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 have a sheba/chow mix. Starr… She is 11 and I love her!!! A few months ago she was attacked by a lab who almost tore her ear off. Now when I walk her she is extremely aggressive towards other dogs…. I keep her on her leash but she will lunge and growl and bark at other dogs. She has never done this before… HELP!
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression/comment-page-5#comment-635551
I have a 1 yr old boxer/pitbull mix who is fear aggressive towards other dogs. When he first came into my home, my 4 year old female Carolina dog was very aggressive with him–She is a very dominant dog with other dogs–she injured him pretty badly a couple of times. Since then my boxy boy gets very aggressive (snarling, barking, pulling, lunging) when he is around or even sees other dogs. I have not let him off leash near another dog since the first time I noticed this behavior. He is such a loving pup and very social, but because my other dog made him so scared of dogs, he assumes all dogs will be hurtful to him and immediately goes on the defensive. Is there something I can do to get him over his fear without him hurting another animal? He is great and gentle with my cats, by the way.
I did dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with my Shiba Inu to get him to be more comfortable with other dogs. The key is to start small, with a very weakened version of the “other dog” stimulus and slowly build up from there. I talk more about how I did desensitization at the end of the article above.
The more positive and calm experiences my dog has in the presence of another dog, the more confidence he gains, and the more he associates other dogs with good events. Similarly, reactive/negative experiences will undermine his confidence, significantly set back training, and worsen his behavior. Therefore, it was very important for me to manage Sephy carefully and make sure that I do not expose him to situations that he is not ready for.
I talk more about what I do in the article above. Desensitization and counter-conditioning is best done under the direction of a good professional trainer. We did desensitization at our local SPCA where they had a variety of trainer chosen dogs that we used during training.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I appreciate this article. I have a pitbull, about 4 years old (he’s a shelter dog so I am unsure of his age or background). I’ve had Max for almost two years and we have been through alot together. Together, we have gotten over a short period of male aggression and he welcomes male family members and friends with high energy affection! I continue to struggle with his fear/aggression while on walks and at the vet. He was with another dog in my home for about a year, previously, and the two always got along well. He and the neighbor dog run up and down the chain link fence in what a previous dog trainer described as play, and I do not note any growling or aggressive behavior. However when I walk Max, or take him to the vet, he exhibits behavior that I cannot distinguish between fear and aggression. After several encounters of this behavior, my anxiety is high in these situations which I know is bad and I try to control. I do my best to remain calm and ignore his behavior, but if it wasn’t for the halti collar I have on him I fear he will get out of my grasp and I don’t know what he would do. When he is in these situations, He begins to wine and not exactly growl, but make a noise between a wine and a growl. He then jumps, twists, shakes his head back and forth in what I think is an attempt to get out of the halti. I can’t observe any aggressive body posture such as a stiff tail or raised fur or low head and neck because he jumps and twists and pulls so hard. Today this happened at the vet. I remained calm and safely removed him from the office with the help of staff but the other owners had to move aside with their dogs from us and I was extremely embarrassed. As soon as we were outside he calmed down and I made him sit and relax a bit before we left. I did not yell or pet him, I remained as calm as I could. How do I tell if this is aggression, fear, or just over stimulation? He has never attacked another dog; he was great with my old dog; he is great with my cat; and he lived with other animals in foster care before I got him. Sometimes I feel if he was off a leash he would be fine but of course am too afraid to test that theory in case he hurts someone’s pet. I’ve spent $600 for 2 training sessions and the trainer simply said “he’s tough” after spending several hours working with her dogs and seeing no progress.
I will try your tips on our next walk, with space and trying to remain calm myself. I can definitely say I do not exercise him enough, and that is something I am working on. Any other advice or pointers would be appreciated. Max is sweet, he loves to play and he loves me and I just want him to be happy and healthy. I would love for him to have a play friend; I work 2 jobs and live alone and I try my best to exercise him on my days off. A play friend may help with that but you can see my dilemma.
Thank you.
My dogs generally hate going to the vet because when they are there, they get needles poked into their skin, they get poked at, prodded, and more, by people who they do not really know or trust. My Huskies will pull back, twist, and do everything that they can, not to go into the vet’s office. When we get in, all they want to do is leave. It is difficult to get a dog to “enjoy” the vet, when what happens in there is usually pretty negative from their point of view. Some dogs may get aggressive due to fear (fear aggression).
