It is especially difficult to become pack leader to an aggressive dog because we will naturally fear our dog’s aggression.
My Shiba Inu used to have the worst bouts of aggressive leash biting. He would jump up on me, grab my jacket sleeve, and shake his head very rigorously, in what I call the kill-move (the shaking, head tossing motion that animals make to kill prey).
The more fearful I got of my dog, the more aggressive he became. He started humping my leg, and attacked the leash whenever I held it. Thankfully, he never broke skin, because of bite inhibition training. Nevertheless, I dreaded walking my dog, or even just being with him.
Here are some techniques that helped me conquer my fear, and become pack leader to my aggressive dog.
1. Practice calm energy
Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer always emphasizes the importance of projecting calm energy, especially when interacting with an aggressive dog. If we interact with a dog using nervous, submissive, fearful, or otherwise unbalanced energy, the dog may pick up on that, get stressed himself, and behave badly or start showing aggression.
Some techniques that helped me remain calm include:
- Taking deep breaths and focusing on breathing to remain calm.
- Actively thinking of something else, whenever I start to get stressed about what my dog might do.
- Using the “tsch” from Cesar Millan. No, it is not a magical sound for calming dogs, but it helps to remind me to stay calm.
- Walking with an assertive posture (shoulders back, head up).
In addition, make sure that we are not putting undue tension on the leash.
The thing that helped me most was to imagine the worst that my dog could do. In the leash biting case, it was a bite to my hand or arm. I decided that for my Shiba Inu, I could deal with some bites. If he did that, I would hold firm, get him home as quickly as possible, and thus end the fun walk. If he continued to bite at me or the leash once we are home, I can put him directly in a time-out area. In this way, he learns that –
Biting on leash = End of walk or temporary loss of freedom,
No biting on leash = Fun walk and exploration continues.
Once I had a plan for dealing with the worst, I became less fearful.
Once my energy improved, my dog’s bad behavior also improved significantly.
2. Have a drag-lead on our dog and keep him on a schedule
When our dog does something undesirable, it is always our reflex to chase after him. However, we will quickly realize that our dog can run much faster than we can!
To get better control of my dog and avoid chasing games, I usually put a drag-lead on him. Initially, I use a longer leash so that I can control him without being close to his mouth.
Only use a flat collar with the drag lead and NOT an aversive collar. Some example aversive collars include the prong collar and choke chain.
Also remember that while dealing with an aggressive dog, safety is of the utmost importance. If necessary, I muzzle my dog with a basket muzzle. A dog can still chew with a basket muzzle, and it is less restraining. To make the muzzling process less stressful, we may want to desensitize our dog to the muzzle, by pairing it with food and fun.
3. Have clear and consistent rules for our dog at all times
In the beginning, we want to be more strict with our dog. Institute more rules so that we have many opportunities to show our dog, that we are the boss.
If my dog does not follow the rules, then he does not get his most desired resources, for example, access of the backyard, walks, yummy dog treats, fun dog toys, play time, and access to pack members.
One of the best ways to become pack leader is to control his resources by following the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) program.
This just means that our dog does not get anything, until he does something for us first.
I do not give my dog all of his food on a silver platter. Instead, I use it for dog training, grooming, and other activities. I don’t leave food or high priority resources (e.g. food toys) out for him to use whenever he wants. Being the boss means that I control the key resources, and I decide when, where, and for how long he gets access to those resources. Of course, I also make sure that my dog has many opportunities to work for all the things that he wants.
Some useful rules to establish and maintain pack leadership include:
- No getting on furniture.
- Sit calmly before going through doorways, and only go through on command.
- No jumping on people.
- No leash biting.
- No food aggression. Must release resource (food, toys, or other items) on command.
- Absolutely no growling, barring of teeth, mouthing, or biting of people.
Once we gain some confidence and our dog is behaving better, we may relax some of these rules.
4. More walks of shorter duration
Most aggressive behaviors occur on neighborhood walks because that is when our dog is exposed to the most interesting stimuli (e.g. other dogs, cats, squirrels, people). On walks, we also have less control over the environment, and may not easily and quickly get our dog under control.
