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.
Hello and well done on this website – some great tips and also allowing people to see their not the only one with some difficulties occasionally. I wonder if you could please give me a couple of tips to deal with a beautiful boxer lady i kind of rescued 10 days ago. She is 3 years old and has seemingly spent the majority of her life locked in a back garden / house. In the short time we have spent together she has learnt to walk to heel (most of the time), stay and lie down – the only basic command she knew was sit so i started from the beginning with her. The only issue is when outdoors, i live near a beach and obviously during holiday time the area is full of visitors and their canine companions. When Rox sees another dog in the distance she drops to a crouch (almost like a big cat stalking or a border collie herding) then as they get nearer she luncges up and becomes quite a handful. I dont think there is any aggression as she seems frustrated at not being able to play, however when she is looming up i guess she could look pretty scary from the other side, she is quite strong too being a boxer. I have got her a harness and this has settled her a little but if we see more than 1 dog on a walk then her mind completely goes off and each one after that she just cant seem to handle. I know some people say that the dog is feeling your emotional response through the lead and reacting to that, however when i first walked her i had no idea she did this, i have also seen dogs she has not spotted and up to the point she sees them she ignored it so i feel that my response is not altogether causing her response, more that she has been pre-programmed to act in this aggresive way. I wonder if the other people started this and then when she was too big to control they were afriad to walk her – therefore she thinks she is doing the right thing. If you have any tips or if there is something i have done which has not helped the situation we would be grateful to hear from you. She actually looked at me this morning as if to say “what do you want me to do” – which made me feel bad for seeming to confuse her without meaning to. I am ordering a dog vest which says “dog in training” to help us as some people seem to think its normal practice to allow yorkies to meander over on an extendable lead, to a boxer dog standing on 2 legs and trying to lunge at them. Hopefully this will help with other peoples responses – paws crossed 🙂 thank you Adele
What a great idea! I may get one for Lara as well.
With Sephy, the emotional response was a contributing factor to his dog reactivity behavior. Sephy would get excited when he sees another dog, and would start to pull and act crazy. I got stressed by his crazy behavior. He would pick up on my stress and fear, and become even more crazy.
Later on, I would get stressed as soon as I see another dog, especially an excitable dog. This made Sephy react sooner, and much more strongly.
Some things that helped Sephy with his dog reactivity behavior-
1. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises.
One problem was that I was exposing Sephy to a high level environment, with a lot of interesting dog stimulus that he was not capable of handling. This caused Sephy to always lose control of himself (go rear-brained) at which point, it was no longer possible for me to teach him anything because he was no longer capable of listening to me or anyone else.
With dog-to-dog desensitization exercises, I only expose Sephy to a limited amount of the “dog-stimulus” – small enough that he can handle it. In this way, I can help him reassociate the stimulus with positive outcomes and also teach him alternate behaviors for dealing with his excitement and stress.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
2. Set him up for success.
During our regular neighborhood walks, I would first start by leash training him in our backyard or inside the house. If Sephy walks properly, then we would go to a quiet part of the neighborhood and practice there.
I try to start small, and then slowly build up the environmental challenge. In this way, we have successful walks and both of us build confidence in walking together.
3. Create neutral experiences.
Whenever we see other dogs, I stay calm, ignore them, and keep walking at a natural pace. This teaches Sephy that most of the time, other dogs = nothing happens. This helped him to stay more calm when he sees other dogs because most of the time, nothing happens.
Now, Sephy is a lot more calm so we will sometimes stop to meet friendly dogs that are calm and relaxed. I still continue to ignore excitable dogs, tense dogs, excitable people, fearful people, etc.
Big hugs to Rox! It is always so good to hear of a rescue dog finding such a good home – and near a beach to boot. Lucky girl! 😀
Hello, I love your site, i have reading up just about everything. I have a big problem with my two pit bulls.
Well first off, I just moved across town into a way bigger yard and house for my dogs…i thought they would be happy but my 3yr old neutered male pit mix just started attacking my full pit bull spayed female shes about 8 months old. I recused her when she was 9 weeks old.. Kai my 3 old year boy has always loved her since the very beginning.. walks everyday .. long hikes every 2 weeks.. he s a beach boy.. loves swimming and running. anyways i well exercise my dogs. After we moved into our new place idk if the stress triggered an attack or if my female dog is reaching maturity.. but within two weeks barley i had to break up 3 really bad dog fights the third one my bf was at work and it was awful. Kai just stalked her.. i saw his tense stance and grabbed him.. it was to late he pulled me across the room. My female pit is full pit.. shes a razor edge pit.. she is super calm.. totally submissive..low to the ground.. mainly a couch potato she absolutely loves kai. she licks him through the kennel. After the fights kai tried to lick her wounds.. i know deep down he loves her i just dont know why all of sudden he is super aggressive toward her.we have to keep a muzzle on him when iam home alone.. im working on getting his trust back.. after he almost bite my hand. My bf and i we take them on evening walks, kai is muzzled he tore through his fabric muzzle so now i have to purchase a metal and leather one. He has not snapped at her yet, i feel his stress, i try to spend as much time with him, i make him follow commands.. sit, shake, high five, stay…hugs and kissies.. he listens well.. i just hope we can get them to get along again, i’d seriously hate to re-home one of them :/ since the 3rd fight i have kept them totally separate, besides our walks. i rescued kai from long beach they couldn’t give me any info really, i beleive he is ridge back and pit he is red and white but way taller than pit, and his hind legs are very tall but he has this big bulging chest and head!! thank you i would love your input and if you have any pointers. like i said before before the move which took place, Aug 1st, my dogs have loved each other layed together every night… never a fight.. NEVER! i did take him to the vet and he wanted me to put kai to “sleep”.
Hello Kristy,
What was happening in the environment when the fights occurred? What were the dogs doing? Were all the fights inside the house? Were they near any particular objects?
When there are conflicts between my dogs, there is usually something that triggers it. For example, Sephy does not like other dogs sniffing his butt without his permission. Usually, his posture is relaxed, until the other dog goes to his rear region, then I can see him tensing up.
Another common area of conflict is over resources – e.g. food, toys, space, access to people.
What I try to do with my dogs is to identify all the “triggers” that they are sensitive to. Once I do this, I can-
1. Better predict their behavior.
2. Better manage them and prevent such conflicts from occurring. The more aggressive behavior a dog practices the more likely he is to repeat it.
3. Desensitize them to a negative trigger by pairing it with positive events. I also teach them alternate behaviors for dealing with stress.
How long have you had Kai? It could be that the aggression trigger is something from his past.
A good professional trainer can be helpful in such situations. When Sephy was going through his difficult period, we visited with a fair number of professional trainers and some of them were quite helpful. I always try to observe Sephy very closely, but it really helps to have a new set of trained eyes, that is familiar with dog body language.
Another thing that helps with Sephy is to have him on a very fixed routine. When we moved to a new place several years ago, Sephy got pretty stressed out from all the changes. He did not know how to act in his new environment. He wasn’t sure what were the new rules, what things are ok, and what things are dangerous.
I quickly set up a very fixed routine for him, and also established a very consistent set of rules. This helped to reduce his stress, because then he knew what was expected of him, and what he could expect from us in return.
Hope this helps and big hugs to your furry ones.
Hi
I have a american bulldog 20 months old bitch i got her from a family where she was kept in a cage in the kitchen and from the way she looked was on steroids. I have had her for 9 months now she has toned down vets are happy with her and i am shes great with kids and adults but has dog on dog aggression. She was attacked at a few months old my another dog so this could be the cause of it. i am currently trying a harsh stop command when she growls and barks at other dogs and its going ok but very slowly sometimes it works and sometimes she just goes mad. I am going to continue with this but is their anything else i can try
With Sephy, I did dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. These exercises helped Sephy to reassociate the problem stimulus with positive experiences and outcomes, and helps to lower his level of stress. At the same time, I also teach him alternative behaviors for dealing with stressful situations.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
Other things that helped with Sephy-
1. Creating neutral experiences – We just ignore other dogs.
2. Being calm – I try to be very calm when we see other dogs. Otherwise Sephy will pick up on my energy and become even more stressed.
I describe more of what I did with Sephy in the article above.
Hi, I have a 3 and a half year old Lhasa Apso. She is a really pleasant dog, great around kids. About 2 months ago a dog attacked her. Now when I walk her and she comes across another dog she becomes really aggressive – lunges, barks, growls. I know this is most likely because she’s scared. How do I stop this? I have been taking her more walks lately to places that I know there will be dogs to try to get her used to them again. I am aware that I tend to shorten her lease when other dogs approach which isn’t a good thing. I have even tried crouching to her level, holding her by the chest(rather than tugging her leash)and talking to her to calm her down. Nothing helps! Do you have any advice?
With Sephy, I started small and only very slowly increased the challenge. In the beginning, I started my desensitization exercises with one calm dog that is on-leash with his owner. I would have Sephy a certain distance away, far enough that he is not reacting. Then, I engage him in obedience commands and reward him well for staying calm and working with me. If all goes well, then I walk one step closer and repeat.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
The key with Sephy was to make sure that he has positive and calm experiences with other dogs. In this way, he learns not to get overly excited or stressed. The more successful encounters we had, the more confident we both became, and Sephy’s behavior improved.
I try my best to set Sephy up for success and only expose him to situations where I am pretty sure he can handle. Then as he grows in confidence, I very slowly increase the environmental challenge.
Hey so i have a 10 year old german shephard and we recently moved into a very dog friendly neighborhood. Before we never had encounters with other dogs besides her sibling (which her sister was very dominant). She is sweet to all human beings but to another dog she always lunges and zeroes in on them, she will not listen when outside and calling her, and has lunged for a bite to several dogs(she tends to act sweet with other dogs then lunge for the kill). I was wondering if it is too late to train her to be non-aggressive or what are methods to do. We do walk past other dogs or go in different directions and i never know if she is being friendly or violent, most of the time she is violent. What should we do?
Some things that helped with my Shiba Sephy-
1. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. We did a lot of training with calm dogs at our local SPCA (under trainer direction). By doing exercises in a controlled and safe environment with many different dogs, Sephy learned how to interact and be successful with a variety of dogs. Today, Sephy still does not get along with dominant dogs, and/or rude dogs that try to sniff his butt without permission. In those situations we avoid and ignore.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
2. Neutral experiences. We ignore most of the unknown dogs that we see on our walks. I try to set Sephy up for success, so we only meet dogs that I am pretty sure he will get along with.
3. Distance. I always cross the street when I see another dog and create enough distance for Sephy so that he doesn’t become reactive.
Working with a trainer that has many calm dogs, that Sephy could train with, was very helpful. More of what I do is described in the article above.
Hi I have an ex racing greyhound who came to us eighteen months ago incredibly nervous of everything, people, traffic, dogs, wind, noises etc. He is now confident with all of these things apart from certain dogs. He is fine with other greyhounds as this is the only breed he would have ever encountered in the first three and a half years of his life whilst he was worked. We have had a behaviorist and have practiced all the techniques in this article focusing on his aggression towards dogs. We always keep meet and greet to a minimum and I restrict them to low energy dogs, and avoid un neutered males where possible. We also began treating him for every single dog we passed and he looked at and did not react to. This proved to work and after just two days straight of doing this he would see a dog and look at us for the treat. All was going well and then a few months ago he started this stalking behaviour. I have no idea where this stalking behaviour has come from. Sometimes i can get his attention by saying ‘look at me’ and I’ll praise as he’s look away but then sometimes he’ll take the treat and just lunge at the dog snapping anyway. Just to let you know he is ALWAYS muzzled and onlead. The muzzling is good because I have the confidence that I can pass a dog and if he does react no harm will be done. I am not nervous or anxious when we pass a dog so this can’t be why he reacts. We’ve had him eighteen months and the stalking behaviour only started a few months back. If you had any advice I’d really appreciate it as I feel like i’ve used up all the tricks in the book.
With Sephy, he started with his obsessive staring/stalking behavior after he got a bit older and gained some confidence. He would first stare at a dog, and then get into a down/crouching position. From there, he would pounce if the dog got close.
I stop him as soon as I notice the “stare”. I would break his focus by making an unusual sound, e.g. kicking bushes or rustling leaves, and then we move away.
