Aggression Q&As

I saw a Q/A that you had on fear biting and I was hoping that you could help me out with something... We adopted a female (2-3 years old) lab/boxer (or pit bull not sure) mix. She is a well tempered dog, very loving, plays well with other dogs (from what we can tell) and with cats. She has not exhibited aggressive behavior with the exception that she barks a little at strangers. The thing is that she is very timid. Numerous times she will roll on her back and freeze. We thou...

Hi Mr. Frawley... I've been exploring the internet because a problem has developed in our household. I found your site, and it's one of the most intelligent and helpful on the web. I saw that you have addressed the problem we're having about family pets fighting, and have read your response: "You've created a pack, either separate the dogs or find some of them new homes", so I won't repeat the question about what to do...but I'm so distraught over it that I want to better un...

I am inquiring about my sister's mini pin/ Chihuahua mix dog, roughly 2 years old. He is generally a sweet little boy, but rules the roost among the other (3) dogs. The other day, my sister witnessed severe aggression toward one of the dogs over a chewee, and tried to break it up using a spray bottle (no effect), a whistle (same deal), and yelling (well you can imagine). In the end he bit her. She really is at wits end. I wonder if you have any input on this situation. I worry, since she also...

Hello, My husband and I own a pitbull. His name is Munster (not our name of choice, we were given "Munster" while he was a puppy and he had gotten so used to the name that it stuck, we call him "Duke" around strangers that are weary of his breed.) He is the best dog I have ever owned, we even owned a pitbull before him...but had to find her a new home after she had shown aggression towards me while I was feeding her. Munster has never shown aggression towards us or any other people...

I am a owner of a 2 yr old boxer-lab mix, who has just recently developed aggression towards other dogs. As a puppy, I took him to the dog park (almost every day) until he was attacked by a female pit. (He had to have stitches and a drain put into a puncture wound.- probably one of the worst days of my life!) He never had any aggression problems at the dog park up until about 18 months when he started being aggressive towards puppies. (I read in your articles that this is the age of matur...

Hello my name is Angie, I was searching around online and found your site and had a similar situation. I have a 9 month old rott and when she was a puppy, about 3 months, she bit my daughter while eating a bone. My daughter had dropped something by her reached down to get it and she bit her lip. Since then, my other daughter claims she bit her head while she brushing her hair next to her and just tonight my other daughter, 5, was trying to hug the puppy and she said at first she bit her but t...

Hello Ed, I've always been a big fan of you and your website, and I do get your newsletters? thank you! Quick question: I thought I was done with parenting after my first daughter turned 16 and the other 12 so I got a beautiful German Shepherd with 100% german lines out of a Texas breeder. He is a wonderful, obedient, sweet dog with what I would presume a great temperament. No issues with aggressiveness at all; He is a bit of a baby who enjoys to play and be w...

Good morning! I'm hoping you can give me some advice please. I just came across your web page,5 months too late however! You offer great advice, and I hope to gain more. We have an 11year old Jack Russell female and a 5 year old unaltered male Scottish Terrier. The Jack is the boss, and they were spoiled as our "kids" up until 5 months ago, when we had our son. We've done everything wrong according to your points on introducing dogs to babies. The dogs have full run of the house,...

Hello, I have a 70-75 pound Alaskan Malamute that is 2 years old and have 2 cats that lived in the house prior to my dog living here. Ever since she (my dog) was a puppy, I followed your techniques with training her to get along with the cats. At this time, she is wonderful with the cats! She seems to even be protective over them and does NOT chase them, in fact she will quickly look the other way if she accidently catches a glance of my 15 year old cat (my 15 year old cat is the b...

Hi Cindy, We have a two year old German Shepherd/Australian Cattle dog that we got from a shelter at three months old. We used both your Puppy and Basic training videos and our dog generally behaves well and we are happy with her. She is a soft dog and shows signs of being submissive as I understand it (presents her back side, licks me, etc.) She has never been aggressive towards anyone save for when we used to get near her and her food although that behavior has almost disappeared. We...

