Dog on Dog

Aggression

 

If you have ever seen your dog in this situation you need my DVD

Dealing with Dominant and Aggressive Dogs

---

I have a female 1 yr choc. lab & a male 5 yr choc lab. I read last week not to breed till she is older and am keeping them in seperate kennels untill her next heat, never the less, my male is CRAZY from her scent, understandable. My sister came with her King Charles spaniel pup over to our home, the pup kinda climbed up on the rear of my male, who is normally mellow, and my male bit the pup! Punchuring the skull, and resulting in our family having to put their pup to sleep. Very sad for our entire family! My question is....Do males become more aggresive always during a cycle of the female? Should I keep him from children and whatnot while my bitch is in heat? I am very confused and shocked, but understand the nature of my beast, he seems human to us, but I am aware he is an animal...Thanks for the info on this.

---

 

Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs $49.00+s&h

 

---

I have spent hours reading your messages about dog aggression. I have 2 dogs a 2 year old jack russell, and a 8 month old fox terrie, both are males. When I had to board them in november, I asked the kennel not to have them roam free together, as the puppy was nippy and the jr has a short fuse. Well, when I picked them up the puppy had a bite on his nose and beneath his eye, they evidently took it upon themselves to ignore my request. When I got home the 2 got into a major bite fest, it calmed down the next day. When we got to nova scotia in december all hell broke loose again. The day after christmas there was a small toy invovled and the jr went after the puppy. I literally had to fend off the jr with the puppy in my arms, I have kept them seperate, as you stated should be done. Well the other day a mistake leaving the basement door open as the jr was tied outside. The puppy flew down the stairs hair raised in the back and went after the jr., all hell broke loose again, luckily my husband grabbed the puppy by his hind legs, or I am afraid he would be long gone. The puppy who as I mentioned is 8 months old seems to hunt the jr out and the jr is just to powerful and has no patience. The jr has a really big head, he's about 26 pounds, a bigger dog then most jr's. The puppy is around 15 pounds, but acts like he can take on the world. I need to order 2 muzzles.. please help me, wth some advise. I am on pins and needles. I was originally from waukegan, illinois. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated, I love both dogs. I don't want to find the puppy dead. Thank you so much.

---

I read your article on dog on dog aggression and I must say I agree with you 100%. I have owned and bred Kerry Blue terriers for the past 20 years. I find dogs I raise myself have very little dog aggression but when they do they are usually on leash and seam to be trying to protect me. I usually just use the leave it command and they fall back into heel position. I am VERY protective of my dogs because of the once bitten twice shy affect. Plus the fact the although my dogs won't start a fight they will most certainly finish it (and my dog will be blamed, he is a Kerry after all)

My concern is obedience trials. I am always worried that another dog will go after one of my dogs and we will end up with a life long problem. I always enter B so the dogs are a little better trained. I have currently 6 Kerries and 2 pups I am keeping. My daughter is raising one and I the other. The pups are in the house until they are at least 6 months old. Separate crates, separate rooms and separate trainers. I do allow them to play in the house or dog yard a few times a day supervised by one or both of us. This method seems to be working. We have a Kennel and the older dogs are kept separate most of the time and I only allow 2 dogs at a time in the play yard.

I have 2 dogs, a dog and a bitch I got as older dogs with dog aggression problems as adults. They are 6-7 years old. The female has good obedience training and is manageable in most situations. We have managed to get her CD and Championship and are working her in Agility. I am very nervous about entering her in Open due to the out of sight and I am scared if a smaller dog broke and went up to her she would kill it. The male was raised in a kennel with no socializing and although he is a Champion, was involved in numerous dog fights his owners could not control. He does get along well with a couple of my more submissive females. Is there anything I can do to make this dog realize other dogs (Breeds) are not snack?

I would like to do obedience with him but he will not focus. If I use aggressive methods he shuts down and cringes (I think he was beaten as well) and he is not interested in food. I have tried motivational training and find he is OK if there are no distractions. Is there hope for this guy? He is good with people and kids but he really just seems to not care whether they are there or not. He is a little shy and always crouches when he meets strangers (like a submissive dog meeting an alpha) but with dogs he gives no warning and just attacks.
(Mastiff, Dachshund and pug) that I know of. None were killed but all needed stitches. Thanks for your input.