During walks in the neighborhood, I make sure to cross the street when I see other dogs, especially when they are not calm. Distance helps a lot with reducing the effect of the trigger. We ignore most dogs. There are several that we stop to meet regularly – but only if Sephy is calm.
Desensitization exercises can be helpful. We also invited some of his neighborhood friends over for supervised play sessions. In this way, he had a structured outlet for his dog-wrestling energy. I do a lot of obedience-breaks during a play session. This helps teach Sephy to refocus on me, even when he is playing with another dog. We also did training+play sessions with calm dogs at our local SPCA (under trainer direction).
Hello,
I purchased a silver lab almost three years ago and have noticed that he is not very lab like. He tends to be very excitable & high energy during external interactions, calm when there isn’t any stimulus. I noticed when he was a pup that when we were walking him he has fearful of a neighbor when we where speaking with him. We have people over every two weeks and he wouldn’t hang out like our other labs, he would go into the living room and stay away from the guests. A year ago I had a party in the back yard and in the beginning when people were starting to come over he scared my nephew and chased him & nipped his hamstring.
To make matters worse he freaks out when he sees someone walking down the street towards us. He has trigger spots (where previous freakouts took place) where he starts to panic &/or if someone is walking down the street on the opposite side. Everyday is a different day, when I walk him today he might be in a high stressed mood right from the beginning of the walk & freak out every time I pass something & sometimes he has very little reactions to anything. He almost always freaks out when someone is approaching him. He is worse at night. His eye sight seems to be fine, he sees things at night I would never notice.
I have already brought up two labs & buried them after almost 11 years a piece. I’ve read multiple books on training & trial error through experience had two of the best dogs I’ve been around and now this third one is killing me because of the experiences with the two previous dogs.
We have worked with a trainer and she gave a counseling session and had walked with our dog through the neighborhood to see how he reacts to different triggers. The two methods she wanted us to use was settle (the dog has reacted to the trigger), (sit & block & give a treat (meat) slowly) & start walking again. She wanted me to use the treat as a lead in front of his nose & stand between the trigger and dog as we walked by. The second method was leave it command to pull the dog towards me when I see him start to react to a trigger and try to get him to not get into a state of craziness. If he does freak out I’m suppose to settle the dog. We practice the leave it command in the house with treats in both hands, open one, close it, say leave it & when the dog looks at you give him a treat with the other hand (this is also done with treats under my foot).
I have been doing this for about two months and he has improved a little. But he still freaks out when someone is passing him, especially kids & other dogs. Could you please give me some more strategies to help me and let me know what you think of our trainer’s strategies? Thanks, Joe.
Shiba Sephy used to be very reactive towards other dogs. The blocking did not work very well with him. When I tried to do that, he would not focus on me and would use that time to obsess on the other dog. Some things that helped with Sephy-
1. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises.
The nice thing with desensitization exercises is that they are done in a controlled situation. I used to take Sephy to our local SPCA for desensitization exercises with their more calm and friendly dogs. It was done under the direction of a trainer and we always had a plan for the session. In this way, the sessions are positive and rewarding to everyone.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
We can also run desensitization exercises with people, and with a wide range of other fear triggers-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-calm-a-fearful-reactive-dog#people
2. Neutral experiences.
During walks, what worked best with Sephy is to just move him along. If I stopped and tried to block or do anything else, he will just obsess even more on the other dog. Instead, I just moved along calmly. It is important that I stay calm, or Sephy would start reacting to my energy.
By getting him to move along, he had to focus some on his walking, could not really obsess (as much) on the other dog, and could get rid of some of his excited energy. We would just ignore and move along. However, Sephy is a small dog so it is easier to get him to move along compared to a larger dog.
On the other hand, sitting and watching works much better with my Sibe Shania. I still always create distance by crossing the street and/or go into driveways. Distance helps to reduce the effect of the trigger stimulus. However, I let Shania sit and watch as long as she is calm and willing to briefly focus on me when I ask her to. If she breaks from her sit, ignores me, or starts to vocalize, then I no-mark and move her away. Moving behind barriers (e.g. cars) can also help. Blocking with our body is difficult to do properly, especially with a larger dog.
There are also different kinds of reactivity. Shania, for example, is very reactive towards running cats and deer. In that case, her prey drive takes over and she wants to give chase. She also used to be reactive towards the garbage truck, however, this was because of fear rather than excitement. With the garbage truck, she would get afraid and want to run away. In the fear case, sitting and blocking does not work well unless we do it from a far enough distance. What constitutes “far enough” changes based on the level of fear. Desensitization exercises can help to raise confidence and lessen the fear so that with time, less and less distance is needed.
Some things that I observed with my dogs and their various reactivity issues-
1. It was important to set them up for success.
For example I would create distance as soon as I saw the trigger stimulus and get them to focus on me; rather than wait for them to react first. Preventing a reaction is better than trying to stop one. At the very least, creating distance right away will lessen the reaction even when it does occur.
Once my dog “loses-it” (goes rear-brain), giving commands, food, or whatever else doesn’t do anything. The best thing at that point is to remove them from the trigger. They usually calm down some when enough distance is established.
2. Start small and very slowly increase the challenge.
I managed our walks by first visiting more quiet and less challenging areas. In this way, we mostly had positive walk experiences that everybody enjoyed. This helps to build confidence. Once that happens, I very slowly increase the environmental challenge.
More of my experiences are outlined in the article above.
Hi, my name is Eleanor and I recently adopted a 3 year old French/English Bull dog mix with issues so bad, she was going to be euthanized, because she was “unadoptable”. She has a history of biting and aggression towards people and other dogs. She was living in a garage with very little human contact and absolutely no exercise, primarily because nobody could handle her. Prior to that, she was found at a shelter, where she had been for some time. She was living with a family with a few kids and after biting one of them, they took her to the shelter. Since taking her in, her behavior towards people and other dogs, has improved a lot, but she is still completely unapproachable and only 4 of my friends have been able to interact with her. Today, she bit me and drew blood, and a few weeks ago, she tried to bite my mom, but head butted her in the face, giving my mom a cut above her lip and a bloody nose. She is so unpredictable, that I just don’t trust her around anyone. I walk or run her two to three times a day for about 30 minutes. My mom also adopted a dog and hired us an in home “dog trainer” that she used in the past, however after four sessions and after she bit him in the first session, he has not worked with her or handled her at all, in fact he talks to me at a distance, which is really not helping our situations at all. He also told me, that I should seriously consider getting a different dog, because she is a liability and will probably never be approachable or trainable. I am reading and watching dog training videos, as well as looking for help on the internet, but I do not know what I am doing wrong and I am getting frustrated. I really want to make this work for her and for me, but I am at a point where I may have to make a decision and it is just tearing me to pieces. I have worked at a Veterinary Hospital for 20 years, so I have some knowledge in regards to dog behavior, and basic training. I raised two Rottweiler’s who were great with other animals and people, especially kids. But, I have never dealt with a dog quite like this. We will have good days and then we have bad days. I did print out your dog to dog aggression tips and learned a couple of new things that I can’t wait to try tomorrow, but I need more help.
Could you please help me, help her, soon? I would truly appreciate your input and any further advice you can give me.
Thank you,
E. Gifford
Dog aggression is often triggered by something, e.g. people approaching them, a hand approaching them, a face approaching them, guarding food and toys, guarding a sleeping area, etc. Dogs often use aggression to deal with what they perceive to be threats.
Are there triggers to her aggression? Does she only get aggressive when people approach? When people reach out to pet her? Or put in another way, does she ever approach people and then bite them? or does she only bite when people approach her? Can you describe in detail the surrounding context when she bit you? What were you doing? What was she doing? What was her posture? Did she growl first? What was the surrounding context when she showed aggression with the trainer and with your mother?
What techniques are you using to deal with her aggression? What type of techniques is your trainer using?
What is the dog’s daily routine like? Is she around people a lot? Does she have her own safe area away from people and dogs? What does she do during walks – does she try to pull towards people and other dogs?
Hello Shiba Shake,
You have such beautiful dogs and thank you for all the information that you share on this site. My husband and I adopted a 10 year old dog (Misty) who was a home surrender about 2 months ago. We do not know her breed or her history but she might be a lapponian herder or a german shepherd and shiba inu mix. When we first got her, she didn’t know any commands except for “sit” and was 10 pounds overweight. Now she’s at a great weight, is looking her best, and she’s learned so many commands at such a short time.
Misty is a really great dog and we’re so happy to have her but we’ve noticed that she doesn’t seem to like other dogs. She tenses up and stares especially if they’re younger than her. She doesn’t like dogs that are bigger and she sometimes growls even from a distance. We noticed that she ignores older dogs that are smaller than her but goes crazy if the dog is younger than her. We tried body blocking, turning the other way, and giving her treats when she’s calm from afar.
Our vet said that she might be a dog that just doesn’t like other dogs or wasn’t socialized when she was a puppy. We think that it could also be the fact that she’s older and doesn’t want to deal with younger and hyper dogs since she’s on hip and joint meds. Other than the dog to dog agression she is our perfect dog. We would love to know what you think about her and some ideas to help her with her aggression issue. Thanks! 🙂
Hello Hannah,
Yeah, that sounds very plausible to me.
Shania is also more tense around larger dogs, especially if they are not under control. Shania is a three-legged dog, so she is a bit more vulnerable, and can get overwhelmed by overly energetic large dogs.
We only greet dogs that she wants to greet. Other times we cross the street or go in driveways to create distance. Then, we do some simple obedience exercises. I also try to stay very calm and try to show her that I will protect her from other dogs.
With my Shiba Inu, I did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with him. That, together with ignoring and creating neutral experiences were very helpful in teaching him to stay calm around other dogs. Much of it, I think, depends on why the dog is showing the reactive behavior and on the temperament of the dog. Getting a good trainer to come and observe the dog can be very helpful.
Suzanne Clothier has a fun article about dog greetings titled “He Just Wants to say Hi”. I also very much enjoyed her book Bones Would Rain from the Sky.
I have a 5 year old male russell/austrailian shepard mix (guessing, he was a rescue). We have had him since 3 months old and he has been difficult to train. He has come a long way but he still jumps on visitors. But what worries me the most is we got a new addition in December, a 5 month old female beagle/bassett mix (also a rescue). They play well, most of the time it is wrestling around and very loud, they don’t really hurt each other it just sounds aggressive. The other day I had taken them to the park to sit and wait while my daughter was at swim practice, Another dog approached and my boy got very vocal and seemed aggressive toward the other dog and lunged toward it. Before our girl came home with us he used to be very friendly and played very well with other dogs, but after the event the other day I am not so sure what has happened and very embarresed to say the least, and the woman and children with the other dog were frightened. I had no idea he would have ever acted like that. Is there something i can do, because in the future he is going to have to be around other dogs for a long period of time. I appreciate any advice you have for me.
Hmmm, perhaps he was trying to protect puppy from the approaching dog.
Shiba Sephy is pretty protective of Shania. If he sees that she is uncomfortable or nervous with another dog, he will try and warn the other dog away. He will also alert us when she gets hurt.
How was the body language of the other dog when he approached? How was the body language for the new puppy?
Is he going to dog daycare? If he going to be together with puppy?
With Sephy, he acts differently when he is by himself vs. when Shania is around. He is fine if Shania is having fun, but if she shows signs of distress, he will come to her and help her out. I think it is his natural instinct to protect his family/pack. He will stop when we tell him to, because he knows that we are there to protect them both.
Usually, I do dog greetings only when I am walking one dog, when the approaching dog is relaxed, and non-dominant, and when my dog is relatively calm and interested in meeting the new dog.
I also did a fair amount of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with Sephy. We did this at our local SPCA with their calm and friendly dogs. We also did some training at a nearby dog daycare + training center.
We recently adopted a 5 years old male German Shephard/Husky mix from a local shelter. He is well trained and responds to commands well. He also walks well on leash and tends to be good with strangers and visitors. There are only 2 drawbacks in him. #1. Doesn’t like car rides and #2. Does not like other dogs approach him. If he has his space, is fine, no big deal. He gets agitated only when other dogs come close to sniff him. He lets them sniff and then barks to ward them off. Most of the time, his tail is wagging, but advances while barking. How to fix these issues? Any help is much appreciated.
