space. He doesn’t like new dogs coming in and sniffing his butt, because he sees this as a threat. When he was young, we used to take him to the dog park frequently, but he became more reactive because of it. More on our dog park experiences.
Sephy does much better in small, structured, and highly supervised play groups. I set clear play rules, and I pick dogs that I know he will get along with. I also manage excitement levels by throwing in many play-breaks. This refocuses Sephy’s attention on me, and helps to calm him down so that play doesn’t escalate into something else.
The key with Sephy is to maximize positive encounters and minimize negative events. I do my best to protect him from rude behavior by other dogs, we avoid dogs that I know will result in a bad encounter, and I stop bullying behavior during play. I leave at once if my dog becomes nervous, uncomfortable, or starts to fixate. The more positive experiences we had, the more calm and relaxed Sephy became. Similarly, bad experiences made him become more reactive, so avoidance and creating neutral experiences were also important for Sephy.
More on dog tolerance levels.
More on dog social boundaries.
More on prey-drive training-
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/how-do-i-train-my-dog-to-stop-chasing-the-chickens-cat-rat
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/chase-this-not-that
http://shibashake.com/dog/the-squirrel-instinct-can-it-be-retrained
Did anything unusual happen in that summer?
With Sephy we did desensitization exercises at our local SPCA and then later some sessions at a local daycare center. We did private sessions. He didn’t “meet” all the dogs that the trainers picked for training. Some of them we used just for avoidance training. The ones that he met and played with, they specifically picked to suit his temperament, play-style, and energy.
Hope this helps. Hugs to your girl.
Thanks — I appreciate the time you’ve taken to respond, and the links you’ve provided, which I am going to have a look at. I’ve started taking her to a local dog park. At this point, we just loiter around outside to get her used to wearing a muzzle around other dogs.
I agree that she is probably fearful / protective of her people and territory. This would jive with her other peculiarity: she grew up with two other dogs and still gets along with them when she goes back for visits. And so, we shall see how this journey goes…
Cheers,
James
Hello, I’ve read some of your tips and comments from other dog owners. I have a 14-month old miniature poodle, Zoe, who goes to doggie day care 2-3 times a week and goes to a playgroup for an hour for a couple of days a week. She also gets walked in the morning and evening by me. I’ve noticed in the last 2-3 weeks, that when she meets another dog, she is her curious, excited self. She even whines to go meet them. Then she has a sniff and the so does the other dog. I can’t tell what the trigger is that she quickly turns aggressive and starts lunging at the other dog. I have a feeling that something in the past is triggering it. But not sure how to correct it when her temperament changes so quickly. Any tips? Thank you, Anu
What is Zoe’s behavior at the day care and playgroup? Does she enjoy being with other dogs? Does she interact and play a lot? Has she had any bad experiences at the daycare or playgroups? What type of dogs are in the daycare and playgroups – e.g. larger or smaller, high or low energy? Does she only ever show aggressive behavior while on-leash? Has she shown any aggression at all during daycare or the playgroups? Are there particular types of dogs that she shows this behavior with, e.g. larger dogs, smaller dogs, loud dogs, nervous dogs?
My Shiba, Sephy, gets along best with playful, non-dominant dogs that are larger than he is. Smaller dogs get overwhelmed by him very easily and do not enjoy his play style. He also does not like new strange dogs sniffing his butt. Here is why.
With Sephy, I figure out exactly what his social tolerances are, and I make sure to protect him from encounters that will have an undesirable outcome. At the same time, I desensitize Sephy to the trigger stimuli that he is most sensitive to. I talk more about our desensitization experiences at the end of the article above.
The key with Sephy was to maximize positive encounters and minimize reactive experiences. Successful calm experiences help to improve his future behavior. Similarly, reactive events make him less calm and sets back training significantly.
