Over the last year, Coco has become more and more "dog aggressive". She is fine with people, I have only had one occasion where she showed aggression to a person and it was when we left her for a few days by herself and asked a friend to feed her. She growled at our friend when he tried to come into the back yard to feed her. I don't consider that "human aggressive", more like guarding the den.

However, over the last year, she increasingly has become aggressive with any dog that is close to her size. Small dogs are no problem. Dogs close to her size: problem. At first it seemed like just certain dogs. . But this week when she was at the kennel for the week, she was like that with every dog in her large dog wing. The vet techs could not walk her past any dog without her become aggressive and trying to fight them. She never got aggressive with the vet techs, only the other dogs. Vet techs had no problem handling her, caring for her, etc.. But they eventually has to give a mild sedative to "take the edge off her" just so they could get her past the other kennels to get out to the play area to run around by herself.

I have read up a lot of articles online about this behavior and it seems that she may be confused about her position "in the pack". I've read about some techniques to "correct" this behavior, including use of a dominance correction collar.
Given the wealth of dog training expertise here, I thought I would ask y'all for any advice on what I need to be doing different to help correct this situation.
FYI: She is an outside dog, spends 99% of her time in the back yard with the chickens. She only comes in when its really cold or tropical weather events.

Thanks!

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Carl
Mobile, AL
DHBP Member since 1998

"Life is too short to drink bad beer."
Disclaimer: This post and/or report is not a substantiation of or reflection on the true accuracy of the present surveying methods. It is only a report on or comment concerning local observation and/or results. Your results and observation may vary based on your location, local water conditions, food supply, weather conditions and migratory patterns "

Carl,
What breed of dog is Coco?


Tom

Chocolate Lab.

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Carl
Mobile, AL
DHBP Member since 1998

"Life is too short to drink bad beer."
Disclaimer: This post and/or report is not a substantiation of or reflection on the true accuracy of the present surveying methods. It is only a report on or comment concerning local observation and/or results. Your results and observation may vary based on your location, local water conditions, food supply, weather conditions and migratory patterns "

I don't have an answer,I'm just wanted to wish you luck with this.

How many dogs does she have contact with on a weekly basis? Does she have neighborhood dogs she sees or do you have friends who come over with dogs?
A lot of times it is just that they don't see other dogs as often as they should. The friendliest dog can become spooky around other dogs if it goes a long time without interaction with them.

Sometimes he becomes a joke but Cesar Millan understands dog aggression very well and doesn't treat dogs like little kids. I'd do a search on him and dog aggression. You may then need to go to some type of obedience trainer who deals with many dogs. You won't be able to cure it without other well controlled dogs and the know-how to control them. Being the pack leader isn't all there is to it.

btw I consider excited barking much more acceptable then growling at people. I'd make sure she is around plenty of people also to make sure that doesn't go any farther. I'm not a big fan of the guard dog mentality unless you are very good at controlling that type of behavior. It's best to nip this in the bud.

Good luck
Tim
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"Ah Nuts!"

http://snipehunterfishart.blogspot.com/

I agree with Tim that you could find some help reading some of Ceaser's material. But no matter the cause of the "aggression", fear or dominance, the fix is timely corrections that finish only when the dog has assumed a calm submissive posture. Learning to recognize both is not as easy as it sound, but with time you should be able to get through this. I do not feel that special collars are really much help especially e-collars as an untimely correction could only send the dog into a more excited rage rather than stop it.

Does your dog walk on heal at you side with a slack leash? If no then start there. A leash correction has to be a quick pop and back to a slack leash. A tight lead will only cause the dog to become more intent on attacking.

The proper correction comes when the dogs ears or tail lift and they begin to focus on the "target" dog. A quick pop of the leash and a heal or leave it. Only when the ears and tail settle into a lower position and the eyes come off the target should you move forward and continue without making contact with the "target". More than one or a stronger pop may be necessary if she will not break off and settle down.

Good luck let us know how you do

Shawn R Linn
Patience is a virtue for which I have no time.

Carl, how old is coco?
Is she in a kennel outside?

John,

She is 5, she stays in our fenced backyard. Along with the chickens when I let them out. She doesn't bother them, will gently muzzle-push them when they try to eat her food.

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Carl
Mobile, AL
DHBP Member since 1998

"Life is too short to drink bad beer."
Disclaimer: This post and/or report is not a substantiation of or reflection on the true accuracy of the present surveying methods. It is only a report on or comment concerning local observation and/or results. Your results and observation may vary based on your location, local water conditions, food supply, weather conditions and migratory patterns "

Carl, IMO I don,t believe you should use a e collar on coco, the e collar is often misunderstood on how to use , I have had the experience to train quite a number of retrievers using the collar & through all this the earlier in age you start to collar condition the dog the greater success you have.Also the collar is not just for correction it can be used for Positive reinforcement, that's a whole different topic,I,m getting off track.I believe you would be best to get some professional trainer help, not advice but help which can be costly ,sorry I don,t have the magic formula for you to overcome your dogs aggression, only my opinion.All the best!

Carl,
I don't think this is something you can do yourself.
First, how often is she around other dogs her size? Does she behave this way if you have out for a walk on lead at a park? Or, does it only happen when she feels like she needs to protect 'her' space and/or people?
If she is not around other dogs very often the easiest solution may be to try and eliminate contact with other dogs.
I also wonder if this is only the tip of the ice berg? The fact that she was aggressive towards a person once is something I would watch. Dogs are usually pretty straightforward in their behaviors. We like to add motives or make justifications.
Has she had a physical recently? Sometimes underlying health problems can cause changes in behavior.
Tom

Carl - Socializing dogs with people and other dogs is critical. And, so is being intentional about it. I have a friend who has a Chessie that needed some socializing. More so with other dogs. I recommended he go to the local Kennel Club and run him through a couple of obedience classes. I did this, not so much for the obedience part but more so for the socializing and, having discipline around other dogs and people. He explained his circumstances to the trainers and they were able to specifically focus on this during the training. He immediately had 2 professional dog handlers helping him. They handled the dog and were able to help. I highly recommend it. May cost you money but, money well spent.
BTW, he stayed on for 3 classes and really enjoyed working his dog which all the obedience they worked on together is crucial to a waterfowling dog.
My two cents... Pat

I would make sure u take the dog on a daily walk and a proper walk where u are in a calm assertive role. All a fenced in yard is to a dog is a large kennel. If dogs don't work off their energy daily, aggression is one outlet of pent up energy. I agree Ceaser Millan has become too Hollywood, but his early work is spot on.. I would get his 1st book "Ceaser's Way" ($8 in paperback). I have read 3 of his books. All have a wealth of information. He explains the dogs mind, and how they communicate though energy. And how to feel it & use it. I constantly get "wows" from folks from my dogs calm behavior, (even around aggressive dogs)..