In terms of car rides, we started small with Sephy and slowly got him used to it. For example, in the beginning we would just get him to go in on his own, treat, and then he gets to come back out. We repeat until he is ok with that.
Next, we took him on a really short ride to the end of our court (takes a few minutes). Then we stop the car, come out, and he gets to play a really fun game. We come home, and play another really fun game.
We just kept repeating until he associated car rides with positive events. Then, we very slowly lengthened the trip.
With Sephy, I keep greetings with other dogs short and I also do not allow them to sniff his butt. I only let him meet calmer dogs that are under good control of their owners. In general, I carefully manage greetings so that there will be a positive or at worst neutral outcome. In this way, he gains confidence and learns that other dogs are a positive thing rather than a negative experience that he is forced to endure.
http://shibashake.com/dog/the-butt-sniff
http://shibashake.com/dog/is-dog-socialization-a-good-thing
Hi I have a husky that is very reactive towards dogs while walking. I was wondering how to desensitize her with other dogs when I don’t know anyone with dogs to help me train her with. How can I stop her from staring at another dog and lunging since she isn’t food motivated.
Hello Salma,
With Sephy we did a lot of desensitization work with him at our nearby SPCA. The SPCA trainer set us up with short training sessions every other day and we were able to work with a variety of friendly dogs that they had at the shelter. They were careful about picking only the calmer dogs that were suited for Sephy. Good trainers that are attached to rescues or shelters usually have dogs that they can use for dog-to-dog type training. There are also some trainers who are attached to dog daycare centers, and they also have access to helper dogs.
At the same time we also met many other dog people in our neighborhood and we were able to get help from our neighbors who have calmer, playful dogs. There was this especially awesome puppy called Kai who lived across the road from us. I would go pick her up and Sephy and Kai would have some fun training and play sessions at our house.
During walks, what helps most with Sephy is to create neutral experiences and to just calmly move him along.
HI,
i have a six month old German sheperd when i take him to my local dog park he starts to zero in on other dogs around his size and in the same gender, when they come near him or when he see other dogs playing. he is not fixed yet. wondering what to do to stop this.
My Shiba Inu was also very dog focused.
Some things that may help-
1. Strong recall training. I usually start recall training in a quiet, low distraction area. Once I have good recall response, then I *very slowly* increase the level of distraction. Here is a good list of recall techniques-
http://aspcabehavior.org/articles/84/Teaching-Your-Dog-to-Come-When-Called-.aspx
2. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
3. Finally, with my Shiba I found that smaller and more structured play groups work best for him. Here is a bit more on our dog park experiences-
http://shibashake.com/dog/enclosed-dog-parks-good-or-bad
I have a 1 1/2 year old English Bulldog as well as a 10year old Boxer and 13 year old Bassett Hound. Within the last month or so the Bulldog has become aggressive towards the other 2. They will get along great most the time but then out of nowhere she’ll go after them. She also goes to Doggy Daycare 2x a week so she is always playing with dogs. I am not sure what suddenly provoked this and also not sure what to do about it. Any advice is helpful.
Hello Kelly,
How long has she been going to daycare? How large are the playgroups there? Are the groups well supervised? What sort of training techniques do they use at the daycare?
Sometimes, if the groups are not well-supervised and well structured, the dogs may end up learning undesirable play habits from each other.
As for keeping the peace with my dogs at home, I find that it is helpful to provide them with well-defined rules of interaction. For example, there is no stealing, there is no bullying or humping during play, and when they cooperate and work together, they get the most rewards.
Here is more on what I do with my dogs-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
I have an otherwise extremely well behaved 4 year old Border Collie. He obeys all my commands – until there is another dog around. I live in the country so he is allowed off the leash. As he’s a Border Collie he has a HUGE amount of energy he needs to burn off. He is very sociable and whenever he sees another dog, he goes to say hello and he pays no attention to what I have to say about it. He approaches the other dog in a very friendly way, wagging his tail and lying down occasionally on approach is he is unsure. Most of the time there is no problem whatever. But sometimes he decides to try and mount the other dog, the other dog objects and suddenly there is a fight. (No blood is spilt but it can be very noisy and scary!) I am left shouting at my dog ineffectively and feel like the worst dog owner in the world. I don’t want to keep him on the leash all the time because he really needs to run, but I am at a loss as to how to stop this behaviour. Any tips?
Yeah, my Shiba Inu was also very dog focused.
One possibility is to do recall training with a long-line. I usually start in a quiet place and make sure to reward really well when my dog comes to me. I set aside a special treat that is only used for recall and I also reward him with his favorite game.
Once he has good recall in a quiet place with no distractions, we brought him to a nearby SPCA to do training there with other friendly dogs. We first started with a very calm dog. The SPCA trainer would engage the other dog in doing commands, and we would practice ignoring the other dog and doing some recalls on a long line and so on.
http://aspcabehavior.org/articles/84/Teaching-Your-Dog-to-Come-When-Called-.aspx
We have a Shih Tzu that is scared of our german shepherd. She will attack him and bite him. Is there something we can do. Shih Tzu is 4 years old and the German Shepherd is 1 year old. We need help. Thank You Becky
Hello Becky,
Here are some of my experiences with introducing a new dog into the family-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Dear Shiba Shake,
Thank you for your for sharing your knowledge and experience! My name is Ines. I have adopted a dog two days ago, for the first time. The dog is a one year old neutered male who has spent most of his life in a cage within a kennel. They would let him out once a day only, for an hour, which he spent running around on a meadow without a leash. I just realized he is a troubled dog and having no prior experience I really need some good advice. When I take him on walks he freaks out when he sees large dogs such as dobermans (he is a mix breed 25 kg large dog himself)and starts growling, jumping, hiding behind me…its very difficult to control him since he is so large. Also, he pulls on his leash like mad, I won’t allow it but he persists, and I am afraid he might hurt is neck or something. Also, one vet told me that it is very difficult to train a one year old dog. He is such a sweet, calm and obedient dog when he is in my flat, but as soon as we go out his issues start. I’d really appreciate if you could counsel me on what to do regarding the fear/aggression and pulling on the leash issues and whether training a one year old is nearly impossible. Thank you, best wishes!
Hello Ines,
When does he pull on the leash? Does he only pull when he sees other people, dogs, etc.? If you were walking him in a totally quiet place, where you were both alone, does he still pull?
Often, young dogs pull because they are excited and want to explore everything at full speed. However, sometimes they also pull to get away from something. For example, during puppyhood, both my Sibes were very afraid of the garbage truck. It is large, big, and makes a lot of noise. When they even just hear the garbage truck they pull to try and run away.
In the over-excitement case, I have found leash-training exercises to be helpful with my dogs. I usually use the start-stop technique combined with the turn-around technique.
http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog
For my smaller dog I used a harness during training so that he does not choke himself.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-leash-training-equipment
In the fear case, I have found desensitization exercises to be helpful with my dogs. Here are my experiences with desensitizing my dog toward another dog.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
Here are some of my experiences with other types of desensitization-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-calm-a-fearful-reactive-dog
I usually start leash training in my backyard or in a very quiet area. Then once my dog is comfortable with walking in a very peaceful, low-distraction area, I slowly increase the level of distraction.
Finally, I want to add that getting help from a good professional trainer can also be very useful. I visited with more than a few trainers when I got my first dog – a Shiba Inu. We went through a lot of tough times in the beginning. 😀
http://shibashake.com/dog/my-shiba-inu-story
As for training, it is my understanding that almost all dogs can be trained. Dogs with certain health issues or with brain issues are probably the exception. It is generally easiest to train a dog during puppyhood but even older dogs with problems can be retrained and properly managed. Once a problem behavior has become a habit, it will likely take more time, patience, and management to retrain it, but still, all the evidence suggests that it can certainly be done. Here is a bit more on how dogs learn.
Big hugs to your dog! Let us know how it goes.
My name is Mariah. I am 19 years old and I have a 20 month old male Boxer. He has always been a great pet to have in our house up until recently. He has been showing a lot of aggression towards other dogs and sometimes people. Just recently he attacked our Shih Tzu, bit his eye, and has had to have his eye removed. A few weeks ago he attacked another dog while on a hike. The problem seems to be getting worse. He has growled and scared off some people that come to the house. Im afraid that the problem is going to get worse and he will attack a person or even a small child in our home. He is an indoor dog and we have a daycare in our house. My parents are to the point where we either need to fix the problem (stop the aggression) or put him down. I am desperately seeking a way to stop his aggression. If there is any way you can help me let me know. Thank you so much
Hello Mariah,
Did anything happen recently that could trigger the change? Have there been changes in your routine or your family’s routine? Changes to the dog’s routine? Did anything different happen recently? How is his physical health?
Before this, did he get along with your Shih Tzu? What was his daily routine like before the change and after the change?
Based on what you describe, it will probably be very helpful to get advice from a professional trainer. I worked with several of them when I first got my Shiba Inu, and the good ones were able to identify his aggression/reactivity triggers and help me desensitize him to those triggers.
Hi.I have a boston terrier that starts to look for other dogs as soon as i go outside with her.She is constantly looking for a dog everywhere.She is aggressive whenever she meets a new dog,and will lunge at them.Was wondering what i could to to stop this.
Thank-you
John
Hmmm, sounds like she may be afraid of other dogs? Has she had bad experiences with other dogs before?
Does she pull to meet the other dog or do you pull her to meet the other dog? What is her body language like when she sees other dogs? Is her tail up or down? Does she try to make herself look small or does she puff up her chest and stare?
With Shiba Sephy, what helped with him is to first create a lot of neutral experiences. We just ignore other dogs and walk on. I don’t stop to chat or anything, just keep moving at a normal pace. I also stay calm and make seeing other dogs into a non-event. Since nothing ever happens when we see other dogs, it just got to be old hat, and Sephy started to calm down.
Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises can also be helpful.
I need help. I adopted an American bulldog mix named Fred. He has been great and is my best friend, however he is very aggressive towards almost every other dog indoors or outdoors. Today he broke away from me on his leash in a friends backyard, ran across the street, and attacked another dog on a walk with his owners. The other owner was able to pick up their dog and protect it from my dogs attacks, but it was very scary. My dog is considered a service animal for my ptsd and I am afraid if I can’t find a way to stop his aggression issues towards other animals then something will happen and I will be forced to give him up or worse. He is calm and quiet almost always until he sees something to chase or another animal. I don’t know how to make him understand and I am now terrified to have him near other dogs since he will bite and hurt them. Do you have any advice for what I could do to stop his behavior. I know it is usually the trainer and not the animal, but I can’t even submit him when he gets like that.
Hello Caitlin,
My Shiba Inu was reactive to dogs when he was young. There are many reasons why a dog may get ‘aggressive’ with another, and there are also many different definitions of what aggressive means.
Sephy gets along well with playful large dogs. He tends to overwhelm smaller dogs with his rough play-style, and this may cause a smaller dog to get fearful and resort to aggression. Therefore, I only choose large, playful dogs to be his playmates.
Some things that helped with Sephy-
1. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises.
This was a good way to get him comfortable with dogs in a positive context. I teach him that we just ignore other dogs, and he gets rewarded for being calm and focusing on me.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
2. Creating neutral experiences.
Ignoring other dogs was also helpful for Sephy. In this case, he learns that when we are out on walks, nothing special happens when we meet dogs. Therefore, there is no reason to get excited or stressed when there are other dogs about. I describe more of this in the article above.
3. Control my own energy.
In the beginning, I was always fearful that Sephy might act out. As a result, whenever we see other dogs, I would get tense and stressed. Sephy very quickly picked up on this energy and became tense and stressed as well. This made him become even more reactive toward other dogs, which made me even more tense, and caused things to quickly spiral downward. Once I was able to stay calm, things improved with Sephy as well.
As for alpha rolls, they did not work well on Sephy. Here is more on my experiences with alpha-rolls.
With dog-to-dog aggression, getting help from a good professional trainer can be very helpful. A trainer can read the dog’s body language, and identify what is triggering the dog’s behavior. I visited with several trainers when I got Sephy and many of them were helpful.
