May 20, 2011
If I establish pack leader authority with my dog, will it help his aggressive tendencies to stop?
Full Question:
I have a 6 year old un-neutered male black lab. He has started becoming very aggressive in the past year. He has never liked me being around any man but my husband, and he would get very agitated at the unknown male, such as a repairman. This past year he has bitten my cousin, not badly, just enough to make her scream and make the attack worse. He also snapped at the vet, which in turn made the vet muzzle him and refuse to treat him unless he is restrained and doped up on medicine. The vet will no longer board him either. Is there any help for getting this dog to stop biting people? I really love this dog, but I don't want him to hurt somebody or myself. If I establish pack leader authority with this dog, will it help his aggressive tendencies to stop? Sincerely,
Amy
Cindy's Answer:
You need to restructure your dog’s life. It appears that he believes HE is in charge, instead of following your leadership.
With an adult dog that has been allowed to behave as he pleases, the process takes longer than if you had established yourself as a leader when he was much younger but it can be done. All of his privileges need to be taken away and you will need to control every aspect of his life from now on in order for any training to make a difference.
First, read this article about becoming an effective pack leader. The first sentence in this article says it all: "You can feed water and love your dog and he will like you but he very well may not respect you." 99% of all behavioral problems are a result of dogs not respecting their owners. This happens as a result of poor handling and/or poor training usually because of a lack of understanding of dog behavior.
We have just finished a 4 hour long DVD on pack structure. Pack structure and how to live with a dog in your home are the first issues to deal with whenever you have problems with an existing dog. We are taking orders for a new DVD that extensively covers the way Ed and I live with dogs in our home. It is called Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Pet.
I would also recommend our Basic Obedience DVD and our DVD on how to handle Dominant and Aggressive dogs.
There is so much covered in the videos, that it is impossible to explain it all in an email. You can read about each one on the web pages I have linked in this email.
I hope this helps.
With an adult dog that has been allowed to behave as he pleases, the process takes longer than if you had established yourself as a leader when he was much younger but it can be done. All of his privileges need to be taken away and you will need to control every aspect of his life from now on in order for any training to make a difference.
First, read this article about becoming an effective pack leader. The first sentence in this article says it all: "You can feed water and love your dog and he will like you but he very well may not respect you." 99% of all behavioral problems are a result of dogs not respecting their owners. This happens as a result of poor handling and/or poor training usually because of a lack of understanding of dog behavior.
We have just finished a 4 hour long DVD on pack structure. Pack structure and how to live with a dog in your home are the first issues to deal with whenever you have problems with an existing dog. We are taking orders for a new DVD that extensively covers the way Ed and I live with dogs in our home. It is called Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Pet.
I would also recommend our Basic Obedience DVD and our DVD on how to handle Dominant and Aggressive dogs.
There is so much covered in the videos, that it is impossible to explain it all in an email. You can read about each one on the web pages I have linked in this email.
I hope this helps.
100% (5 out of 5)
respondents found this answer helpful
Can't find what you're looking for?
100% (5 out of 5)
respondents found this answer helpful
.jpg)