Some things that help with my dog for the vet-
1. I need to control my own energy. This is very important. My dog is very sensitive to the energy of the people around him, so if there is stress, he will pick up on that, get even more stressed himself, and become even more reactive.
2. I try to find a vet who is also calm and confident. The energy of the other people around my dog is also very important.
3. This is harder to do, but an experienced vet who knows something about dog behavior and training helps a lot. There were a few vet visits that went well, and these were with experienced vets who knew how to calm my dog, and who were willing to spend the time to get to know him. This is much harder to find because most vet offices are under time constraints.
4. For my younger Husky, I wait outside the office and have the receptionist come out and call me when they are ready. Then I go in by the side door so I don’t have to subject my dog to the added stress from other dogs, who are probably also feeling highly anxious.
5. I have tried doing desensitization and counter-conditioning exercises, but that is difficult to do properly because I cannot get access to the vet or vet techs for training. Plus vet techs tend to change a lot, and sometimes even the vets.
Desensitization and counter-conditioning exercises were also useful in helping my dog be more comfortable and calm around other dogs. I talk more about desensitization at the end of the article above. It was a crucial part in improving my dog’s reactive behavior.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/desensitization-and-counterconditioning
Finally, the dog training field is not well regulated, so finding a good trainer/behaviorist can be challenging. I first quizzed the trainers over the phone pretty extensively, then we did single consultations with a pared-down list. When we found some good ones, who actually understood the science behind dog psychology and had good experience with reactive dogs, it was very helpful. They taught me how to properly do desensitization exercises, how to read my dog’s body language, and helped me better understand the source of my dog’s reactive behavior.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I also read up a lot on dog behavior. That helped me to better understand and help my dog, and also helped me identify trainers who knew what they were talking about.
More on where I get information about dog behavior.
As for exercise, hiring a dog walker may be helpful. However, finding a good dog walker can also be a challenge.
U just adopted a 6 ur old boxer , she’s pretty good with ppl a little afraid of guys and. Does not really get along with other dogs, her previous owner couldn’t keep her anymore cause she attacked twice one of her smaller dogs ( female as well) however, this didn’t till 7 months after she adopted her . I walked her for the first time and she mostly did pretty well until other dos would bark at her . I couldn’t help but to get nervous when one of the big dogs kept barking at her so I started walking in the shoulder of the street .. I couldn’t cross the st cause of traffic . Anyway the dog we encounter got out at the end of the fence and they sniffed eachother and walked off eventually… But my dog wouldn’t move on and I got scared there would be a fight… She med my friends dog the other day and something didn’t click with them two and a fight broke out and my grinds dog got hurt.. And today I was in my front yard and my neighbors little yappy dog got out charged right at my dog… My boxer charged too at that point… I’m pretty new at this and I’m trying to read some literature but I’m just nervous of loosing control of my boxer . She listens to me mostly… But I do loose her attention with other dogs… I really hope you can give me some input…. I would love to keep my dog… She’s so mellow and good with my kids … 🙂
With my Shiba Inu, I did dog-to-dog desensitization exercises to help him be more comfortable and calm around other dogs. With desensitization, I start small, with a very weak version of the stimulus, and in a structured environment where I am in control. The “other dog” stimulus has to be weak enough that my dog is able to remain calm, and learn positive behaviors from the experience. I talk more about desensitization at the end of the article above.
Successful, calm, and rewarding experiences with other dogs help Sephy to build confidence, learn good social behaviors, and form positive associations. Similarly, negative or reactive experiences will undermine that confidence, significantly set back our desensitization training, and worsen Sephy’s reactive behavior. Therefore I manage Sephy’s environment and routine carefully, so that I always keep him below his reactivity threshold and so that he is not exposed to situations that he is not ready for.
With Sephy, we did desensitization training in a structure environment, under the direction of a trainer, and with trainer chosen dogs. The desensitization process can be counter-intuitive, especially in the beginning, so it was helpful for me to consult with a good professional trainer/behaviorist.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
To help Sephy stay calm, I also needed to control my own energy. If I got stressed, worried, or fearful, Sephy would easily pick up on my energy, get stressed himself, and become even more reactive. I talk more about my experiences with Sephy in the article above.