Note that dog behavior is very context dependent, therefore when in doubt, I consult with a good professional trainer who can observe Sephy’s behavior within the context of his environment.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
Hello! I adopted my dog about a year and a half ago. She is now 10. When I got her, the shelter said she was dominant around other dogs but that’s it. Come to find out, she is very dog-aggressive. Immediately when she sees a dog she goes from 0-100. Even when I try to keep her moving, she will keep looking back, and sometimes when she is very into it, she will be up on her hind legs on her choke chain and it doesn’t seem to phase her a bit. I have to restrain her while her claws scratch at the concrete trying to get to the other dog. She is 45 lbs and half pit bull half Aussie cattle dog. The strangest thing though is that she is only like this when she is with people she knows! When no one she knows is around and another dog comes around, she couldn’t care less and it’s as if the other dog doesn’t exist! It’s so strange to me!!! Any advice? I’ve tried distracting her, making her sit, which she does for a few seconds then gets right back at it. Her energy level just gets so high and I can’t calm her down for a while after we have left the other dog. I don’t want people with dogs to be afraid of her, and I want our walks to be enjoyable. Any help?
My Shiba Inu, Sephy, was pretty reactive to other dogs when he was young. Some things that helped with Sephy-
1. Distance weakens the other dog stimulus.
So I always create as much space as possible, and we ignore and move on. I talk more about what I do in the article above. Once Sephy goes into reactive mode, it is too late. For him to learn, I need to keep him below his reactivity threshold, by managing him, his environment, and not letting him escalate. Once he becomes reactive, I can only remove him from the trigger as quickly as possible so that I can calm him down.
2. I did desensitization exercises to raise his reactivity threshold.
Desensitization needs to be conducted in a structured environment. I start by only exposing Sephy to a *very weak version* of the other dog stimulus. In this way, Sephy is calm enough to listen, learn, and re-associate other dogs with being calm and positive rewards. I talk more about the desensitization exercises that we did at the end of the article above.
3. I try to stay very calm.
My Shiba, Sephy is very sensitive to the energy of the people around him. So if I am stressed or nervous, he will pick up on my energy, get stressed himself, and become even more reactive. After I controlled my own energy, Sephy’s behavior also improved. He behaves best when I am calm and decisive. In this way, I can prevent him from escalating or quickly remove him from a bad situation.
The key with Sephy is not only to maximize successful encounters, but also to minimize negative experiences. The more successful and calm walks we have, the more Sephy’s behavior improves. The more reactive events we have, the more likely he is to become reactive in the future.
I use a 6 foot leather leash with Sephy and a thick no-slip collar. Choke chains and aversive corrections may make the situation worse.
More on collar corrections.
Note though that dog behavior is very context dependent. Each dog and each situation is different, therefore when I am in doubt, I consult with a good professional trainer.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
Hey Shibashake,
I have recently rescued a 5 year old unneutered pug. He is a delightful family dog and is obedient, as far as respecting house rules and waiting for food etc goes. Pugs are not the best for doing tricks though and as we haven’t had him since a puppy it’s a little more of a challenge. We know nothing about his past.
We live in a city with lots of dogs, a lot of which are off lead. Whilst this is not always a problem, I have in the past 3 weeks encountered 3 dogs (a french bulldog male, a beagle cross male and a jack russel male (all neutered)) that came bouncing over to him, attacked him (two gave him a warning bite on the neck that did not draw blood). The first one crouched down and then floored him with his jaws on top of my dog. The second sniffed his butt and then nipped him on the neck and walked off and the bulldog came running at him and the owner didn’t have any control over her dog, it wasn’t even wearing a collar. In this case, I decided that picking him up was the best solution because I simply wanted to avoid the confrontation. I know this is not the best thing to do, but in the moment I had no alternative and it was my instinct that told me to do this.
What is the best thing to do in these situations? The thing I find the most upsetting is that my dog doesn’t react, he simply ignores the other dogs because he isn’t interested in them, which could be infuriating them more but it could also be something from his past that we are not aware of. He isn’t fearful, but he isn’t at all aggressive towards other dogs either.
Any help would be much appreciated, you seem to know so much!
Wow! He sounds like a really balanced dog. I think ignoring is a good response, because that is probably the best way for the other dog to lose interest and leave.
Hmmm, why is it not a good thing to do?
