[lapritchard]

Who ever heard of such a thing!?
Gunnar is a 2 and a half year old yellow lab. We adopted him from a dog rescue last fall, and I'm telling you, this dog is my soul mate. He wants to cuddle, he sleeps curled right next to me in my bed, we were just made for each other. The city doesn't think so. While my step-mom was out for a walk with Gunny off leash (bad, I know, but we live way out in the country...) a jogger happened to be coming toward them. Gunnar attacked her, deaf to step-mom yelling at him, everything. When he's after something, he doesn't listen to anything else. He bit her, the police were summoned, etc. The girl was fine, but the officer told us that we needed to keep him leashed at all times. No problem, until dad forgets and lets him out one morning... and he chases/barks at another runner on our road. Who called the police. Who now want to label him as a dangerous dog.
There's got to be a way to get into this pup's head. I feel bad to say that I was a little afraid of him when I first met him, he is a rather frightening looking pooch, with big dark eyes and a terrifyingly bassy bark. But he is such a softie around the house. He loves me and my family, and the people I show him to be friends. He is aggressive toward other dogs and intruders; I personally think he is very territorial and wants to protect his people and his home. But obviously it is unacceptable when I am out for a walk and he almost pulls my arm out of my socket lunging after a passing biker. I have him on a choke chain, but I feel as though he is becoming less and less responsive to that. I also suspect that he was abused and not socialized as a puppy.
I need help. I can't lose my pup, he is the love of my life. Does ANYONE know a way to curb this behavior? I'm more of horse person than a dog person, I feel like I know their language better than dogs. Obviously leash/muzzle in public, what about shock collar training? Anything would help!! Thank you so much!!

- Leslie

[cigwyllt]

I think it is more than likely that he has been abused - his behaviour is extreme and dangerous. That would not normally occur with a healthy well bred/socialised dog. As a rescue who can know what he has been through.

Please do not use a shock collar - if you try and interrupt his aggressive outburst with pain or discomfort he may well redirect his aggression to you. If you do not have the skills/experience to deal with him then you should employ a trainer or behaviourist to work with you. You have too much to lose if you do not get this situation sorted.

Remember as a family you broke the rules - if you hadn't done that he would not have bitten. As a family you owe it to him to get the help he needs. You won't find a quick fix online or in a book. You need an expert who can read his body language and teach you how to control him.

[OrangeDog]

NEVER use a shock collar on an aggressive dog you will only magnify his aggression.

Your first step is to protect the public and he should be muzzled when out of the house.

Next you need to hire a trainer who uses gentle methods (no shock collars and no cesar milan methods... nothing violent)

I would STRONG advise you to NOT allow him to sleep in your bed and do not let him on the sofa, etc. from what you said of him chasing and biting this is NOT fear based but prey drive aggression which is mostly likely based in dominance and he needs to kindly but firmly know his place. He needs to know that humans are in control. This can be done in a humane way but needs to be done.

There is a good book called Leader of the Pack by Nancy Baer I would recommend reading it.

Please keep us posted on how things go

[Todd]

I agree. No shock collar and I'd also drop the choker chain because all this is going to do is cause him potential injury later in life.

There are several different potential causes to his aggression or maybe even a combo of them. He could very well have been abused and his aggression also may be because of territorial reasons as you stated above. It could even have to do with poor breeding or having being the offspring of a line of dogs with these issues. Regardless, for the sake of yourself and your beloved dog this behavior needs to stop.

You say he is unresponsive to you when you try to call him off people and such, so the first thing you need to do is establish yourself as the alpha pack leader so he respects you and your commands. There is a very controversial method in establishing this and that's the alpha role where you role the dog down on its back and hold it down for a few moments, like a wolf in the wild would do to assume dominance. In your case, DO NOT attempt this method for it would only make things worse with an aggressive dog. Here are some methods I found online that would help you to establish yourself as the alpha pack leader in you and your dog's relationship. Also, orangedog said not to let him sleep with you. This is true because this may make him feel it's his territory and he is the alpha but he can still sleep with you as long as he understands that he is only welcome to WHEN you say it's alright.

