Dog agression

Got a dog trainer coming out again tonight, see if he can help us with Ralph and his aggression towards other dogs. We've tried all the 'positive reward' stuff but it's just not working. I am now getting to the point where I don't want to take him for a walk and have been leaving it for the OH. I just hate being the person with the snarling dog on the lead - it's getting me down a bit.

Fingers crossed he can help.

Oh dear Jo, so sorry to read things aren't going so well. Hopefully the trainer can make some useful suggestions to you.

He's so loving and soppy towards people. I wish he would be a bit more tolerant towards other dogs. Not all dogs, just 70% of the time. The thing is, you just don't know when another dog is approaching, so I think I tense up, although I try not to, and that doesn't help. We tried to socialise him as much as we could as a pup, so I can't think where this change came from - about a year ago...

It may just be a phase at his age, who knows .

Rocky made friends with another Staffy this morning who was quite a bit bigger than him, they had a good play and Rocky has had his moments in the past with some dogs. I know their body language can influence a situation as well as ours. Try to keep calm and relaxed as he will pick up on your nervousness.

Awww no, sorry to hear that Jo, is Michael coming over? Ralph was good as gold with Axl how strange! We will have to go on a walk again, we've just got a new car so can meet up again, maybe walking with Axl might help?

Let me know how it goes x

Hi, sorry to hear Ralph is not so fond of dogkind. My Douglas is the same – he is the lord of the lunge. Not every time, but enough times for it to be embarrassing. Especially with other males, especially with bigger dogs, especially with black labs, especially with….etc etc. He’s worse on lead than off, but the nature of his reaction means he has to stay on lead much of the time – for everyone’s sake, especially his own.

I saw a registered behaviourist when I’d had Douglas about 4 months (from rescue), when he was aged about 2, and received a full report and various things were worked on from his suggestions. I sent for the behaviourist again about a year later for an update assessment. I do hope you get something more useful, but in our case I’m certain the behaviourist told me everything he knew first time round. He didn’t have anything to add that I wasn’t already doing and, most importantly, he confirmed that there wasn’t anything of a clever nature that could change the behaviour at source. Pity – I was hoping for that.

Everything is not hopeless however! Challenging perhaps, but not hopeless. We tend to go for walks at times when other dogs are not so thick on the ground (early, late, not when people are rushing to/from work). We go to places which are neither so wild that other dogs are likely to be offlead with absent owners (always difficult), nor so busy that we have no space. We prefer places with good visibility where I can get a good view of what’s coming – no surprises around corners. We have a muzzle and use it when appropriate. We use good smelly meaty treats that really get Douglas’s attention (the dried biscuity types that you get from pet stores are no good for this purpose). We do a lot of avoidance and crossing roads and doubling back if necessary (this particularly for offlead dogs). If Ralph is like Douglas, his eyesight wont be so good and it’s possible to see the distant dog and take action well before he notices it. There a book called ‘Feisty Fido’ by Patricia McConnell that some people on here have found helpful. Though it’s only a short book, I found it a very long-winded way of saying not very much. It basically should have been a short chapter and a YouTube video instead of a book (but perhaps that was difficult to monetise). But, still, there is some value in working on the watch me/distraction command that she writes about (for which the treats have to be top quality). Rather than putting the dog into a ‘sit’ (which may take more time than available), just chuck the treat on the ground in the direction where you want your dog to go (ie, away from the other dog), and if necessary another one and another one, like a paper chase, till the desired result has been achieved. Make it fun. Using ‘watch-me’ I think some progress can be made around the edges of the problem of DA (which, after all, is a breed characteristic) however I’m resigned to some situations always being too difficult for Douglas. He is who he is. Why we bother is because, as you say, they are so soppy and loving toward people, truly marvellous dogs in many/nearly all respects. Control is the thing though, not heavy handed control, just ensuring that bad things cannot happen.

Hope they can help Hun x

I hope he can help in some way Jo. My little lady is great most of the time but will on occasion get a little snappy. I've learnt to watch her body language and use the distraction method when things look like they could escalate. So far it's worked every time.

We also look ahead for potential problems and reroute if needs be but mostly she'll just walk on by. Tonight was a classic example, we happened across a couple walking their 2 Staffs, one was running off like a loon but the other was by the fella. We distracted Flo with the stick as we walked on by and he held his Staff by her harness. It was the knowing look and the words we both said "Just in case". It's so nice knowing you don't have the only temperamental dog

Hope the trainer can help

Jo, twelve months ago I was feeling exactly the same as you and almost
reached rock bottom with my lovely boy who behaved the same as your
Ralph.  Things do get better, but I honestly think its in the dogs nature
and can never really be changed only managed.

I returned from holiday in the Dartmoor area of Devon with Harry today,
something I never ever believed possible this time last year, and we had
a wonderful time.  I avoided what I call the 'designer walks' and the
'in places' and we stopped at less populated places and had a cream tea
etc.

This morning on the way back from our last walk which lasted about an hour and a half
we came face to face in a lane with a couple with a black
labrador - my worst nightmare!  I told the couple that my dog would
kick off as he had 'thing' about black labs and they were lovely, they
just said not to worry and thanks for telling them and being responsible
enough to keep Harry on a lead.  Harry walked by with only a token
grumble, probably because he was cream crackered.  I walked him all
week on a lunge line which gave him freedom but I could haul him in
when needed.

I hope you don't mind me saying, but once I accepted that Harry is what
he is and because I love him much I was going to have to learn to manage
him and keep him out of trouble, things got so very much easier. Hope it
helps you to know this and good luck.

Yeahbut, I found your post so interesting.  Your first paragraph could be
describing my Harry.