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.
Thank you for this article! My German Shepherd 2 y.o. dog is extremely gentle w people and children of all ages, but with some dogs she begins lunging and barking. I have been at my wits end and the positive reinforcement “treating only” techniques have failed because she has no interest in the treats when she gets over-stimulated. Thank you for offering some good insight and suggestions!
This is a great article and you have described my dog perfectly. I have a Shiba/jindo mix who is 50 pounds. I try to avoid other dogs on walks, and move to the other side of the street and such, as you mentioned above.
He has not been socialized much, but I always have him on a leash for walks. How do I handle other dogs whose owners let them run off leash and then come up (usually running) to greet my dog. He does not take this as a greeting and proceeds to try to bite and attack them.
thanks for your help.
Yeah, I get that too in my neighborhood. It is a difficult problem because it is really a people issue rather than a dog issue.
Here is more on my experiences with off-leash neighborhood dogs.
Hi! Love your blog! We adopted Lucy, a female, spayed pit mix several years ago. She’s a lovely, intelligent dog but she has some quirks. She will bite if startled (we understand that fear trigger and try to keep her away from stressful situations and children). Two months ago, we brought home an abandoned 5-month old mixed JRT. He is a male, thus was promptly neutered. He is gentle and submissive, though occasionally rude in his enthusiasm. He is also occasionally the object of Lucy’s redirected aggression if someone knocks on the door. Lucy will bite him in her excitement. We are working on this, too. But we have a problem we aren’t sure how to handle. The JRT, still being a pup, sometimes hurts himself while playing and will let out a yelp. This triggers an immediate attack response in Lucy. It’s as if her little brain enters another dimension. She will come from anywhere in the house to go after him, and she is serious. Is this a prey situation? I have scolded her severely for this, and she is just contrite and confused. It’s as if she doesn’t even know why she is being scolded. At all other times, she loves the little newbie. Can you offer any help for this problem? Any suggestions on the redirected aggression would be helpful, also. Thanks so much!
I’d also appreciate some advice on how to keep her from correcting him when he is rude and invades her space. I realize that this is partly our responsibility in that we need to teach him better manners. But she is often quicker than we are and will snap at him before we have a chance to intervene. How should we react to this? As bad as all this sounds, Lucy has really welcomed having some canine company and 99% of the time, is patient and gentle with him. Thanks again.
Have you tried doing sound desensitization exercises with Lucy?
My Husky Lara was reactive to the sound of garbage trucks and coyotes when she was young. Doing controlled desensitization exercises combined with management, helped to raise her reactivity threshold, build her confidence, helped her to calm down.
In the beginning, I did the exercises with Lara alone. I make sure that my other dogs are safe and in a separate area. Then, I start playing a recording of the garbage truck sounds in soft volume. I engage Lara in doing very simple obedience commands and reward her very well for staying calm. I repeat until she is comfortable and fully relaxed, then I *very slowly* increase the volume of my recording, repeat the exercises, and so on.
After Lara was comfortable with the sounds in natural volume (what she would hear normally), I started to do exercises with the garbage truck itself. Garbage trucks come by on Tuesday, so we would practice desensitization every Tuesday, first inside the house, then close to the door, then in our front yard, and so on. Each successful exercise helped her to build more confidence, and to be more relaxed and calm.
During desensitization, I very carefully managed Lara’s environment, so that we did not accidentally meet a garbage truck during our walks. This would trigger a fear reaction, undermine her confidence, and set back our training. I only expose her to the stressful stimulus slowly, in a controlled way, and only when I am sure that she can handle it without losing control. I keep sessions short, fun, and positive. I make sure to always keep everyone safe during training, and I use management equipment (e.g. baby gates, leashes) as necessary.
More on how I do sound desensitization exercises with my dog.
In terms of introducing a new dog, and helping everyone get along, this is what I do.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent. I consulted with several professional trainers when I was going through a difficult period with my Shiba (Sephy), and it was helpful to have someone observe Sephy, teach me how to read his body language, as well as help me with technique and timing. For more serious bite issues, it is also best to consult with a professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Big hugs to Lucy and her new brother. It is very good to see that they have found such a good forever home. 😀
Hello. We recued our female Basset/Beagle mix (Dog A) in January 2013. She is older – probably over 6. She is very sweet. Cuddly. A joy.
We rescued our female Pointer (Dog B) just 10 days ago. She was under weight, had numerous rashes/skin allergies, severe itching and nawing, sad, and who knows her history. She is slightly gray in the face – so she may be over 6 yrs as well. Dog B was also very sweet, cuddly, fearful at time of doorways, and slept ALOT on our couch. By day 5, Dog B had put on a few pounds and we got the medication that she needed to help with her conditions. She is a HAPPY HEALTHY dog now.
On day 8, Dog B started trying to dominate Dog A. Dog B will stare at Dog A, cutt her off as Dog A is walking, block Dog A from my husband and I, sit close as Dog A lays on the floor.
This morning Dog B showed the first signs of aggression towards Dog A. She showed her teeth and nipped at Dog A as Dog A was approaching where Dog B was laying on the couch.
Is Dog B demanding the Alpha role since Dog A could care less? Do we allow Dog B to keep this role? Will Dog B’s aggression advance?
I don’t want to give up on this dog. Thank you!
Let me rephase my question…..
I realize we must not allow aggression. But do I do such things as feeding Dog B before Dog A? How do I keep Dog B from “bullying” Dog A? Is Dog B demanding the Alpha role because she is new? Larger? I see Dog A as the Alpha because she was “there first”. Dog A sleeps with us. Dog B sleeps on the couch. Can we continue this arrangement?
Some things that have worked well with my dogs-
1. I set up clear dog-to-dog interaction rules. For example, there is no stealing, no bullying, no humping, and no correcting each other.
2. I supervise them closely, especially when there is a new dog around. In this way, I can teach the new dog what the interaction rules are, together with the help of my existing dogs. If there are any conflicts, I will resolve them in a fair and consistent manner. I set the rules, I enforce them.
3. I do group training sessions and other fun things with my dogs together. In this way, they learn to associate other dogs with positive outcomes, rather than as competitors for resources.
4. I manage my dogs’ excitement level so that they do not lose control of themselves during play and other activities.
Here is more on what I do while introducing a second dog.
Hey! I have a boxer who usually is the kindest dog in the world, but when we meet small dogs she just snaps! She does everything she can to come close to them and try do dominate. What can I do?
Some dogs may snap at small dogs because of prey-drive.
http://sixteen-feet.com/blog/2013/4/4/prey-drive
http://www.dogways.info/the-canine-prey-drive-instinct
I do desensitization exercises to raise my dog’s reactivity threshold, and to teach him how to behave in the presence of other dogs. I make sure to keep everyone safe during training, by keeping my dog on-leash and in-control at all times.
Hi there! This problem is very recent and very shocking to me. I have four dogs. The oldest is 7, and she is a 60 pound Pitbull/boxer/lab mix, Ainsley. I received her a bit too early from an eager owner, at 5 weeks old. She has always been very energetic, athletic, and intelligent to the point that she understands how to turn doorknobs. This has resulting in replaced doorknobs from toothmarks but…you know.
The next oldest is Morgan, a 5 year old Cane Corso/Neopolitan Mastiff mix. We received her at 7 weeks old, also a bit early. She was deeply inbred and has some mental issues because of it, but we love her all the same even though she’s special needs, and she plays with Ainsley well, as Ainsley helped take care of her during puphood.
The next two are sisters, from the same litter, 4 year old Siberian Huskies Arkham and Lillith. I recieved Lillith at 7 weeks, and Arkham at 10.
Arkham is a very ‘talky’ husky. Lots of sounds come from her and she’ll stare you right in the eyes while she does the, expecting you to answer. She gets offended if you don’t. She is otherwise quiet, out of the way, calm, collected, and never aggressive. Then, there’s Lillith. She is the typical, classic husky. Fluffy, fast, and strong. She is energetic, but normally very well behaved despite being hard headed and a ‘runner’ (Arkham has never left the vicinity of the house, but Lillith will run for miles just to run). The problem is Ainsley and Lillith. Ten minutes, they can be best friends, snuggling and licking and grooming each other (a favored past-time of Ainsley) but the next, they’ll fight so hard that I need a pry-stick to break ’em up. After a 15-20 minute cool down. they are cleaning each others wounds and snuggling again, as if the previous fight never happened. They even cry if I decide to keep them separate for longer.
Arkham is clearly the omega here, and I’m certain that Lillith is planning on taking over Ainsley spot as dominant dog, as Ainsley is now officially a senior and should be beginning to slow down soon. Unfortunately for Lillith, Ains is still the reigning champ of their fights.
This is worrying me more than usual because Arkham had puppies. They are now 10 weeks old and I only have two left, and one we call a mini-Ainsley, aka ‘The Devil’ and officially known as ‘Banshee’ because of her attitude, her willingness to succeed and dominate, and her habit of LOUDLY HOWLING HER TRIUMPH OVER THIS FOOD BOWL.
She had gotten very, very attached to Ainsley, moreso even than Arkham, and Ainsley was happy to play with her. Taught her growling, stalking, pouncing, and even that it was okay to share food instead of being a jerk about it. However today, Ainsley seemed grumpy or annoyed, and bit Banshee superficially. (The wound bled alot, but no serious damage was done.) Banshee was fine after a 10 minute calm-down snuggle, and Ainsley was sitting at our glass door with her paws on it, crying. Everything about her read ‘submissive, apology’ and worry’ about ‘her’ puppy.
Is her age beginning to effect her, and her over-aggression with Lillith (Whom I have had to stop from attacking an unsuspecting Ainsley) because of her growing weakness? (Though at 7 years old and still able to pulls a 130 pound cart, I’d say she’s showing no signs of slowing…)
What helps most with my dogs, is to set up clear dog-to-dog interaction rules.
When there is a new puppy, I make sure to supervise closely and teach my puppy what are good ways of interaction and what behaviors are not acceptable. Puppies, especially Husky puppies have a lot of energy, so they will want to play and interact almost all of the time. This can become annoying, even to a usually patient adult dog, who needs some quiet time now and then. 😀
Therefore, I set up some clear rules and boundaries, and I enforce them. I make sure that my puppy has a fixed routine, and that my adult dogs can have quiet time away from puppy whenever they want it. If there are conflicts, I will resolve them in a fair and consistent manner, before it escalates into anything serious. In this way, my dogs learn that they do not need to correct each other, because that is my job. They get to enjoy each others’ company, and I get to be the bad Sheriff. 😈
Here is more on what I do at home to keep the peace-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Hi, this information is really helpful.
