May 19, 2011

We rescued a Shepherd a year ago and are now having aggression issues. We don't want to return him to the shelter. Can you help us?

Full Question:
I have searched several forums to find some info on aggression issues in shelter dogs and haven't found anything specific to a rescue dog. We rescued a Sheppard last May and he has aggression issues with my 14 yr old daughter. We are not sure why this is happening only with her, we also have a 12 yr old son whom he has no problem with. He has bitten her about 4 times up to now and he strikes without provocation. We don't have much history on this dog as he has been in & out of shelters for most of his life, he is now almost 3yrs old. I have been researching the use of an ecollar, but am not sure if this will help.

We need help! I would hate to have to put him back into a shelter without having tried all the possibilities.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Ed
Ed Ed's Answer:
The first thing that jumps out at me is your misunderstanding about pack behavior and dog training in general.

Dogs (unlike people) don’t live in the past. They live in the present and react to what's facing them in the moment.

This means to categorize a dog as a RESCUE DOG and expect to find solutions based on a dog being a rescue dog is a huge mistake.

You have not established pack structure in your home. I have written a free E-book on this - My web site has a large number of FREE eBooks that I have written.

I believe that the DVD I recently finished could really help you. It’s titled DEALING WITH DOMINANT AND AGGRESSIVE DOGS and was a 5 year project.

This DVD is 3 ½ hours long. You can go to the web page and read the outline of what’s included on the video. My DVDs are not meant to be watched one time. The fact is anyone who needs this information needs to watch it many times because every time they watch it they will pick up new ideas.

This dog also needs to be obedience trained in a meaningful way. If you want to learn how to do this its explained in my Basic Dog Obedience DVD.

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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