Aggression?

[Justicemom]

I am relived in a way to hear other people have exactly the same problem I do with Ellie. At least I know now that I am not alone! When we are walking, she goes completely nuts when she sees another dog. She acts like she is going to kill it and I thought it was aggression too. The only thing that made me change me mind was when I actually went to a dog park and I finally got the confidence to let her off-leash inside the enclosure after she met Wyatt (a Sheltie puppy from the forum) and was kind and gentle with him. She LOVES playing with the dogs and is always friendly to all of them. She is just excited to meet other dogs she sees and wants to play and is frustrated that she can't go meet them.

I do like others have suggested and I make Ellie sit and watch me and she gets treats if she looks at me and doesn't fixate on the other dog (or car!). It is a lot of work and gets frustrating to say the least that I just can't go on a nice, pleasant walk without having to constantly have her sit and treat her, etc., etc. etc.

I totally agree that other people think she is going to kill their dog given the chance. I used to think she would too! It is SOOOO embarassing! When walking the path to the dog park she will sometimes act like that and I am always saying, "She's really friendly, she's just excited!" And then allll look at me with that frozen smile and you can actually hear their thoughts, "Yeah, right. Freak!" LOL!

Just goes to show you never know what a strange dog is like. My JRT mix Jazz was exactly like many of the dogs here on leash when I first got her. I worked long and hard to get those perfect leash manners with her. Many of my friends didn't know her when she was young and couldn't believe some of the things I said about her.

Thing was when when she was 5 or 6 yrs she could walk down the street like a perfect little lady but she would eat your dog if they got in her face. I would tell people with their happy bounding dogs, "she's not friendly' and would get the look. Yeah,right.

Because of her, I teach my dogs from young puppies that when the leash is on it is time to pay attetion to me. They never socialize on leash, ever.

 

[romeosangiovese]

They never socialize on leash, ever.

Yes!! I realise this is the way to go too. I realised this the hard way of course! I also don't like how the leash gets tangled and can cause anxiety in some dogs (can't flee so only fight option left!).

With Romeo he's all show, but if he's allowed to get closer to the dog he'll sniff and be ok. For him it's probably barrier frustration too coz he's fine in a dog park. The best way to prevent that kind of frustration is if meeting other dogs just isn't an option for him. But here, people give you dirty looks if you don't let your dog be "friendly" with theirs on walks. Some hang around thinking I'll stop getting Romeo to focus on me and notice them and let our dogs meet while I'm screaming "CAN YOU FRIGGIN GO AWAY!!" in my head.

k9kreationz, YES! CHEESEWHIZ!!! I was trying to remember the name yesterday. Haha! It's good stuff.

When you cover his eyes, does he try to move his head around to try and shake off your hand? Coz I have tried that before and Romeo will do that, and he gets anxious that he can't see and he wants to see. I suppose it's a good emergency option tho if you're caught in a situation without treats and a dog shows up.

 

[IrisLove]

Yes! That would be great!

We tell Bentley the same thing...we tell him he's being a jerk (in the most endearing of ways).

I've actually had a lady in the neighborhood pick up her dog when Bentley started barking and lunging...and her dog was a doberman!

thats funny, I always tell Iris " now baby, be polite !"

 

[take4roll10]

Bailey was a little better today. She didn't pull on the leash as much. I held a treat in one hand and kept saying good girl Bailey when she walked at my side and would focus on me. I was able to walk her for over block this way. After a block, I would reward her with the treat.

We crossed paths with one dog on our walk. She noticed the dog, but since the treat I was holding, was a slice of turkey, she was focusing on me. She lost focus when the dog was right next to us, but quickly focused on me again.

I'm hoping this wasn't just a fluke and Bailey will continue to improve.

 

[k9kreationz]

Because of her, I teach my dogs from young puppies that when the leash is on it is time to pay attetion to me. They never socialize on leash, ever.