But I do have a question. I have a Siberian husky (unspayed), that is a year and a few months. She was raised by me since she was 8 weeks old, but I’ve been around her since she was a week old. I had 2 other dogs, one 12 year old fixed male and a 6 year old unspayed female. When she got a bit older, she started attacking the male, the second time was bad enough so she got scolded and never touched him again. Now, she’s been attacking the older female for about 2-3 months now, ever since she went in her second heat. Everytime they are close to each other, the youngest raises her fur and starts shaking and grolwing. When I’m walking with her and she meets another dog, she raises her fur and start shaking a bit (Less than with our other female). I’m not sure what to do anymore, we have to keep one locked in a room to avoid further injuries, I have also been injured stopping one of the dog fights.
Dogs can get more aggressive during their heat cycle.
My Huskies are spayed so I do not have much experience with care and management during the heat cycle. Also, given that there is injury, I would get help from a professional who can develop a safe plan for retraining as well as management strategies during the heat cycle.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
hey. I have a tibetan spaniel that is 14 months old and is aggressive with other dogs. He is great with people but the main problem with him is that he just reacts really aggressively to other dogs on walks. We have been attending a dog socialisation class on the weekends the past two weeks and he was amazingly well behaved at the school being off the leash with other dogs with no aggression. But he is still aggressive on walks and my mother gets quite upset and hesitant to take him for walks anymore. I was just wondering if the dog socialisation is the best thing we can do? or is there more to do?
We both try and tell him to stop when he gets aggressive but he gets a bit out of control. Please any advice will help. thankyou
It sounds like it could be on-leash aggression-
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/dogs-who-are-reactive-leash
With my Shiba Inu, I helped him to stay calm around other dogs by doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. I also create neutral experiences and use distance and barriers to reduce the strength of the “other-dog” stimulus. I describe more of what I do in the article above.
I have a year and a half old cockapoo. He weighs twenty pounds so he is a pretty small dog. He is perfectly fine with people but if we are in the vet or on a walk and another dog goes by, and doesn’t even look at him, once he spots another dog he makes a very high pitch noise and shows he teeth and starts to get aggressive. I yell at him but I do not know how to stop it!! He also gets that way with toys and food towards our other cocker spaniel! I am lost at what to do to stop this behavior.
With my Shiba Inu I did dog-to-dog desensitization exercises to help him be more calm around other dogs. In addition, dogs will pick up on the energy of the people around them. Therefore, to get my Shiba to calm down, I make sure to stay very calm myself, and I use distance or barriers to weaken the “other dog” stimulus.
Here are some things that I do to help my dogs get along at home.
I need help. My 5 year old beagle/terrier mix and my 1 year old rednose/staffordshire terrier mix have been fighting. It got to the point that my husband is ready to find a new home for one of them. I want to avoid that if at all possible. The first fight I am unsure of the reason because I was not in the room when it broke out, but the second was because the 5 year old growled at the 1 year old and next thong I know they are fighting. They are currently not allowed to be together which is a strain, but worth it to prevent any further fighting. What do I need to do to create a safe environment for my dogs?
Here are some things that I do to keep the peace at home with my dogs.
I would also consider getting help from a professional trainer. A professional can observe the dogs, read their body language, and help us identify the source of the aggression.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
When dogs growl – it is already a warning for “something”. With my dogs, I try to determine the root cause of the behavior, for example, what made the 5 year old growl? Was it a toy that both wanted? Did the older dog just want to rest? Did they both want to lie on the same space? What was the surrounding context? Who usually starts the disagreement?
Please help me. I have american staffordshire. He is attacking other dogs. Size doesnt matter if its a make dog i have hudge problem. I am afraid that dog control will shoot him.
He is a young dog, his name is Fluffy. When he was puppy he got bitten by other dog. Since that day he changed. Now he shows who is the boss against other dogs. His hair will stand up, he will constantly look at the other dog and then without long waiting he attacks. Most of the times he is not even listening to me. He concetrates only to the dog and nothing else. He is not a bad dog against people. Always shows his belly, give a lot of kisses. He knows a lot of comands. He is a smart dog and i love him with all my heart but this behavior is driving me crazy because i dont want to loose him.
Please, please help me.
Hello Simona,
What I have observed with my dogs is that they have certain space and greeting boundaries. For example, my Shiba Inu does not like strange dogs sniffing his butt because it is a sensitive and vulnerable area. The more negative experiences that Sephy has with other dogs, the more reactive he becomes, and the more likely he is to use aggression – not because he wants to dominate them, but simply because he views them as a threat. He is trying to protect himself and warning the other dog to stay away.
Some things that helped with Sephy-
1. I protect him from other dogs. I manage him carefully and *do not* expose him to situations that I know he cannot handle. The less he practices reactive behavior, the less likely he will repeat it. The more often he lunges and growls at other dogs, the more likely he will repeat and escalate his aggressive behavior.
2. I carefully leash train him and walk him on a secure 6 foot leash and no-slip collar. In this way, I have better control of him and we can avoid bad and negative encounters. I make sure that at worst – we avoid other dogs and do neutral encounters. I use distance and barriers to weaken the ‘other dog’ stimulus. I talk more about this in the article above.
3. In the meantime, I do dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with Sephy to raise his reactivity threshold, and to help him reassociate other dogs with positive rewards and events.
However, dog training is very context dependent. To accurately identify the source of aggressive behavior, it is important to observe the dog, evaluate his temperament, routine, and environment, as well as read his body language. Therefore, especially in cases of aggression, it is best to get help from a professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I have a 5 year old Beagle/Rat Terrier mix. When I have her on the chain by my front door- people walk by on the sidewalk and she gets aggressive as they come towards our sidewalk to the front door. If they will stop and calmly talk to her she settles down. But how do I break her of that. Otherwise she loves people. She especially loves kids.
Does she act the same way during walks or is it only when she is on the chain? Does she act the same way when you are there or only when she is alone?
Chaining can become a problem because it can cause a dog to get really frustrated when they cannot get to what they see – e.g. another dog, cat, running squirrel, etc. All that frustration can then turn into aggression. Here is a USA Today article on chaining and bad behavior.
I have a 3 1/2 year old beagle/rednose mix I adopted from the animal shelter. He lived in a kennel with 2-3 other dogs, and he did not seem to have any aggression towards other dogs. I moved away from home and a friend of mine took care of him for a year. I found out that she was not taking him for walks and often times left him alone for weekends at a time (because he had a doggy door and back yard). Because of this, my mom decided to take care of him instead. I have now had him living with me for about 9 months. He is aggressive towards other dogs during walks- pulls very hard on his leash, whines, tries to get at dog. The hair on his back also sticks straight up, which makes him look very scary to other dog owners. I have become so frustrated because he was never like this before and I thought it would just go away with time, but it has not. I recently took him to the lake where a friend had their dog also. It was stressful and exhausting at first because my dog kept trying to get at the other dog. I kept him on a leash for over an hour until he got used to the other dog being around him and then took him off. He snapped at the other dog, but then after that everything was fine. He was even around 5 other dogs later in the day and there were no problems at all, not a snap whine, or growl! I thought he was maybe “cured” of his dog aggression, but the behavior still continues during our walks. I want him to socialize with other dogs, but I’m too afraid to. I also have a trip planned at the end of this month and can’t find anyone to watch him because all of my friends have dogs. Is there any advice you can give me? I have become so frustrated and exhausted, I don’t know what to do anymore!
Thanks!
What I have noticed with my dog, Sephy, is that he has different levels of trust based on familiarity. He trusts my two Huskies the most, so he is very tolerant with them. He plays well with them, they sleep together, and they eat together.
He acts differently with dogs we meet during walks, especially with new dogs because there is no trust yet. This is a good survival instinct because a new dog could be dangerous, could be be a threat, and could attack him. For this reason, he does not let new dogs sniff his butt. This is not too unlike greetings with people – we may hug a person we trust, and just shake hands with new people that we meet.
Here is more on “the friendly dog”.
To help Sephy be more relaxed around other dogs –
1. I do dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with him to help raise his tolerance threshold. Desensitization also teaches him to associate other dogs with positive events and to use alternative behaviors for dealing with his stress. I talk more about the desensitization exercises that we did in the article above.
2. I protect Sephy from rude dogs, I do not expose him to situations that he cannot handle, and that will end in a negative way. The more negative experiences that he has where he practices aggressive behavior, the more negatively he will view other dogs, and the more likely he will repeat his aggressive behavior. Similarly, the more positive encounters that he has, the more relaxed and comfortable he will be around other dogs. I discuss more of this in the article above. Here is more on dog socialization.
3. Here is how I help my dogs get along at home.
Each dog is different in terms of temperament, background, routine, and more. As such, they have different tolerances towards people, other dogs, and new environments. Some dogs are very tolerant, some dogs are protective over their personal space, some dogs just want to play with every other dog that they see. I am more of a loner myself, so I do not expect my dogs to be friendly with all the dogs that they see. We ignore most dogs (neutral event), and we only meet friendly dogs that I know will result in a positive experience.
What has worked well for me is to observe my dogs carefully, see where their stress is coming from, and then help them work through that stress so that they are able to live a happier and more comfortable life, in our very human-oriented world. Getting help from a good professional trainer can also be helpful.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I’ve worked for various shelters over the years and help run a pit bull rescue these days, and I just love your summary here and would love to link to it in our recommended training resources. It’s the perfect summation of many socialization tactics we describe to foster parents and adopters alike…and is a very entertaining read!
I personally feel where you’re coming from with your Shiba; the primary issue I have when training and socializing our new pitties is the intense focus they have on other dogs (either very positive or very negative, depending on the individual). Even if they appear to be minding their manners in a down-stay in the presence of other dogs, their focus is usually completely on the other animals and not at all on their handler! It’s both frustrating and entertaining to recognize that vibrating quiver the new guys get when they’re in a stay or are otherwise restrained but just REALLY want to do nothing in the world more than launch up and body slam the nearest dog.
LOL! Yeah I love watching Pitties play. They are so athletic, energetic, and so into wrestling. They are also such good looking dogs with all that solid muscle. One time a Pit ran into me while playing with Sephy – that took my legs out from under me and he barely broke stride. 😀
Thanks for your wonderful comment and four paws up for helping out dogs who have had a tough life.