Note however, that the dog training area is not regulated much, if at all. Pretty much anybody can claim to be a trainer. I found that it was also very important to do a lot of my own research and read all that I can about Sephy’s issues. In this way, I could tweak things to suit Sephy’s temperament, and more importantly, identify the good trainers from the bad ones. I also visited a lot of breed specific forums and learned much from veteran Shiba owners.
Here are a couple of articles that may be interesting-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-dogs-learn-how-dogs-think
http://shibashake.com/dog/the-dominant-dog-dealing-with-dominance-in-dogs
i have a 2 year old boxer/red tick hound. we adopted her from an abusive owner. she is great with adults but is very cautious towards kids and she is aggressive towards other dogs except our other families dogs. it doesnt seem like she has a perod before her agressiveness takes over.as soon as she sees another dog she is in beast mode. how can we get her to calm down? she is a great dog and i dont want her to hurt anyone or their dog.
Hello Nic,
My Shiba Inu was also reactive to other dogs when he was young. Doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with him was helpful. I was able to slowly train him to focus on me, and to use other behaviors to deal with his stress, other than aggression.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
I also did people desensitization exercises with my Shiba and taught him how to meet people.
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-calm-a-fearful-reactive-dog#people
If the dog has a bite history, it is usually best to get help from a professional trainer. In such cases, timing and reading the dog’s body language become very important, which is something that a good trainer can really help with.
Hello, I have a 7 month old Boston Terrier named Rambo. Today he showed some agressive behavior that was concerning. We live in a condo complex where there are alot of dogs. Ocassionally a few of the neighbors will all let their dogs off the leash to play together. Rambo always plays really well with these same dogs and has never had an issue. Today they were all playing off the leash together and another dog owner came walking by with her chiuaua, Rambo along with the other dogs came over to check out the chiuaua. Not knowing if the owner would appreaciate all these dogs off of the leash, coming up to her much smaller chiuaua, I went to pull Rambo away. As soon as I went to pull Rambo away he immedietly acted agressively toward the chiuaua lunging at it and barking agressively. After the owner took her chiuaua down the walk way I let Rambo back down to continue his play session with the other dogs. Less then a minute later Rambo took off down the walkway after the chiuaua. He would not come when I called him and when he got to the chiuaua he just sniffed her and walked around checking her out, but once again, when I went to pick him up he immedietly started acting agressive toward the chiuaua even more so than before. Im trying to figure out what is triggering this agression because I would like him to be able to play off the leash but still listen when called. Any advice would help. Thanks.
Hello Corri,
I observed a similar behavior with my Shiba Inu when he was young. In his case, there were several contributing factors-
1. Shiba Sephy is very sensitive to my energy. If I am feeling angry, frustrated, fearful, or worried, he picks up on that and becomes stressed himself. This often causes him to get even more reactive to other dogs.
2. When already in an excited state, putting undue tension on the leash can also cause Sephy to get more stressed and reactive. Pulling a dog directly back or other types of restraint, can sometimes cause an automatic lunge forward reaction. When I lead my dog away, I first go to the side and turn him around (in am arc), rather than pulling directly backward.
3. When Sephy was young, I took him to the dog park pretty often to play with other dogs. However, the environment in the dog park was very unstructured, and rather than learning how to socialize properly, Sephy’s behavior actually got worse. He would get over-excited, copy bad behaviors from other dogs, and redirect his excited energy onto me when I tried to calm him down.
I learned that Sephy does much better in smaller and highly supervised play groups. Instead of going to the dog park, I would invite my neighbor’s friendly dog over for a play session. I supervised them, and had many play breaks to prevent over-excitement. Play breaks are also a great way to train our dog to listen to us when in an excited state.
Here is more on Sephy’s dog park experiences.
Here are a list of techniques for recall training.
http://aspcabehavior.org/articles/84/Teaching-Your-Dog-to-Come-When-Called-.aspx
Hi, I am back with another issue!
All this day my puppy was too afraid of stray dogs (He is still a bit)and used to refuse to walk. But recently a stray puppy has appeared in the neighborhood and these two are eager to play with each other when ever I try to take mine to walk. I had to totally stop taking him on walks lately due to the same.
I am afraid that mine might get some disease from the stray pup. There is no way for me to stop them interacting! What to do?
Hello Jolly,
If it is truly a stray dog, it may be best to contact a local rescue or shelter to pick him up so that he doesn’t get hit by a car. A puppy will likely get adopted pretty quickly.
In India, you would find plenty of stary pups and adult dogs. That’s very normal scenario. Now a days they have started Neutering and vaccinating (only Rabies) and this pup has got his shoot. However, I am still concerned due to possibility of transmetting other diseases including skin disease… any suggestion?
Hello Jolly,
Here are some of my experiences with off-leash neighborhood dogs-
http://shibashake.com/dog/off-leash-neighborhood-dogs/comment-page-1#comment-16740
hi, i have a great dane called sasha. she is 2years old. we bought her under a week ago and her previous owners told us she doesnt get on with other dogs although she was brought up with another great dane with her previous owners. i took her to the park on her evening walk and we came across an older lady walking her dog, sasha sat bold upright and due to her size i just couldnt move her. she suddenly lunged forward and ran towards the other dog with me still holding onto her lead. she pulled me off my feet and i couldnt hold onto her. when she approached the other dog she didnt realy attack it but kind of tossed its backend up in the air. iam now too scared to take her out and have to get my partner to do so as he has the strength to control her. i was planning to buy a control collar and even maybe try the electric shock collar to see if this stops her dog to dog aggression 🙁 xx
Hello Aaron,
I had a lot of issues with my first dog, and considered using a shock collar at one time. However, I decided against it after looking into its various pros and cons. Here is more on what led to my decision-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-shock-collar-good-bad
In terms of walking a very large dog, a head-halti may help. However, it has its own weaknesses, and here are some of my experiences with the halti-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-leash-training-equipment#halti
Meanwhile, doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises in a controlled environment can also be helpful. My Shiba was reactive to other dogs in his younger days, and creating neutral experiences, as well as dog-to-dog desensitization exercises helped him be more calm in the presence of other dogs.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
hi i’m from iran i very very very very very very love dog akita i want a child akita please give me my wish have a akita
Hello Hamid,
Akitas are indeed very beautiful dogs. They require a fair amount of training though. Are there any dog rescues or shelters in your area? Volunteering in a well-managed rescue or shelter, is usually a good way to be with dogs, and to learn some very useful dog training skills.
We recently rescued a Boston Terrier/Poodle,, Bossi-poo , He is 8 months old and his name is Bentley, he is soooooooo good in the house no mistakes, no chewing, perfect in so many ways ,,, UNTIL,,, I try to walk him, he pulls constantly, he is in dog obedience right now, but I feel like such a failure. Tonight I decided that when taking him on his walk, I would take the spray water bottle we use for the BBQ ,, he is afraid of the bottle itself and ducks and cowers everytime he sees it, I am sorry to say that , during our walk he stayed beside me the whole time, looked up at me, while I praised many times, but if I had to show the bottle when pulling he would cower on groud or jump in terror,,, is this too much for the dog,, many tell me, whatever works do it..I would like to think this is temporary and once he sees how to walk properly I can get rid of the bottle,,,,, any advice on this,, I do not seem to be getting anywhere at dog obedience, he is constantly being brought into the center of ring at class to be made an example of. Thanks !
Hello Kellie,
In terms of pulling, what has worked well with my dogs is the start-stop technique (red-light, green-light). When he starts to pull, I stop walking. When he stops pulling, I start walking again. Here is more on leash training techniques –
http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog
For dogs with a softer temperament, it may be best to stick to using reward techniques. In this way, we set our dog up for success and help him build confidence. We still have rules, but we enforce those rules by controlling our dog’s resources, e.g. by controlling his freedom, access to people, etc.
For example, in the start-stop technique, we take away our dog’s freedom to roam when he pulls. When he stops pulling, then we start walking again. In this way, he learns that-
pulling = don’t get to go where he wants,
not pulling = gets to go where he wants.
Here is more on how to stop pulling.
Here are some of my experiences with training my dogs.
Hi there,
We rescued a 3 y/o female shiba a few months ago and quickly found out that she was not too fond of smaller dogs right off the bat. She’s lunged at and has even pinned down a few beagles in our neighborhood when given the chance. That was due to our negligence and not knowing that she would react that way around dogs at the very beginning. She’s also done this to a small cat which I’ve read can be a predatory instinct. She also pants excessively and seems to get major anxiety when she’s around other dogs (all sizes) so we have never brought her to a dog park. At this point, we avoid interaction with all dogs. We will cross the street to avoid any kind of contact and will keep our distance. I would like to eventually attempt to socialize her with other dogs but I’m not sure what the best way is to do this. If you have any tips or advice I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
Hello Donna,
Yeah, small dogs do not really play well with Sephy either. Sephy likes to do rough and tumble type of wrestling, which usually overwhelms the smaller dogs. He does much better with larger, energetic dogs that are friendly and not dominant.
Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises were helpful with Shiba Sephy.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
As for dog parks, it was actually not a good environment to help socialize Sephy. Rather than getting better with other dogs, his behavior actually worsened. Here is more on our dog park experiences-
http://shibashake.com/dog/enclosed-dog-parks-good-or-bad
I pick Sephy’s playmates very carefully. We only do small playgroups that are highly supervised and structured.
Congratulations on your new Shiba and four paws up for helping a dog in need.
Hi
I was wondering if you could help me? I have two rescue dogs, a collie x lab (Max) and a staffy x lab (Sykes), Max is fine with other dogs and behaves very calmly around them, but sykes can often get very pushy towards other dogs. At the dog park I usually let them both off lead, and when theres another dog they both like to go meet it, but sykes tends to go with his tail held high and sometimes, if the dog is larger than him, tries to mount them, I can never tell if he’s going to be friendly or not. Is there anything you can suggest I do? I want him to have the opportunity to socialise with other dogs, without having to be on a lead all the time, but i’m gettiing a bit nervous to trust him.
Another thing is that he has a problem with large black and white border collies, there are a couple that live near by that whenever we walk past one, he will try to attack it, similar to the way I mentioned before, only much more aggressively.
You mentioned simply walking away from the stressful situation, but I can never guarantee that he’ll follow me. I was wondering if you have any suggestions as to how I can train him out of it or desensitize him to them(especially the border collies)?
Thankyou
Hello Chrissie,
I think that desensitization exercises can help. That was what I did with my Shiba Inu, who got over-excited around other dogs.
What also helped with my Shiba is to do small, structured, and supervised play sessions. I invited my neighbor’s playful but non-dominant puppy to come over and play with my Shiba. I would supervise their sessions closely and teach them play manners. I also took my Shiba to our local SPCA, and we had structured play/training-sessions with the friendly dogs there.
In general, I found that dog parks are a poor place to teach a dog play manners. The environment is frequently chaotic, and the parks that I visited often had dogs who did not want to play, was overly fearful, or had other behavioral issues. Instead of socializing my Shiba in a positive way, his behavior with other dogs and with people actually worsened. He was learning many bad habits from being at the park, and I stopped taking him after a few months. Here is more on our dog park experiences-
http://shibashake.com/dog/enclosed-dog-parks-good-or-bad
The techniques above are on-leash techniques that I use during walks. Desensitization exercises are also done on-leash so that we have good control of our dog, and can set him up for success.
I love your dogs and love the way you write the articles.
I have a 6 months lab puppy who is giving me trouble on walks. I live in India and the neighborhood is full of stray dogs, who are quite heavy and huge! My puppy is still learning to walk on a loose lead but as soon as we meet one dog on the street, a lot of them start howling and get too close to us. At this point I try not to worry and stay really calm but my puppy gets too fearful and refuse to walk and just stand still. Treats does not work at all.
I generally give him time to watch the other dog, I do not drag him but keep calling him to follow me and praise him when he finally does! Am I doing it right? Is there anything else I can do?
The another problem is: he munch on anything he finds on the street, so I muzzle him. He does respond to drop it and leave it commands, but only indoor!
Please suggest..
Hello Jolly,
I think that it depends on the dog. With my Siberian Husky Lara, I do something similar to what you do. I stay calm, talk to her in a calm voice or just watch with her, and let her evaluate the situation. Usually, she just needs to stop for a while to make sure there are no threats. We move on when she is ready.
