Learn from my mistakes

Hey everyone I just wanted to make this post to help anyone out there who is struggling with dog aggression. I know how hard it is to own and rehabilitate a dog aggressive dog, axl is 3 and a half now and for the last year and a half I have been doing my best to rehabilitate him and get him back on track with other dogs. It's been a hard long road but we can now walk past a dog with no issues and I want to share my mistakes because I am of no doubt that myself and my partner were to blame for his issues I wanted to give hope as well because axl is living proof that with the right knowledge things do get better!

So first mistake we made was we stopped socialising him after one incident when he was 8 months old. Never stop socialising your dog it was the biggest mistake we made. All he learnt was dogs are bad and if we had taken him straight back out a lot of our issues would not have arisen.

Mistake two. We would yank him away from any dog we came across. Now I will keep him at a safe diatance for the time being but if he wants to stop and look at another dog I will let him and stand there until he's ready to move on. This has cut aggressive behaviour down so much.

Mistake three. We used to put him in situations that he didn't feel comfortable in like taking him to a park because we thought it would help. We now never take him anywhere he would feel unsafe.

Mistake four. When we saw another dog we would hold him on a tense lead. Now I make sure he's never on a tense lead.

Mistake five. When we saw another dog and he tenses up we would "reassure" him with a silly voice what we didn't know was this was making him think his behaviour was acceptable. Now we don't say anything until we are past the dog.

Mistake six. We didn't muzzle train him until it hit boling point and we didn't want to walk him. Muzzle training him helped us relax when out which in turn relaxed axl.

There are probably more but I hope the above helps some of you!

Great post Debs. The hardest thing is realising what's not working and trying to find an alternative way.

The tense lead is without doubt a cause for tension in what could be an already nervous dog, I learnt this quiet quickly. The muzzle is such a good idea, it gives you peace of mind and hence a more relaxed you and relaxed Axl

I'm sure others will be able to learn from this post

Very helpful information Debs, one question about mistake number 4. Holding him on a tense lead, I never have any other sort, even if Katy is sitting she will be on maximum lead distance. I do struggle with her fear aggression, lunging & barking at other dogs but like I said she never has a slack lead

Yeah that was the problem we had with axl he would always strain at his lead when he saw another dog. To solve this I use "hey" command and he will now look at me when I say it as he thinks he is getting a biscuit. I then make him sit and wait. It's a known fact that they can't be aggressive if they are carrying out a command they can't have an aggressive mindset and be in doing mode too. You can also use "look" or anything else that works as long as they turn and focus their attention back on you. It's all about timing as well there's no point in trying to get Katy's attention when she's already kicking off you need to do it before she gets to that point so always be visual and spot dogs before she does, it takes practice but it is doable

I use a slightly different technique but it achieves the same aim when needed and that is to distract Flo with her favourite toy (Her Stix). It has only failed to distract her once.

What an incredibly honest post. Thank you, Deb, it's just so refreshing to hear someone talk about what they could have done differently, rather than blaming the dog. And well done on such brilliant progress.

You're so right in everything you say, about changing your mindset, your responses and your level of tension. So many of us have made lots of mistakes as well - I can really relate to your mistake three, I misguidedly over-faced Bobbert when trying to find what would work, but the thing is that you sometimes don't know what will or won't work until you try it.

Jen, one thing that can help get a loose lead is 'this way!', when you first of all teach Katy that 'this way!' means come and play with your favourite toy and you then start to build that into walks. If you see a dog at a distance you call 'this way' and back away from her or turn about, drawing her to you for a play. Sitting can also work for some dogs, but the key is to teach them the command and what to expect in easy situations first, then to build up very gradually.

The 'look' Debs talks about is brilliant too, again you teach it away from stress situations first, because they first of all clock the other dog but then come back to you for their treat.

Really informative. Never had any probs yet not sure how i would react but Iza once got chased by a bloody cat so doubt it will happen wee softy.

Thanks, I understand the distraction technique but like I said her lead is always tense. I'm very good a spotting approaching dogs who show no threat but she will kick off, I've tried distraction which sometimes works but she soon turns onto them barking & growling I must say her tail is always wagging so I know she doesn't mean it.
Thanks Liz I will give that a go, food doesn't work Luckly most in my village know her & know she doesn't mean it. Off lead she will keep out of their way & not make a noise, but the second I clip her lead on she will have a go even though she has been on a walk with them

Have you tried a halti with Katy? It's probably one of the most fundamental tools we had for rehabilitating axl. When he wears it he does not pull at all even when he sees a cat! It's fantastic!

^ I think maybe wagging tails aren't always happy? Is that right?

Yeah that's right a wagging tail, kind of a slow wag is sometimes seen on unsure or aggressive dogs.

Thanks Ian and Liz I just want to try to help other people with reactive dogs I know how frustrating and hard it is to deal with and my message is to keep on trying because it does get better

Thats awesome, what a great post thank you for sharing!! Love reading the time you invested rather than blaming Axl, & look at those results. Big credit to you xx

Can relate to number 2 but this was when i first got mia and was taking her to puppy classes at aged 3 sounds daft but i needed pointers as i had never owned a staffy. Eas at this point i realised mia was scared of big dogs but realised and knew early on she loved my neighbours cat and he was half feral.

Ive never blamed mia for her upbringing but since 3 i retrained her got rid of seperation anxiety, mouthing and reintroduced her to kids again as. I reckon i done well with mia for all she was put through. I know her faults knowing the signs definitely your post debs made me realise im not alone. Thankyou

You're not alone funny you should say that though I met a lady the other day with a lovely staffie and she was at her wits end as he was dog aggressive I had a long chat with her swapping tips and she said the same thing that she felt better knowing other people had the same issues as her. I think when you have a reactive dog you do feel like it's only you with the problems but just knowing that there are other people struggling and that there is light at the end of the tunnel makes you feel so much better!

What makes it hard with a staffy as well is public perception. I've met up a couple of times with a lady who walks with 2 dogs that kick off when you get within a few yards of them. The strain a the lead, bark, spin... but they're fluff balls so you don't take them seriously. Our neighbours over the road have two dogs who are a complete pain and wind everyone else up, but they're labs so that's ok. Bull breeds and it's a different matter. No one will believe you that they're not aggressive by nature, just worried when they're on lead.

i really have an will never understand peoples perception of staffies . if they have the right training they will develop into a well behaved staff sadly not everyone has this belief and tend to think every sbt is bad .its allabout educating people.xx

This has been a great read. I've just posted asking for help with my dog aggressive dog. I've tried the loose lead and he calmly approaches another dog like he's excited then launches into attack.

I'll take a look at your post now see if I can help x