I am a volunteer at a local shelter. We currently have a foxhound mix that is adorable and playful on leash and through a fence but every time we try to let her play with another dog, she erupts into an aggressive dog, often drawing blood. We have tried her with many of our tried and true “test” dogs and she just seems to snap. We remove all toys, food etc so there is no trigger. Her behavior changes so quickly it is unpredictable. She has been known to be a resource guarder but has not shown fear type of aggression. We walk her with other dogs and she seems fine but free play never ends well. Any suggestions?
Hmmm, when she is walked with other dogs, are they walked close together? Is she ok with other dogs being in her space?
Is her play style different when she plays on-leash? Is she never aggressive on-leash? How long does she play on-leash? Does she play in the same environment and with the same dogs on-leash?
Does the aggression start right away during free play, or does play go on for a while before the aggression behavior? What is her play style like during free play? Is she more excited in free play? What else is different between on-leash and free style play (other than the aggression)?
What do the trainers at the shelter say about her behavior?
There can be many different reasons for dog-to-dog aggression. She could be protecting her space, she could be over-excited, she could be responding to certain actions from the other dog, she could be responding to the environment, etc. I think the key would be to determine the differences between on-leash and free-play, which will help to identify the things that may trigger the aggression.
My female German Shepherd just attacked my parents female German Shepherd. They were interacting just fine, then the kid (my parents male shepherd) began playing “chase me” around the house with a toy. My Shepherd must have been over stimulated…not sure…but she went for the other female and started attacking her face. She made her ear bleed and cut her under her eye. What the heck happened? I’m so confused and upset. Any thoughts?
Are both dogs spayed? As you say, play may also turn into something more serious when the dogs are over-excited. A dog may also get possessive or protective over another dog.
With my dogs, I supervise them closely during play and set up clear and consistent play rules. I enforce the play-rules and also throw in many play breaks to manage their level of excitement.
If there is a new dog around, then I am even more careful with introductions and supervision. I always err on the side of caution, and use breaks liberally so that all my dogs have a chance to calm down, and refocus on me. The key is to manage them, keep things relaxed, and prevent any kind of tension from forming – i.e. I want to prevent fights *before* they occur.
Each dog is different though, including their temperament, routine, and environment. Therefore, in more serious cases of aggression, where there is bite-penetration and bleeding, it is best to get help from a professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
We have a 6 month old lab puppy. He was a rescue at 3 weeks where I bottle feed him along with many many many medical issues as a newborn. He is now a healthy pup. We just moved from a 6 acer lot to about an acer :/ and we now have dogs on both sides of us which has lead to very aggresive behaviors. He charges the fence and today he cleared it along with biting the dog next door. Thank god it wasn’t to horrible. We have tried to take him to the dog park also to socialize him but he does the same thing. We are at a lost of what to do. He is very energetic and I’m wondering if maybe he isn’t getting the exercise he should be getting. I’m currently prego and my husband works long hours. We walk him at lest twice a week along with ball play and tug of war with him and our other dogs everyday. My dogs are my babies and it just breaks my heart to think that I can’t handle him on walks and how he might react when the baby comes, so we need to bite this in the butt ASAP. If you have any suggestions we would greatly appreciate it!!! TIA
Yeah, I found that places like the dog park are too high stimulus and too unstructured to do proper socialization exercises with my dog (Sephy). In fact, Sephy ended up learning a lot of bad habits at the dog park and his behavior actually worsened.
Here is a bit more on our dog park experiences.
1. What worked well with Sephy is to do controlled desensitization exercises with other dogs. I talk more about what we did in the article above in the desensitize section.
2. Also, Sephy does a lot better with small, structured play groups, with dogs that I carefully pick to suit his play style and temperament.
3. Daily exercise is also important with Sephy. When he was young, I walked him 3-5 times a day for at least 1 hour per walk. At the time, I also got help from a dog walker.
Now Sephy is older and less energetic, so I walk him for at least 1 hour *every day*, he plays with my two Sibes, he works for all of his food through obedience commands and interactive toys, and more. The more exercise Sephy has, the more calm he is.
We also got help from several professional trainers to troubleshoot Sephy’s reactivity towards other dogs.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Here is a bit more on dog socialization.
Hugs to your pack. Let us know how it goes.
Hi I have 2 x almost 3yr old malamute x red cattle (female is dominate) who we tried to socialise from a young age with not much luck as our male got attacked when he went to the dog park so we kept trying to walk them and now we have to walk them at 10pm at night somewhere where no one walks their dogs because as soon as they see another dog they lunge bark chuck themselves in the air and have major troubles refocusing I dont believe that they are doing this aggressively what can we do as they are a little chubby n need the exercise do walk them separate as they go eachother when another dog is around they do know basic commands sit drop stay not that they always listen hope you have some helpful tips .
With Sephy I *first* did desensitization exercises to raise his reactivity threshold. With desensitization, we start with a very weakened version of the stimulus in a controlled environment. In this way, our dog can stay in control and is still capable of learning and listening to us. Once Sephy becomes reactive, he is in instinct mode and is no longer capable of learning. Therefore, I always try to keep him below instinct threshold. If he becomes reactive, I have missed a valuable learning opportunity. All I can do is remove him from the area as soon as possible so that he can calm down and not practice his reactive behavior.
I talk more about the desensitization exercises we did in the article above.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
With dog socialization, I find that it is important to control the environment that I expose my dogs to so that they do not get overwhelmed. For dog socialization to “work”, I want to maximize successes and positive experiences. Here is a bit more on dog socialization.
Getting help from a professional trainer can also be helpful. With Sephy, we found trainers who have access to well-behaved dogs that we can do training exercises with.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Great tips and everything seems well researched or thought out. Thanks for the great tips.
I might as well ask you a question too. I just adopted a big boxer who was found as a stray. He shows the signs too as he’s a scavenger and loves dumpsters and trash. I’m working on those bad habits and he’s doing well. He’s very sweet and extremely calm around other big dogs, but his problem is with the small dogs. I believe he sees some just as prey to toy with. He’ll lunge at them and get on top to dominate. Before I know it the little one fights back and I have to throw myself in there. He doesn’t seem to try to hurt them because I’ve felt the pressure of his jaw on my finger and he’s holding back but it still bothers me that he has this behavior. I’ve applied the tips from your site and they’ve worked great. He can stare calmly or we can move along quickly but I’d like to fix the issue so he can be around any dog. Any tips for this case? Thanks!
Yeah, my Shiba is also like that. He likes to wrestle and play-rough and little dogs do not like that.I pick his play-friends carefully so that everyone can have a good time.
Also, there are many greeting signals that pass between dogs when they first meet. Certain greeting behavior, for example, a dog that invades another dog’s space without permission may get corrected. Here are more of my thoughts on “the friendly dog”.
For things like enclosed dog-parks and such, the only thing that comes to mind is to train a strong recall. In this way, we can call our dog away when he approaches smaller dogs or dogs that may not want to play.
http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-articles/teaching-your-dog-to-come-when-called
Hi – Thanks for all of the great information on your site. I have an Australian Cattle Dog that is reactive to other dogs and sometimes people who look “different” and who are moving towards us. We normally move her away (across the street, behind a car, etc.) to keep her under her reaction threshold. You mentioned in one of your tips that you do not allow your dog to star at another dog, and I would like to get your thought on something. When our dog sees another dog, she often immediately goes into a down position, staring and trying to slink forward toward the other dog, which I think is a herding behavior. When she’s in this position, it’s nearly impossible to move her away without dragging her in the down position. It’s been our experience when this happens that it seems best to allow her to stay there watching the other dog and getting a treat intermittently when she breaks her attention on the dog and looks to us. Often, if we try to move her away when she’s in this position, she just gets more frustrated and will react. Even when she’s not in a down, she’s always less likely to react if we stop to watch the dog while I ask her to do tricks like shake, touch, etc. for rewards. If we try to keep moving, she just keeps trying to stop and watch the dog and will get frustrated and react. How would you handle this situation?
Hello Jen,
Each dog is different, so I can only talk about my experiences with my own dogs. I currently have a Shiba Inu and two Siberian Huskies (no herders).
1. Sephy (Shiba Inu)
With Sephy, if I stay still and let him watch, he will get even more reactive when the other dog comes near. He spends the whole time obsessing, and if the other dog comes close enough, he would explode from his crouching position in a burst of energy. The more times I let him obsess, the more likely he will spring into action from a greater distance.
What helped most with Sephy are the desensitization exercises, which helped to raise his reactivity threshold. Then he can tolerate more during our walks, and we can ignore dogs from across the street. It is best if he does not go into an obsessive state, because then, he is no longer capable of learning. However, if he does get into that state, then I always remove him from the situation as quickly as possible.
He is a smaller dog though, so I just walk away from the other dog at a brisk pace until he calms down. I do not stop until he breaks away and is in control of himself again.
2. Shania (Sibe)
With Husky Shania, I let her watch the other dog if she wants to. This is because Shania is not as reactive, she is calm when watching, and she is more than willing to give me her attention for rewards. However, there is this one little dog that always causes her to lose it. It is strange because she is ok with all the other small dogs in the neighborhood. The owner of that dog is a bit fearful, so that could be a factor, but the dog himself seems pretty relaxed.
I move us away as soon as I see this dog, hopefully before Shania starts to react. If I don’t see him early enough, I move Shania into a driveway and behind a car. Having a barrier helps a lot with her.
3. Lara (Sibe)
In the beginning, I let Lara stop and watch. However, not too long ago, she started going into the crouching down position, and started to obsess even though the other dog was across the street. Then, she tried going into the road to get to the other dog.
Now, I move her along. If she makes a fuss or tries to charge the other dog, I no-mark, hold the leash close to her collar so I have good control, march her home, and end the walk. She enjoys her walks so that seems to work well with her.
In general, I first try the least disruptive strategy and see if the behavior gets better, does not change, or gets worse. If it gets better, then that’s definitely a keeper. If it does not change, then I will usually stay the course for a while to see what happens. I make sure to observe very closely for any small changes. If it gets worse, then I try something else until I find something that works. I also make sure to always be aware of my own energy, and to always stay very calm and decisive.