---

 

Basic Dog Obedience $40.00+s&h

 

---

I own a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I have had her since she was 10 weeks old. At home she is very sweet with everyone "human types" she meets. She has been thru Basic abidance and Level 2 obidance classes. I learned by the time she was 6 months old that dog parks are not the place for this type of dog. Needless to say she had more than one incident with other dogs. After taking her to class and keeping her on a leash for the past 3 1/2 years the incidents have been few and far between. Today she went after a puppy that was not on it's leash while I was walking her. I stopped her from ripping into the puppy just in the nick of time. She meant business. I know this breed has a disposition for aggressiveness but I don't care to deal with this anymore. I want to give her to my friend but fear she will only wind up hurting someone else's dog in the future. I feel bad about thinking I need to just put her down but the liability seems to outweigh the reward at this point. Any last minute suggestions.

---

We have a doberman/sheppard mix female about 2 years old. Last summer camping she and a friends 6 year old rottweiler got in a fight. It was quite bad, both walked away fine, her spirit a little broken but surprisingly she held her own. We have not seen any aggression from her since that day until this spring. Occasionally she sees a dog in our neighborhood that she obviously hates, and will bark and show her teeth. If she was ever without a leash I know she would attack this dog. Other contact with dogs has brought the same outcome. I know from your article that once a dog has been attacked it is more likely to be aggressive in the future. My question is this. We are coming close to the camping season again and we would like to bring our dog along (island camping without a leash) but my husband and I are afraid that our dog and the rottweiler will again fight. Is there anything we can do?

---

 

Remote Collar Training for the Pet Owner $40.00+s&h

 

---

I have a 4 year old GSD S&R dog (cadaver dog actually) that has been a struggle for alpha his whole life. I constantly keep my guard up. He never gets anything without working for it first. I make him wait at doors and go down stairs behind me, I make him heel at the walk, and if he starts to get ahead I spin and walk forcibly the opposite direction so he corrects himself (ala Kohler method). Overall, he knows I'm alpha but about once a week he'll start to try to walk in front of me down stairs (gets rammed into the guardrail every time he does), or tries to paw or nudge for attention (sent away into a down stay for 10 minutes). He's never allowed to be babied or allowed on the couch, etc.

I was told by a local trainer that some dogs are just that way for life, and you just have to stay on top of it, which I can kind of buy although it annoys the piss out of me. He is a very strong drive dog and that's what I want for doing search work. However, I do have a problem and I've read your website and tried to order the aggressive/dominant DVD but it isn't ready yet. My problem is that we will often have encounters with loose dogs or walk by people that have no control of their obviously alpha and "boss of the house" dogs while on lead. When these dogs lock eyes with Sabre, he flips into an aggression I can not and will not tolerate. I have tried correcting the hell out of him with a prong collar and NO NO NO, the only effect it had was to make people want to call the cops on me. I reverse directions fast to make him correct himself hard with a prong and make him heel he continues to try to turn his attention to the other dog despite severe correction, tried to alpha roll (with a muzzle) and yes, I know it is dangerous but I did have a muzzle on, after one encounter where I could not make him stop.

When I had him down on the ground the other dog (who was on a lead) locked eyes again and Sabre tried to engage while on his back. I firmly believe in prong collars and zero tolerance, and the only other approach I see on your site says to choke them out quietly with a slip collar. But I walk him with a prong. Can I safely choke a dog out with a prong? I can't find any information on that, and if I ask my vet they'll have me charged with cruelty.

Sabre is fine unless the other dog acts threatening or stares him down and advances. Other animals he just walks by without looking (he's corrected for looking - and I used the Kohler method of training that). He lives with two other GSDs and coexists and knows his boundaries at home and in the pack. I really don't know how to ramp up my status with him since I do everything I can think of and he is extremely obedient except for the little niggle of a challenge that rears its head every now and then. I train with him 4 times a week, and every day and every interaction I strive to make sure that I never let him have an inch.