Establishing Yourself as Pack Leader

Being The Alpha Dog - Dogs & Dog Training

Establishing yourself as the alpha dog is the most important thing for you to do in your situation, because otherwise training is going to be useless if the dog will not respnd to you. WHile and after this role is being established, try some distraction methods. For instance, take him out on a walk on leash and when he sees a runner or walker or other dog have him sit and stay and keep his attention on a treat or toy. Positive reinforcement is also very important here so praise him and reward him with the treat for participating correctly. Do this often and eventually the goal is to have him be able to run/walk off leash without approaching others and listening to your commands/give you his attention.

Well, hopefully I was of some help. Good luck and be sure to keep us updated!

[Lara's mom]

This dog already has 2 strikes against him. In order to keep both him and other people safe, I would strongly suggest that you muzzle your dog.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

This dog already has 2 strikes against him. In order to keep both him and other people safe, I would strongly suggest that you muzzle your dog.

I agree. At least until the dog shows remarkeable improvement through the methods I provided above.

[Lara's mom]

Depending on the life they've led, any dog can be made aggressive through cruel treatment. I believe that certain breeds are just naturally more aggressive (I won't name them) but, labs certainly are not one of them. I shudder to think of what went on to turn such a normally sweet tempered dog aggressive.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

Depending on the life they've led, any dog can be made aggressive through cruel treatment. I believe that certain breeds are just naturally more aggressive (I won't name them) but, labs certainly are not one of them. I shudder to think of what went on to turn such a normally sweet tempered dog aggressive.

I myself have seen plenty of aggressive labs. In my opinion, any breed of dog can be either aggressive or super sweet regardless of their reputation because of the way they were raised, treated, or illbreed.

[cigwyllt]

A trainer friend of mine told me that the dog she is most wary of in a training situation is the black lab. It is the dog most likely to snap at her and the one most likely to be involved in a really nasty fight.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

A trainer friend of mine told me that the dog she is most wary of in a training situation is the black lab. It is the dog most likely to snap at her and the one most likely to be involved in a really nasty fight.

Black Lab's in general or a specific black lab?

In my opinion it's more the dog, not the breed.

[cigwyllt]

Any black lab - if she has one in her class she is on her guard. She had more bites from random black labradors than any other breed.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Any black lab - if she has one in her class she is on her guard. She had more bites from random black labradors than any other breed.

Well, I still think that would be coincedental however it still goes to show u that it's not the breed of dog but the individual. If she has been bitten by multiple black labs, which aren't "suppose" to be vicious dogs, it shows u that it's not as much the breed as many think it is.

[cigwyllt]

She thinks it is a combination of poor breeding, (for looks not temperament) and the difficulty in reading the dog's body language. It's not that black labs are more dangerous than any other breed but are often misunderstood.

But of course the dog in question here is a yellow lab so that wouldn't apply. It's not as if the dog has been approached and then bitten - the dog has gone out of his way to get to the people concerned.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

She thinks it is a combination of poor breeding, (for looks not temperament) and the difficulty in reading the dog's body language. It's not that black labs are more dangerous than any other breed but are often misunderstood.

But of course the dog in question here is a yellow lab so that wouldn't apply. It's not as if the dog has been approached and then bitten - the dog has gone out of his way to get to the people concerned.

well, i don't think differences between black labs and yello labs are relavent. the only difference is the color of fur.

it's like a lab bro and sis. one has black hair and the other has yellow. does this mean 1 is more agrressive than the other just because of hair color? probably not.

[Lara's mom]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

A trainer friend of mine told me that the dog she is most wary of in a training situation is the black lab. It is the dog most likely to snap at her and the one most likely to be involved in a really nasty fight.

That really amazes me.I've taken rescue dogs in for many years and I've been bitten more times than I care to count but, never by a lab of any colour!

I refused to take pit bulls or pit bull crosses after I took one in and the bloody monster almost killed another dog and sent me to the hospital for 3 days. I told the Rescue Group, "NEVER AGAIN!!!" If I hadn't intervened that monster would have killed an innocent dog not even a quarter of his size. As it happened, both me and the little terrier cross both ended up spending time in the hospital. The pit bull was euthanized and good riddance to the nasty thing!

[OrangeDog]

Yes Todd you are right there is NO difference in the temperament of black, yellow and chocolate labs... it is just color they are all the same breed.

