Hi All

Hi all I hope everybody and their babies are well??

Gordon has now just turned 2 so officially a big boy!!. I have to say puppyhood was a doddle compared to this last year
We have seen a behaviourist because of his behaviour which is lunging at people with carrier bags trying to grab the bag but worse was being aggressive towards young male dogs ( he's fine with old dogs, pups and small dogs )
The behaviourist thinks it stems from him being attacked by a GSD and watching his friend being attacked.
Anyway we started clicker training about 2 months ago which has been great so far and he's responded so well. However today after a 2 hour walk with his friend mostly off lead I was fastening his seat belt in the back of the car, the seat belt wasn't quite fastened and a spinal walked past the car, well all hell broke loose, Gordon tried to squeeze past me growling, barking and being so aggressive, I managed to grab his harness and he still had his lead on but still managed to get out of the car and try and attack the poor spinal. I some how managed to get him back in the car and apologise to the other dogs owners, who were an elderly couple and quite shook up.
My question is I take him to a country park so I can see for miles, so I can see when other dogs are coming and get him on the lead, use the clicker ect. But does anybody have advice when he reacts so suddenly to something I don't see. So sorry for the long post but this has shaken me up today. We have changed his food to burns, he has around 3 hours walks a day and he really is such a loving boy ay home.

Would appreciate any advice xx

Hiya! All sounds very stressful for you.. I can relate to an extent as Bug is dog aggressive also, but as her aggression lies within fear its easier to manage as she won't generally seek dogs out, but will become aggressive if dogs approach her or are aggressive to her first.

Is he muzzle trained? If not, I would work on this and have him muzzled in public at all times while you are working on his behaviour - the new DDA states that dogs can be deemed as dangerous even if they just make somebody fear that they could be hurt, which then dog attacks/grabbing bags etc could do. Is Gordon neutered also? If it's just a male dog problem, this could potentially help with that. What has the behaviourist advised so far?

Hi Tracey, I replied to you in my other post but I'd like to just add, I have now muzzle trained Axl and I can't tell you how much more enjoyable it is to take him out.

We don't actually muzzle him ALL the time anymore, at first we did but now we just take it with us and if we see a dog up ahead we pop it on.

In case you do want to muzzle, I know most people recommend the Baskerville but Axl really didn't like that so we use the Trixie loop muzzle. It looks like a large halti and it loops around their mouthes with an adjustable strap underneath so you can loosen it or tighten it according to the dog's size. He can eat, pant and drink with it on and the bonus is it does double up as a halti, it has a loop on the bottom (just like a halti) which we attach the lead to when there's a dog around. He can also still chase sticks in it which was a big thing for Axl because we found he got really fed up with the Baskerville because he couldn't pick up sticks, he can now, only small ones but it keeps him happy!

Because of the halti element I love it even more, I can't tell you how easy it is to walk him on it, it feels like there's nothing on the end of the lead lol. He doesn't seem to mind this one as it's not so intrusive.

Hi Rachel, he's not muzzle trained but after what happened yesterday we are seriously thinking about this . He was neutered about 1 year ago. The behaviourist told us he was fear aggressive, advised us on his food and clicker training, she has advised us to walk side by side with a bigger male dog using his training with the clicker but I don't know how i'm going to do that, I cant put somebody else's dog at risk. I really am at a loss because he was great with all dogs until he turned 1 and he is such a loving loyal dog at home.
Debs I read your answer on the other post, i'm really pleased Axl is doing well as it gives me some hope . When iv finished writing this post I will check out the Trixie loop muzzle, one more question is where did you read up about muzzle training as I havn't got a clue how or where to start, do you also think that the muzzle calms Axl down? xx

Hey! There's a good muzzle training post on here I can't remember where but one of the others can probably point you in the right direction!! It took about 3 weeks for axl to be completely comfortable.

Yes it did calm him. When he has it on he is a lot slower and doesn't jump up at people.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on and remember don't give up during training. Axl made us feel so bad at first he point blank refused to walk at one point but no matter what guilt trips Gordon throws at you, know that eventually he will accept it and it's for his own good!

also remember that the muzzle isn't a permanent thing it's just a means to an end, it's to help you work on his issues. Like I said before we now only really muzzle Axl when we see an off lead dog approaching and once muzzled we distract him with treats x

Good advice above!

This is a nice muzzle training video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BjPpXer8IE

Just looked at the Trixie one, Deb. Very interesting! I can't quite see how it works, it looks from the photo like that could still open their mouth fully? If it's effective, though, it looks like a great step forwards in muzzle design.

Yeah it's not for dogs that actually look for fights as they can probably still nip. it has a loop that is adjustable under the chin. They can't open their mouth fully but can still open slightly to pant etc. we adjust Axl's slightly so he can pick up thin sticks but he couldn't open his mouth to grab onto a dog. It's very good though and I would highly recommend it the halti loop is a big bonus

Also, Tracey if you decide to use a muzzle and go with the muzzle training, once you are able to get him outside in it don't worry if he throws a few hissy fits, i.e. rubbing his head on the floor, stop walking and stand there looking miserable etc.. Axl did this a lot. I didn't get any tips on how to handle him once we started walking so I want to share what worked for me with you..

1. If he stops walking don't pull him along, stop with him. Just let him stand there for however long it takes for him to give in and walk. It could take 2 minutes, 5 minutes or 20 minutes but just stand there with him and eventually he will start to move again. I once stood with Axl on the street for 10 minutes and watched him look like his whole world had ended lol... eventually he gave up and started walking again!

2. If he starts to rub his nose on the floor, keep calm don't get frustrated just walk over to him, don't say anything and lift his head up. Repeat as necessary.. that does work as eventually he will realise it's not coming off.

They do throw some major hissy fits but I promise you it's worth it!

Hi Tracey - I'm not being critical or 'funny' etc but when you said a spinal was walking by did you mean a Spaniel or a physically handicapped person   lol ? Just that it might upset someone that's all

Oh god Jenny did I spell it wrong, no I meal spaniel

Debs thanks so much for the advice, I have ordered a Trixie for him, Im just relieved that it's not just Gordon (don't mean that in a horrible way ), you know we were discussing it last night and i don't know where we went wrong . We think we have done everything we should with his socialization.
But I suppose this is another chapter, I will let you know how we get on

Good luck! I'm sure he will get better as time goes on