I have an older dog who has the attitude, 'Attack first before I’m attacked' towards other dogs. What should I do?

Normally this behavior is because another dog has attacked the dog in the past. It's a very difficult thing to stop once it's had a chance to get established as an effective behavior for the dog.



The first thing that needs to be done is the dog needs a lot of basic obedience (similar to what I show in my training video, Basic Dog Obedience.) The emphasis really needs to be put on the distraction training. Another dog is a very big distraction for this dog and it must learn that under any circumstance, it must mind. If this means putting a prong collar on the dog and giving it a level 10 correction then that’s what has to be done.



Obedience training does not eliminate the urge for your dog to attack other dogs, it only forces the dog to mind and control itself when told to.



If it were my dog I would be using a Tri Tronics Electric Collar on the dog after the basic obedience. I would condition the dog to low level stimulation the way the training videos we sell show. This is going to be the most effective way to control this behavior. I would never take the dog for a walk without the collar on; it simply becomes a part of the dog’s life. This is really not a big deal. When I take my patrol dog out to work he always gets his collar on. He knows this and is happy to get it because he knows he is going somewhere.



If I were you I would not waist my money on “dog behaviorists” or whatever they want to call themselves. In 99% of the dogs that have this problem no amount of socializing or playing games with friendly dogs is going to eliminate this behavior. You would be better advised to spend your money on a collar and obedience training. Do not buy a collar other than Tri Tronics. They are the best and this is a tool that you will need to last the life of your dog.