When she was young, sometimes she would prefer to turn back, which we will do in a calm fashion. I think doing this helped to make walking experiences positive, which helped her to gain confidence. Now that she is a bit older, she has gotten more sure of herself.
Initially, I also make sure to set Lara up for success. First I would walk her in more quiet areas in my neighborhood or drive her to a quiet place where we can walk. This also helped with leash training. Once she was more confident with walking, I slowly started walking her in the more busy and challenging areas.
The key with Lara is to catch her *before* she goes into fear-mode, and try to set her up for success. Desensitization exercises can also work well in these cases.
With my Shiba Inu, he was just reactive to other dogs. He wanted to get up to them and get them to play with him. In his case, I found that it was better to just remain calm, create neutral experiences, and move him along.
Yeah, my dogs also did that a lot during puppy-hood. Part of it has to do with the curiosity of a puppy. With my Sibes, what seemed to work well is to issue the “Leave-It” command. If my Sibe ignores me and continues eating the bad stuff (e.g. poop), I end the walk and march them home. During the march home I ignore them, do not stop, and just go. In this way, they learn
Ignore Leave-It = end of fun walk
Follow Leave-It = get rewarded really well, get more stops, get more freedom, get longer walks.
But I only do this for stuff that I *absolutely* do not want them to put in their mouth.
My Shiba was a lot more into eating street crap than even my Sibes. I would always watch him very closely and stop him from pouncing on his favorite street trash. If he gets something innocuous (not dangerous), I would just move him along at a fast clip. When I do this, he usually has to focus on walking and drops the stuff after a bit.
Muzzles can be useful in a variety of circumstances, but they are usually a prevention device. They prevent the dog from engaging in certain behaviors but do not really teach the dog not to do it.
As a result, when we remove the muzzle, our dog may resume the behavior. Muzzles are most effective when used together with behavior retraining, for example, training our dog to Leave-It with outside objects and then rewarding him if he complies. With a basket muzzle, a dog can still pant and eat.
Hi, my family just adopted a new female boxer puppy (3 months, 20 pounds). We brought my 4 year old male boxer (60 pounds) to her owners home to introduce them and they seemed to get along and play very well together. When we brought the dogs home they seemed to be doing fine until the puppy started playing with my other boxers toys. My male showed dog agression by barking/growling and pouncing on top of her. He also did the same when she would walk under him, and snapped at her when she was getting in between me and him when i was petting him. i think he is just becoming territorial. Any suggestions on how to keep them on friendly levels?
Hello Syd8,
When I got a puppy last year, my adult Shiba responded in a similar manner. Several things that I did-
1. I made sure that puppy didn’t steal anything from my Shiba and that puppy does not disturb him when he does not want to be disturbed. I try to set the both of them up for success.
2. I did group obedience training sessions. When they are all calm and cooperating with me, they get the most and best rewards.
3. Finally, I also supervised puppy closely and teach all my dogs that I am the one that handles resource conflicts, so that they do not have to do it themselves with aggression. Also, all dogs follow the same rules and there is no special treatment for puppy.
Note – none of my dogs guard food or resources with people. They also have good bite inhibition so that I can train them safely. For dogs who show aggression toward people, it is best to get help from a professional trainer.
My Shiba warmed up to puppy after about 10 days.
Here is more on what I do with my dogs to keep the peace-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Congratulations on your new puppy and 4 paws up for helping out a dog in need! 😀
My wife & I have a 3yr old black & gold male Shiba named Bonzai. He has been such a great dog & has always been good with other people including small children. A couple of weeks ago we got a 8 week old white Shiba named KiKo cause she was so cute plus we wanted a playmate for Bonzai. Since getting her we have been to the vet twice due to seriouse injuries inflicted by Bonzai & one that could have killed her. Bonzai was the first Shiba either one of us have had so we are extremely new to this breed. Unfortunately we did not witness the first attack but the second involved his food. I would welcome any advice or tips on how to move forward in training Bonzai & KiKo to cohabitate.
Hello Todd,
Congratulations on your new Shiba puppy.
I got a new Siberian Husky puppy early last year. In the beginning, my Shiba, Sephy, did not want to have anything to do with her or let her near his stuff. I think it takes longer for Sephy to give his trust and accept a new puppy into his ‘gang’. 😀
In general, I focused on two things –
1. Taking charge of resources and making sure it is clear what belongs to whom.
I hand out all the food during feeding time and make sure there is no stealing. I make sure they do not compete over sleeping area, toys, or anything else. When Shiba is resting, I make sure puppy does not bother him. Each dog has their own crate space, and everyone followed the same rules.
2. Rewarding calmness and together time.
I did group obedience training sessions. When they are calm together, they get rewarded really well. When they do commands together for me, they get rewarded really well. I tried to show them that they get a lot more resources when they work together cooperatively. I also wanted to show Sephy that having puppy does not detract from his resources, but rather adds to it.
Here is more on what I did to introduce a new puppy into the pack.
Hi,
I have 2 small dogs at home.. I just adopted a big old golden retriever mix from the shelter. I tried to socialize him with my dogs, he got so aggressive and wanted to jump and bite my other 2 dogs, I just pulled him back and I am keeping him in a different room. Help I don’t know what to do, I don’t want my dogs to get bitten! As soon as he sees my dogs he keeps growling and ready to fight and bite!! Any tips!! I feel sorry for him, don’t wanna send him back to the shelter, I wish if there is any useful tips!
Hello Loly,
It could be a physical issue. When dogs feel body pains, or have some other physical issues, such as sight or hearing issues, they may feel more vulnerable. As a result, they may use aggression to keep away unknown dogs. Did the shelter give him a thorough physical exam? I would also chat with them about his behavior.
Older dogs may also need more time to rest, where they do not want to be disturbed. I think you are doing the right thing by giving him some space and quiet time. First, get to know him and get him to trust you.
Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises may help-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
Consulting with a professional trainer may also be helpful-
http://shibashake.com/dog/finding-a-dog-trainer
Here are some of the things I did while introducing a new dog to my existing pack-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Thank you very much for referring to your site. There is great information here.
Hi,
I just discovered your site and it seems very helpful. I look forward to reading more of it.
I wanted to ask a question about my 4 year old Shiba, Toby.
He is a super friendly boy, and never displays any aggression towards people. Only in the last year has he started growling at other dogs, both in passing while on walks, and the few times I have tried to take him to the dog park. My wife and I believe that this started when we tried to rescue a second dog so he could have some company while we were at work. We rescued a cattle hound from a local shelter, and while they got along fine at first, the new dog started showing signs of food aggression. This resulted in an attack on Toby over a rawhide bone and my wife getting bit in the process. Needless to say we didn’t keep the new dog.
Ever since, Toby has begun to growl and bark when dogs get close to him. Sometimes he doesn’t, but I haven’t been able to determine a pattern. We keep him away from passing dogs while on leash walks in the neighborhood, but I would really like to take him to the dog park again, since he always used to enjoy it before the incident, and it’s his only opportunity to run off the leash.
Any advice?
Hello Carl,
I am not a big fan of dog parks. I did take Shiba Sephy there a fair amount when he was young, and the unstructured and often chaotic environment there did not suit either of us very well. Sephy enjoyed going there, but he would get over-excited, and often redirect his mouth onto us.
Also, there may be dogs that do not want to play or dogs that want to dominate Sephy, and well … Shiba will not back down and will not surrender. 😀
I prefer more structured and smaller play groups. One-on-one supervised sessions tend to work best with Sephy. In our old house we did not have a backyard, so I cleared out one of the rooms and made it into a play area for Sephy. Then we would often invite our neighbor’s very friendly dog over.
We also visited the nearby SPCA a lot because they had an enclosed play area which they allowed people to use.
Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises also helped a lot with Shiba Sephy. We did many sessions at the SPCA because they always have many different dogs that we could practice with.
Here is an article on my experiences with enclosed dog parks –
http://shibashake.com/dog/enclosed-dog-parks-good-or-bad
Hello –
I’ve found your site to be quite useful, but I do have a question. My 3 year old male Shiba (he’s about 21lbs) has aggression toward my black Lab mix (he’s about 150lbs). For the most part they’re fine together. They’ll play (with me always watching) together, and are fine with sharing each others toys as neither has a favorite toy. But occasionally throughout the day day my Shiba will bite at my Lab for no apparent reason. It’s not the playful nips because he bares his teeth and his snout scrunches up aggressively. He’ll lunge at my Lab every once in awhile and then almost as soon as he does it, he’ll stop like it never happened.
Also meal time is the worst. Anytime I touch my Lab’s bowl or touch the dog food my Shiba starts barking loudly and bares his teeth and scrunches his snout. It’s odd to me because he’s not aggressive toward me or my Lab at this point, it’s like he’s barking to bark. It’s really aggressive, so much so that I feed the dogs in separate areas. My Shiba closed off in the kitchen with baby gates, and my Lab in the dining room. Once they’ve both finished eating and I let my Shiba out he’s fine and goes back to being a happy little dog. I call it his Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde moments.
Is there any way to curb these sudden bouts of snapping at my Lab and the aggressive dog barking while their meal is being poured?
My Lab is 10 years old and is oddly unaffected by my Shiba’s behavior. He doesnt attack back, he just walks way, plays with another toy, or decides to take a nap.
Any advice would be appreciated! I know I must be doing something wrong, but my Shiba didnt use to be like this. The only thing I can think of is that my Lab isnt home every other month. He travels with my dad on various country road trips since my dad likes having the big dog around.
Hmmm, it sounds like food guarding to me. Shibas do have a tendency to guard things, especially high priority items such as food.
Shiba Sephy is good about most things because he knows that if he shows any kind of aggression he loses his stuff, whereas if he does not, he gets even more stuff. However, there are a couple of things he is more intense about, including new toys and bully sticks.
Some of the things that helped with Shiba Sephy in terms of food guarding include –
1. Careful supervision during meals times and when there are new toys. I make sure each dog has their own interactive toys to work on and I prevent any kind of stealing. In this way the dogs understand that I am there to ensure the peace and they don’t have to do it themselves.
2. Training the dogs together. I train the dogs together so they get used to working together and being rewarded together. In this way they don’t see each other as competitors, but more as partners in crime.
3. NILIF program. I always follow the Nothing in Life is Free program with all my dogs. Before they get anything, they have to do something for me first. Before they get any of their food toys they have to wait calmly in a Sit position. Any kind of rude/excited behavior including grabbing, biting, growling, etc. means I will walk away and they don’t get the stuff. They only get what they want if they do what I want first.
Other things that helped with Shiba Sephy – bite inhibition training, object exchange game, etc. I write more about them here –
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
http://shibashake.com/dog/resource-guarding-shiba-inu
Space, and bedding can also be highly valued resources. As such, some dogs may protect their space, sleeping areas, bedding etc. I know that Shiba Sephy is not very tolerant of new dogs coming over and invading his space. He also does not like other dogs sniffing his butt, which he sees as a dominance move.
I carefully observe him so that I can desensitize him to these triggers. I also try to carefully manage him so that he understands that I will be there to protect him and he doesn’t need to do it himself.
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-deal-with-bad-dog-behavior
I like your website a lot and it has helped me a lot with my shiba as well. I do have question about how you introduced your two dogs together though. I couldn’t find where you had posted it if you posted any information on adding a new dog to the family. My shiba has dog to dog aggression and I still cannot seem to fix it. I don’t have the resources at the moment to hire a professional to diagnose where his aggression is coming from. He hardly meets dogs atm anymore because I do not want to see him snarl/lunge. I think it may have to do with any dogs in his face. However, he tenses up I believe based on the other dog. I’ve only seen him react friendly to about 2-3 dogs in his 3 years. Which boggles me a lot lol. I did not do a lot of good socialization because he was my first dog but he is great with people. I read a lot and prepared myself as much as possible. My girlfriend would like another one soon, so I was just wondering about some advice you would have on adding a new puppy to the pack. Charlie seems to be quite dominant so should personality tests on the dog play a big role in choosing a puppy and how do you go about introducing them into the family without fights?
