[enchanted37]

I am having another problem with my dog. So we adopted Bear about 2 months ago, he is in training and is exceling. However last night he got into a fight with another dog, and I am concerned that this problem is getting worse. Bear is toy aggressive. NOT with humans at all, but with dogs he is. We do not have another dog, but our apartment has a dog play area and last night we were out playing with a toy and another (super nice and calm) dog came in and started playing with a soccer ball. They played with their respective toys for about 5 minutes and then Bear's toy ended up right by the other dog's toy and Bear stood over both of them and claimed them as his. The other dog was not having this and a fight broke out. The fight was entirely Bear's fault, he would not back down and let the other dog have the toy. The other dog initially backed off but he wanted his toy back and approached Bear and tried to take it.

We started taking all of his toys away from him, and he only gets them when we are asleep or gone, but how long do we have to do that for? And will that even work? He is very submissive to humans but other dogs is where the aggression comes out. We would like him to be able to enjoy his toys all the time and I hate to think him not having toys has to be a permanent thing.

What else can we do to stop the toy aggression in its tracks?

[lange]

Hi. So you say "this problem is getting worse." This isn't his only incident? You'r sure it was a real fight? I know you mentioned previously your dog was neutered..YAY! Especially w/aggression. What sort of breed is he?

My best suggestion would be to get expert help. You mentioned training, have you asked the trainer for help w/his aggression? Has he exhibited any during class?

I'm not an expert but I would advice you learn as much as you can about doggie body language so that you can read his signs & correct him before it even escalates. If Bear can't be trusted right now, he should be on leash in the play area. I'm not a dog park or off leash fan but I know there are many others who enjoy it. However, once aggression is shown the owner should act on that for everyone's sake.

I'm not sure why you are taking his toys away at home if the problem is dog aggression? I don't see punishing him having a positive effect on his behavior unless there's something I'm missing.

Hopefully you'll get more suggestions on here. And really hoping it's not true aggression.

[enchanted37]

This was his first fight. He has been growling at other dogs more frequently. I think it may be because he hardly ever gets to interact with other dogs. He is so over-excited when seeing another dog on leash that we have to turn and leave even though he is on a Gentle Leader. We do not know ANYONE with a calm dog who we can use to train him in how to approach a dog the proper way. He is in training, he is the only dog in the class. I have asked the trainer to bring her dog so we can work on these issues but she keeps forgetting. From now on we will reschedule if she forgets but honestly I am a little disappointed in her knowledge. I feel like I am telling her what we should do.

Bear is a Flat Coated Retriever/Cocker Spaniel mix.
I do need to pick up on his body language more, I realized that after the fight. There were signs, like him standing over the toy "guarding" it. I should have intervened earlier but I didn't realize. I think next time if we are playing and another dog comes up his leash will go on.

We are taking the toys away from him at home because it seems to be mostly toy aggression, but with no other dogs in the house I don't know if there is even a point to it. He does do it very slightly with our cat, but they seem to have established their order in the household and there have never been any fights. All that happens is if the cat sniffs or walks by a toy Bear will trot over and pick the toy up, and the cat will walk away. I don't see it as a big problem but I do see how he is asserting his dominance in that situation.

What do you mean by "a real fight?" They growled and tried to bite each other. It looked like a real fight to me, what else would it be?

[lange]

Originally Posted by enchanted37

What do you mean by "a real fight?" They growled and tried to bite each other. It looked like a real fight to me, what else would it be?

Going off your first post I wasn't sure how well you watched them & whether there was any chance they might have been playing roughly. Reading everything you added, you obviously know it wasn't.

I'm sure you already know you should probably look into getting a different trainer from what you wrote.

Meanwhile, with the aggression, you can try distracting Bear with his FAVORITE treats (even boiled chicken or something EXTRA smelly) when you're out in public & see another dog approaching. The goal being for him to focus completely on you, turn his back to the others (before he has a chance to react to the other dog) then treating & continuing his focus training until the dogs pass. You can possibly try it w/him continuing the walk focused on you or stopping to sit him w/his back to them. Whatever works easier.

You can also try leaving the toys at home for now & possibly skipping play areas for awhile & instead stick to the focus training while on walks. Once you feel more confident in reading his behavior & keeping his attention you can do short tries at the play area. Remember, his aggression isn't something you want to show fear of, but that you want to show is unwanted by you. Alpha is in charge. If you ever feel slightly uneasy, get him to walk away on leash, with YOU making the first move. If you're one step ahead of him it should reinforce that he doesn't decide his actions, you do.

Of course, these are just things I would try myself if I were in your position and while you find a professional with experience in dog aggression. Let us know how things progress.

[reeskujo]

Do you know anything about his background? That may have something to do with it..Lange gave you some good advice but I wanted to add that you have to be sure that when you're walking him and you see another dog don't put tension on the leash because he will take it as you being afraid of the approaching dog and will only make his state of mind increase..

Besides using treats to distract him from another dog you can also turn around and head in the other direction before he gets the chance to react and once he has calmed down and stopped focusing on the other dog give him a treat so he knows that it the behavior you want..

I also agree that for right now you should avoid dogs parks or if you take him keep him leashed and leave his toys at home..As for taking his toys away at home,that is pointless..He has no idea why you're doing it and since they're not being taken away at a time when he is guarding his toy it's simply going to confuse him..If he doesn't have this issue when is at home then by taking them away from him he's being punished for no reason...

You may also want to try from time to time to take his toy from him and immediately give him a treat then give him back his toy. This will teach him that the taking of his toy can be a positive because he gets a treat and it also teaches him that when he reacts approprietly he gets his toy back.

[enchanted37]

Thanks this is very useful. I think I am going to use hot dogs for the "Look" command and use that command when we are walking and spot another dog. So far he has been progressing fairly well with the "Look" and I am hoping a high value treat will make things go along faster. I tried the turn around and treat him when he's calm thing and I think he's doing better when I ask him to just stop, sit, and look. We worked on it in our training class this weekend and it's going well.

I love the idea to take his toy, treat him, and give him the toy back. I will definitely be using that one.