Hi, its been very interesting reading this piece and all the comments, my situation seems a bit different – Gordie is a large yorkie – most yorkies are tiny dogs but some of the orginal yorkies were larger, 22lbs, Gordie walks with his pack of dogs everyday with his dog walker, and for the most part he is happy easy going and loves being around dogs. However this MUST be a scent that certain dogs give off that trigger aggression in Gordie – he goes from zero to 100 in seconds. I always walk him on a leash, and usually wearing a harness but there is no way to know WHICH type of dog will trigger this insanely aggressive reaction. Gordie “sees” or “smells” the dog faster than I – and the dog can be across the street – or at a distance ( meaning there’s alot of space between Gordie and the ‘trigger’ dog) and BOOM – he just goes nuts. And he NEVER forgets the trigger dog – one dog is a collie, bur the other two dogs are different species, sizes, color. I used to ell at him we he behaved like this but I read NOT to do that, so I speak calmly to him, try to block his view of the dog with my body, kneeling down so he can look at me, and focus on me… I try to move Gordie along ( which he won’t do and even after the dog has moved along – Gordie wants to chase after him, he keeps looking back knowing the direction the trigger dog went it and keeps wanting to chase after him or walk in that direction. He will calm down after a few minutes. I have NO way of knowing why some dogs trigger this reaction in him and WHICH dog at any time will trigger this reaction in him. I have a retractable leash but I lock the leash so he stays close to me.
Im convinced its the scent of the dog that triggers him because the first time I saw him behave like this – the dog was not in his visual range – we had stepped in an elevator in my apt building -G was on the leash, and he got very agitated – as soon as the door opened, he bolted in the direction of the dog who by then was OUTSIDE the building and still not within visual range. Normally when elevator door opens Gordie waits for me exit first, and then looks at me for a decision as to which way we will leave the building. But this time he was on a mission and just bolted in the direction of the back door – finally making visual contact with the trigger dog where he went agitated to aggressive.
I am truly baffled as to understand what causes this aggression and why he reacts as he does. But when it happens I stay calm and try to create huge space between him and the trigger dog but its not easy.
Any thoughts?
sorry this >>>>> I used to ell at him we he behaved like ….should read” I used to yell at him when he behaved like this…
Hello Tara,
When walking my dog, I use a 6 foot leather leash. I find that the leather leash gives me a lot more control because I can very quickly change leash length and tension. The closer I place my hand to the collar, the better control I have.
As for what is triggering the dog reactivity behavior, sometimes it can be difficult to tell. Our dogs can smell things that we cannot, and catch canine body language that may not be apparent to us. Controlled desensitization exercises with a variety of different dogs, helped my Shiba Inu become more relaxed during walks, and helped to raise his reactivity threshold. Getting another set of eyes, especially a professional set of eyes can also be helpful.
Thank you for sharing your advice with us. I read your article as well as most of the posts here, but my problem is a little different in that I’m not sure if my dog is being aggressive. She’s a 3year old lab pit-bull mix and up until about a month ago she always behaved very well towards other dogs (I’ve had her for over 2 years now). She goes to daycare twice a week where she interacts with some 20+ dogs each time and has never had a problem there (I asked, they said she’s one of the best behaved dogs they have). However, recently, when she’s with me, sometimes sniffing or meeting another dog very suddenly bursts into jumping and growling all over them. She’s never bitten or scratched them – despite having had the opportunity – so I don’t know if this is just some weird form of play or what’s going on? She doesn’t do it with dogs she knows. A couple times she did it with dogs she didn’t know and I pulled her off them and held her for a minute or two until she calmed down. Then I let her go with the other dog still there and no problems –she will ignore them for the rest of the time. Also this only happens with some dogs and usually it’s actually the calmer ones. She will let excited puppies and small dogs nip her ears and jump all over her and even though I can tell she’s sometimes a little annoyed, she just walks away. However, at the same time, I’ve also noticed that other dogs are behaving more aggressively towards her (even showing teeth and acting like they would bite given the chance). I presume she’s sending some signal that’s instigating this…? I’m trying to observe her more carefully but I really don’t know what I should be looking for or how to interpret it. Any advice?
Dog behavior is very context dependent, so it is difficult to say what is causing reactive or aggressive behavior without knowing the dog or seeing the behavior. This is where getting help from a professional trainer can be helpful.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
My Shiba Inu, for example, would get reactive sometimes because he is over-excited and wants to meet other dogs. Holding him back with the leash would turn that excitement into frustration, and then he would redirect that frustration back onto the leash with biting and jumping.
Other times, he would get reactive because of what he *sees* as threatening gestures from other dogs. For example, he does not like strange dogs sniffing his butt. Here’s why.
Some dogs may also get protective over their people, protective over space, or protective over food and toys.
Some dogs may be fearful when new and strange dogs invade their space and force a greeting.
Dogs also pick up on the energy of the people around them. If the people around are fearful, stressed, or uncertain, our dog may pick up on that, and start to get stressed himself.
I try to set my dogs up for success and I pick the dogs and people that we meet very carefully. Sephy does not like dominant dogs, so we only stop to meet larger dogs that are relaxed and playful. I do not expect my dogs to be friendly with all the dogs that we see. Most of the time, we ignore other dogs, especially if we have not seen them before.
http://shibashake.com/dog/my-dog-is-friendly
Some things that helped me with Sephy in terms of reading his body language-
1. Spend a bunch of time observing him (some people will also record their dog and watch things back in slow motion).
2. Spend a bunch of time observing him interact with friendly dogs.
3. Reading books on dog body language. Turid Rugaas is probably most well known for her work in this area, but there are many other books.
On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals
4. Get private lessons from a good professional trainer. A trainer can meet with Sephy, observe his behavior and interactions with other dogs, give me pointers on how to read his body language, as well as provide suitable dogs for retraining.
5. We did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with Sephy. These exercises are structured and safe, and they gave me many opportunities to observe Sephy while in the proximity of other dogs. It also helped Sephy to get more comfortable around other dogs, to stay more calm, and to use other behaviors for dealing with stressful encounters.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.
I inherited my mom’s 4 years old, 65 lb akita shepherd mix. He was mostly confined until last year when I moved in. I started walking him about 3-4 miles a day and although he is not as destructive nor jumping on people but he doesn’t like other dogs. I switched to a gentle leader because he was backing out of the harness and/or collar and am better able to control him. He goes crazy if we see another dog, or even smell one from as far as 1/2 mile away. He pulls and tries to overtake the dog. I will pull him off the trail and try to hide, but sometimes it is impossible to break the sight. I try to get out before most people are on the trail but with the weather getting better, more folks are up and about early. The some dogs may be calmly walking along but he still goes crazy. At the vet, we have to go through the back door or wait in the car until the waiting room is empty to go in and even then when other dogs come out, he is crazy in the car. One time, he even went crazy over the dog scuplture in the waiting room. What can I do? He doesn’t act bad around people and my mother wants to keep him. She also wants a cat, but I am afraid he will kill it. Help!
Yeah, my Shiba Inu (Sephy) was also pretty reactive to other dogs. We did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with him, which helped to raise his instinct threshold.
The key with desensitization exercises is to start with a weakened version of the other-dog stimulus so that Sephy could still be in-control and could still learn from the experience. Once Sephy starts to react, it is too late and the best that I can do is remove him from the situation. Otherwise, he will just keep amping-up and start to associate those feelings and behaviors with other dogs.
My old house was in a more busy area, so initially we would drive Sephy to a quiet trail for our walks. We also took him to our local SPCA for desensitization sessions with the dogs there. We did the exercises with one of their trainers, and with different dogs that they picked based on Sephy’s temperament. We only did exercises with one dog at a time, but we would switch through 2-3 per session.
Given what you describe, it may be best to consult with a professional trainer, preferably one who has access to calm dogs that she can use to help with training.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
what do you do if there is an off leash dog and your dog is aggressive towards other dogs? I have a small dog and most off leash dogs in my neibhorhood are bigger than her.
Here are some of my experiences with off-leash neighborhood dogs. There is a discussion on what people do in the comments section, but the off-leash dog issue is really more of a people issue rather than a dog issue. As such, to really fix it, we would need a people solution.
I also do dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with my dog to help raise his reactivity threshold and to help him be more comfortable around other dogs.
Hello, I have 2 pit bull terriers, a female who is 4.5 and a male who is roughly 2(found him on the street and he appeared to be around 6 months at that time. They have been great around each other for the past year and a half. 1 month ago a stranger entered my front yard while I doing yard work. Both dogs were in the fenced in side yard, within 12 seconds of that stranger appearing the female went CRAZY. She locked down on the male with a death lock and WOULD NOT LET GO. After about 30 seconds of me rolling around on the ground with them she finally let loose but still did not want to stop her attack. I kept them separated for about 2 weeks then gradually let them get back around each other by leaving my back door open and letting them wonder in and out as they pleased. I moved last week and of course they came along. They where looking around their new yard and I was on the outside of the wooden privacy fence, I stuck my head over to check on them and gave a little whistle to grab their attention, I do not know if they ever saw me though. I continued to wash my truck and about 2 minutes later the horrific sounds of a dog fight caught my ear, I open up the gate a sure enough the female is locked down again. I love both of these dogs greatly and need help.
It sounds like it could be barrier frustration combined with redirected aggression.
For retraining, I would get help from a good professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression/comment-page-2#comment-78690
Lets start by saying we have a Siberan Husky (full blooded) 2.5 yrs and a german Shepard Husky mix 3 yrs old. Our problems started when the mix jumped the full blooded husky. We watched them VERY closely for a long time, and when they were finally getting along, REALLY WELL, we let them be together alone. NOW, 1 yr later, we are going thru this again. They attacked each other while we were gone, came home and found 2 bloody messes. They did a good job of messin each other up, and they seemed to be doing well. Today, when we brought the Full blooded home from the vet, (got staples removed from the first fight 2 weeks ago) the mix went after the full. We broke that one up, Brought the full blooded in the house to cool down, and then we ALL went outside. After about 5 mins of being outside, the full blooded went after the mix. It took 2 adults to get them apart. We brought the mix in after that fight to calm them both down. Both are fixed, both have been great dogs and wonderful around the children, but we can’t figure out for the life of us, why they are fighting each other. We are trying to figure out a way to make this stop so we don’t have to let one go. They are both our rescue dogs and are a huge part of our family………
Given what you describe, it is probably best to get help from a professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
To identify what is actually triggering the aggression, and come up with an effective retraining program, it will be necessary to observe the dogs in their environment, get to know their temperament, and understand their routine.