When I had troubles with my Shiba Inu, I shortened our walks but increased their frequency.
First, I would walk him in a heel position inside the house. Doing the heel exercise helps to put me in a pack leader mindset, and enforces my leadership status. In addition, if my dog starts any aggressive behaviors, I can more effectively stop him.
Once we are ready to go, we practice manners at the door. This helps to further secure my leadership role. My dog has to sit calmly while I open and close the door. If he remains calm, we can leave and start the walk.
Initially, I walked my dog close to the house, so that I can quickly end the walk, get him home, and put him on a time-out if he shows any aggression. As we started to have more and more successful short walks, I was able to gain more confidence, and control my fear. When things started improving, I slowly increased the distance and duration of the walk.
5. Address aggressive behaviors as soon as possible
A good pack leader is a vigilant pack leader. Watch our dog closely, especially when he is young (< 1 year old). Stop any aggressive behaviors as soon as we see them.
If we do not address aggression issues early, our dog will likely escalate his behavior, and start practicing aggression in a broader range of contexts. Once this occurs, it will be harder to break him of the habit.
I do not let my dog leash bite, show teeth, growl, or mouth at me. Any of these offenses will get him a warning (ack ack). If he continues, he gets a time-out. I carefully manage the everyday details of our time together, so that I set both of us up for success.
Proper management can significantly increase the number of successes, reduce the number of aggressive episodes, and help us become a good pack leader.
For aggression issues between two family dogs, please refer to Introducing a Second Dog into the Home.
Great advice. Thank you!
What would you recommend for an puppy that is about the same size and weight as you and is exhibiting this behaviour? For example, I find it hard to be a pack leader when I am facing a dog my biting at my hands/body/leash when a walk is ending (and when I say the walk is ending I mean a pretty long walk of approx 1.5 hours). I have tried to get my puppy to sit or do commands when she is behaving like this with very delicious treats such as chicken (she loves chicken) but she is so fixated on continuing the walk that she ignores the treats. I have also tried to take her on alternate routes but after 1 new route walk she always realises that we are on the way home and starts the biting.
i have a problem with with my shepherd collie mix. she is normaly fine when it comes to food dishes but when someone has food in their hands she gets really agressive towards my other dog. ive told everyone in my household not to give her people food but im sure they arent listening to me anyway. is this problem because she is trying to show she is the alpha if so how can i get her to understand to leave the other dog alone.
Hi, we have an 8 month old male rough collie. He’s very big but has been a great puppy, good on walks, not food aggressive and very sweet. Our only concern was him jumping up for attention. However recently I saw my 11 year old being mouthed/bit hard on his arms, chased & jumped up on repeatedly. Our dog did not break my sons skin but he ended up bruised scratched and scared. Luckily I was there and quickly placed the dog in timeout. It was while my kids were playing jumping in pool & our dog was over excited. I hoped it was an isolated incident. It happened again however, this time to my 10 year old daughter who plays very often with him in the yard. She knows how to control the leash while walking him, make him sit and follow other commands and he has never shown aggression towards her before. She was playing in the yard and he began to attack her biting her arms. She ran towards me and he jumped up and pulled her down by her hair. Very scary moment. I placed him in a time out. Just today I experienced his aggression for myself. I was in our yard, our dog was loose and I was walking back towards the house with some of his toys that were scattered in the yard. He jumped up from behind and almost knocked me over. Began biting my arms, growling and tried taking his toys back. I did not allow him the toys & I grabbed his collar said no firmly, made him sit even though he was growling and biting my hands, then placed him in time out. I really felt out of control and afraid that he could hurt me or the kids. We have a large property and he loves being outside. He has the run of the yard for several hours a day. Could it be that he thinks we are in his territory? Any ideas of how we can get more control over him. Thanks
Just to add to my post – our rough collie is neutered.
