April 12, 2011
My 18 month old Rot is very aggressive to strangers and other dogs. What should I do?
Full Question:
Ed, your web site is GREAT! I have read many of your articles and enjoy them very much. I own a dog that was 8 months old when I got him. He is 18 months old now. I spend a lot of time with him trying to teach him basic obedience. He is very dominant, aggressive and was not socialized at a young age. He follows me around like I'm his mother. We go for lots of walks, play in the yard, go for drives in the van, and do many other things together. When I'm in my wood shop, he's right at the door protecting me from anyone who is foolish enough to enter my yard. I am concerned about his aggressiveness toward other people and other dogs. What can I do to help him. Please let me know what I can do to help him. By the way, he is a Rottweiler. 
Ed's Answer:
Dogs can act aggressive towards people for a couple of reasons:
1. If they were not socialized as a young dog, this results in a temperament problem, which effect their nerves. A dog with weak nerves is a dog that is quick to show aggression to strangers. The dog's display of aggression is often just an act to cover up weakness in the dog. They learn that by acting aggressive people that make them nervous leave them alone. So while the inexperienced owner thinks he has a tiger by the tail, in reality the dog is weak. Usually dogs that act like this will get their hair up on their back and show a lot of teeth. They tend to growl a lot and will carry their tail in a tucked fashion (hard to tell on a rot). The bark on these dogs is more of a hectic neurotic bark.
2. Some dogs that do not have the above problems are aggressive because they are very territorial to their property and handler. These dogs will carry their tail high and when they bark at people they don't get their hair up so much. The bark on these dogs is a deeper more confident bark.
The solution to this issue always begins at home. It starts with establishing the owner as a stronger pack leader. This is done through formal obedience training. The work that goes into obedience training forces the dog to look at the owner as a stronger pack leader. No matter what, we need to realize that the domesticated dog is a pack animal with instincts. They do not think logically the way people do, they just react to their environment according to the instincts that their genetic background have provided them with. So if you put yourself in a position of controlling the dog through obedience exercises it is going to look at you as a better and stronger pack leader. The pack leader is the one who decides when and where to fight.
If you are a novice, you need to take a look at my tape titled Basic Dog Obedience.
What often happens to people who have dogs like this is that they put their dogs away when visitors come over to the house. They do not allow the dog to have contact with people who come into the home. This is a mistake, it simply raises the dog’s suspicion level.
What works better is to be 100% sure that the dog is obedience trained, then when strangers come over, the dog is allowed to greet the people (after you let the people in the house). If this means putting the dog in a down position back away from the door then do that first. Once the people are in, the dog is allowed to come up and smell and greet the company. This does not mean the people need to pet the dog (if they are afraid). But during the training of this, have your friends bring along a hot dog or a treat that the dog likes. This teaches the dog that the people that come are friends. Once in the house the dog is then told to go to his spot. If the dog growls or shows any sign of aggression towards the people, the handler corrects the dog with a level 10 correction. This does not mean you simply say PHOOIE - it means you go after the dog so hard he thinks his life is about to end. He has to understand that when the pack leader says its OK to come into the house, that means he has no business trying to interfere with the pack leaders wishes.
A dog should always have a spot in the house that he is made to believe is his spot. This is where he goes when you want to train the “down stays.” This can be in his crate or simply on a particular rug in the kitchen or hall. When a dog is put there he is never allowed to get up on his own. The only way he gets off the spot is when the handler gives the “release command - OK.”
Once a visitor comes, the dog is then put on his spot and told to stay there. This procedure will often soften a dog that was overly aggressive.
As far as dog aggression goes, that's a real pain in the butt. Once a dog becomes dog aggressive it is hard to break. Once again the solution begins with obedience training. If you tell the dog "NO," that means “NO.” If the dog breaks the command and will not listen, then its time for a harder corrections and possibly a prong collar. Some dogs need to have electric collar training (but this is a topic for a completely different article.