When there are issues between my dogs, I go back to basics and quickly introduce more structure into the situation. When they are in the same area, I make sure they are leashed and under control, so that they do not engage in more negative interactions with each other (my dogs are not leash aggressive).
I use distance to make sure that they are able to stay calm, and focus on me, instead of on each other. Then I keep their focus by engaging them in something positive. The key is to create neutral and positive experiences, so that they learn to ignore each other and be calm from a distance. Greater structure and management will also prevent them from practicing aggressive behaviors during the retraining process, which is very important.
I recently took my 14month old male GSD to a dog walk. He was nervous meeting new people. After some reassurance from me and the strangers approaching him with palm open, he relaxed enough that the people could approach him and pet him without reaction. I tried to remain calm and tell him to sit or down if he got alittle overwhelmed. He was fine with the puppies there, and sniffed some adoption young dogs behind a fence. Then a 10 month old Wolf/Malamute mix came. That dog was friendly and unreactive to my GSD. My GSD then charged the mix. He would stop mid charge when i called him back or when the leash ran out. The owner of the mix and I tried to get the two to tolerate each other by allowing them see each other at different distances, but my GSD would continue to charge him. The mix was able to just be outside of the leash range. At one point he even broke the choker and was free, but he immediately stop the charge and came back to me before I could call him back. I made him sit or go down after a charge and moved him away from what I thought he was charging at. At times, I couldn’t tell if he was reacting to the dogs or the owners. He never raised his fur before a charge or barked. He also don’t pull. The only time his fur raised, was just after we arrived. My GSD was 105 at 10 months… and might be pushing 120+ now. It concerns me of this charging behavior. This was his first outing with strangers and strange dogs. Any insight would help
It sounds like meeting so many new people and new dogs may be a bit much, especially for a first outing.
With my dogs, I have found that it is best to start the socialization process in a more controlled setting, and then only very slowly increase the environmental challenge over time.
For example, I start by introducing my puppy to other healthy puppies in a controlled class context. Then, when my puppy is fully vaccinated, we start to go on neighborhood walks and only meet single friendly dogs briefly, and so on. I ignore and move on if the other dog is too excited, not in good control, or does not have loose body posture. I also ignore and move on if my dog is stressed, or overly excited.
When both dogs are calm and relaxed, then the possibility of a successful greeting is much greater. The more successful greetings a puppy has, the more confident he will become, and the more he will learn to associate other dogs with positive outcomes. If a successful greeting is not possible, then I just move on and create a neutral experience.
We also did a lot of desensitization exercises with our Shiba Inu. Desensitization helped him to gain confidence, helped to raise his reactivity threshold, and also taught him new ways to deal with the stress of meeting new dogs.
I have a 22 month old male border collie, he is extremely smart, does agility, has 4 walks/jogs a day… has 2 ‘trick’ sessions per day… so he is well exercised and will still try to bring the lead to me at the end of the day… I have read alot of articles on dog aggression as my dog is CONSTANTLY being attacked, and nastily attacked… my dog has only ever responded to an attack twice, never actually biting the other dog but snapping and showing teeth while moving backwards as the other lunges. I only know of one dog that he is completely himself around and comfortable, and even that dog snarls at him and snaps from time to time.
I was wondering if this could be because my dog is a true typical border collie who believes everything that exists is there to be hearded… he lies down and just stares at them, and when they come over he either stays lay down or sits up, but after about five seconds i notice a change in the other dogs behaviour ( they stand very upright and become twitchy) and then my dog suddenly goes stiff or very twitchy (on the odd ocassion he goes stiff and jumpy first) and the next thing i know my dog is nearly getting torn to pieces and i have to jump in the middle of it and literally take the other dogs bites while blocking my dog who is trying to retreat (99% of the time) obviously i can’t train pure instinct out of my dog (that border collie stare is pretty darn hard to control, even a behaviourist said to me i could train the action of hearding away but not the stare, thats why now he lays still, he used to try and round things up as soon as he seen them), but as soon as he sees another dog he is straight down and refuses to budge, there is no way to get him up you can try to pull him up and he will not move….
Everyone says he is amazing and one of the nicest dogs they know, he lets puppies bite him etc when they are trying to play and lets children play with his face and open his mouth to see his teeth haha but he just becomes very nervous around most dogs now, could it be because of this stare that he is always getting into trouble? and could it be that he has been attacked so much already at such a young age dog meetings just scare him?
please help 🙁 i love my dog and i want him to be happy and comfortable while out exercising, i’d take a thousand bites from dogs to protect my dog (i’m definately in double figures now anyway), but i just wish there was something i could do
Hmmm, I am not sure I fully understand. Are the dogs that are attacking him unsupervised off-leash dogs?
With my Shiba Inu, I have found that the key with meeting other dogs, is to make sure to set him up for success.
– I only let my dog meet calm and friendly dogs (loose body posture) that are well supervised and under good control.
– Other times, we just ignore, move on, and create neutral experiences.
– I observe closely during greetings and positively interrupt my dog, so that he refocuses on me and does not get over excited.
– As soon as I see the beginning of any stress or tension, I will quickly end the greeting and move on.
As you say, many negative experiences will teach a dog to fear other dogs, see them as a threat, and/or associate them with stress and anxiety.
Shiba Sephy can be pretty high-strung, so it is very important for me to prevent negative meetings. In addition, I help him to reassociate other dogs with positive outcomes through controlled desensitization exercises.
Here is a bit more on our experiences with off-leash dogs.
My name is Caitln. I have a dog, Harry who is 5, Two Cats, one is. 18 and the other is 16. We recently rescued a dog through a family friend in October. She is 3 years old and what appears to be a mix of Pointer, Spaniel and Boxer. Her owners left her outside and was never allowed inside the house. She spent Winter, And Summer outside with nothing more than a old dog house for shade.
For the most part she is well behaved. However, she chases the cats and I believe she tries to eat them. My cats hide and avoid her for the most part. My cat who gets along with our Golden Retriver is terrified of the new dog, hissing and growling whenever she is near.
Lucy, our new dog, gets along fine with other people and our own dog.
However, recently she has become aggressive towards other dogs, except the one she lives with. In the car she will bark and growl at another dog going by, same with when walking. Recently at a dog groomers she attacked another dog. The dog was older and had a tumor on its back apparently. It ended up with a scratch on its ears and two puncture wounds on its neck and growled at the other dogs.
A few months ago we went out of town and took her to a dog hotel. Apparently she got along fine with the other dogs.
We have some trouble walking her do to the fact she pulls, Harnesses don’t work, we have a choke collar that works somewhat.
We really need help before she hurts another dog. She is a sweet girl and loves people. We really don’t want another incident.
With my Shiba Inu, I did dog-to-dog desensitization exercises to help raise his reactivity threshold towards other dogs. Desensitization teaches him to better cope with his stress, and helps him to reassociate other dogs with positive outcomes. With desensitization, it is *very* important to do training in a controlled environment and start with a weakened version of the stimulus. With other dogs, we can use distance to weaken the strength of the stimulus. In this way, our dog will still be able to listen to us, and learn from the experience. Then, as we make progress, we can very slowly increase the challenge.
I describe what I did in the desensitization section above.
With dog-to-dog aggression issues, getting help from a professional trainer can also be very helpful.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
As for cats, I do not have any cats at home, so this is not something that I spent a lot of time on with my dogs. Here is an article from the ASPCA on introducing a cat to a new dog.
My dog is a 5-yr, 55lb, spayed female German Shepherd, and it would take a dissertation to fully explain her behaviors – she is hyper, nervous, anxious, sensitive, fearful, very smart – and very aggressive towards dogs smaller than her. Not just little dogs – any dog smaller than her. Big dogs, same size dogs, she’s nervous and anxious – but the smaller the dog, the faster and more aggressive the reaction (when I don’t catch it in time). The closer the distance, the more aggressive the reaction too, but I see this small-dog aggression even from a distance.
Last week, a loose half-grown puppy ran up to us – the puppy was pretty neutral, friendly and curious. It wasn’t until the puppy and my dog were sniffing (appropriately) that I could see the puppy was about 10lbs lighter than mine – and it was like seeing a light switched in my dog an instant later when she realized it too, from cautiously friendly sniffing to tail-up, hackles-up, nipping-bullying, and then the other dog owner got ahold of her dog and they left.
I can’t ask you to diagnose or fix things via internet, but I am curious whether this is something you’ve seen – small-ER dog aggression? What is behind it other than prey drive (since these small dogs are rarely running)? I don’t want to humanize too much, but could it be along the lines of cowardice/bullying like I’m thinking?
The other significant piece to her dog-aggression is that when I step in, she steps back – which is to say, when we’ve been charged by truly aggressive dogs (three different instances I can recall, one of which bit my dog on the tail) – and I get angry and roar commands at the other dog – my dog doesn’t act aggressive at all, she just stands there and watches. Beyond knowing her usual nervousness, that tells me that fear factors into her reactions to other dogs (and probably that my pack-leader efforts are not enough to overcome her anxiety/aggression on a day-to-day basis). At the same time, inside the house she is calm, quiet, and obedient – I do not have dominance issues with her, or destruction issues, and I’ve weaned her off the separation anxiety.
I’ve never owned a dog as high-strung as she is, and I’m constantly trying to read more and learn more about what I can do to fix things – unfortunately, I think I’m at the point where I need to pay a trainer for one-on-one time with a calm dog in a secure space, and that’s tough to afford. I’d be happy to hear any words of wisdom you can offer.
Both my Huskies are more reactive towards certain small dogs. As you say, running can trigger prey drive, but any kind of fast movement can do the same. Some of the small dogs that we meet like moving quickly back and forth, they stare, and do high-pitch barking. This type of behavior can also trigger prey drive.
Energy is also very important. My dogs are very good at picking up my energy, the energy of other dogs, as well as the energy of their owners. For example, my Huskies remain calm when everyone has calm energy. However, if the other dog is fearful/over-excited, or if the other owner is fearful/over-excited, then that will likely get them excited as well.
Some dogs may use aggression because they are fearful of other dogs or are intolerant of rude dogs that invade their space. Here is a bit more on my experiences with rude greeting behavior.
This article by Suzanne Clothier also illustrates rude greeting behavior very well.
http://www.suzanneclothier.com/the-articles/he-just-wants-say-hi
Desensitization exercises can help to raise a dog’s reactivity threshold, help her better cope with stress, help her gain confidence, and help her reassociate an undesirable stimulus with positive outcomes.