I have a 6 month old pug. Every morning we spend about 30min to 1 hour at dogs park. There are 3 to 5 dogs she meets and play with them every morning for the past two months. They are all young female dogs so there is a lot energy but they get along really nice. However, there’s a 1 year old bulldog which acts like a real bully and attacks all of thee dogs from time to time. She is not too aggressive/strong, but she starts the fight every time. It’s same with my dog. First few times, she attacked my puppy, we stopped the fight and that’s it. Of course, after like 10 times, now my pug won’t run away any more but she stops and fight back. I try not to over protect her and allow her to socialize, but also I don’t want my dog to get hurt or learn to be aggressive. Any advices how can to protect a dog in a dog park from dog bully, but still not over protect her, or allow her to accept this type of behavior as normal thing at the park. Thank you so very much!
Yeah, I used to take my Shiba Inu to the dog park a bunch when he was young, but we stopped going after a while. Dog parks are often very high stimulus, unstructured, and sparsely supervised. In addition, there is no proper separation of the dogs into appropriate and manageable groups.
Sephy ended up learning a bunch of bad habits, and his social behaviors with other dogs worsened as a result. He does much better in smaller, structured, and highly supervised play-groups, with dogs that match his temperament and play style.
I set up a consistent set of play rules and I supervise. There is absolutely no bullying behavior, I manage excitement levels, and I make sure nobody gets overwhelmed. This teaches Sephy good social behaviors. He gets to play and have fun, but in a structured environment.
The key with proper dog-to-dog socialization is not only to maximize positive events and good social behaviors, but also to minimize negative events that lead to reactive and aggressive behaviors. The more positive and structured experiences Sephy has, the more confidence he gains and the better he behaves with other dogs. Similarly, reactive events will undermine that confidence, teach him bad social behaviors, and result in negative associations with other dogs.
More on our dog park experiences and why we stopped going.
More on dog socialization.
He Just Wants to Say Hi by Suzanne Clothier.
More on dog tolerances.
ASPCA article on puppy socialization.
Thank you for the article, I will start practicing what you have posted. I have a 6 month border collie/blue heeler mix who is just fine with both my other dog and my moms dog, but I took her to a dog park for the first time and she was extremely aggressive towards other dogs. Snarling, lunging, and backing away towards me which made me think she was fearful, but even a small weiner dog that was just as nervous as her even looked in her direction she was aggressive towards. I hope she gets better after following your tips! Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
Emily
Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises were helpful with my reactive Shiba Inu. The more positive and calm experiences that Sephy had with other dogs, the more confidence he gained and the more relaxed he is in the presence of another dog. Note, however, that fearful or reactive experiences will undermine that confidence, significantly set back retraining, and make him more reactive with other dogs.
Therefore, I had to carefully manage Sephy’s environment so that I not only maximized positive and calm other dog experiences, but also minimized reactive or fearful episodes.
– We did desensitization in a structured environment, under the direction of a trainer, and with trainer chosen dogs.
– We start small and go at a pace that Sephy is comfortable with so that I always keep him calm and well below his reactivity threshold.
– At other times, I make sure *not* to expose Sephy to situations or environments that he is not ready to handle.
As for dog parks, we went to a bunch of them when Sephy was young, but he ended up learning a lot of bad habits there. Sephy does better in more structured and supervised environments, with a much smaller number of dogs. He does best in small playgroups with dogs that suit his play-style and temperament.
More on our enclosed dog-park experiences.
More on dog socialization.
More on dog social tolerance.