If the dog is at all handler aggressive or if the handler is concerned about being able to control a big dog, then the dog should be wearing a muzzle (even one of the plastic style muzzles that I sell). Nothing could be worse than a big Rot grabbing a small poodle when you are out walking.
With a lot of dogs I do no think that you will ever take the dog aggression out of them. All you can hope to do it control them when they are in a position to become aggressive.
1. If they were not socialized as a young dog, this results in a temperament problem, which effect their nerves. A dog with weak nerves is a dog that is quick to show aggression to strangers. The dog's display of aggression is often just an act to cover up weakness in the dog. They learn that by acting aggressive people that make them nervous leave them alone. So while the inexperienced owner thinks he has a tiger by the tail, in reality the dog is weak. Usually dogs that act like this will get their hair up on their back and show a lot of teeth. They tend to growl a lot and will carry their tail in a tucked fashion (hard to tell on a rot). The bark on these dogs is more of a hectic neurotic bark.
2. Some dogs that do not have the above problems are aggressive because they are very territorial to their property and handler. These dogs will carry their tail high and when they bark at people they don't get their hair up so much. The bark on these dogs is a deeper more confident bark.
The solution to this issue always begins at home. It starts with establishing the owner as a stronger pack leader. This is done through formal obedience training. The work that goes into obedience training forces the dog to look at the owner as a stronger pack leader. No matter what, we need to realize that the domesticated dog is a pack animal with instincts. They do not think logically the way people do, they just react to their environment according to the instincts that their genetic background have provided them with. So if you put yourself in a position of controlling the dog through obedience exercises it is going to look at you as a better and stronger pack leader. The pack leader is the one who decides when and where to fight.
If you are a novice, you need to take a look at my tape titled Basic Dog Obedience.
What often happens to people who have dogs like this is that they put their dogs away when visitors come over to the house. They do not allow the dog to have contact with people who come into the home. This is a mistake, it simply raises the dog’s suspicion level.
What works better is to be 100% sure that the dog is obedience trained, then when strangers come over, the dog is allowed to greet the people (after you let the people in the house). If this means putting the dog in a down position back away from the door then do that first. Once the people are in, the dog is allowed to come up and smell and greet the company. This does not mean the people need to pet the dog (if they are afraid). But during the training of this, have your friends bring along a hot dog or a treat that the dog likes. This teaches the dog that the people that come are friends. Once in the house the dog is then told to go to his spot. If the dog growls or shows any sign of aggression towards the people, the handler corrects the dog with a level 10 correction. This does not mean you simply say PHOOIE - it means you go after the dog so hard he thinks his life is about to end. He has to understand that when the pack leader says its OK to come into the house, that means he has no business trying to interfere with the pack leaders wishes.
A dog should always have a spot in the house that he is made to believe is his spot. This is where he goes when you want to train the “down stays.” This can be in his crate or simply on a particular rug in the kitchen or hall. When a dog is put there he is never allowed to get up on his own. The only way he gets off the spot is when the handler gives the “release command - OK.”
Once a visitor comes, the dog is then put on his spot and told to stay there. This procedure will often soften a dog that was overly aggressive.
As far as dog aggression goes, that's a real pain in the butt. Once a dog becomes dog aggressive it is hard to break. Once again the solution begins with obedience training. If you tell the dog "NO," that means “NO.” If the dog breaks the command and will not listen, then its time for a harder corrections and possibly a prong collar. Some dogs need to have electric collar training (but this is a topic for a completely different article.
If the dog is at all handler aggressive or if the handler is concerned about being able to control a big dog, then the dog should be wearing a muzzle (even one of the plastic style muzzles that I sell). Nothing could be worse than a big Rot grabbing a small poodle when you are out walking.
With a lot of dogs I do no think that you will ever take the dog aggression out of them. All you can hope to do it control them when they are in a position to become aggressive.
88% (7 out of 8)
respondents found this answer helpful
Can't find what you're looking for?
88% (7 out of 8)
respondents found this answer helpful
.jpg)