However, it is also important to protect our dogs from bad greetings. I try to always protect my dogs from rude dogs and also from people who do not have good energy. Sometimes, that is not possible with off-leash dogs that are not properly supervised, but I do my best.
I make sure to set my dogs up for success, and only attempt greetings which I am sure will produce a positive outcome. If I am even slightly unsure, I just ignore and move on. Neutral encounters are much better than a failed greeting.
I need some help. I live in Germany and it is an off leash culture here. When owners take their dogs on walks they are off leash and run through open parks or on the street. The dogs will in turn come up to my Shih Tzu mix. She does not like it when they sniff her bottom and she will lunge forward and go after the other dog, sometimes viciously. She does have some ‘friends’ that we see on a regular basis and enjoys those encounters. What do I do, when a dog comes bounding up to my dog??? She gets nervous and there are situations when I can’t just walk quickly by the other dog.
Thanks!
Adele posted an interesting suggestion that may be helpful –
I also did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with my Shiba Inu to help raise his dog reactivity threshold.
Here is an article on some of my experiences with off-leash dogs.
I have a staffy cross, we recently got her from a rescue shelter. She has only ever lived in kennels feom 2 months of age and is now 7months old. They told us that she shares a kennel happily with another dog and is great with other dogs whilst being out for walks. We brought her home and all was well until her first encounter with another dog. I thought she would be fine with another dog so i was nervous or worried in any way as i knew the other dog to. Well every time she has greeted another dog she has litterally gone for the other dog. Now when we pass a dog we keep moving. Any suggestions on what may be causing this? Im baffled as they said how great she is with other dogs but it doesnt seem to be the case.
Does she show this behavior with all dogs, or just certain dogs? Talking with the people at the rescue will probably be helpful, to understand what kinds of dogs she prefers and what types of dogs that she may be reactive to.
Where was she rescued from? What circumstances was she in before she was rescued?
Understanding her past, will likely also help us understand her current behavior.
Hi there! I have a wire fox/jack russell mix. Naturally being this breed, I am aware of my dog’s high energy needs. He likes to play with dogs who know who they are, usually older than he and bigger. TOday at the dog park, Waldo (my dog) encountered another dog who was bigger than he and I figured the two would get along great (i later learned the dog was only 5 months old). Waldo was met with alot of barking dogs at the park, all pushing their way up against the fence until Waldo came in. Waldo is familiar with most of the dogs and they all know him to be the fastest and quickest of them all. Granted dogs all barking at one dog makes it hard for the one (which was Waldo but he can more than stand his own) The owner was overly protective from the get-go and proceeded to separate the two. This made Waldo upset and as she proceeded to do so, Waldo lunged at the dog. (I am still unsure why this seems to rile him up even more). I never engage myself in the middle but also redirect myself to pull Waldo from behind. I have to re-instate my position in the pack and Waldo is pinned on his back. After the altercation ended, the dog owner came back to the park and proceeded to have me force my dog to stand in a submissive position with his but to her dog. If the dominant structure has been established, how would this be beneficial? The owner proceeded to ask me if I was afraid of my dog or did not have control of him which was very offensive. Telling me her dog was traumatized and that this was going to help, I initially went along. Her final comments asking me if I know anything about dog psychology pushed me over the edge. Even still, her dog did not want to sniff Waldo’s private but sat in a very submissive position behind the owner. Seeing as this was 10 min after the fact, would this have even mattered?
Here is what I think of dog dominance and dog psychology.
Here is a short but useful article on dominance and dog aggression from UC Davis.
Hello, our dog is a lab/boxer/coon hound that turned 2 earlier this year, we rescued her and she seems to get along well with dogs her size and larger but has a very high aggression to small dogs or slightly smaller dogs then her. Every time we go on a walk in our neighborhood we seem to encounter one and I think I do end up tightening and tensing up cause I know how she’ll react. She growls, lunges, jumps against me, barks and does everything to get to the other dog. And all of the owners are all elderly! I feel terrible cause I can’t control her and she’s well behaved for most of the time at home and when we’re walking. I’m starting to see some aggression towards other dogs as well, just random ones. Where should I start to break her of this?
When my Shiba Inu, Sephy, was young, he was pretty reactive towards other dogs. I did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with him to get him to be more calm and relaxed around other dogs. With desensitization, it is important to always start with a weak version of the problem stimulus.
With other dogs, I use distance to weaken the stimulus, and then train Sephy to associate other dogs with being calm and with positive outcomes. I talk more about it in the article above.
During the retraining process, I also try to set Sephy up for success, and only expose him to situations that I know he can handle, during our walks. I make sure to create positive, or at worst neutral experiences by using distance and barriers. The less Sephy practices his reactive lunging behavior, the less it will become a habit.
Hello, I have a Australian Shepard mix, turning one tomorrow. The biggest issue he has is his reacting to my significant others French bull dog. I understand he feels the need to defend himself, but ideally I want him to ignore the bull dog when it stats to bark. How do I train my dog to not react to the bull dogs reactions????
With Sephy, I used dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. The key is to first weaken the strength of the stimulus by using distance. Then, I slowly build up his tolerance and teach him alternate behaviors for dealing with the stressful stimulus.
Hi, I have a rescue 11mnth old border collie, he has been very good socially with 99% of the dogs he has been introduced to. He has however taken a dislike to a boxer and black lab for reasons I cannot explain. The boxer he used to run about with, but now tries to nip everytime he sees him, and the boxer is now scared to move when he is around. He can be obsessive about dogs and people who he feels he must greet if he is off the lead. I keep him on the lead when I am in areas where he is more likely to encounter these stimuli so I can control him and move on, but he does get exercise off the lead at other time which I feel is very important. I would like to know your suggestions as to the first steps to take to get him over his issue with the boxer. I have with the black lab tried walking together a distance apart, and when calmer reducing the distance, he walked perfectly alongside her whilst moving, but as soon as the walk was over he reverted to not liking her. Any comments or suggestions would be great. Thanks
Sounds like he may be trying to herd them. Where does he try to nip?
What does he do when the walk is over? How does the Lab respond? Does he do the nipping behavior as well or something else? Is there anything else that he does to indicate “not liking her”?
Border Collies are very high energy and they can be very intense about their “job”. Since they are bred to herd, they may try to herd people and other dogs, unless redirected into doing something else.
What helps with my Huskies is to have a variety of structured activities that I can use to redirect their energy.
1. I make them work for all of their food, for example through obedience sessions, grooming, play-time, walks, etc. What is left over, I put in interactive food toys. I also follow the Nothing in Life is Free program with all of my dogs.
2. They like to dig, so when we go on walks I take them to places where they get to dig and hunt for earth critters. We also left a large section of the backyard un-landscaped so that they can dig and have fun.
3. They also like playing chasing games so I play the flirt pole with them – but with clear play-rules. None of my dogs are into Fetch, but several people have told me that their Border Collies really enjoy it.
4. Recall training and joint activity. Many work dogs enjoy doing cooperative activities with their people. Agility and various dog sports can help to refocus a dog’s attention into working together with us. There are also places that do herding training.
In terms of helping my dogs get along while at home, here are some of the things that I do.
Hi thanks for your reply it was helpful. In response to your questions. He normally mouths/nips around the face and chest area.
With the lab when we had finished walking he lunged at her with vocalisation attached. she responded with a similar reaction which then cause a small fight which did stop when I shouted at them. He now barks and put his hackles up everytime he see’s her.
Ahhh, ok. With herding, a dog will usually nip at the heels of another dog so it doesn’t sound like it.
With Sephy, doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises was helpful to get him to be more calm and comfortable around other dogs. I start with a weakened version of the stimulus, in a quiet, enclosed training environment. I have Sephy on-leash a far distance away from the other dog, who is also calm, on-leash, and focused on her trainer.
Then, I get Sephy’s attention, do very simple obedience commands with him, and reward him very well. With desensitization, we try to teach our dog’s to re-associate the problem stimulus with positive experiences and outcomes. We also teach him to use alternative behaviors when under stress.
I describe more of our desensitization experiences in the last section above.
I have a 3 year offs Lab/Pit/Beagle. She is literally the best dog I have ever owned. She does not bark at anyone – not even people who come to the door – she has never growled, nipped or anything. I have 3 kids who have rough housed with her and she could care less. She even gets along with our cat. However, get her outside and she does not get along with any other animals. My daughters can’t take her on a walk because if another dog walks by they can’t handle her. People in our neighbourhood complained to our HOA about her and I really believe that it’s because you can see the Pit in her and the ridiculous way she acts when other dogs are around. I always ignore other people and dogs when we are walking and Ellee does continue to walk with me but, for instance, if a dog gets too close she tries to attack. It’s getting so embarrassing. Is there anything I can do or do we need professional help. I was even considering a shock collar to discourage her behaviour. Thanks!
Hello Laurie,
With my Shiba Inu, Sephy, I did a lot of desensitization exercises with him to raise his comfort level around other dogs. The nice thing about desensitization is that we start off with a very weak version of the stimulus, and then slowly work our way up.
As you have observed, distance is very important when it comes to reactivity to other dogs. Therefore, when we first started training Sephy, I had him far away from the other “training dog”. The other dog was leashed and with her trainer, and Sephy is leashed and with me. I get Sephy to focus on me, we do commands, and he gets rewarded well for staying calm and working with me. If he is relaxed and doing well, I move one step closer to the other dog and so on. I describe more of our experiences in the desensitization section above.
During walks, I am very careful with Sephy and do not expose him to more than he can handle. In the beginning, he could not handle dogs being too close, so we made sure to stay a safe distance away. I walked him in more quiet parts of the neighborhood and also at non-popular hours. As his tolerance level grew, I could try a bit more, but I always take his preferences into account. For example, he does not like dominant dogs and he does not like new dogs sniffing his butt.
With Sephy, we worked with a trainer at our nearby SPCA. It was great because she had access to many different friendly and not-so-friendly dogs that we could work with, in a structured way. Trainers associated with good dog daycare centers usually also have access to many dogs that they can use in their sessions.
I have an extremely dog-aggressive German Shepherd and I want to know what the FIRST step I should take is. He is 6 years old and was never socialized very well when he came into my care. The second he sees another dog, he will try to attack it, and I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to change this behavior because he becomes obsessive over the dog the second he sees it.
I am never fearful before these encounters and I don’t immediately tighten his leash, so I don’t think my attitude is his trigger.
Any tips?