Personally, if I could pick my dog up and spare him the stress of a bad encounter, I would do that as well. Based on what I have read, I think that picking a dog up *can* be detrimental when the dog is already reactive and behaving badly. If we pick him up in such a state and comfort him, then we may be rewarding his reactive behavior, which could possibly reinforce it in the future.
However, if a dog is calm and simply ignoring the rude dog, then I am not sure why picking him up would be an issue, as long as we are calm about it. In fact, if my dog remained calm, I would want to reward his good response and protect him from rude behavior.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent, so each dog and situation is different. When in doubt, I consult with a good professional trainer.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
Suzanne Clothier has a great article on dog social boundaries titled “He Just Wants to Say Hi”.
Here is my take on the friendly dog.
Hello
I have two male dogs (Jax is 6 years and not neutered and Ryu is 2 years and has just been neutered). They are cross-breeds (Jax is German Shepard/ Whippet-cross 25kg and Ryu is Jax’s son/Lab 40kg. We live in a tourist resort in the mountains and during the summer months lots of people come here with their dogs. Both of them are worse during this time (barking at other dogs, dominant etc) as they come across a lot of dogs they don’t know. I was going to try all of your advice mentioned above. However they do feed off each other, would you recommend me training them individually or together? Thanks
For reactivity issues, I start training a new dog separately. My youngest Husky, Lara, is pretty vocal and easily excitable. However, she is a lot more calm when I walk her singly, so I start small and slowly build up her tolerance.
Once she is more calm and able to handle situations in single walks, then we started walking her together with our Shiba Inu, who is now very calm during walks. I would handle Lara and I got somebody else to walk Shiba to that I can devote my full attention to training Lara.
What is key with my dogs is to maximize successful outings and minimize negative or reactive encounters. The more successes we have, the more their behavior improves. Similarly, reactive events undermine the desensitization process and sets back our training. Therefore, I always try to set them up for success by starting small and not exposing them to more than they can handle at each step.
I recently adopted a 4 year old dog when I moved. He seems to get along with most dogs, usually smaller ones. I also have the family dog that stays with my parents who is the same age and is a lot more larger not so much in height but way more bulky than my new one. I’ve taken my newer dog, who I’ve had for about 4 months now to my parents house to try and interact with the family dog and at first it seemed like he liked him because he was wagging his tail but then when my family dog got closer Harley got defensive and started growling. My family dog axel seems scared of Harley and tries to avoid him. It seems like he has a complex now. They can be in the same house and be on a walk together. It just seems like when axel gets too close that’s when Harley goes after him kind of biting him but not doing any damage. One day in the yard Harley was playing around and axel stated to as well but got to close again and Harley went after him. Axel doesn’t show any aggression. Is Harley eventually going to stop or is it just a lost cause?
With my Shiba Inu, desensitization exercises were helpful in getting him to be more calm and relaxed around other dogs. I talk more about what we did at the end of the article above. The key with desensitization is to always start small (with a very weak version of the problem stimulus), and to only very slowly build up my dog’s tolerance for it. At the same time, I make sure not to expose my dog to more than he can handle. The more successes we have, the more Sephy learned to be calm around other dogs. Similarly, each reactive episode undermined his progress and set back our retraining process.
Desensitization took time and management.
Another thing that helps with my dogs is to establish clear dog-to-dog interaction rules. In the beginning, my dog did not know what to do and got stressed with a new dog. Setting up clear rules reduces uncertainty, and that reduces stress.
I supervise them closely during interaction so that I can slowly teach them what the rules are, and redirect questionable behavior before it escalates into anything more.