Hello Charlie,
When I was looking for a second dog I made sure to observe which types of dogs my Shiba got along with and which ones he did not. For example, he does not play very well with smaller dogs because he is too much into wrestling and the smaller dogs don’t really like that. So I made sure to get a larger dog who also likes wrestling. 😀
This article has more on my second dog experiences.
In terms of buying a new puppy, all I did was make sure I found a good breeder. I visited the puppy and her mom, played with both of them, got to see their health certifications, etc. The breeder had already socialized the puppy very well – she had puppy parties, brought the puppy to work, and much more. This made a huge difference in the puppy’s temperament.
In contrast, I didn’t know too much about dogs when I got my Shiba, and didn’t get him from an experienced breeder. He was a lot more difficult to deal with in the beginning, and was very nervous about collars and being in the car. My Sibe was totally fine with both those things when I got her at 8 weeks old.
I just wrote an article about the process I went through in finding a good breeder for my Siberian Husky. It may also be helpful –
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-buy-a-siberian-husky-puppy
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
Dear Shibashake,
I like this:
“Shiba cannot rest until all his enemies real or imagined are vanquished.”
That is my Fred, too! Stress cadet – you said it!
But here is GREAT NEWS for all owners of barky, lungy, naughty dogs: the penny shake can WORKS! This is apparently an old-fashioned remedy, but my goodness, it is the first thing I’ve tried that truly and instantly works. Get a small dry empty ginger ale can (7.5 oz). Fill with about 25 pennies. Seal shut with strong tape. Now, when your dog starts to bark or lunge, shake the can loudly and watch your little beast instantly become a little angel! I have been doing this for the past 3 days with Fred, and wow! Hallelujah! He does NOT like the loud sound, and he falls right into line. This is the very first time with any technique that I’ve seen submissive body language from him, and he seems to retain the message. After a couple times of loud can shaking on an outing, any further misbehaviors stop with just a little rattle of warning. You’ve got to try this!
In other news: Fred seems to have recovered very well from his stroke/attack, even though various heart disease symptoms continue and he has slowed down his pace. The vet confirmed last Friday that he has a distinct heart murmur (= probable valve disease). He’s a tough, sweet little cookie. I don’t know how to upload pix here or I would show you his winsome face!
Hi Kim,
That’s a great suggestion. I have tried using this coins-in-a-can technique at home but I have never tried it outside. With Sephy, I had great results in the beginning, but after he got used to it, he just ignored me – Shiba-style. 😀
I will definitely have to add this to my biting and dog aggression articles.
So glad to hear that Fred has recovered. He sounds like such a character. I would definitely like to see his winsome face. I’ll send you an e-mail so that you can include some photos when you have the time. Thanks!
I have a 4 year old Pom/Coton female dog (Pomeranian x Coton du Teluer) that barked excessively at dogs larger than her when off leash in the field near my house. She didn’t bark at them when she was on leash and did not act agressively when she got close enough to sniff – so I assumed she was afraid. Anyway, I discovered that a can of compressed air (the kind that is used to spray dust out of computer keyboards)would stop her from barking. She doesn’t like the loud air noise, even from a distance.The only problem is that it only works in warm weather. We have 4 or 5 months at least of winter so I am now going to try the penny shake can idea – I hope this works too. I love your web site thankyou!
Thanks Deb. Hugs to your girl!
Dear Shibashake,
Nice to be chatting with you again; sorry for the long silence. Glad your dog has acclimatized to neighbourhood walks – I wish I could say the same. My poor Fred is a real case. The vet told me last Feb after blood tests and x-ray that Fred had an enlarged heart (valve disease?) and high liver enzyme values (also owing to slowing heart function?). Last Thursday (late August) we were on a fairly cool walk at 8:00 A.M. when Fred, already slowed, stopped, clearly ill, and he lost use of his hind legs. I had to carry him home, completely limp in my arms. Very upsetting. I lay him on the couch, where he hardly moved for over 6 hours. He drank water that I brought to him lying on his side, from the side of his mouth – clearly not wanting to sit up. I stayed home with him the whole day, thinking he’d had a mild stroke. It could also have been a toxic reaction to Foster & Smith’s Ultra-Calm Biscuits or their Dental Fresh liquid. The vet wanted me to bring him in – but he was comfy and showing no signs of pain, so I kept him home. He eventually jumped down from the couch but moved very slowly and stiffly, and even his barks were hoarse and very few. But thank God he was walking! He did not jump up to the couch for the next few days. The following week saw more and more improvement: faster, more agile walking, and jumping back up on the couch. He seems basically normal now, but I have been avoiding staircases to keep his exertion low. He slows down near the end of every walk.
Fred, however, has revved up again to a lot of barking and anxiety on walks, and I think part of this is, alas, owing to no more jerk-correcting from me. I feel that regarding his reaction to other dogs, his case is basically hopeless: without calming drugs or a brain transplant (just kidding, black humor), Fred can’t seem to control his outbursts against other dogs. The state of his liver prevents the use of sedatives. It gets very wearing indeed on me, and I think he may be killing himself slowly with all his hysteria. What to do? I love him and yet I say to myself, when he finally goes, I will miss him and not miss him…
Very briefly: I adopted Fred in January when my long-time friend, his master, died of cancer. I was Fred’s “mom” each weekend, out in the suburbs, but then I came back to my own place in the city for the work week. Fred no doubt misses his dear “dad.” However, we were very bonded for years before Master’s death, took long walks, and Fred was, even in quieter streets, very aggressive toward all others, and he was used to barking a lot to defend his turf. Old habits die hard – if at all. I just don’t see that at Fred’s age and with his state of health, he is going to change much. Fred was much better off as a suburban dog with his own back yard! I read an article that some city dog owners have resorted to – brace yourself – having their dogs’ vocal cords cut to eliminate their barking. Goodness gracious. Can’t do that. I think I would send Fred to Doggie Heaven before I did that.
Well, Fred’s and my story is not very cheery right now, but with colder weather coming along, we should see fewer people and canines on our early-as-possible A.M. walks, which will help. And then we’ll see how long the dear dog’s heart will hold up. No treatment can repair heart disease or lengthen life very much, but the cost of trying is very high (thousands), and in this dog’s case, I am not going there. I want somehow to give him as happy a life as possible in whatever time he has, while maintaining my own sanity…
Thanks so much for sharing Fred’s story with us. It warms the heart that Fred found someone like you.
Often, I also want to give Sephy a brain transplant. 😉 He is such a stress cadet – if he could just let go of things and live more in the moment like other dogs he would be so much happier. But he is Shiba – and Shiba cannot rest until all his enemies real or imagined are vanquished.
That sounds good – I would probably do the same thing. Big hugs to Fred. If you can, please share some pictures of him with us.
Dear Shibashake,
After Fred was obedience trained, he responded very well to the quick-jerk corrections but still was prone to lunge barkingly at other dogs. Yes, the trainer also told me to jerk harder and earlier, which I found so difficult to do with my best friend! And as you describe, the technique is very subtle – jerk but don’t tug, etc. Fred has retained the walking position of nicely trotting at my left, and he has improved greatly in calming down around humans – but dogs are still tricky. I have ceased jerking, for exactly the reasons you describe. But since Fred has a greyhound-type collar, a no-slip chain martingale, when he himself suddenly lunges, he punishes himself, because he doesn’t get far before his neck is very squeezed. So he is forced to back right off, and I think he is learning from this better than from any jerks. By the second half of walks, he does much less lunging – unless a dog comes really near. Fred is clearly rather abnormal in his aggression – he aggresses without any provocation at all. I first met him when he was 4, so I don’t know his puppyhood stories – seems there must have been some rough times! I find that a gentle but firm “no” with the palm of my hand down in “Halt!” position communicates to him to cut it out. It was truly invaluable to read of your way of *just keep moving along*, no stopping to go bananas, and this is helping a lot. I think Fred will eventually improve significantly, but it is taking time. I’ve had him now 6 months, and he is 9 1/2 years old – a story for another time as to how I adopted him… Oh, and I do lure him with Pupperoni treats: distracts him from other dogs. I make him Sit, too, when he is getting too wired. How is your dog doing? And what do you think of the idea of anti-anxiety meds for dogs? A Tufts vet, Dr Dodman, uses these. (But I think Fred’s liver function is not adequate to tolerate any meds.)
Great chatting with you! Take care.
Hi Kim,
Thanks for sharing Fred’s adventures with us. I love dog stories, and hearing about different training experiences.
Sephy is now much better in our neighborhood walks. He even does pretty well having brief meetings with other friendly dogs as long as they stay away from his butt region.
The key for Sephy was identifying what his triggers are and only exposing him to situations that I am sure he can handle. He doesn’t like new dogs doing butt sniffing, and he doesn’t do well with dominant dogs because he won’t submit to anyone 🙂
I am not a big fan of using meds. I try to use as little of it as possible, except for vitamins and supplements. But at the same time, there are situations where meds (only for the short-term) together with training can be helpful. The difficult part of course, is identifying the right situation.
I haven’t used anti-anxiety meds before, so I don’t have first hand knowledge of their use or long-term effects.
Hugs to Fred. Tell us Fred’s adoption story when you have the time.
I just wanted to say a big THANKS for all this practical advice! I have a different breed of dog, a terrier/chihuahua mix, who is also stubborn and often very badly behaved with other dogs. He has improved after some obedience traing, but I also see that the jerk method is back-firing now, just as you describe, and I am going to try a number of your tips. This is a wonderful site. It’s good just to share ideas with other people who are patiently trying to deal with their darling, difficult dogs!
~Kim
Thanks Kim.
Heh – I wholeheartedly agree! Plus it is just fun to talk about dogs 😀
Anyway, I would love to hear more about your experiences with your dog. How did he respond in the beginning? and how is he responding now?
With Sephy, his stubbornness is just so great he was willing to go through 10 kinds of pain in order to hold his position. It was difficult at the time, but still …gotta admire that indomitable spirit!
One of the trainers I went to told us to keep increasing the force of the corrections but at some point that just seems really counter-productive. Not only was Sephy escalating his aggression by leash biting, jacket biting, and jumping on me, but there was also very little trust between us.
But nowadays, he is such an awesome little guy and his spirit is still indomitable 😀
Hello shibashake,
i seem to be having problems whenever i walk my two shibas and i was wondering if you have any advice for training them…
Whenever i walk them they always fight when a person or dog comes into veiw. They dont try to attack the people or dog, its just like they see something and they just start fighting. Having this problem makes it vary difficult because i have to walk the dogs to get them to pee but then theres always complications.
Hello Kay,
For now, it may be best to walk your dogs separately. This will give you better control and simplify initial training.
Dogs usually get excited when meeting new dogs or new people. This makes then want to go towards the new dog or person. When they can’t, they may get frustrated and redirect that energy onto the leash, or onto another nearby dog.
What worked well on my Shiba is to create as many neutral experiences as possible using the techniques I described above. Because nothing happens when new dogs or people are about, he learns to be more calm, and to just move on.
At the same time you can also work on dog-to-people desensitization exercises and then dog-to-dog desensitization exercises (Step 8 above).
Once they get more calm around people and dogs, you can put them together again and see how they behave.
We have a 10 month old shiba inu mix. She is very hyper and and excited dog. She pulls on the leash when we give her walks and always barks and growls when there are people or another dog nearby. She also will not go outside when we tell her to we have to physically pick her up and put her outside everyday. And when we do this she growls and bites. We do not know how to help her become a well balanced dog, we have seeked training at a retail store but it did not work. Any suggestions??
Yeah Shibas are usually stubborn, feisty dogs. What worked best for my Shiba is to teach him that all his resources come from me and if he wants anything – food, toys, going outside, going for walks – he first has to do what I want first.
Re: leash pulling – The technique that worked best for my Shiba is to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Once I started doing that, he quickly learned that the best way to get where he wanted is not to pull. You have to be very consistent with it though – especially in the beginning. So you might not get very far in your walks. But that is ok because Shiba will be learning a lot and exercising her mind.
Re: putting her outside – Persuasion usually works a lot better on my Shiba. He is happy to go outside when there is food, toys, or games to be had. I also leave a very short drag lead on my Shiba (only with a flat collar) so that I can more easily control him when I need to.
It is generally not a good idea to pick her up and put her outside because then she will start to associate picking her up with something negative and being outside as also something negative.