I know you see a lot of emails, and I am on the waiting list for the DVD, but if you could offer some advice I'd love to hear it. Most trainers don't have a clue and they say my dog is fine, and so obedient and wonderful (riggght ... that's why I have a PROBLEM) and 3/4 of the trainers around here advocate that even choke collars are cruel (yes, you should listen to your inner puppy and teach with love *snort* - gee that's why all your clients have dogs that are jumping on their owner's backs for attention?). So I'm kind of stuck. I need my dog to be high drive, but I need him to damn well listen to me 100% and never, ever go on defense unless I tell him to. Any advice on what I need to change, oh great wise one?

---

Many of your articles do make quite a bit of sense. I have two dogs, one is a Canann (?) bitch (65Ibs) and the other is a male Staffordshire bull terrier (40 Ibs). Both of these dogs have been spayed or neutered. There is a ? after Canaan because although this dog looks like a Canaan, it could be a mix of other breeds. The Staffy was an abuse case that almost starved to death and heartworm positive. We adopted him at about one year old and instituted obedience training and also agility work. He is an exceptional dog and does have one title (NAJ) and is ready for obedience trials. He is friendly to people, children and other dogs. We obtained the Canaan dog at about 7 months of age. Originally, this dog was abandoned with its littermates when they were a couple of days old. They were raised together with several other adult dogs until adopted out at 6 to 8 weeks old. She was returned by the original adopter at 7 months when we adopted her. She went through her obedience training and was sufficiently trained to achieve one qualifying score at an obedience trial. I used positive training methods but do use a prong collar for correction when needed. She exhibits zero food aggression, has very strong prey drive and seems to have increased her dog aggressive behavior recently. She just turned 3 years old. When we introduce the staffy bull, we have had the Canaan for about 6 month. She was aggressive and attacked him several times.

The fact is that he was always submissive toward her and slunk away when she gave him "that look". I also observed the identical posturing as the shepherds in your picture but she always
attacked anyway. And when we separated them, the staffy bull always retreated and did not pursue the attack. She was the dog that needed restraint. I always strongly corrected her. The attacks stopped after about 4 months and these dogs even played well together for over a year. However, she always demonstrated aggression towards some other dogs. She recently did attack a neighbor's JRT with superficial injuries but I believe would have killed him without immediate separation. She has since become more aggressive toward the staffy bull now and we have been keeping her in a crate or muzzle with one of your muzzles (Jafco) and I will be ordering a dominant collar from you. There are some dogs she really likes, the dogs she was originally raised with, but most dogs (smaller ones) drive her crazy. I do strongly correct for any unacceptable behavior.
There is generally no people aggression although she is shy and prefers not to be touched by strangers. Do you think it may be possible to have a peaceful household again and do you have any suggestions on how to proceed?

---

 

Preventing Dog Bites in Children eBook

 

---

I have a dog, his name is scooter. He is a pomeranian (a little furry dog). He fights with bigger dogs. Pacifically a chocolate lab that lives up the street. If certain dogs get into our yard he attacks them. It’s like if a dog woops his butt he keeps on coming back till he finally wins (he seldom does). He fights almost any dogs that gets near me. The only ones he doesn’t fight is dogs he knows and is friendly with and young pups. How do I stop him from fighting?

---

I live in Dallas, TX and I have a 7 year old neutered male Scottish terrier named Alex. I let him go out to get the mail with me unleashed and he ran and "attacked" a dog that was walking by with her owners. Alex has done this to other dogs many times and has never hurt the other dog. He just jumps up and growls ferociously but never bites them. Well, the man stopped me today, Saturday, and told me that the next day his wife took the dog to the vet and the vet put the dog on antibiotics, saying the dog's eye got scratched by my dog. I know the guy wants me to pay for the vet bill but I do not have the money. Dogs in this city are required to be on a leash. What should I do??? What can they do if I refuse to give them money for the vet bill(s)??? Your web site is very informative.

---

 

Dealing with the Dominant Dog eBook

 

---

We adopted Allie in Feb. She is a sweet girl and we are enjoying having her. She is very calm and loves people. She doesn't bark excessively. Except for bugging us to play with when we first get home she is mostly calm and once she has had her exercise she will just lay peacefully or play on her own.