Hello, I have a small beagle mix named Casper. He is about a year old and he is not yet neutered. He is not aggressive at all and he listens very well. I am a dog walker and sometimes I bring him along on walks. Well, I walk one dog and he is a Pitt/Lab mix and he is never aggressive on walks towards other dogs, not even towards Casper. Diesel (the Pitt mix) has an owner that works very long hours so I am there a lot and he asked if I could bring my dog on a play date and just let them play in the yard and the house since it was rather cold outside for a long walk. I agreed since it had never caused any problems before. His owner had told me that he gets aggressive about treats and food but toys should be fine. So I removed all bones, treats, and food from the area they would be playing in. Diesel is almost 2 years old and he is fixed. As soon as we walked in the door with Casper on a leash, Diesel cornered him and started growling. Casper rolled over to show him dominance and he kept growling. Diesel has a vibrating collar and I put that on him. They were fine for a little while, until Casper tried to pick up a squeaky toy from under me. Diesel growled and I gave him a warning verbally and on his collar and he did not stop. Casper picked up the toy and Diesel snapped at him and continued growling even after he had dropped the toy and rolled over and even yipped. Could this be because Diesel sees that Casper is not fixed and he sees that as a sign of dominance, or is it because Casper was showing that he was afraid? He did not even react to the collar. What should I do in that situation if it were to ever happen again?
Some dogs get protective over their home area and over objects in their home. Does Diesel show any aggression over toys outside his house? Aggressive behavior can be caused by many different things. This article from UC Davis has more on dominance and aggression.
With my dogs, I try my best to protect them from bad dog-to-dog experiences. Negative events may cause them to become fearful or mistrustful of other dogs, learn inappropriate social behaviors, and cause them anxiety and stress.
It sounds like Diesel has some guarding behaviors, so if I were the owner, that is the thing that I would address. With my dog I did structured desensitization exercises under the direction of a professional trainer, in a controlled environment, with trainer chosen dogs. I also carefully managed my dog so that I do not expose him to situations where he feels he has to resort to aggression to protect his stuff. Reactive experiences will undermine his trust, form negative associations with other dogs, significantly set back retraining, and cause him to become more protective of his belongings.
To help my dog I want to maximize positive and structured experiences, where he can learn good social behaviors and make good associations with other dogs. At the same time, I want to minimize aggressive experiences and events which will create negative associations, and undo all our desensitization work.
Why dogs guard their food and toys.
I have a mixed breed male (neutered). He has really been a great boy, and I am working with him to be a traveling companion. He is a little shy of people and children, but we are working on that and he is coming along well. He doesn’t seem to be aggressive towards cats, nor does he have a particularly high prey drive. He is very interested in new dogs, and any time we have visitors at the house he does well with them, the problem that I have run into is when we are out and about any face to face encounter with another dog turns very quickly into growling/snapping. I have started trying to work on this with him with some desensitization exercises. (ie. having him sit, down, stay when another dog is nearby) and rewarding him when his focus stays on me, rewarding him when he gives visible relaxation cues while in sit or down position. I am not sure if this is just a matter of stress and new experiences on his part or if this is the beginning of a real problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Does this behavior only happen on-leash? When he sees another dog while on-leash, what is his reaction? Is he still relaxed or does he get tense? At what distance does he start to react, or is it only when they are face to face? Does he act this way with all dogs while on-leash or only with certain types of dogs? Does he approach the other dog, does the other dog approach him, or are both dog approaching each other?
Face-to-face greetings can sometimes be stressful and confrontational, depending on the temperament and body language of both dogs. In addition, when a dog is on-leash, his freedom is limited which can introduce more stress to the situation because he is not able to move away or flee.
In general, when out on walks, I teach my dog avoidance. We only meet dogs that we have seen a bunch of times, who show relaxed body language, are friendly, and are under control. I also observe each of my dogs closely, and I take note of what dog types they are most comfortable with, and what dog types they do not enjoy. For example, my Shiba Inu does not get along with dominant dogs. He also does not like new dogs sniffing his butt. Therefore, we only meet with relaxed and more submissive dogs, and I make sure they do not go into his rear region, until he gets to know them better. 😀
When it comes to dog-to-dog socialization, I want to not only maximize positive and successful interactions, but also minimize bad greetings. The more positive experiences my dog has, the more confidence he gains, and the more he views other dogs as friendly and non-threatening. Similarly, negative events will undermine his confidence, significantly set back desensitization training, and cause him to get more wary of other dogs.