Thank you. C:
I did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization and counter conditioning exercises with Sephy to help with his dog reactivity issues. The key with desensitization is to only expose Sephy to a very weak version of the stimulus initially, weak enough that he can tolerate it and still focus on me.
In the case of other dogs, we first practiced with very calm dogs from a far distance away. We did the exercises in a quiet, enclosed space, at our nearby SPCA, with a trainer there. Both dogs are leashed and with their respective trainers. Both calmness of the dog and especially distance helps to weaken the stimulus, so that Sephy is still able to focus and listen to me. In this way, I can slowly raise his reactivity threshold and teach him new behaviors to deal with his stress.
I describe more of our desensitization experiences above.
The first step I took, was to look for a good trainer with some nice dogs that she can use to work with Sephy.
HI. I have a female border collie who is just under 6 months old. She gets on very well and shows no aggression at all to our 4 year old Jack Russel or to any member of our family. However when out walking she barks excessively and growls at any dog we meet.
What would you advise to be the best way to right this?
Some things that helped with my Shiba Inu’s dog reactivity issues-
1. Controlling my own energy. The more calm and decisive I am with Sephy, the more calm he is as well.
2. Create neutral experiences. I create space, we ignore other dogs, and move along.
3. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises.
I took in my neighbors dog, Oliver, when they lost their home. He is a german Shepard, blue healer, coyote mix – 4years old. Extremely people friendly but very dog aggressive. He came from a home with 3 other dogs and was familiar with my own small dog. He bit my small dog the first week, but I haven’t seen any aggressive behaviors since. My cousins came to visit and brought their 3 month old brown Lab and my dog freaked out. I mean barring teeth, growling and snap biting. It was scary and I guarantee if he wasn’t on a leash he would of attacked their dog. I found out that our neighbors used to have a pit bull and Oliver and him would fight when he was younger. Can this behavior be fixed? Or is it too late? I love this dog. He jumps in bed with my 4 year old and is as sweet as can be even when the house has tons of yelling kids for a party.
Please help!!!
Dogs may get aggressive over resources, e.g. food, toys, space, etc. Dogs may also guard their house/den and try to protect their family from strangers. Dogs may also get aggressive when they feel threatened. A common method of retraining is through desensitization and counter-conditioning. With desensitization we try to raise the dog’s instinct threshold and also teach him to deal with stress through alternative behaviors.
This article gives a nice general description of desensitization and counter-conditioning-
http://www.peninsulahumanesociety.org/resource/pdf/dog/DesensitizationCounterconditioning.pdf
Given the degree of aggression and his history, it is probably best to get help from a professional trainer. A good trainer will be able to observe the dog’s body language, identify his aggression triggers, and help develop an effective and safe plan for retraining.
Here is how I went about finding a trainer for my Shiba Inu.
Hi, so this is my question. I have a six year old Lab/Rottweiler mix although she is pretty small. So where to start? She has always been socialized and in the beginning she never cared what dog passed her on the street. Then a few years ago I noticed she stands her ground with her ears up and a stiff posture and may whine when another dog passes her. When she meets another dog on her leash (mostly this happens on her leash although it does happen sometimes at the dog park) she will try to tower over them. Last year she got into her first fight. Another dog attacked her at the dog park. I was able to get the dog off of her quickly but since then she has been even more standoffish with dogs on the street. I should note that when she was a puppy (I got her at 3 months from the shelter) and people approached her she used to stand in front of me and bark. I taught her she didn’t need to do that and she doesn’t bark at people when we walk. I don’t know if she’s just getting old or what but it is difficult to take her for a walk when we pass dogs behind fences she will rise up on her feet and whine. i try to distract her but she will look around me. I hope I provided enough info for you to give me some advice. Thanks!
Yeah, I am not a big fan of dog parks for the reasons you describe above. I used to take my Shiba very regularly, but he was picking up bad habits, got too excited during play, and redirected his excitement onto us when we tried to stop and calm him down.
Here is more of our dog park experiences.
Shiba Sephy was also reactive to other dogs. Here are some things that helped with him.
hi, i would love some advice if you could help me! I got a pup american bulldog bitch about 10 weeks ago at 10 weeks old, she was a little bit shy for the first week or so but has now come out of her shell. I also have two chow chows the bitch is 6 years old and my male is 2 years old, my problem is the pup likes to hump my male dog and when playing she attacks my older bitch, when i say attack i mean she plays rough and then it turns to her grabbing my bitch an shaking her, growling and lunging at her. She is also food aggressive toward the other dogs and will eat all of her food and then try to take my other dogs food from them, she isn’t food aggressive towards people though. I would be greatful for any advice about this as i wont be able to stop this behaviour when she is fully grown.
Hello Louise,
What do you do currently and what is the puppy’s response?
With my dogs, I set up very clear dog-to-dog interaction rules and play rules. Two of my most important rules are absolutely no-stealing and absolutely no-humping.
Stealing usually occurs during meal time. When meal time comes around, I get them all to do a Down and then they wait calmly. If they do not do this, then I do not prepare their food. When they are all calm, then I prepare their interactive food toys and hand them out. Then, I supervise them all closely and make sure that they give each other a comfortable amount of space to work on their interactive toys in peace. I body block them away if they get too close to each other.
I find that preventing any kind of stealing is the best way to go.
If there are any conflicts, then I will step in and resolve matters as early as possible – before it escalates into aggression. If something gets stolen, then I usually replace whatever is stolen and more to the victim. In this way, she does not need to use aggression to get back what was lost.
The thief goes to timeout and loses access to whatever is left on her interactive toy. In this way, they learn that stealing = lose food toy and lose freedom. They also learn that I will take care of any conflicts in a consistent manner, so they don’t need to correct each other or use aggression.
During play-time, I find that it is very helpful to control their level of excitement. I do this by throwing in many play-breaks. I just call them over and we do some simple obedience commands. They get rewarded well for taking an obedience break, so they are happy to come.
Here is more on what I do at home with my dogs.
OK – here is my problem which I am not hopeful can change. I hope I am wrong. I just have to be on my toes! I have 3 Yorkies – one I have had since a baby – she is almost 9 and my alpha, very respectful and confident. She is the best. Then I have an elderly retired breeding dog who is 13 and arthritic, with tumors. She is one of those dogs you start to think nothing will give up her resolve. She is tough! Had huge litters (5-6 pups each time), had a serious surgery 2 years ago, walking not easy, few teeth left but God Bless her – she doesn’t seem unhappy and will eat like a pig if I let her so we will see how she does. She is with me since she was 5. Then there is my 3rd little terror – oops! I mean terrier! She is my smallest – 5 lbs (the others 7-8 lbs), youngest at 4, from a different breeder and is technically a foster but she is a foster that never left. She isn’t spayed yet because she isn’t officially mine yet and not officially retired yet but she had very small litters, didn’t get pregnant easy so I am pretty sure she is here for good. She is different in that she will try to hump me, whine too much for attention, she isn’t that smart, has blood sugar issues so if she skips meals will occasionally seize, and can be a brat. I also love this brat! She has great qualities too – a great cuddler, never has an accident and is cute cute cute!
When my intercom buzzes or a friend shows up unexpectedly at my door it is like her brain short circuits. In a split second she turns from the sweet little brat to a vicious attack dog specifically to my elderly girl. She does the terrier thing in which she clamps her jaw down on the old ones ear and rips. It is brutal. Of course they are never together unsupervised so I break it up fast with the help of my alpha. I grab the little one and my alpha girl sits on the old girl. Its amazing she thinks to do that.
As of now I dont do anything but throw the little one immediately in her crate after each incident and once all is forgotten I let her out and again things are peaceful. They get along beautifully except for these occasional unavoidable incidents in which she gets over stimulated and freaks out. How can I get her to come back to reality before this happens, If the intercom goes off and I cant pick one up to avoid the fight is there a way to get her attention off the grandma dog of mine, I hear her scream and yell which breaks my heart not to mention what the person at the door must think. No one would believe how beautifully they get along otherwise.
Any suggestions? My poor old lady doesn’t deserve this in her golden years.
Some things that help with my own dogs-
1. Being calm
Dogs are really good at picking up on the energy of the people around them. For example, my dogs used to get really excited when the doorbell rings and I rush to the door. On the other hand, I find that if I stay calm and don’t rush, they are a lot more calm as well. Nowadays, I try to stay very calm, don’t rush, and only answer the door when there are people I am expecting. Since it is an expected visit, I can leash up puppy Lara beforehand (she is the most excitable). In this way, I have better control of the general level of excitement.
2. Desensitization exercises
Lara used to get really excited and stressed when she hears the coyotes singing at night. Doing sound desensitization exercises really helped with that. Sound desensitization can also help with excitement in response to the doorbell.
With desensitization we start with a weak version of the stimulus, e.g. a very soft doorbell sound. We want the stimulus to be weak enough that our dog will be comfortable with it. When I was training Lara, I got a recording of the coyote sounds and played it really softly. I had her on-leash and rewarded her for being calm. I also did obedience commands to get her engaged in an alternate activity. Once she was comfortable with all this, I *very slowly* increased the volume. I keep sessions short, fun, rewarding, and I always try to set Lara up for success.
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-calm-a-fearful-reactive-dog#noise
3. Crates and Timeouts
With the crate, a dog can still see outside, and may develop barrier frustration if they cannot get to what they see. In addition, my dogs sleep in their crates and they go into their crates for car rides. Therefore, I try to make it into a positive space, that they associate with safety, eating, and sleeping. For timeouts, I use a quiet, very low stimulus room in the house, e.g. the laundry room. I make sure it is safe, but very boring.
In reading your articles I find none that really fit our problem. We have 2 alaskan malamutes. 8 years old & almost 3 years old. We have had both since pups, both females & both dominate. I am the alpha in th pack. The younger has learned to be submisive to the older one rolling to her back when the older puts her in her place. But lately as the yonger approches 3, when Malamutes mature she is starting to stand her ground. It is over her food. They both have there seperate eating places and they know that. But now when the younger one sees the older one staring at her and approching her food she will give out a low warning growl. The older one will not stand for it and charges and I am pulling apart 2 dogs that sound like they are going to kill each other. Please help.
What has helped with my dogs is to establish some clear rules of interaction. I teach them rules of interaction with people and also rules of interaction with other dogs. For example, they are not allowed to hump, and they are also not allowed to steal.
