Selective aggressiveness

bonjov1smine · 03-08-2010

Help I have 2 staffys, a 4 yr old male neutered and a 14 mth female I have no problems with the female and she hs a lovely temperament. The 4 yr old is brilliant with people and brilliant with the other dog, but when you take him out he just changes, sometmes he is ok with dogs and he does have a couple of friends but mostly he just wants to kick off with them. You cannot predict which ones it will be it could be a dog hes been ok with before. Wehave tried distraction, putting him to the floor, letting him hold his ball while walking, but have had no joy. He cant be let off the lead anymore while other dogs are about just in case. His latest escapade involved a tiny puppy. He has never hurta dog because we keep him on the lead. HELP

Todd · 03-08-2010

There are many reasons for aggression in dogs. It could be dominance, it could be possessive aggression, or it could be territorial aggression. In what context does he generally get aggressive? Is there a toy involved? Does he get aggressive with any specific types of dogs (size, age, temprement, challenging, etc)? Does he ever get aggressive off lead or is he always on lead. Being on lead around other dogs can often make matters worse because he feels valnurable. Please let me know the answers to my questions with as much detail as possible so we can try to pin point what's truggering his aggressive behavior and put an end to it.

Lara's mom · 03-09-2010

Until such time that you are able to solve this problem, I'd suggest that you muzzle your dog. If yours is aggressive, you are putting other dogs at risk.

bonjov1smine · 03-09-2010

We never let our dog get near enough to others so that he can hurt them as a dog lover and a human being I would be irresponsible to let him near other dogs. He is on a lead all the time.

Todd his aggressiveness seems to be at dogs who are wary of him , if they bark a lot if they are smaller than him, its as if hes displaying bullying behaviours if this can happen. At least three dogs on our dog walkers meet can jump all over him and hes not bothered. He has been off lead with an assortment of dogs but a game of ball was happening and he was quite focused this does tire him and he is quite calmer but then when we are walking him back home and he sees a dog he dosent like then he will go hell for leather to get at it. He is not a food dog so no food techniques work with him. He is a lovely dog and he spoils his fun for himself. xx

Todd · 03-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonjov1smine

We never let our dog get near enough to others so that he can hurt them as a dog lover and a human being I would be irresponsible to let him near other dogs. He is on a lead all the time.

Todd his aggressiveness seems to be at dogs who are wary of him , if they bark a lot if they are smaller than him, its as if hes displaying bullying behaviours if this can happen. At least three dogs on our dog walkers meet can jump all over him and hes not bothered. He has been off lead with an assortment of dogs but a game of ball was happening and he was quite focused this does tire him and he is quite calmer but then when we are walking him back home and he sees a dog he dosent like then he will go hell for leather to get at it. He is not a food dog so no food techniques work with him. He is a lovely dog and he spoils his fun for himself. xx

Keeping him on leash can do more harm than good in certain circumstances. This make your dog feel valnuarable toward other dogs. You may want to keep him off lead at the dog park when other dogs are off lead and use a muzzle during the training process as Laura's Mom suggested.

Sounds to me like dominant aggressiveness. He seems to be asserting himself as the alpha dog over dogs inwhich he feels are below him in the pack or challenging to him. What you'll need to do is assert yourself as the alpha over your dog so he respects you as his leader and obeys your commands. Dominant dogs are not always neccessarily aggressive, however dominant dogs can get out of hand and dangerous at times. One you establish YOURSELF as the alpha, your dog will then respect your commands when you call him away/off another dog in the instance of a confrontation. Either way, here are some methods from an online article that can help train a dog with dominant aggressiveness. Alpha rolling is a cvery controversial methods but I believe ity can be helpful with dominant/high strung dogs but never at first. You may look into it if other methods fail, however do not become impatient;

Becoming the Alpha Dog - Help For Owners of Older Dogs

After asserting yourself as the alpha, you may start training him to respond to your commands when he gets aggressive with other dogs.

Lara's mom · 03-09-2010

I suggested the muzzle because it is unfair to put other dogs at the park at risk while you socialize your dog.

bonjov1smine · 03-09-2010

Todd this may seem like a daft question but how can I be alpha over 1 dog and failed becoming alpha over the other they are both treated the same.

Todd · 03-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonjov1smine

Todd this may seem like a daft question but how can I be alpha over 1 dog and failed becoming alpha over the other they are both treated the same.

You've got to remember, all dogs are different just like people. They have there own unique personalities or temprements and different training methods are more suited for some than others. treating two dogs the same way for the same problem doesn't always work out. Give me a little more information. What are the temprements of your two dogs? Which one worked well with alpha training? Which one didn't? How did this one react? What was your training method(s) of choice?

bonjov1smine · 03-11-2010

Today I took my dog out with his ball in my hand for distraction when we came across other dogs I made him sit and focus on his ball gradually taking it away, he kept looking for the dogs but his ball appeared more interestingonce the dogs had passed by I allowed him to hold his ball I actually have took him for a walk where nothing happened. I am going to keep up with this. The ball also helped with his pulling on the lead.

Lara's mom · 03-11-2010

You made it quite clear that there was only one members opinion that you were willing to listen to. I hope for both your sake and ours that he hasn't deleted his account as he planned to.

Todd · 03-12-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonjov1smine

Today I took my dog out with his ball in my hand for distraction when we came across other dogs I made him sit and focus on his ball gradually taking it away, he kept looking for the dogs but his ball appeared more interestingonce the dogs had passed by I allowed him to hold his ball I actually have took him for a walk where nothing happened. I am going to keep up with this. The ball also helped with his pulling on the lead.

Great! Keep up the good work! The tennis ball must be more important to him than the other dogs. Remember to reward him with plenty of treats/toys and verbal praise for positive behavior. Looks like this method is working very well for your dog. The key is to divrt his attention from dominant thoughts tgo intrest in the ball in this case. Just be care he doesn't become possessive over the ball around other dogs. If he does, this will be a separate issue to deal with. Would you ever like to take him to a dog park where he could be off lead around other dogs? If this is something that'd you eventually like to be able to do, I'd suggest continuing his method durin walks but also continue to reinforce/establish yourself as the alpha so your dog will espond to your commands eventually ithout needing to be distracted with the ball, but with a simple command. This way, under your control, he will eventually be able to socializw with other dogs without being a dangerous threat. But the attention diversion method you're using now seems to be going great and is a great way to begin your dog's road to recovery. You persuit of happiness with the dog if you will. Once your dog does better, gradually transition to more verbal commands rather than distractions. This will eventually solve the problem if all goes well, but don't epect not to hit road blacks and plenty of them on the way. eventually you want the dog to respect you as the alpha and comply to your commands. Dstraction does work though as part of the beginning stages of the full recovery process.

Good Luck and I'm SO glad things are going well!

Please keep us updated on your progress!