With Sephy, I managed his environment carefully, and I always try to set him up for success. We ignore most dogs during walks, we meet some that I am sure he will do well with, and at the same time we did desensitization training in a structured environment, with trainer chosen dogs. In this way, he never gets exposed to situations that he is not ready for, and he stays below his reactivity threshold, so that he can learn to be calm and to stay relaxed.
More on dog social tolerances.
More on the friendly dog.
Thank you for your very informative reply! In response to your questions, other than at our home he has not been introduced to new dogs off leash, and even the at home the introductions we have had are with puppies under 12 weeks. Generally he is curious about new dogs enough to go check them out while on leash, but I wouldn’t say that he is excited or wound up. I will say that a certain degree of wariness does seem to be present in his posture. The reaction so far is always when face to face, and I am not really sure what the trigger is for him, because they can be politely sniffing at each other for several moments and then I will see him tense up if I watch closely and from there I can still distract him and move away without any resistance. He is generally the one approaching, but he does not like a strange dog approaching him. Again thank you so much for the info!
You are very welcome. Big hugs to your boy. 😀
I have a 10mo th old Jack russell Pip he is very fearful of so many things he is tiny and as a small pup out on walks larger dogs off there leads would come up to him and get too close he now has built up a fear of other dogs and shows real aggression . My mum has a parson Jack russel who is 2weeks older than pip they were great friends always playful and good 2g. We didn’t see them for a 4week period due to my mums dog being neutered when we last saw them pip was awful he growled and when she got close he bit her you could see his fear he kept running and hiding behind us. I’m at a loss with him, he has always shown aggression towards us but this is mainly if he is touched whilst napping. Walking him is awful h is scared of cars and no pulls at them barking. I’m temped to try walking him with a muzzle so he can’t hurt anyone and can’t bark at everything but don’t want him to feel in more danger. We have been to ouppy classes he was always great until one day a new dog came they both had a real problem with each other I had to stop going due to work but now feel I’m stuck I don’t feel he could now go back he would be awful I’m starting to fear leaving the house with him . Pleas give me some advice
With my Shiba Inu Sephy, we did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. Desensitization was helpful because it addresses the anxiety, and teaches my dog to be more calm and comfortable around other dogs. I talk more about our desensitization training at the end of the article above.
With anxiety issues it is important for me not only to maximize successful and calm encounters, which help my dog to build confidence, but also to minimize bad encounters and panic attacks. Negative events will undermine my dog’s confidence, significantly set back training, cause him to become more fearful/anxious, and result in even more extreme behavior.
More on how I desensitize my dog to scary noises (for example from the garbage truck).
More on dog anxiety.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent so each dog and situation are different. In addition, desensitization can be counter-intuitive and requires good timing, technique, and management. When I had problems with my Shiba, I did private consultations with several trainers. In this way, they can observe and evaluate my dog, help me come up with a good plan for retraining and management, as well as help me with timing, technique, and more. I find that private consultations are best for addressing behavioral issues with Sephy.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
Hi there,
I have own a 1year old bitch PureBreed English Bulldog. I have had to leave her with close relatives for a couple of months now untill we find a new house suitable for her. We just picked her up, and I have notice a change in her behaviour. When she was with us, she was playfull, relaxed. I could take her anywhere with us, was good with other dogs as well as people. As the family members had her with their dog a (German Sheperd bitch) my dogs come back with wounds all over her face I swear she looks like shes been in a dog fight ring. Shes become very aggressive towards other dogs, and barks at everything now.
Is there anyway to undo the damage? Please.
With my Shiba Inu (Sephy), I helped him to be more calm and relaxed around other dogs by doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. The key thing with Sephy is to not only maximize positive structured greetings, but also minimize reactive encounters, where he loses his cool and starts to bark, pull, or lunge.
I talk more about desensitization exercises at the end of the article above. I also talk about what I did to avoid reactive encounters.
Dog behavior is very context dependent, and desensitization exercises can be counter-intuitive and complex. When I started retraining Sephy, we got help from several professional trainers. They were able to evaluate and observe Sephy within the context of his regular environment and routine. Together, we identified the source of his reactivity and then came up with a good plan for retraining. They also helped me to properly manage the desensitization training, and guided me on timing and execution, which are very important.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
For aggressive behavior, it is usually best and safest to get help from a good professional trainer.