I think it’s the collies nature. I have an with month old collie and he does the same. Never bit yet and hope not. At times I feel like I’m loosing my mind and my boyfriend is getting so upset. I really don’t wanna have to give him away. He’s always bawling on my older sons arms and sometimes shows teeth to other family members but never me. He is neutered as well. My vet said I need to find a trainer that works with aggression. We know that can be pricy. I was just wondering if you found any helpful stuff. Thanks in advance.
I have 2 Alaskan Klee Kais and having the following problems –
1) One of them would pulls and barks with all teeth showing whenever he is on a leash and sees another dogs (especially dogs of his size or bigger than him);
2) When he is not on leash, he doesn’t bark as aggressive but he would jump towards other similar size or bigger dogs and start nipping on them (again, with all teeth showing). When this happen, my other Klee Kai would join in and started to gang up then the aggression begin;
3) I also notice they only do that to breeds outside of their own as well as Shiba Inu, is there a particular reason why?
Thanks!
How old are your dogs? How long have you had your dogs? Have they always shown this behavior? What kind of past experiences have they had with other dogs? What kind of training are they used to?
I leash train my dogs separately. When they are together, they are a lot more reactive because they feed off of each other’s excitement and behavior.
I help my dog be more comfortable and calm with other dogs, by doing dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. The key with desensitization is to start small, use distance to weaken the “other dog” stimulus, and to always set my dog up for success. The more calm and successful other-dog experiences that he has, the more confidence and trust he gains, the more positive associations he forms, and the better his behavior becomes. Similarly, reactive experiences will undermine that confidence and trust, set back desensitization training, and worsen his behavior.
Therefore, I always try to set my dog up for success. We did desensitization training in a structured environment, with trainer chosen dogs, and under the supervision of a trainer. During our regular walks, I manage our environment by walking during off-hours and driving him to a quiet, low stimulus area, if necessary. I use distance and barriers to weaken the other-dog stimulus, and we create neutral experiences by ignoring other dogs.
The key with my Shiba Inu is to manage his routine and environment. I start small, and at a far enough distance that he is able to remain calm and listen to me. As he gains confidence and trust, then I can very slowly increase the environmental challenge.
More on how I deal with dog-to-dog aggression.
More on dog socialization-
http://www.badrap.org/dogdog-tolerance
http://www.badrap.org/smart-socializing
http://www.badrap.org/keeping-peace
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-socialization-what-why-how
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/socializing-your-puppy
Articles on what to look out for when finding a trainer/behaviorist-
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hi! Great article, thank you.
I have a nervous 5 year old Shiba from a very reputable breeder.
He eats grass and when this doesn’t pass properly on his 2 to 3 walks a day, he gets very aggressive until it’s completely gone. For example, he jumps up at me and my partner, bites hard, bares all teeth and snarls. The only way we know to avoid this is to run with him on his lead to prevent further biting and hope that the grass falls out or gives us space from him to allow him to drag his bum on the floor or try to pass the grass. He’s a nervous dog anyway and jumps at the slightest blow of a feather or cyclist riding by. Other than that he’s a friendly, well behaved dog so don’t know what to do 🙁
With my Shiba, I did desensitization exercises with him early on to help him get more comfortable with cyclists, skateboarders, etc. The more positive new experiences he has, the more confidence he gains, and the more comfortable he becomes with new things. Similarly, bad experiences will undermine that confidence, significantly set back training, and worsen his fear behaviors. Therefore, I always try to set my dogs up for success and not expose them to situations that they are not ready to handle.
ASPCA article on desensitization and counter-conditioning.
As for the grass in butt thing, my Shiba also gets pretty frantic when stuff doesn’t come out all the way. With Sephy, it usually works out best for him to get it out himself. I also don’t let him eat too much grass.
However, I do not let him bite on me or other people. If he is on-lead and starts to leash bite or jump on me, I fast march him home on a very short lead. I can do this because he has very good bite inhibition, and has never broken skin.
More on my leash-biting experiences with Sephy.
