Dog agression 19mth female

Hi, Ive been reading all the posts on how to make walks as calming as possible with a staff that just does'nt like other dogs I think Ruby was taken away from her mother and siblings too young so missed the entire play begining, she was 12 wks when we homed her and we were her 3rd home, poor love noone had the patience or time to give her or any pup a chance and should never have had her, we have no background on her either.

Our male Staff is 10 now and has issues with some dogs but not all, and he welcomed Ruby into our home and was amazing, the bond really is great between them, NO FIGHTS ever hes taught her to play well, ask, she idolises him, Sadly when she was about 15 wks we took them both to the local park and they were playing well with other dogs ( paddy on lead as in tact) and can be a bit funny with the odd bigger male, And another male staffi off the lead approached we asked they put it on a lead as Paddy has had moments very few to be fair, but it was too late the other Male approached sniffed and right away attacked, Paddy fought back but came out worse for wear but alive, My husband broke the fight and seperated the dogs while the other owner stood dumb, Paddy was taken to the vets ( whole different story) but Ruby witnessed this, we continued with her puppy training but after that she changed and would play fiercely, not assertively. I spoke with the dog trainer who assured me the incident would not have affected Ruby and she was young enough to bounce back, she has'nt ! ! ! !now at nearly 2 she HATES dogs cats squirrels birds.....loves humans kids and Paddy, but god forbid another dog come near us.

Paddy is still an angel a jack russell he will play lovingly with and western terriers...any small dog, but Ruby i think and fear would kill them, we are so careful walking both and very responsible just cant let her off the lead and the looks people give us when she goes the trainer still says the incident was'nt the cause, what do you think ??? any suggestions on it should we walk them seperate i think shesd protecting him, I think she feels my neurotic state when walking her, but my husband has great confident control x

Kirsty1 wrote:the trainer still says the incident was'nt the cause, what do you think ???

Oh, poor Ruby! What a thing to happen when she was so young, and still finding out if she was in her forever home!

I do agree with the trainer, though, I doubt if that's made her aggressive.

Kirsty1 wrote:any suggestions on it should we walk them seperate i think shesd protecting him, I think she feels my neurotic state when walking her, but my husband has great confident control x

I don't think she's protecting him, I think she's picking up on your nervousness & she's on edge. Every time a dog comes near your adrenalin levels rise & she'll pick up on it - she'll think the dog's a threat & react accordingly.

There are a few things you can do.
1. When you see another dog, start singing a really cheerful or silly song out loud. You'll be surprised how quickly it'll calm your anxiety levels! You'll look & feel a wally, but it often works!
2. Teach her the "Watch" command. Start at home, tell her to sit & hold a treat in front of your face. The second she looks at the treat say "Watch" and give it to her. You'll need to do this quite a few times, but she'll soon start to look at you when you say "Watch" even if you don't have a treat. Next, try the same outside, with no distractions (quiet bit of park or road with no dogs/people around). Then you can try with dogs around, but not near........I'm sure you can follow that on!

A lot of her behaviour now will be habit, so don't expect an immediate improvement, but with perseverence & consistency you should at least lessen the problem, and maybe stop it altogether!

Thanks for your advice, we have been trying the "watch" method and will continue, im 100% sure that with me its the panic. But my husband is cool and calm with her no fear or panic, shes still frantic and alert the whole time, I think because we did'nt have any problems with Paddy rubys a whole new challenge haha, i adore her, she has the best charactor and is totally nuts and so loving, but see another dog you would never think it, people give you such looks aswell, the trainer we have used for both dogs took her out a month ago and typically we bumped into no dogs so she could'nt see, she has advised we "meet and great" old friendly dogs with her away from Paddy, However the small town we live in most people would run a mile rather than let her greet there dog, and i dont blame them, Its just so sad as they love to run wild together but i'm in constant fear of someother dog approaching but we will make it right and work with and around her so she has a happy life

Aww where do you live? Maybe someone from here is near you and can advise of some nice friendly dogs.

Im from just outside Oxford, Actually we walked Paddy and Ruby yesterday evening and saw Paddys sister being walked , they crossed the road as know Rubys a bit grrrr and usually she would go mad seeing them from a distance even, but she watched them cross the road and did'nt but an eyelid.... had it approached it might have been different but they were pretty close before they crossed, closer than i'd have got anyway haha. My husband was walking her I had Paddy so he did all the good girl and treat for being good - i just hope and pray its a start I know she probably will never run free and love dogs but if she could tolerate them when walking it would be great Thankyou x

Don't forget to use anything you can to reduce your anxiety/stress levels - dogs pick up on that so quickly!