So true. I think we allowed that with Koji when he was a puppy and got tangled and he started freaking out. After that, I'd just hold him and allow the other dog to sniff, but no more playing on leash. Sigh. And he always wants to play. lol

 

[k9kreationz]

Some hang around thinking I'll stop getting Romeo to focus on me and notice them and let our dogs meet while I'm screaming "CAN YOU FRIGGIN GO AWAY!!" in my head.

k9kreationz, YES! CHEESEWHIZ!!! I was trying to remember the name yesterday. Haha! It's good stuff.

When you cover his eyes, does he try to move his head around to try and shake off your hand? Coz I have tried that before and Romeo will do that, and he gets anxious that he can't see and he wants to see. I suppose it's a good emergency option tho if you're caught in a situation without treats and a dog shows up.

Thankfully, people seem to move away from me. Although, being a Sheltie, others think he's cute and wants to come up to me. lol. As I'm being pulled (well, trying) by my dog.

Having hubby pick up some cheese whiz.

He does try to shake off my hands. But typically, I have him blocked. i.e. he's between my legs, cant' move anywhere. He wants to see, but I won't let him. Its a quick fix, but I figure, it works. For me, I tend to use it when a dog is running at or near Koji (usually in agility practice or what not). It's faster than trying to grab treats get his attention, etc. Then the dog is gone and I remove my hands. Voila! He missed it. hehehe.

meant to ask. Have you started taking away treats? Or are you still working with treats with Romeo? I hate to have to carry around food with me for the rest of his life. lol.

 

[romeosangiovese]

Ooh I will keep that eye covering thing in mind in case I need to use it in an emergency. Will come in handy!!

At this point, I've not weaned him off treats yet, but I'm giving him less and less. I want him to totally totally make this new association between food and the other dog before I take food away completely and that head turn to me must be totally totally automatic. I don't want to carry treats with me all the time either! But I think I will give it some more time. He's showing good progress coz he's way more relaxed now but I can't take the risk at the moment coz when the pup comes I REALLY don't want her doing what he does!! Managing ONE dog reactive dog is bad enough!!!If I'm wrong and he goes off at other dogs, I'm afraid there will be some regression.

 

[k9kreationz]

Definitely try the eye covering thing one day, see if it works. I know Koji squirms, but I will straddle him and hold him between my legs. Actually, for Koji, it seems to calm him down, he just moves his head around cuz he is listening. I would hate for Romeo to get anxious or freaked out.

I bought some stinky chewy treats. lol. And some others. Told my hubby he needs to work with him also. We got back from the pet store (sans dogs) and then took them out (sans treats) and what does Koji do? Start barking at a dog across the street. Sigh. Time to start working with him. lol.

Thanks for the reassurance. I know it's been a long time, but knowing you've made progress gives me hope. That or maybe I can put a blindfold on Koji. Hmm.....

 

[Caro]

I do feel that some of this aggression is due to the age of the dogs. Remember as they go into adolescence they move from loving every dog to caring less about other dogs as adults. This happens to some extent with human teenagers - they become a bit isolated and hostile until the develop more of their social skills and confidence. If it works the same for dogs they should get better as they get older (until they turn into grumpy geriatrics - lol).

The other thing I have learnt,esp since Deska's car chasing, is that sometimes the treat approach is not enough, or becomes impossible to fade out. So it depends somewhat on why the behaviour is occuring - Deska chases (herds) because it is instinctive (hard to break), Tully chase for fun so is happy to transfer the behaviour on to a ball. Tully was petrified of other dogs, so treats alone were never going to stop her barking at them (it only helped reduce her 'red zone' somewhat).

Plus I can tell you, my dogs being shelties are smart enough to link the naughty behaviour with the good behaviour and treat.

I was told by the behav that the leash issue is more about you being there and them feeling safe enough to bark at other dogs. Off leash they dont necessarily have the same connection to you, its also the same when they are around alot of dogs - bit too unsafe to bark at them all.