More on what I do to help my dogs get along.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent. During Sephy’s difficult period, we visited with several professional trainers who could observe and evaluate Sephy’s behavior within the context of his regular routine and environment. In this way, I could better ensure that everybody stayed safe.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hi, I was wondering if I could get some help/insight? I have a shiba she will be 6 in dec we also have a rat terrier that will be 7 initially we didn’t have any problems with them together once we moved the first time she would randomaly attack the small dog, usually after I would yell at the little dog for being bad learning that that triggered her I stopped doing that.. we since then moved again and on our move across country she attacked her in the parking lot she needed staples and it took everything we had to get her off of her.. once we got to our new home we had one attack 2 weeks after .. then everything was good for a while almost 2 years then the other day for no reason that I can think of I let her outback and the small dog was back there with our other med size dog and she just jumped on her.. It was scary my screaming and trying to pull her off did no good took a few mins she finally let her go .. our little dog went into surgery for some lacerations she received mainly on her back .. Just wondering is there something I can do or do differently to get this to stop like I said It stopped for a while, IDK if she was mad because there was a bunny in the front yard she couldn’t get to it or what? Shes a great dog great with the kids and everything but every so often she goes psycho on our smaller dog? she hasn’t tried to attack our med size dog an American eskimo which we got thinking maybe she needed a dog more her size to play with, she is also spayed for a few years now as well .. any ideas or tricks we can do to change this behavior? We don’t want to have to surrender her but if it happens again I don’t think we can keep her for the sake of our small dog her life means just as much as hers… Sorry for the long post im just really clueless as to what to do!
My Shiba really likes routine and consistency. Whenever there are big changes to his schedule or environment, he gets really stressed. Stress can cause changes in mood and behavior.
When we moved to a new house,
1. I made sure to quickly re-establish a fixed routine and a consistent set of house rules. I have dog-to-dog interaction rules and also dog-to-people interaction rules. I slowly teach the rules to my dogs so they understand what to expect from each other, what to expect from me, and what I expect from them in return. This creates certainty, which helps to reduce stress. More on what I do with my dogs.
2. I make sure to increase my level of supervision, and I do not leave my dogs together unsupervised until I am very sure that there won’t be any problems. I make sure to set my dogs up for success by minimizing bad experiences and maximizing positive together time. I also make sure that everyone is safe by using management equipment such as leashes, gates, a basket muzzle, and more as necessary.
3. My Shiba is very sensitive to the energy of the people around him. If I get stressed, fearful, or nervous, he will pick up on that, become more stressed himself, and act even more crazy. To calm him down, I make sure that I am calm and in control.
Note however, that dog behavior is very context dependent and aggressive behavior can be the result of many different things. ASPCA article on the different types of dog aggression.
When I had problems with my Shiba, I visited with several professional trainers who could look at Sephy, understand his temperament, and view his behavior within the context of his regular routine and environment. I wanted to make sure that I properly diagnosed the source of Sephy’s reactive behavior, so that I can keep everyone safe and start re-training in the right way.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
My mastiff/lab mix is extremely dog aggressive. It does not matter who is walking her, where she encounters the dog(at home or out) or if she knows the dog. She loves our dogs but that’s it… I have tried everything. She even reacted this way towards another dog with a trainer…HELP!
Has she always been aggressive towards other dogs? How long have you had her? What is her background? What is her daily routine? What things exactly have you tried and what was her reaction? What type of techniques did the trainer try? How many sessions did you have with the trainer? What did the trainer suggest?
Dog behavior is very context dependent. It will depend in part on the temperament of the dog, her past experiences, her surrounding context, daily routine, and more. This is why getting a good trainer to observe the dog can be very helpful.
However, the dog training field is not well regulated, so it can be a challenge to find a good trainer who actually understands dog behavior. When I was having difficulties with my Shiba, we visited with a bunch of different trainers, and I read up a lot on dog behavior so that I could quickly screen out the ones who didn’t know what they were talking about.
More on finding a trainer-
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
http://shibashake.com/dog/finding-a-dog-trainer
More on where I get dog training and dog behavior information.
My dog has had issues with my neighbors dog for quite some time now. We think that when she was younger and we left her outside in her kennel while we were at work, the neighbors dog (who has free reign of the neighborhood) came over and harassed her. Every time our dog sees the other dog she barks and lunges. There have even been a few instances where they began to fight. Things have been going well until the neighbor cleared out the trees between hour houses. Now my dog is back on the prowl and after the other dog. We considered having the dogs meet in a controlled environment, but we are afraid that might make it worse. To make things worse, the neighbor kids runs away yelling for his dad every time my dog even looks his way. I am afraid that she is going to think he is playing and chase after him. The kid is afraid of her because she recently showed her teeth to the neighbors dog when he was around. Is there anything we can do to alleviate the situation? We are planning on putting up a fence as a barrier, but it would be nice if we could have some peace for her.