How you deal with this issue would also depend somewhat on why you are putting her outside. To stop begging during dinner? She makes too much noise? Chews furniture?
Here are some techniques that helped me a lot when my Shiba was a puppy –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
Hi!
I had emailed you recently about the Siberian I adopted and I really appreciate the tips. The leash training techniques have been working great :). But she is very on edge whenever she sees other dogs or animals like cats or squirrels,I can see that she instantly tenses up and points straight in their direction. If other dogs get too close she will automatically either growl, bark or even nip at them. Which is the complete opposite of when she is in the house, she is so well behaved it is unbelievable.
Another question I have is that since we just got her yesterday, I think she misses her old home a lot which I figured would be the case. Since she came from a very loving home, but they just couldn’t keep her anymore. As I said before she is extremely well behaved indoors, but it is kind of hard to get her attention and she seems bored a lot while we are inside. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for this? Maybe some games or techniques that might grab her attention.
Thanks 🙂
Hello Ricardo,
My Siberian also has very high prey drive so she gets really obsessed with cats and squirrels. Whenever I see such things, I will try and get her attention. If she gives it to me, she gets rewarded, and she gets to stay and watch – as long as she gives me her attention when I ask for it. If she is too obsessed, I move her farther away from the trigger object and try again. If she is just too amped up, we leave the area.
For dog-to-dog aggression, the techniques above helped with my reactive Shiba Inu. For now, you want to make seeing dogs be a neutral experience (i.e. nothing happens) so that she doesn’t always wait in anticipation for an explosive greeting. For now, it may be best not to let her meet and greet random dogs.
At the same time, you want to try and desensitize her to other dogs in a controlled environment. Get a friend with a calm dog to help you with desensitization exercises.
Note though that dog-to-dog reactivity training can be a lot of work and can take a long time. The important first step is to just get her to ignore other dogs.
As for getting her attention and forming a bond – that will take time. I would just leave her be for a bit, and let her come to you rather than the other way around. Make sure she gets rewarded well when she comes to you and chooses to interact with you on her own. She will come around once she has some time to adapt to the big changes in her life.
She sounds like a real sweetie and I am glad she found a great new home 🙂
Hi Shiba,
So it has been a full week so we adopted our new Siberian Sasha. I feel like she has finally relaxed and started to enjoy her new home. We have been able to minimize her pulling which I am very surprised with, I thought that it would take longer. Her Dog aggression is still there but we are slowly working on that.
But the thing that worries me the most is that she is SO lazy, it is unbelievable. She will not work for anything and only gives you her attention when she wants. It is next to impossible to get her attention, she barely responds to her name or when we try to call her. Especially when we are outside, she has the worst case of selective hearing. Which leads me to believe that she was VERY spoiled in her old home and got whatever she wanted when SHE wanted.
Any ideas on how to break this habit? Squeak toys are the one thing that grab her attention, but they don’t work when we are outside. She also barely takes treats while we are outside and try to reward her for good behavior.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Glad to hear that things are going so well!
lol – sounds like my Shiba. He is also not very food motivated. But he truly loves his freedom to explore, and he really likes new things. Therefore, I make him work for those things that he likes best.
There are also certain foods that he likes more than others, and that can motivate him to work as well – especially when he is hungry.
When I need him to do something(e.g. teeth brushing), I make sure he is more on the hungry side, then I bring out one of his favorite foods and he is usually very willing to work in those times.
You have only had Sasha for a week, and already you have done so much. It will take some time to build a bond and for her to start looking to you for direction. It will take some time to observe her and see what she likes best, then use those things to motivate her.
Siberians are an independent breed though, so they will always think for themselves – but with time and a good relationship, they will take what you have to say into account.
Here are some games I play with my dogs –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-play-fun-games-to-play-with-your-dog-or-puppy
My Sibe also has great fun playing with interactive food toys and she loves to dig 🙂
We have a three year old female shiba, Sophie. Today, we rescued another female shiba (age unknown). The new female is very aggressive toward Sophie and attacks her if she gets close. Sophie cowers and shakes when she just sees the new dog. I would like to overcome this aggressive behavior. Any suggestions? For now, we are keeping the two dogs apart. The new dog is very loving and gentle, except when she is around other dogs. Thanks.
Hi Karen,
The new dog probably sees Sophie as competition for resources – (your attention, food, etc.)
I would try to desensitize the new dog to the presence of Sophie so that she re-associates Sophie with something positive, rather than as competition.
Engage the new Shiba and be in the room with her (have her on leash and hold the leash to keep things safe. Just with a flat-collar.). Then have someone else bring in Sophie (also on leash).
As soon as Sophie enters the room, engage the new Shiba in doing commands and play and make sure to treat her well for staying calm and ignoring Sophie. Then have Sophie leave, and stop the food and attention.
This will help the new Shiba learn that when Sophie is around, good, positive things happen. If the new shiba obsesses on Sophie, and will not engage with you, then take Sophie away and, try bringing her in from farther away. Make sure Sophie has fun too during these exercises so that she becomes less fearful of the other Shiba.
As things improve, you can slowly (very slowly) bring Sophie closer and closer. If the new Shiba becomes reactive – then you have moved forward too quickly so just move Sophie back and repeat the exercise.
I think what you are doing with separating the dogs is already a good step because it reduces the number of aggressive episodes. By reducing the number of negative encounters and increasing the number of positive experiences, things can only improve.
Good luck and two big paws up to you for rescuing a Shiba.
I really enjoyed reading your tips and have been trying to apply them where I can. We’ve had a boxer/border collie mix that is the sweetest dog we could have ever asked for. He was adopted from the SPCA after being there for 6 months and is clearly well socialized. He never fights with any of the dogs at our local dog park which we take him there very often.
We recently adopted a shepard mix puppy so he would have a friend at the house. She couldn’t be more the opposite. At the park she seems to bark at everything, but usually plays pretty well. However, in the house, she is very aggresive to our resident dog. Jackson, our first dog is 1 1/2 years ago, full of energy and loves to play. The puppy was the first and only dog i’ve ever seen to get jackson riled up to the point of snarling and snapping.
We are trying to have the two play together at the park, and give them treats when they are being nice around each other. I know this is quite the story, but we’re really worried jackson and molly wont be able to play nice. Any situation specific tips?
Hi Myke,
Puppies can sometimes be too much on the more adult dog. When I got my Sibe puppy she just wanted to play all the time and kept bugging my other dog. She would pull on his legs, ears, etc.
Sometimes the other dog just needs some quiet time away from puppy. It is important to provide some quiet time for Jackson so that he can rest and do whatever he wants away from the puppy’s super energy. 🙂
Also, make sure that Molly understands her limits. If she is bugging Jackson too much, then non-mark her (ack-ack) and step in and stop her. Then make sure she gives Jackson some space for a certain period of time. Body block her if she approaches and get her to do something else. If she keeps going back then give her a short timeout. This will show Jackson that he does not need to discipline Molly, because that is your role.
Also, set aside some one-on-one play time in the house with just the two of them. Usually things are too busy at the park and it is difficult to observe what is happening. In the house, everything is controlled by you, and you can carefully observe what exactly is making Jackson uncomfortable. Is it just too much play? Biting too hard? Biting at a particular spot? etc.
Make sure that play doesn’t get too uncontrolled. When my dogs get too crazy, I step in and stop play briefly so that they can both calm down. During the break you can do obedience and reward them for it. Then once they are calm, they can get back to it.
They can play as long as they play nice. 🙂
Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.
Thank you very much for your advice. I think it was finally starting to pay off. Molly seemed to have been trying to challenge Jackson, but after constant cage timeouts and sepeartion at each transgression, they seemed to be getting along. So well in fact, me and my fiance were watching a movie and looked down to see both of them sleeping together. They are still bickering over toys, but as far as being together they are tolerating each other very well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY9EKHAqUUI
I have bull mastiff mix, Sahara, and a mutt, Tuna. They have grown up since they were puppies together. There has never been an issue of Sahara showing agression towards me or my boyfriend, but she often (approx 1x per week lately) attacks Tuna. I can not see any precursers to her attacks and they are often quite agressive, leaving Tuna bloody and shook up. Tuna is nothing but a submissive dog who immediately rolls over and urinates when Sahara attacks. So far we’ve tried doing nothing – not scolding Sahara or coddling Tuna and tying Sahara up for a time out after wards. Even though we know Sahara knows what she has done is wrong as she hangs her head and walks to place we chain her, this does not seem to deter her from doing it again. What can we do?
Hello Angela,
It sounds quite serious, so it may be best to get a professional trainer who can observe them in real time, and identify the root of the issue.
In general you want to manage Sahara so that you reduce these aggressive episodes. The more she does it, the more it will become a habit, which you want to prevent at all costs. You want to set her up for success, and teach her alternate behaviors when the trigger event occurs (a trainer can help identify what the trigger event is).
For now, it may be best to keep them separated when they are not closely supervised.
You can also start to desensitize Sahara to Tuna. Engage Sahara and be in the room with her (have her on leash and hold the leash to keep things safe. Just with a flat-collar.). Then have your bf bring in Tuna (also on leash). As soon as Tuna enters the room, engage Sahara in doing commands and play and make sure to treat her well for staying calm and ignoring Tuna. Then have Tuna leave, and stop treating.
This will start in helping her re-associate Tuna with positive things. If Sahara obsesses on Tuna, and will not engage with you, then take Tuna out, and the next time, try bringing him in from farther away.
Try repeating this many times every day, while at the same time keeping them separated so that no negative encounters occur.
Let us know how things go.
Thanks for your help. We will definitely try this desensitizing exercise, although except during the actual attacks, the 2 are best friends – running around, kissing, sleeping, and playing together. However, Sahara can get quite jealous if you’re calling Tuna’s name or only petting Tuna – she always nudges her way between.
Sahara is also sometimes aggressive towards our gardener. She has never bit him or pushed him over, but she nips and jumps around him. To see it, you might think she was going to attack him, but she has never actually hurt him. He is scared of her and I think she senses that.
Again, thanks for your fast response and your guidance. We’re looking for a trainer to see if we can’t get this sorted.
Getting a ‘professional’ to observe is a good idea, but finding a good dog professional is every bit as hard as finding a good plumber, a good lawyer, a good painter, etc.
It’s very catch-22-like, in that if you are good at spotting a qualified dog trainer then you probably don’t Need one. The universe has a weird sense of humor.
If you could post a video of the behavior it would be most helpful. Short of that, in what you wrote you said 3 things that are possible clues: you chain Sahara, he nudges between you and Tuna, and you do nothing to correct the behaviors. The chaining makes me think Sahara gets insufficient exercise, building up frustrated energy seeking an outlet. The nudging in between is a dominant behavior, as is the nipping of the gardener, and your failure to correct these behaviors just reinforces in the dog’s mind that the pack is His to lead.
The dogs know each other well and for a long time, so the desensitization advice makes no sense to me (sorry Shibashake). Sahara is asserting himself over Tuna when he nudges, and with the gardener, because you are not taking that role. You must get the dogs to think of themselves as team members, with you as the coach, not Separate them but Unite them. Separating them just creates two competing packs. You want One pack, with you as the leader.
Asserting your leadership role is a life-long job. Cesar Millan’s Dog Whisperer show has lots of useful examples of specifics. He always says to begin each day by taking them both for a long disciplined walk, together, with you in the lead. It gives them needed exercise both physically, and if done right, mentally. When Sahara nudges between you and Tuna, correct it immediately. MUse feeding time to again assert your leadership role. When Sahara tries to dominate the gardener, correct it — pretend the gardener is a baby, not a grown adult, and act to protect it, not leave it to defend itself. Give the gardener some treats to give to the dog and help the gardener become another pack leader himself — all the humans need to be seen as top dogs, not just you.
Buy one of Cesar’s books, or even his new magazine, for much more helpful information. He’s an Expert on misbehavior in dogs and the training of their owners. If you decide to use a professional, asking what he/she thinks of Cesar is an excellent predictor of how much the person will be able to help you.