When she was at the shelter she did not bark at any of the other dogs. We have encountered one problem. We signed her up for classes at Petsmart. Last week the night before the class my daughter brought over her dog, a smooth hair fox terrier. Well, it was terrible. They were both after each other, and we had to put them in their crates on different levels of the house. The next day was the first class and she did the same thing. Going after the other dogs and barking and foaming at the mouth. The teacher suggested putting a mussel on her so we know she would not bite anyone. It was awful. I have a friend with a yellow lab and so we took her there with the mussel and both dogs on leashes and the same thing happened. Barking and biting and foaming at the mouth. She was so stressed out, this was only for about 10 minutes, she would lay down breathing hard (at class also) and then get up and go after Daisy again. We can't even take her for walks on the local paths.

It is now the 6th week of class, and after taking on walks that are fine as long as we don't meet any other dogs, one more meeting with Daisy the other lab, we are not getting any better. I will say she is ok for a bit at class, I will start far away from the ring that all the dogs are in and make our way up the aisle but she will then start barking and it is not a friendly barking either. She still has not made it into the training ring. Any ideas? We are using a prong collar as are all the dogs in the class. Thank you.

---

My daughter has the prong collar for her seven month Staffie and she suggested I get the collar for my Staffie. I have a seven year old Staffie called Samson. Samson is an absolute gem of a dog. He loves kids, adults, especially the ladies, he is a handsome chick magnet! People who are taken aback by him at first soon fall in love with him. Kids in the playground will run up to him and pet him and he is perfectly fine and loves the attention. You can take a new beef bone from him, right out of his mouth and ask him to move to the back yard. He does not like seeing people arguing or any other dogs acting aggressively to another. He loves baby kittens and cats. He was introduced to our 13 year old Bichon and he always protected her and never ate from her bowl. He captured a baby rabbit in the backyard and was pushing it on the rear end eventually getting it to move on its way under the fence never showing any aggression to it.

My daughter bought a couple of chincillas about a year ago. He plays with them running around the basement. He hates seeing them in the cage and is happiest when they are running around him and even jumping on his back. My daughter got another Staffie pup about 5 months ago from a breeder. Samson immediately took on the big brother role. He plays with her, teaches her how to run and play in the yard. He can be left alone with the puppy and the bichon for all day and never a problem. When he is off leash (not an unsupervised situation) he will always come when I call him and never runs away.

BUT what am I doing wrong when we go for a walk I have to constantly avoid dogs as he gets
aggressive, the other dogs usually are aggressive to him as well. He has been attacked by unleashed dogs and I have had to take him off two or three dogs in the past four months so I think he is getting a little punchy! He has been off leash and has often run up to other dogs and played and got along very well with no aggression at all. I walk him with a long leash and harness but when another dog approaches I always have a strong hold on him so he never gets to actually attack another dog. I feel it has to be me and was wondering if the prong collar is the answer for my seven year old near perfect Staffie. Thanks.

---

 

Ground Work to Becoming a Pack Leader eBook

 

---

Hi, I have been reading many of your questions from pet owners. My question for you is how do you really decide if a dog tried to attack another dog or not? I have a 4 year old Akita she is of course protective of her own, but I really feel she wants to play with other animals and she shows that she is the dominant one and other dogs just bark at her. Therefore she pins them down not tearing into the dog but trying to keep it still. Anyway in this event my dog put a puncture wound in the neighbor’s dog’s chest. I now have to go to court and they are saying I am harboring a dangerous animal. The total cost of the vet bill was $138.00. I really don't feel that was severe do you? Please answer me asap my hearing is on February 14, 2005. Having an Akita is a lot of training I did have one that needed to be put down due to a bite to a child. After going through that awful tragedy I would never want to harbor a animal that would cause harm to a human. I avoid at all cost my dog is socialized with people not children. Thank You I really hope you can answer my question.

---

My french bulldog is aggressive to ALL dogs. He immediately wants to attack them. He is fine with them only after about the 5th time he is introduced to them. We have a chihuahua he is fine with but never lets her play or have fun because he wants to instead. He is fine with people, of all sizes and ages and types. He is very aggressive when you play too, he doesn't know how to just have fun, he thinks he has to destroy the toy completely, aka sometimes he misses the toy and gets your hand. I want to be able to bring him out, but he just attacks all dogs. Mostly however, I am afraid he is too rough playing and he will accidentally snap unintentionally one day at someone teasing him. What should I do? He has never bitten a person, but has bit other dogs. I want him to "chill out"!

