My dog has started to exhibit some aggression while in the car. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions, and is this behavior likely a symptom of a problem that could get worse?

Dear Cindy,

Thanks for your prompt and helpful reply to my e-mail concerning using e-collars to control prey drive in my 2 year old 110 lb. mastiff/boxer female. The first collar was apparently defective as the replacement worked on the lower power setting just as you said it should.

I have had this dog for a year. She is a rescue dog and is assimilating into the family pretty easily. There have been a few issues - for example, a fear of plastic grocery sacks shifting in the back of the car or walking across metal drain covers. She was initially very rough playing with my other dog - a 65 lb. female, Rotty mix. However, these fear issues resolved very quickly as did the rough play.

In the last few weeks there have been two instances of fear aggression while we were in the car with her. The first happened when she was with my husband. A friend approached the parked car with her hand extended, then thinking better of it, she withdrew it. At that point my dog barked aggressively. The most recent event occurred a few days ago. I pulled into a narrow parking space and before I could back out to re-park the lady who owned the car next to mine came to get in. She was very close to my car and as she turned around to open her door, my dog barked and lunged. For now I have quit leaving her in the car unattended. I can create this scenario and school to correct the behavior, but I was shocked to see it from this dog.

I am with my dogs a large part of the time. They are crated when I am gone. We walk about 4 - 6 miles a day - about an hour in the a.m. and about 30 min. in the p.m. In addition I work each dog at least once a day. We are around people in the parks, on the streets, and in our home. She is very friendly, though I do keep my dogs away from strangers. While she was a little shy of small children when we got her and occasionally a surprise movement or noise will momentarily frighten her, I have never seen any other sign of aggression. I know that any aggressive behavior should be taken seriously, but I'm not sure what to do that I'm not already doing. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions, and is this behavior likely a symptom of a problem that could get worse? Is there anything specific I should watch for?

I am additionally concerned because a very nice dog showed up at our farm recently - apparently dumped by someone. He is a 1 - 2 year old, 85 lb., Husky mix. We live in town so we are keeping him in a horse stall in the barn. We play with him 3 times a day and have started basic obedience and marker training and a little crate training. We want to take him home. So, we have been reading the applicable info. on the website. To be on the safe side, I ordered muzzles, dominant dog collar, and the DVD on dominant and aggressive dogs. I want to be as prepared as possible especially since this will be the third dog. I suspicion that he isn't socialized with other dogs. My females are spayed, and we had this dog neutered 2 weeks ago. Our 2 current dogs get along extremely well. In Ed's article Introducing Dogs into Homes with other Dogs, he says that "When a new dog is added to a home.... re-establishing rank is where dog fights come from" and that the worst fights come between two females. Are the two existing female members more likely to fight with each other? I am not anticipating a problem but want to be as prepared as possible. Is there anything else I should read or watch? Do you have any tips before I proceed with the introduction as outlined in the article?

Thank you for any advice on these two issues.

Jody