Cindy, Our 8 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever bit our 1 1/2 yr old baby on her hand. My wife went into the kitchen quickly leaving them alone, less than 5 seconds, so she didn't see what happened. The dog drew blood - could have used a stitch or 2. My wife wants the dog to go, I don't know what to do. Sarge {our dog} has had possessive issues since he has been a pup. Thanks for any thoughts that can protect all involved. Tom

Hello, I have looked for an answer to this question on your website and I have found some good responses but not one that totally satisfied me. So I wanted to ask you this one directly because I am concerned about this new puppy I have and need to make a decision about returning it to the breeder or not. First off this puppy has a lot of qualities that we like she has bonded to the family almost instantly, she is very intelligent, very loving and is responding to basic obedience co...

Hi there, We have a 16 month old Boerboel (South African Mastiff). We have been following your videos for puppies and he sailed through a local obedience class with flying colors. We are having a baby in September and countless people have expressed concern over introducing the dog to the baby and visa versa. I scanned your Q&A, but couldn't find something close on the subject. Is there a right vs. wrong way to introduce a dog to a new high ranking member of the pack?...

Hello, I have sought help from numerous sources (too many to mention here), including my vet. I have one huge problem with our border collie, named Oreo, she is 7 yrs old, we've had her since she was 10 weeks old. She is a wonderful dog all the way around... for obedience, etc. no problems. The problem is she is showing aggression towards our daughter who will be 4 yrs old in February. She used to be able to go and pet Oreo and help me feed her, etc. However over the last co...

We have a wonderful, caring 4 year old male Belgian Sheepdog. I've done obedience training with him professional trainers over time for general commands (heel, with me, etc.). He can be oversensitive to stimulus. He is great with adults and now is dealing with his first exposure to a young infant (our grandson). He is becoming quite protective as he darts at our other dog if he goes near the baby. He even darted toward me while I was shaking a rattle in front of baby's face. He was going...

Mr. Frawley, I hope you can help our family. We have a 16 mon. old cairn terrier male neutered at 6 mon. He is generally a good natured dog. We have had typical problems with house training, but generally he is a typical cairn. Problem is with my 3 1/2 year old son. There seems to be some confusion as to who is higher in the pecking order. My son is very gentle with this dog, but when the pup was 4-5 mon. old he bit my boy in the face. He still bares the scar. Over the past ...

I know you probably don't hear a lot about these dogs, but here goes: I purchased him from a private breeder (mother very sweet, siblings all looked fine-clean home, etc - husband and wife stays home with dogs. We brought him home and everything was fine. He would play bite was the only major thing I noticed in like the first month. About a month after we got him, some relatives came to stay for 6 weeks temporarily with us. They have 2 children, ages 2 and a half and 6. Both of the...

Ed, Thank you for your site. The information that it contains has been helpful in trying to figure out what to do with my dog, Rocky. Rocky is a 7 year old Australian Shepard that we have had since he was 9 weeks old. He has been a great dog with a great personality. He never barks unless some comes near the house or if he and I are playing. He has always been very "happy" around people even children. There are 10 grandchildren on my wife's side of the family of which 7 of them hav...

Ed, I came across you website while looking for answers to an issue with my 21 month old German Sheppard mix, Hannah. I read several articles and lots of Q&A's, but did not find an answer specific to my issue. We have three dogs, Brandy a 13 year old German Sheppard mix, Lucy a 5 year old lab mix, and Hannah. We adopted Hannah when she was 12 weeks old from a humane society in the area, and quickly began training classes with her. She's very well behaved, follows commands an...

Hi Ed, I have been looking around your site and reading the various articles. I have a 4 year old Labradoodle (poodle X lab) I know it isn't one of the usual breeds you deal with, however I am in need of some advice. My dog was attacked as a puppy by 7 GSD's. I was out walking her and had let her off the lead in an enclosed space in order to do some training. A man with the pack of dogs walked up to the gate and came in. The dogs saw my pup and pulled the leads out of his ha...