---

 

Ed Frawley's Philosophy on Dog Training eBook

 

---

I have been reading through your web site all morning and last night. You have offered the most valuable advice I have seen. I do in many ways feel your thorough explanations gave me my answers, I still feel like I have questions. I do apologize if I am, in fact, the 10151 stupid, time wasting problem/question of the day. I've turned to our local obedience school and my vet. After reading your many answers, I am turning to you for an opinion or help. I included the question from your website that was the closest to my situation.

I adopted Layla, a pit/hound mix from our local shelter 3 months ago today. I live in central Florida and hound/pits are a dime a dozen here thanks to redneck hog hunters who don't bother learning to train a dog. If it don't hunt naturally, you shoot it in the head. I've heard that a million times from those idiots. Adopting an unknown dog may have been my first problem, but now it is my problem! I have had these types of rescue dogs in the past and never had this problem.

I was told she was approximately 1 yr 8 months old at the time. She is very kind, gentle, loving, well behaved, listens, knows commands, great with kids, etc. She minds both my husband and myself very well (me a little more). Needless to say, I am very attached to my pet. We started obedience classes 2 weeks ago. Her first class, she was a true Dr. Jekyl, Mr. Hide scenario. She was jumping, biting, aggressive, just all around bad! The trainer Rick used the combination behavior modification you mentioned in your article. He said Layla's behavior was not uncommon for a first visit and we should be able to work it out. He also asked me to get the prong collar and use it in addition to a normal choke leash and mentioned possible one-on-one training.

Last night was our 2nd class and we had a new trainer Candi (the school's owner). I did as instructed with the collars and Layla was very receptive to the change as well as to commands. About 40 minutes into the class, Layla broke free from me (I take full responsibility that I "let" her escape). She proceeded to pin another dog in the class to a fence in an attack. She in no way hurt the dog physically. We were told to immediately leave the class. Other than the strict no's I gave amid the chaos, Layla received no other reprimand for the bad behavior. I am also worried that she interpreted the "ride" home as encouragement for the bad behavior.

This morning I contacted the school in hopes of getting some feedback on the problem at hand. I was treated with the same dismissing cast out attitude we received the night before. I was told Layla had "dog aggression with a bite inhibition". Candi is, in no way, willing to work with me and feels the dog is hopeless. (i.e.-put her down). My vet mentioned trying to get her in more "public" surroundings and used to other environments. Candi's reaction to that is your on your own and be prepared to get sued. I have been unsuccessful in finding someone who specializes in this behavior that is willing to work with "a pit".

I am absolutely beside myself and am not sure where to turn. I am overwhelmed by the amount of training equipment and tools on the market and do not know where to begin. I knew getting a dog from the pound was a risk and that she would take a lot of time, effort, money and energy. I am willing to help her in any way and your feedback would be very appreciated. Thank you so much for your time.

---

 

Prong Collars

 

---

My husband and I took our three year old lab for a walk on a leash and he was attacked by another dog that the owner did not have on a leash. Max was not showing any signs of aggression. Max has be traumatized by this event and he is now more aggressive toward other dogs we see out walking, which we understand is normal from reading your web site. We now take a stick and pepper spray with us when we walk so that we can better protect him in case he is attacked again. This just happened this week and we are concerned that he may become aggressive toward us. He has never shown signs of aggression toward us before and will even be VERY careful taking treats from our hands to be sure he doesn't bite down. There have never been any behavioral issues and Max knows that my husband is the Alpha dog and never challenges him on that. Do we need to be concerned that he may direct aggression toward us after this incident?

P.S. We found your website really helpful. We had another off-leash dog approach ours and we had no problem being aggressive with the dog in front of the owner and then once the threat was over, we chewed the owner out for not keeping her dog under control. Thanks for the reminder that WE are the pack leaders and must be proactive to protect our dog.

---

My neighbor has a female yellow lab approximately 2 yrs old. The dog has repeatedly ran into my yard and attacked my miniature dachshunds. There have been a total of 6 attacks.... one so serious that my dog required over 50 stitches. We are talking about a 10 lb. miniature dachshund. We have spent over $700 in vet bills. We have witnessed some of these attacks, and the owner of the lab actually witnessed one of the attacks themselves. We have repeatedly begged the neighbors to keep their dog up, or get rid of the dog. They refuse, and have a total lack of concern for their dogs aggressive behavior. I have never seen a dog behave in this manner. I believe it must have some type of mental problem.