Thanks for your comment. Having the gardener spend time with Sahara using treats and commands is definitely a great idea. As far as chaining and exercise – Sahara is only chained after she attacks Tuna and only for 30 minutes. She hates being chained even for this short time as she cries and moans but she definitely associates it with her attacks on Tuna because she walks to the chain after she’s attacked Tuna without being dragged. I think she could get more exercise from walks which she currently is only getting 1-2 times a week but they do have a half acre yard that they run around in. My goal from now is to walk them everyday.
You’re right about finding a trainer as well, especially as we live in Uganda and most we have found are training guard dogs not managing behavior problems which would be the opposite thing we need for Sahara.
What is the best way to correct Sahara when she nudges between us and Tuna? Or nips at the gardener? We often say no or ah ah. Sometimes my boyfriend flicks her on the nose which from what I’ve read is not useful in correcting this behavior.
All bad behavior when spotted is repremanded vocally which Sahara responds to, but it does not seem to deter her from doing it in the future.
We will try to get some of this on video, but it’s very sporadic and usually completely unexpected by us.
Thanks again for all your help.
There are generally two schools of dog training – aversive training and reward training. I started with aversive training (collar corrections, alpha rolls, flick on muzzle, etc.) and it did not work out well for my Shiba Inu. After I switched to reward training, things got a lot better.
Here is an article about the pros-and-cons of the two types of training –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-obedience-training-good-and-bad
Also, there are many people who disagree with some of Cesar Millan’s dog training methods. Here is an article from the American Humane Association about Cesar Millan’s dog training –
http://beyondcesarmillan.weebly.com/aha-american-humane-assoc.html
Here are some of my articles about Cesar Millan –
http://shibashake.com/cesar-millan-the-dog-whisperer
There often are many disagreements between people who support reward training vs. aversive training. When it comes to dog training, everyone seems to be an expert and will tell you what is the ‘right’ way to bring up your dog. 🙂 It is best to go through the information and decide which most suits your dogs’ temperament and what you want from your human-dog relationship.
Personally, I think that physically correcting Sahara would be a bad idea. Desensitization is a better way to go because you will be teaching her to view Tuna as something positive rather than someone who competes for your attention. You are not desensitizing Sahara to Tuna, but rather to the ‘trigger event’ – i.e. the event that causes the aggression. Just as having the gardener give treats to Sahara creates a positive association, you want to create the same positive association for Sahara and Tuna for the ‘trigger’ event – which could be competition for resources (e.g. food, attention, etc.).
In terms of the nudging, I would verbally correct, and then body block her away. She has to stay away from you for a while. Then let her come back in -and just repeat. If she escalates, I would put her in time-out. But if she comes back and does not nudge, then make sure to praise her and reward her for her good behavior. Usually it is best if time-out is in a boring room, e.g. laundry room so that there is no visual stimulus to get her more excited.
In general you want to interrupt and stop Sahara before she escalates into a fight. The less she practices fighting, the less likely she will do it in the future. That is why it is important to identify what the trigger event is so that you can interrupt before things escalate.
If it is indeed competition for your affection which is the trigger event, then you can do desensitization exercises based on that. For example, start by having Sahara on a leash and have you bf hold her a distance away. Then you can give attention to Tuna. At the same time have your bf engage Sahara and treat her for being calm and not showing any aggression wrt. you giving attention to Tuna. If Sahara is acting very well, then your bf can slowly move her towards you and Tuna. If she starts to show signs of aggression, then non-mark and move her away. This teaches her that being calm gets her good rewards but showing aggression gets her no attention and no rewards.
I have a shepard/huskey mix, she is afraid of other dogs. If a dog approaches on our walks she will try to run. She has on one occassion slipped out of her collar and ran home. We have since then made sure her collar was tighter for our walks. We adopted her from the spca about a year ago, she is now approximately 3 years old. We have been trying to help her with her fear by going to the dog park and socializing from a distance, we will eventually venture closer as she feels more comfortable. When dogs approach her she gets whines, barks and gets aggressive. None of my friends own dogs for us to practice with. We did have another dog (we had to put her down because of old age) when we adopted her and she got along excellent with her. Any suggestions?
I would visit the SPCA you got her from and talk to the trainers there. I am thinking that it could be useful to enroll her in a group class so that she can focus on you and doing commands when there are other dogs around. That will be a very positive experience for her, but only if the space where they hold the classes is large enough that she doesn’t get too fearful.
Talk to the trainers at the SPCA and you could even do some tests with bringing her into the classroom and then bringing in another dog to see how she reacts.
The trainers at my SPCA were very helpful in terms of coming up with different scenarios for my dog. Given that you adopted your dog from them, they should definitely be willing to help.
If you think that a group class would be too much at this point, then consider doing some private sessions with the SPCA trainers – where it is just you, your dog, the trainer, and another dog. Both pairs start off being far from each other and doing commands. Then you can walk a bit closer, stop, and do more commands. I used to do this at my SPCA to help get my dog focus on me when there are other dogs around.
Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.
Would love to see pictures of your girl. I love the look of both shepherds and huskies.
I have visited the SPCA where she came from and they did not have her very long, maybe two weeks before we adopted her. She was found wondering on a major highway, a concerned person stopped and coaxed her into his vehicle and brought her to the SPCA. We only have one trainer in town and there is a waiting list to get into any class. They recently moved from the space they were holding classes and have not found new space yet. We live a 5 hour drive from the nearest city. I am kinda on my own with this one. I appreciate any advice you can give me. I will definately post a picture, she is beautiful.
Hello Tammy,
Btw, what is your dog’s name?
Is she afraid of dog noises as well? What about if she sees a dog on television?
I was thinking that you could start by doing desensitization exercises with soft dog noises that you play from your computer. Then you can slowly increase the volume as she gets more comfortable with it. Then you can move on to a dog on television.
If she is already unafraid of both these scenarios, then the next stage is to practice with other dogs. Are there a lot of dogs that pass by your house?
My Sibe used to be really afraid of the garbage truck. She would get really wild, and want to rush home. So I started desensitizing her to the garbage truck from inside the house. Every garbage day morning I would sit with her and do desensitization when the garbage truck came.
Then I moved on to having her on leash, and sitting with her by the door. Then we progressed to sitting on our lawn and so on.
If there are a fair number of dogs that pass by your house, perhaps you could try something similar? Dogs are usually a lot more confident on their home turf so it is easier for them to face their fears when doing it close to home.
The goal is just to get her to focus on you and ignore the other dogs. At this point, do not do any greetings.
In terms of dogs you see on the street, try to always create as much space as possible. Go far into driveways if you have to, cross the street, etc. But you want to keep random encounters to a minimum while you are desensitizing her so that she never has to go into full flight mode.
Try to meet and make friends with the calm and balanced dogs in your neighborhood (when you are alone). Calm dogs are usually pretty rare in most neighborhoods – but if there are some, they can be a great resource.
Hello! Her name is Tika. Dog noises don’t bother her, when I have to leave her in her kennel we have the Animal Channel on for her. lol I know it is more my comfort than hers, but she is not startled by outside noise then. When she is in the vehicle and sees another dog outside she gets excited and very interested to go to it. Open the door and she will not leave the vehicle. Our friends that live in our town do not have dogs. I have on one occasion had a person walking a dog on our street and asked them if I could bring Tika out to see their dog. When I did, Tika was normal not afraid when she was in her own yard. The dog was a small dog and seemed balance and calm. I have not seen them since. Normally on our walks we do avoid any contact with other dogs. I really worry because while we were on holidays this summer, we were walking her and another dog (small one) ran up to her then just before it approached her it turned and ran from her. As soon as it ran from her, she chased it. She caught it and pinned it down, she seemed to be acting on instinct for as soon as she seemed to realize what she had, she let go of it and ran back to us. She didn’t hurt it not even a scratch. She is a tall and strong we were lucky that the she did not harm the small dog. We also have a cat who shares our household. Tika gets along great with JD. In fact JD will tackle Tika and take her to the floor. JD is about the same size of Tikas head! The odd time that Tika has caused JD to squeal, because she has been too rough, Tika stops playing immediately with her. I have been going for long walks with her that end with us at the dog park. She is usually a little tired by the time we get there. There is also dog jumps and tubes and slides there that I have been introducing her to. Mainly to distract her from the other dogs. We stop at at spot away from the other dogs and rest, she has started relaxing and wanting her belly rubbed. She is still very stressed and aggressive when we leave as we are ultimately approached by a dog. She is fine with the owners! Should I continue with the dog park visits? Is there anything else I can do? I am interested in adopting another dog but I don’t want her anxieties to rub off. Her and I need to deal with this first. We are not in a hurry to adopt but purhaps in the next year or so.
lol Tammy, cats really rule don’t they? 🙂
Yeah, my Husky has really strong prey instinct as well. She gets tense when she sees stray cats about, so I have been slowly desensitizing her to them. Cats are easier though because most of the time they are lying about sunning themselves – so they are a nice stationary target that I can use for desensitization.
The only issue with dog parks is that they tend to be overly busy with too many dogs and it may be too much stimulus for a dog. However, it sounds like you have done a lot of research on this, know what you are doing, and are staying far enough away, so it sounds pretty good.
Getting her relaxed in a spot away with tummy rubs is really good. You can also do some training exercises with her – mostly involving movement to keep her distracted.
Once she is totally ok with being a certain distance away, you can slowly reduce that distance. Bring her a few steps closer the next day etc. Make sure not to push her too fast, too quickly. You want to do it at her pace.
Another thing that would be useful, is to train her to focus on you when she gets fearful. So bring her one step closer, call her name, and treat her for giving you her attention. And then just keep repeating so that in the future, when she sees dogs, that will be her cue to look at you.
Don’t move her too close to the other dogs before she is ready. It is ok to let her sit and watch as long as she is calm and willing to give you her attention. If it looks like she is starting to get stressed, move her back a few steps.
If other dogs approach, you could try to body block the other dog from getting too close. In this way, Tika learns that you do the protecting, so she doesn’t have to herself.
The toughest part in this process I think, is controlling our own energy. It is difficult not to tense up a bit when dogs approach my Shiba because he can get somewhat reactive to certain dogs. He also does not like strange dogs sniffing his butt so I protect him from that. But I am still working on staying totally calm because if I get tense, this will transfer to my Shiba.
Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes and what works well for Tika. This is a difficult issue that I am also helping my Shiba with.
My dog is very good on walks with other dogs and gets a lot of exercise. He follows commands well, but whenever meeting a dog face on, he has about 3 seconds before he lunges and bites it. This is a new behavior that I have been dealing with for a few months and it eliminates a lot of possibilities when it comes to dog sitting/boarding/playtime. He is a pitbull so I very much want to have a balanced dog so the stereotypes don’t continue on. I am just asking if there is anyway to help him meet other dogs and play/avoid without attacking them.
Hi Alexandra,
The best thing to do is to practice desensitization exercises with other dogs. It is probably a good idea to use a basket muzzle during these exercises so that you will be more relaxed, and so that nothing really bad will happen.
I have listed out the general steps to take in desensitizing a dog to other dogs in Tip 8 above. You will need someone else with a very calm dog to work with you initially.
I would also look into getting a positive reinforcement professional trainer. A trainer will be able to observe your dog in real time and be able to accurately diagnose what the source of the aggression is – dominance, fear, or something else. This will help you come up with a better training plan for your dog.
For example, my Shiba Inu does not like it when new dogs sniff his butt because it is a dominance move. So when he meets dogs, I don’t let them go there until he is more familiar with them.
The more you know about the aggression triggers, the better it will be and a professional trainer will be able to help you with that.
I have black lab mixed with a chow and she is always very friendly. Often times I will be walking her and other dogs will start barking at her so then she wants to go see them and of course they just keep barking. It seems like so many of the dogs in my neighborhood are pretty territorial. They seem fine when they are on a leash and walking with their owner, but when they are in their yard they bark at everything that goes by.
You are definitely right on here Jim. My neighborhood is the same way and maybe even a bit worse because there are dogs that get really barky and growly when on walks with their owners. Mine used to be that way too 🙂 I suppose many of the dogs bark because 1. the have too much energy and have barrier frustration; 2. they are trying to protect their den. It is something that is difficult to stop unless owners are home most of the time, which is rarely the case. Doggie day care or getting a dog walker can be helpful in these situations.
Your dog sounds wonderful 🙂 She must be a beauty too – I really love the way chow mixes look.