For reactive biting behavior, I would consult with a good, positive-based trainer. With my Shiba, I have found that it is best to address undesirable behaviors right away, so that it does not escalate or expand into other circumstances.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
http://shibashake.com/dog/finding-a-dog-trainer
Does the Husky have a left front leg? It’s seen as a puppy, but the newer photos appear to have no left front leg. Maybe it’s just a bad angle. If it is missing, was it due to the shiba?
Shania was born with a slightly crooked leg and it turned out that her leg bones did not connect properly. This was something that we tried to fix through surgery, but unfortunately, the procedure did not take. In the end, the surgeon recommended amputation.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-amputation-siberian-husky-shania
I set up clear dog-to-dog interaction rules and supervise my dogs very well during play-time, meal-time, and periods of greater interaction, to ensure that everyone gets along and that disagreements do not escalate into anything more serious.
More on how I help my dogs get along.
My dog was a year old in April. We were having constant trouble with him barking and lunging at the windows when people walked by. We hired a trainer about 5 weeks ago and she insisted that we use a prong collar and control him with that. We used it for about a week and I really did not like it, so we put his regular collar back on. Now when he is barking and lunging at the windows and I am just pulling on his regular collar to get him away from it he starts attacking either me or my husband. He has bite me once and my husband about 6 times. He also does not like loud noises in the house. Outside he does not seem to mind him. I am at the point where I am on edge the entire time I am home not knowing what is going to trigger his aggression. Anyone have any suggestions. I am at my wit’s end
Dogs barking and lunging at windows is commonly caused by barrier frustration. Barrier frustration can also lead to redirected aggression, which is when the dog redirects his frustrated energy onto a person or another nearby dog.
http://www.whenhoundsfly.com/dog-barks-dogs-people-window/
http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/how-do-i-manage-my-dogs-barrier-frustration
http://www.bigdogsbighearts.com/Leash_Aggression_Barrier_Frustration.pdf
Using aversive techniques (e.g. prong collar) in such a situation, may lead to even more stress and negative associations. The dog training field is not well regulated, so it can be a challenge to find good trainers who understand the science behind dog behavior, can properly read and diagnose a dog’s behavior, and then come up with appropriate ways to retrain it.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
How I went about finding a trainer for my dog.
I adopted a dog about 4 months ago..she is now 9 months old. Every time I take her out she will lung and bite the leash and tug on it snarling and growling. This usually happens after she poops.. My trainer told me to drop the leash and step on it that does not work she will pull and pull until it gets out from other my feet. When she does stop I go to grab the leash and she will start all over again. I have tried to take her back to the house but she makes it impossible because if I am able to grab the Leash she will start biting my hand. Recently I have been bringing treats and making her sit after she poops and while she’s in this state of mind and it worked for a couple days then she started acting up again and sitting immediately With out me saying anything just to get a treat. I have givin her sticks right after she poops hoping she will be distracted but that only works sometimes. I am at my wits end. She is a loving dog in the house on walks usually she’s really good but she does bite the leash sometimes. I don’t know what to do anymore..I try to stay as calm as possible but she doesn’t care.
What kind of a dog is she? How big is she? Have you been out walking with her and your trainer? How does your trainer handle her when she starts to leash bite? Does it work?
I also had a lot of leash-biting troubles with my Shiba Inu. At the start, he did leash-biting after he pooped. However, after some time, he started doing it more often and in a great variety of contexts, because it brought him good results. I was unable to control him when he did leash-biting, so he got rewarded by getting to do whatever he wants.
What finally worked for us is to fast march him home. To do that, I first train him to have really good bite inhibition. As soon as he starts to leash bite, I no-mark, hold the leash very close to his collar (so I have good control), and march home at a fast clip.
Because he has good bite inhibition, he does not do any real damage to my hand even if he does try to bite. However, since I am going pretty fast, he has to focus on walking, and does not have much of an opportunity to leash bite at that point.
More on my experiences with leash-biting.