About 15 years ago a little girl in my state a lab jumped over somebody's fence into their yard and killed their young child... a totally unprevoked attack. Poor breeding (backyard breeders, puppy mills/pet store puppies) and lack of training are major reasons for aggression. Dogs that have suffered abuse can be aggressive also but it is usually fear based and not just chasing people down and biting them. This is a breeding and training problem most likely.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

That really amazes me.I've taken rescue dogs in for many years and I've been bitten more times than I care to count but, never by a lab of any colour!

I refused to take pit bulls or pit bull crosses after I took one in and the bloody monster almost killed another dog and sent me to the hospital for 3 days. I told the Rescue Group, "NEVER AGAIN!!!" If I hadn't intervened that monster would have killed an innocent dog not even a quarter of his size. As it happened, both me and the little terrier cross both ended up spending time in the hospital. The pit bull was euthanized and good riddance to the nasty thing!

I understand your thoughts, but why blame a specific breed "pit bulls" for the incident? You could have just as easily been attacked by any other breed of dog. Statistics say that a variety of toy breed dogs have bitten more dogs/people than any other breed of dog (not pit bull). Only reason why this situation was so devistaing was because pit bulls are capable opf causing the most damage. If a yoy breed would have bitten you you would probably have been fine because the little dog would be incapable of causing much damage. A pit on the other hand is capable of causing a lot of damage. In this example, both the toy and the pit were equally aggressive (toy even more according to stats) but the pit sent someone to the hpspital becaquse it was stronger and more capable of damage during the attack.

[Lara's mom]

Wait just a minute...I've been involved with rescue dogs for more than 20 years. Have I been bitten? Yes. Seriously? no. Not until, against my better judgement I took in that miserable pit bull - it was either someone take it or it got euthanized. So, being the stupid sod that I am, I took the bloody monster in. Within 4 hours, a tiny innocent little dog was in the emergency clinic fighting for its life and I was in the hospital for trying to pull that vicious beast off of that tiny innocent little dog.

I have NEVER been bitten by any dog in all the years that I've been involved in rescuing dogs that resulted in a hospital stay until I let that viciious beast into my home. That dog was a disaster just waiting to happen. Unfortunately, it happened in my home and one of my fosters who it was MY responsibility to protect paid a very high price for my stupidity.

I've fostered at least a dozen labs and have never been bitten by any of them.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

Wait just a minute...I've been involved with rescue dogs for more than 20 years. Have I been bitten? Yes. Seriously? no. Not until, against my better judgement I took in that miserable pit bull - it was either someone take it or it got euthanized. So, being the stupid sod that I am, I took the bloody monster in. Within 4 hours, a tiny innocent little dog was in the emergency clinic fighting for its life and I was in the hospital for trying to pull that vicious beast off of that tiny innocent little dog.

I have NEVER been bitten by any dog in all the years that I've been involved in rescuing dogs that resulted in a hospital stay until I let that viciious beast into my home. That dog was a disaster just waiting to happen. Unfortunately, it happened in my home and one of my fosters who it was MY responsibility to protect paid a very high price for my stupidity.

I've fostered at least a dozen labs and have never been bitten by any of them.

I still don't think u should blame the breed, but blame the individual dog. Furthermore, being that this dog was in a shelter maybe it has an abusive past or a dog fighting history. Many people used pit bulls for these reasons and that's why they end in sheltersw. Has nothing to do with the flat breed, it has more to do with how the "individual" dog was treated, trained, or breed. You must know what this pit's past was like to understand. many people train pits to be aggressive dogs so they may remain that way. It's more the way they're trained, not so much like they're genetically aggressive (although poor breeding an contribute).

Think of this. Say a reputable breeder sells a pit to a nice family who train him well and another to a bad person who neglects/abuses him. The 1 with the nice family would most likely be a great, friendly dog, whereas the other would be aggressive because of the way it was brought up/its past. Again, it's almost like a steriotype. A black man in a hoodie is a theif. For all we know that man could be a great father and holding down a substancial job. He could very well be a theif though because of his troubled childhood. Don't judge unless u know ones past, humans and dogs.

In your incident, don't blame the dog, blame whomever (if anyone) owned him in the past.

[OrangeDog]

they are still prone to being aggressive, more so than many other breeds. Several years back a trainer I knew had a pit. She had gotten her as a puppy, trained her very well and socialized her with people and dogs from a very early age. Even with all this the dog still ended up "turning" and going after somebody.