The lab has attacked my dogs six times ... all of the attacks were unprovoked. The dog just literally runs into my yard and picks up my dogs and slings them like they are a piece of meat. The owner of the aggressive lab has three small children, one an infant. I also have a 3 yr old daughter who is developmentally delayed. I am very very concerned about this dog attacking my child and the children of the dogs owner. Here is my question: Will a dog that attacks other dogs also attack children or possible be more prone to attack children? They keep this dog in their home around their small children. Not only am I worried for my childs safety, but I am also worried for their children's safety. Any help you can give me on this would be greatly appreciated.

---

 

How to Fit a Prong Collar eBook

 

---

Hi there, I was wondering if you could give me an opinion on something that happened at my home yesterday. I didn't see an article directly referring to it, and if I missed it I apologize. We (my husband and I) were outside preparing for yard sale. Our lab/rotweiller mix dog was lying on the front lawn watching us. We had not tied her up as we thought we would give her a bit of 'free time' before she was put in the fenced back yard. She was quietly playing with her toy and we didn't even notice she was there.

All of a sudden I heard her barking and growling at another dog. The neighbor had come by with her 2 year old lab mix on a leash. I'm not sure why but my dog had gone up and started fighting. I don't believe myself it was a serious fight, but the lady holding the leash started screaming and dragging her dog by the neck away. Her dog was yelping and as soon as I came up close and called my dog away (putting my hand on her neck) she stopped the aggressive behavior.

I realize that we are at fault for not tying the dog up (we offered to pay the astronomical vet bill for a "scratch" - no skin was broken) but I also feel the owner of the other dog is at fault in the way she tried to drag the dog away thus creating the 'injury'. How do you feel about this? Our dog has snarled at other dogs in the past but will easily walk away with a quick tug on the leash. If another dog (or cat) shows aggression she will quickly back down. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

---

 

How to Select a Muzzle eBook

 

---

Hello, I was hoping you could tell me why my female German shephard would Kill a two week old yorkie pup. My wife is really upset and I just wanted to find out why. Thanks in advance.

---

Hi, I recently acquired a two-ish year old hound mix from a neglectful home. I have had experience with this dog before, it was never aggressive and always friendly with other dogs. Last night a friend came over with her two year old lab, a real sweetie and everything was okay for about thirty seconds when Ensi (my dog) began to growl, snarl, bark and lunge. We corrected with the leash and a firm command, when she would show non aggressive behavior we would praise. We kept them separated (one inside one out) then switched them to try to allow Ensi to get used to the smell of the other dog, but to no avail. She would still lunge and snarl if she saw the other dog thru the window. Thru this whole time though her tail was up and wagging, so we began to wonder if maybe she just didn't know how to show the proper signs of wanting to play. We took them to the front yard (out of Ensi's territory), and she did the same types of behavior. We put a gentle lead, with the mouth part tight, on Ensi and tried to introduce them again, with Ensi trying to get into a dog fight and the other dog just trying to run away and play. This worries me because we are going to have to keep the in-laws Bichon Frise's in a couple of weeks, and if she is this aggressive with a dog more than twice her size she could kill the bichon's. Do you have any suggestions. And by the way, she is still fine with people, no aggression there unless they try to come into the yard unannounced, but she does bark when there are dogs on the other side of our six foot privacy fence. Please help.

---

Hello, I've been reading your site for a few days and have a couple ?'s. I have what we "think" is a chow-lab mix according to the vet. He's three years old and great with people. He's even great around strangers only wanting to jump on them and say "hi". But when he was about one year old, I found him in our back yard cornered by coyotes, he was curled up against the house like a scared rabbit. They didn't attack him as I scared them off. Ever since then, he's extremely hostile and aggressive towards strange dogs, especially if they resemble a coyote. He's still cool and playful with the dogs he knew before this event. When I walk him, I try and avoid any dogs, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Right when I see him start thinking about getting mean, I yank him up by the choker chain, until he gasps for air and make him sit and not move. This worked for a while but no longer. Basically he could choke himself to death and still try and go for the dog. I'm afraid with a prong collar he'd end up puncturing himself as stubborn as he can be. Do you suggest the prong or maybe a shock collar or something?

