July 08, 2019
QA 9 ticket #19734
Full Question:
Hi Cindy. Our 1 year old Bullmastiff freaks out and wants to attack our neighbor's dog every time he sees him. He goes from 0-10 in a second. I've had him around other dogs with no issues. Do you have any good resources you could recommend to correct this behavior? 
Cindy's Answer:
Is he on leash when he does this or what are the circumstances?
User Response:
The circumstances seem to be multi-faceted. I have been inside our house with our main door open but the screen door shut. Our dog hears the sound of the neighbor dog's collar and he will perk up and charge the door. I've started "claiming" to kill that behavior however, the other day my wife had him by the leach and was getting ready to take him out. The neighbors dog was already outside. Our dog saw him, bullrushed the door, pulled the leash out of my wife's hand, swung the door open and attacked the dog. I got to him before any biting occured, but still a very frustrating situation. Another situation is the fact that we have a back deck, as do the neighbors. Sometimes if our dog is on our back deck and the neighbors let their dog on the back deck they both start barking and lunging at each other through the railings. So far to correct the behavior, I have had my dog on the prong collar and yanked as hard as I could, but it seems to only intensify the drive. I have also attempted using the e-collar but this too seems to intensify the drive as well.
Cindy's Answer:
I think you need some help from someone who can come to your home and help you work through this in the environment where the issues are taking place. Where do you live? What is your closest larger city?
Using the prong and ecollar to try to extinguish aggression can and often does amplify it as you found out.
Using the prong and ecollar to try to extinguish aggression can and often does amplify it as you found out.
User Response:
Hi again Cindy. Update to this issue. We met with in a trainer in our area who recommended using a 'snoot loop' (similar to a gentle leader) to re-focus the dog's attention on us when in these situations. This does seem to work however the tool rubbed the dog's nose raw so we are back at square one. I'm told you have about 3 seconds when the dog elevates to correct him until they react. I'm trying to figure out the best way to correct if my dog does react and I don't get to him in time. We live in the D.C. area by the way. Do you think just using a dominate dog collar may help? Maybe that would correct the behavior without esclating?
Cindy's Answer:
Hi Zak, I'm sorry for the delay in responding . I just returned from spending a couple weeks at Mayo clinic with my mom and I missed this reply.
You could try the dominant dog collar but there are a couple of issues that jump out at me. 1) your dog is very large so it's going to take a good amount of upper body strength to handle him with a dominant dog collar. I'm pretty strong but a Bullmastiff might be too big for me to control in the situations you've had in the past. 2) Your dog has had some rehearsals of the aggression, both through the fence and by actually jumping on another dog. I'm not sure this is something that can handled safely via an email.
I can put out the word with my training colleagues around the country and see if I can find a referral for you
You could try the dominant dog collar but there are a couple of issues that jump out at me. 1) your dog is very large so it's going to take a good amount of upper body strength to handle him with a dominant dog collar. I'm pretty strong but a Bullmastiff might be too big for me to control in the situations you've had in the past. 2) Your dog has had some rehearsals of the aggression, both through the fence and by actually jumping on another dog. I'm not sure this is something that can handled safely via an email.
I can put out the word with my training colleagues around the country and see if I can find a referral for you
User Response:
Now I’m the one that needs to apologize. I haven’t checked this account in a while! My dog seems to be doing better and I have narrowed the behavior down to just our house and neighborhood. We just returned from a trip to NY where our dog played excellent with several different dogs. No issues. I agree this has been a learned behavior here on home turf so that just makes it a harder habit to break. If you have any connections I’m totally open to them!How is your mom doing?
Cindy's Answer:
I've been back at Mayo with my mom this last 10 days, she's hospitalized there now so things are hectic. Mayo is a 4 hour round trip for me and I've been going every day to see her . :( I'll see if I have any colleagues in the DC area that can help.
Cindy's Answer:
My friend Kyle Gilliam may be able to help, you can call him on his cell 703.357.3976
User Response:
Thanks for the update Cindy! I’ll be keeping you and your family in my prayers.
Cindy's Answer:
Thank you!
User Response:
Hi Cindy! I just wanted to know how your mom was. Praying for her tonight!
Cindy's Answer:
Hi Zak, that's very nice of you! She's home (in the Nashville TN area) and my siblings have been helping her out. She's doing OK but she's almost 87 with some serious health issues that can't really be fixed at this point. It's more of a management issue at this point. Her spirits are good but the social isolation from all her friends and activities (yoga, church, quilting club) have taken an emotional toll on her for sure.
Prayers are most certainly appreciated, hope you are doing well and thanks again.
Prayers are most certainly appreciated, hope you are doing well and thanks again.
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