Some other things that helped with Sephy –
1. I did shorter but more frequent walks. In this way, I can get him home quickly when he starts to misbehave.
2. I set him up for success by walking him in more quiet areas, so he is more calm and less reactive.
3. I practice structure and rules before we leave for the walk. In this way, he gets into the mindset of following rules and being calm before we even leave the house.
Hello!
First of all, thank you for this wonderful site. It is such a sigh of relief to hear from someone who had problems with their pup, but then was able to succeed. Oftentimes, it seems trainers make everything “easy,” and then I feel like an even bigger failure. You give me hope!
My problem is with my almost-6-month-old Golden Retriever. I read a lot of training information before I brought him home, researched breeders extensively before choosing the breeder I did, and felt confident that I did my homework. Life has a way of laughing in our faces, sometimes!
I have used ONLY positive training with him from the very beginning. We have done hand-feeding from day one, using it for training, handling exercises, rewarding calm behavior, etc. He also gets food daily in food puzzles and Kongs. I followed Ian Dunbar’s before/after books and made good bite inhibition my #1 goal.
In many areas, my dog has been a good model of what Ian Dunbar recommends. He happily accepts his crate and ex-pen, is a chew-toy-aholic, and is reliably housetrained. He also has no guarding issues, and we make sure to continue to maintain this by throwing him treats when he has high value items. We trade, we puppy proof so that he doesn’t have to “leave it” or “give” very often. Even on walks, he will often CHOOSE to ignore many items, because he knows he will get rewarded for his choice. (Not when it comes to food on the ground, of course– in that case I try to prevent and pick my battles.)
We have him sit for everything, and also work on eye contact as a way to ask us permission. We work on impulse control games as well.
However, I started having an issue with my pup while out on walks about a month ago, when he was nearing 5 months. I always bring his kibble on walks, along with higher value treats. On this particular walk, I started to extend my variable reward schedule, and not treat him quite so often– I was treating him VERY often. He started to jump, hump, and bite.
I contacted a trainer, and she told me how to fix the variable schedule so that it was less frustrating to my dog, so I thought it was resolved.
However, he has done this biting behavior (humping has stopped) in other situations, and they are always outside, and always linked to some source of frustration:
(1) A game of tug in which he suddenly stops tugging on the toy and goes for me. I have heard so many opinions on tug– some people say it makes the dog worse, some say you can use it for impulse control– now IF I play it, we have very strict rules and I make sure I am safe, like playing with him only with a gate dividing us. In any case, I rarely play tug with him anymore.
(2) During a recall training session with my children (ages 13 and 10). My 13 y.o. gave him some cheese, but when he decided that he wanted ALL of the cheese in her hand, he started to jump/bite.
(3) During a longer walk, he started to go after the treat bag, jumping and biting.
(4) Today, at a forest preserve, he wanted to run. I practiced some calming behaviors with him, which he did, but then he started wanting to truly run– and when I couldn’t/wouldn’t comply, he came full force at me, biting my arm.
I have tried ignoring, and it only makes it worse. Ditto for yelping. In his puppy stage, he rarely went after skin, but now that he is older, he is biting harder (ONLY during these times– he rarely nips in the house, and has a soft mouth when he does), leaving bruises on my arms. He broke skin once.
People have told me to let him play with dogs to help with his bite. He is very good with dogs! I don’t take him to dog parks because I know they can increase frustration, but I have started taking him to structured/monitored play sessions (he did this as a younger puppy, too), and he is very appropriate, and adjusts his play to dogs, respects dogs who don’t want to play, etc. He is NOT dominant in his play– does not hump– nor is he overly submissive.
My household is very busy (5 kids ages 3-13 plus 2 cats) but we have all been VERY respectful of our dog. The kids know about calming signals and will stop petting him if he yawns, licks his lips, etc. They also know not to disturb him when he is eating or on his mat, where he is reinforced for calm behavior. He is highly managed with a short lead on, gates, etc. because I don’t trust him around my younger children– not that he has shown anxiety around them, but I don’t want to risk anything.