---

 

How to Break Up a Dog Fight eBook

 

---

We have 2 dogs. Bubba, 2, american Bulldog- 100lbs and Lucy, 5, pit mix (we think) 50 lbs. They are the best of friends....sleeping on eachother, etc. Well, yesterday, my husband was playing in the yard with them when Bubba did something to his leg and let out a yelp--when he did, Lucy bit that leg and he tore into her. She tore up his leg pretty badly and he let her have it in the neck, ear and above her eye. We tried everything we knew to seperate them...of course I hadn't read your website...but, they wouldn't stop fighting. We thought Bubba was going to kill Lucy, so my husband was yelling, hitting them with a stick and finally ended up punching Bubba in the head about 4 or 5 good times before he let go long enough for me to yank Lucy by her Hind legs and get her the hell out of there. We have kept them seperated since, but they keep crying to be together. I am home alone everyother day since my husband is a firefighter, so I am alone today with them., I am afraid to let them out together because I am by myself with our little girl that's almost 2. Have the dogs already forgiven? How do we reintroduce them? Will they fight again now that they have tasted eachother's blood? They were so close, but I am scared to let them together again even though they are whining constantly. I can't think of getting rid of one, they are like kids to us.
Please help.
Thanks
Angie

---

 

Muzzles

 

---

I need help with my 3 year old Rottweiler bitch. I've spent a lot of time reading your articles and many other trainers on line as well as watching the Dog Whisperer to help me try to get her under control while I'm walking her. I got her in August from a Humane Society shelter. I lost my 11 year old Rottweiler in June to diabetes. She was super well-trained and had become my companion/ service dog that I had taught many hand signals and commands and I thought I was reasonably knowledgeable about the breed. I learned to work with that dog by books and trial and error as the trainer and vet had advised me to get rid of her due to her dominance. The little new dog---75 pounds to my other dog's 124 pounds is extremely anxious to please and doesn't actually seem to be dominant. She was not at all dog aggressive when I first got her and now while walking her there are times I look like the cowboys with the bulls at the rodeo. I am 71 and even though she is small, she is very much the Rottweiler and the neigborhood seems to have a dachshund and chihuahua in every household.(I've just moved in to town.) After reading your web page I see that I have been using the prong collar too loose, but she pulls constantly on it the entire walk and doesn't seem to have any pain from it although I am not a wimp about making a correction. I've tried a regular choke as well as just using her flat buckle collar with the leash on that. In a way, I think she "zones out" as she gets so very anxious and excited when she sees any stimuli on the walk. But she is developing a big case of dog aggression every day. I think too she is getting more secure with me and her real nature is emerging. She was very fearful when I first got her,had just had puppies, hookworms, red mange,and was half starved to death. Actually she is a great little dog, well worth the effort of working this out. I would appreciate any tips you could give me. If you don't have time to answer, i would understand. I think I need to order either the nylon choke collar or the aggressive choke collar, take some links out of my prong collar, and get back out there as soon as I recover from surgery.

Thanks so much. Joanna

---

I am writing to ask your advice or suggestions with a problem that I am experiencing. 

I adopted a 105 lb. American Bulldog from a Bulldog Rescue in August.  I was told that she got along with other dogs and did well with being left alone, as I work all day.  The first day that I had her,  she knocked me down and  broke my finger in order to fight with another dog.  She has since attacked a very small dog in my neighborhood while I was taking her for a walk, again knocking me down.  The owner of the dog and I could NOT pull her off. I have tried Four Paws Harness along with a spike collar (not at the same time) but NOTHING makes it so that I can handle her.

She is otherwise well behaved while in the house except for the fact that she jumps on people that enter my home and scares them.  Most of what she does would be fine if she were smaller but she is so huge and powerful that if frightens people.  My friend used to go to my house during the day to let her out but now refuses.  I cannot leave her in the yard because she jumps the fence occasionally. 

Any suggestions?   

Debbie

---

 

Leerburg DogTraining eBooks

 

Leerburg Dog Training Podcasts