Thank you
Lindsey
I forgot to mention that she attends doggy daycare regularly with no issues. We also used to take her to the dog park but stopped going when she met another dog she did not get along with (he was there three times a day- pretty much every time we tried to go).
Our backyard is next to some nice public trails, but there are deer, coyotes, and sometimes goats who come by. 😀 It helped to put a 6 foot, solid fence around our backyard. The solid fence helps with my dogs, because it cuts out the visual component of the outside stimulus.
They still get excited, especially when the goats come around because they can smell and hear them, but a lot less so without the visual and motion cue.
As for kids, I am very careful when there are kids around. My dogs are very attuned to motion, so a running kid will be very tempting to chase. When there are kids around, I always supervise very closely, and I have my dog on-leash so that I can keep him under control. I do not let my dog meet over-excited or fearful kids. I always try to set them up for success, so we only meet calm, older kids. Even if a dog just accidentally hurts a kid or if the kid should fall from running, it will be very bad news, especially for the dog.
Desensitization exercises also helped with Sephy, in terms of helping him to stay more calm and less stressed around other dogs. I talk more about what we did with Sephy in the desensitization section at the end of the article above. We did the exercises at our local SPCA, under the direction of a trainer. In cases of aggression, it was safer and helpful to consult with a professional trainer, especially one with balanced dogs that we could train with.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
I also did people desensitization exercises with Sephy, which I talk more about here. I always have my dog on-leash, I make sure to set my dog up for success, and I make sure that everyone is safe.
HELP! I am in desperate need of advice. I have a 2 yr old german shepherd who has only recently begun to show aggression toward other dogs. We never thought to actively socialize her because she has always gotten along great with my dad’s two dogs. Recently though she has become aggressive towards our neighbors dogs. Both the Rottweiler next door and the shepherd across the street and last week there was an issue with our friends put bull while we were camping. I plan on taking her to a trainer next month to work on this as well as some other commands but there is one major problem. We are leaving this week to go visit my mom out of state. We have no one close who will be able to care for our Nikki while we are gone so we must take her with us. My mom has a 6 yr old shepherd mix. I am concerned that they won’t get along and I have no idea what to do about this. What is the best way for us to introduce our dogs to ensure they will get along, or at the very least, tolerate each other without fighting? Please any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated. I am terrified Nikki will hurt my mom’s dog. Nikki has never shown any aggression towards people in case that information is helpful. Thanks again for any advice you can give me on how to handle this situation.
Introducing a new dog into a new household can be very stressful for everyone involved, and it will take time. When I introduce a new puppy to my adult dogs, there is usually an adjustment period.
Husky Shania is usually very good with puppies, but she is wary of new adult dogs. She was well socialized when young, but since then, we have been charged several times by loose dogs in the neighborhood. As a result, she has gotten somewhat wary and so have I. Sephy gets a lot more stressed with big changes, so with him, I have to slowly get him used to the new puppy in a very positive, safe, and structured way.
My dogs are also very sensitive to the energy of the people around them. If I am stressed, nervous, or anxious, my dogs will quickly pick up on that, become stressed themselves, and their behavior will worsen.
What is the temperament and training of your mom’s dog? Is he/she well socialized? How does he/she respond to new dogs in the house? Has Nikki stayed over at someone else’s house before? What is Nikki’s reaction to dogs who visit your house? Is it possible to delay the trip?
Based on what you describe, it sounds risky to me. Personally, I would look for safer and less stressful alternatives. For example, when I leave on trips, my partner stays behind to take care of the dogs. Another possibility is to try and find a trustworthy dog sitter.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent, and I have very little context of your situation. When in doubt, I usually consult with a good professional trainer who can observe my dog’s behavior and environment firsthand.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/