My dog does not show signs of fear or that he is very bold. He seems to be a right-in-the-middle dog, where he is curious but does not approach things with his tail up (it’s in the middle)– but will approach them– and is rewarded with a click/treat when he takes a chance to explore. Loud noises don’t bother him (not even fireworks!), nor is he hand-shy, etc. He is friendly to people and such. Does not love petting, but with classical conditioning we have come a long way– and now he does a lot more than he used to. He wants to be by us often, and since I am a stay-at-home mom, he gets a LOT of attention.
I have taken him to 10 weeks of training (positive only), am going to do more– and he was a star in class. Learned loose-leash walking well except too excited when there are dogs nearby outside. (We tend to cross the street, and he is allowed to sit and watch them– but gets a treat when he checks in with me.) We have started on nosework and I joined Puppy Peaks, though I may cancel now because Susan Garrett uses tug so often, and I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for my dog.
I had a trainer who has her degree in behavior come, and she was not concerned. He was gentle with her, even in his play. He did not go into his “frustration frenzy” when he was with her, though. It does not happen every day, however.
My plan is to get a head collar for better control, or a different harness. I thought about a muzzle, too, for walks, if I get a harness. I am also going to be strict with myself and keep walks really short, because the longer walks are when he has issues. (We just don’t allow him free in the backyard now if anyone wants to be active.) But, when he starts to bite when I am away from home . . .I absolutely feel scared.
I am really frustrated because I feel like as a 1st time trainer, I’ve done so much work and have a not-normal problem. This doesn’t happen daily, but when it does, I get very upset. I called the breeder today, and of course, choke chains and alpha rolls were the advice.
Any words of wisdom? Thank you for reading my novel!
I had a similar issue with my Shiba Inu when he was young. When he got frustrated during walks, he would start leash-biting and sometimes also bite on my jacket sleeve. There were several reasons why Sephy did this –
1. He did this because it worked. Every time he started leash-biting, I did not really know how to respond effectively, so he got to misbehave without any real consequences.
2. I did not have good energy. When Sephy started his crazy leash biting and jacket biting behavior, I got really stressed and upset. He would pick up on my energy, get stressed himself, and his behavior would worsen.
Some things that helped me with Sephy-
1. Show him that crazy biting behavior *does not* work and has undesirable consequences.
If Sephy started his crazy biting during walks, I would put him on an extremely short leash, and fast-march him home. In this way, he learns that crazy biting behavior = very fun walk ends. If he does crazy biting behavior at home, I put him temporarily in time-out. I have a drag-lead on him when I am supervising him at home (only with a flat collar), and I use that to quickly take him to timeout. In this way, he learns that crazy biting behavior at home = temporarily lose freedom to roam and to be with people.
Once he figured out that the behavior didn’t “work” anymore and actually had undesirable results, he stopped doing it.
2. Control my own energy, remain calm, and always have a very detailed plan A, plan B, and plan C.
3. Set us both up for success by controlling Sephy’s environment and excitement level.
In the beginning, we did shorter but more frequent walks, in more quiet, low stimulus areas. In this way, he stays more calm, we have more successful walks, and I can quickly get him home and put him in timeout if necessary.
More on my leash biting experiences with Sephy.
More on controlling my own energy.
*ADD – Oh yeah, I also stopped playing tug with Sephy. I follow rules while playing tug with him, and during play, he would be fine. However, I noticed that he was more likely to do his crazy leash biting behavior afterwards, during walks. Now, he plays tug with my other dogs, but he is not allowed to play it with people.
When I try to give my dog a time out, it gets difficult because he bares his teeth at me and tries to bite me when I try to lift him up by the collar. I’ve resorted to just letting him sit where he is (usually in the balcony) and shutting the doors. He’s very quiet and wants to be petted after being alone for ten minutes in the balcony. There are no more traces of aggression. I’m not sure what to do any more.
If necessary, I use a leash to control my dog and put him in a time-out area. My time-out area is low stimulus and very safe for my dog.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-tips-solutions#drag-lead
Why I don’t do collar grabs-
http://www.homewardboundgoldens.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Dont-Grab-My-Collar.pdf