During meal-times, I give each of them their own food toy. I make them work for all of their food either by following house rules, doing obedience commands, grooming, etc. Whatever is left over, I put in food toys. Each of them works on their own food toy and I supervise to make sure there is no stealing. I don’t allow them to stare down one-another, or otherwise challenge one another over resources. If I see anyone starting any of these behaviors, I no-mark (No or Ack-Ack) and I get them to do something else.
In general, I find that it works out best to prevent stealing before it occurs. If there are conflicts, I will step in and deal with it ~before~ it escalates into something more. If a dog manages to steal something, I make sure that the other dog gets back whatever is stolen and more. The one who steals loses her freedom temporarily with a brief timeout.
In this way they learn the following-
Stealing = lose freedom and resources.
They also learn that if there are conflicts, I will handle it. Furthermore, they will get back their stuff and more, so there is no need to use aggression to protect their belongings. I will protect their belongings, and make sure everything is fair and everybody follows the rules.
Here is more on what I do to keep the peace at home.
In cases of aggression, it is always important to keep safety as a top priority. Dogs who are in the middle of a fight, may sometimes redirect their aggression onto us if we try to restrain them. In most aggression cases, it is usually best to get help from a professional trainer and to always use proper safety measures so that nobody gets hurt.
A professional can observe a dog’s body language, identify triggers that are causing the aggression, and come up with a safe re-training plan. Desensitization exercises, for example, can be used to help a dog re-associate negative events (e.g. a dog approaching during meal time) with something positive. It can also be used to teach the dog alternative behaviors for dealing with stress and threats.
i have a 2 yr old lab and when she was a puppy i lived with my in laws that had 2 other dog that were very aggressive towards her. now she is very aggressive towards dogs. i have tried to get other dogs and had to find them new home because she would attack them. is there anything that i can do to try and break her of this. i would love to get her a companion but if i dont break her of this i cant
With Sephy, we did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. Desensitization exercises helps the dog to re-associate a previously negative stimulus with something positive. It also teaches him alternative behaviors for dealing with stressful events.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
Sephy did a lot of desensitization exercises with friendly dogs at a nearby SPCA. The SPCA trainer would initially have the other dog engaged (on-leash), and we would practice the exercises with Sephy from a distance (also on-leash). We did the exercises in a quiet fenced-in compound at the SPCA.
It’s not really a comment but a question. I have a and a half year old unfixed male husky, no matter what I try (he wont even go for a treat while he is out for a walk) he is agressive to any male dog. I have tried distraction and nothing has worked, by chance do you have any tips to get him out of it?
Further more I got him when he was 9 months old I was his 4th home the reason his last owners couldnt keep him was from agression with their old dog that they had to take back, and the other owners were abusive, could this have started his behavior?
That is certainly a possibility. Having to go through abuse, especially at a young age, will often have a big effect on both dogs and people.
Sephy was also dog-reactive when he was younger. Two things that helped him most-
1. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises (also called systematic desensitization).
The key to desensitization is to train the dog in a structured and controlled environment. Initially, we only expose the dog to a very small amount of the problem stimulus. Small enough that the dog is still able to stay calm and refocus on us.
For example, with Sephy, I would take him to our local SPCA for desensitization training. We start in their enclosed practice yard, with only one very calm dog, at a very far distance. Far enough that Sephy isn’t really reacting. The calm dog is engaged with her trainer, and therefore not paying any attention to Sephy. In this way, the initial “dog-stimulus” is very weak, and at a level that Sephy can cope with.
As you have observed, if the stimulus is too strong, the dog would revert to a rear-brained state, and would no longer be able to refocus or listen.
Once Sephy is able to deal with a weak version of the stimulus, I take one step close to the other dog, get Sephy’s attention, and reward him if he is calm. In this way, I also recondition him to associate other dogs with calmness and positive rewards. I describe this process in greater detail above.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
2. Neutral experiences
I carefully managed Sephy so that I set him up for success and do not expose him to situations that he cannot handle. The more neutral and positive experiences he has, the more confident he will become with other dogs. Similarly, the more he practices his reactive behavior, the more it will turn into a habit.
First, I started walking Sephy in very quiet areas in our neighborhood. I also shortened our walks but increased their frequency. In this way, most of our walks became positive and both of us started to enjoy them.
Once we were confident with our short, quiet walks, I very slowly increased the environmental challenge. With my Sibe puppies, I started leash training them in our backyard first, then we moved on to very quiet outside areas, then a bit less quiet and so on.
I have a tall 70lb rescue dog that is dog aggressive on leash. Sometimes turns into cujo when he sees another dog, sometimes only if the other dog mouths off first.
I have taken him to several group classes and he pretty much acts like and angel in those situations. Walking in the neighborhood with a dog barking behind a wood fence has gotten much better, I tell him to leave it and he ignores it. Then tonight there were two dogs barking behind the fence so he lost it. I can deal with that and I can turn and walk away or cross the street if another leashed dog comes by.
The problem is there are always loose dogs in the neighborhood. I go to parks where dogs are required to be on leash and someone almost always has one off leash. I am terrified of what will happen if large loose dog runs up to us.
Yeah, off-leash neighborhood dogs are a problem for me as well.
Here are some of my experiences and some suggestions from other dog owners-
http://shibashake.com/dog/off-leash-neighborhood-dogs#comment-16740
It is a very challenging issue to deal with because it is really a people issue, and it is much more difficult to convince people to change.
I have ready your comments on how to deal with Shiba dog aggression and to just walk away/past etc. The problem I am having is that most other dogs in parks etc are off their leads and come running over to my shiba who hasn’t been trusted off the lead after going for another dog a year and a half ago (aged 2 then). This causes a serious headache for me, so I have resulted to picking her up. I know you will tell me this is wrong but what else can I do???
Hello Laura,
Yeah, I know what you mean. I went through something similar with Sephy. Some things that we did-
1. We started going to hiking trails instead of just regular parks. I found that hiking trails have a much lower density of people and dogs, and there were even some trails that have a full on-lead requirement.
2. Adele had a great suggestion – which is to use a “Dog in training” vest. I am thinking of getting one for Lara. I think many people will stay away because they do not want to disrupt a dog in the middle of his lessons. 😀
3. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. We also did a lot of desensitization training so that Sephy learned to be more calm around other dogs.
All of your articles are SUPER HELPFUL AND INFORMATIVE!
I was wondering if you had any advice on my particular situation. I now live with three dogs. Mine is Zero (a one year old black Shiba Inu) and he lives with a thirteen year old Chihuahua and five year old Shitzu.
He’s very well trained and takes commands well even when overly excited. He’s also been pretty well socialized.
He’s never gotten along with the girls (the other two dogs), but I assumed that it was because he was young and wanted to play while they are older and like to lounge around.
We run around the lake every morning and he never acts out against other dogs we encounter (although I’ve noticed he’s not particularly fond of visiting the dog park anymore and likes to leave after about five to ten minutes now).
When new people greet him he sometimes jumps up to lick them, but that’s about the only behavioral issue I’ve had with him outdoors.
However, he now will sometimes pin the other two smaller dogs down and has once bit and shook the Chihuahua. The biting incident – I understand to a point as it looked like he was protecting a raw hide.
The pinning concerns me as I assume it’s unprovoked and is causing a bit of tension around the house.
Prior, the girls would nip or bark for him to stay away, but for a while they just kind of stayed very neutral.
I don’t know what’s triggering the pinnings and worry it may progress to full on attacks. Do you have any advice to help solve the issue?
Thank you in advance!
In terms of keeping the peace at home, here are some things that help with my dogs-
1. I set up consistent “interaction rules” for all my dogs and teach them those rules. For example, there is no stealing and no humping. I supervise them during meal-times and play to ensure that the rules are being followed and nobody is getting overwhelmed.
2. I try to prevent conflicts before they occur, and if there are conflicts, I resolve them. In this way, the dogs don’t feel the need to resolve conflicts themselves or escalate to the next level.
3. I try to associate group-time with positive events and do group obedience training sessions. Dogs within a family may sometimes compete for resources, so I try to teach my dogs that they get more “stuff” when they are working together cooperatively with me.
4. I do not give them valuable resources that will encourage stealing/guarding unless they are well supervised. Usually when I give them bully sticks, I separate them so that they can enjoy it in a calm and relaxing environment.
Here are more of the things that I do to keep the peace at home-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
I desperately need some advice. My sheba, Kani, has become very aggressive with other dogs since she was hurt in February. her and I live downstairs and my parents and their two little dogs live upstairs with a child gate keeping the dogs separated. I accidentally left the gate open when getting Kani and she ran straight upstairs and attacked my parents yorkie pin. she grabbed him and shook him and didn’t let go until I grabbed her and pulled her up by her belly. this isn’t the first time it’s happened and I’m at a loss as to why such a change from my girl who used to play at the dog park with 30 dogs and only snarked occassionally when one wouldn’t get away from her back end! I know she hasn’t had any socialization since we moved up with my parents (i’m in nursing school) because there is no dog parks ANYWHERE here and that is my fault but I can’t have her around any dog when she is so aggressive now! It’s not like i expect this to not be a concern, I just don’t want her attacking other dogs like that. and before you ask, the other dog was upstairs in the front room and she ran up the stairs and straight at him and grabbed him (he’s extremely wimpy and just cried). any advice on helping Kani would be GREATLY appreciated!
How was she hurt in February? Did it involve another dog?
Also, Sephy really likes his routine and does not do very well with change. When we moved, I made sure to quickly re-establish his routine and rules at the new house. This helped to calm him down and reduce stress. When did you and Kani move? How was Kani right after the move? How did she react to your parent’s dogs then?
How does Kani react to other dogs during walks?
In terms of retraining, here are some things that helped with Sephy’s reactivity issues-
1. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises.
This helps him to re-associate meeting and greeting other dogs with calmness and positive outcomes. I first start a far distance away from the other dog, in a quiet and controlled environment. Far enough that Sephy is calm and able to focus on me. Then, I get Sephy’s attention and treat. If all is well, I move one step closer and repeat. I describe more of this above.
2. Neutral experiences and calmness.
I try to stay calm at all times and create neutral experiences during our walks, i.e., we just ignore other dogs and move along. I usually use distance and barriers to help with this process.
3. NILIF and other activities at home.
I try to give Sephy many structured activities to drain his energy. For example, he works for all of his food, he has play sessions in the mornings and evenings, he has a walk in the morning, etc. In this way, he has many positive outlets for his Shiba energy. I also follow the NILIF program.