Aggression Q&As

Dear Leerburg Kennels: I have been searching the internet for information to help me with a tough decision. It was refreshing to find a site that was realistic and practical to those who submitted questions. Furthermore, I was very pleased that help was available from people so knowledgeable. I have a 2 1/2 year old female (spayed) golden retriever that my family got as a puppy after our 9 year old Sharpei died (the Sharpei was a perfect dog in many respects). The golden has...

I have a 5 yr old Old English Sheepdog. We purchased this pup from a private breeder who I now feel, gave little regard to temperament. From the very beginning, he has been a "nervous" dog. When Barnaby was 6 months old I took him to a local basic obedience class. During a session of 'meet your neighbor,' where the dogs were allowed to sniff each other, he lunged and pinned the other dog to the floor. I soon realized that all dogs were considered the "enemy" to him and avoided cont...

Dear Ed, Hello there from Australia and thank you once again for your invaluable advice and information provided through your web site. A while ago you advised me (via email) about training my German Shepherd. Upon purchasing your Basic Dog Obedience video and applying the training techniques within, I am thrilled to report overwhelming improvement in the discipline and relationship with my dog as a direct result of that video. Thank you 1 million times over!!! Zach is just over 2 ...

I have a 10-month-old Beagle puppy. I got the dog from the SPCA when she was two to three months old. She is a terrific dog, very friendly with all people and other animals. I have trained her and although stubborn she responds very well and listens. My question - I have seen her on three occasions since owning her become somewhat aggressive and always under similar circumstances. Each time it involved her finding some candy or sweets and attempting to eat it. The first time she had a piece o...

I have a 10-month-old Beagle puppy. I got the dog from the SPCA when she was two to three months old. She is a terrific dog, very friendly with all people and other animals. I have trained her and although stubborn she responds very well and listens. My question - I have seen her on three occasions since owning her become somewhat aggressive and always under similar circumstances. Each time it involved her finding some candy or sweets and attempting to eat it. The first time she had a piece o...

We had a very unfortunate accident happen last Sunday evening. Our neighbor's dog bit my husbands face. I would like to give you a little history first. The dog is a German Shepherd. She is 3 or 4 and has been spade. They have another dog that is younger than she is and is a male. He is part lab, part chow. I should also mention the German Shepherd has been to obedience school. Last November the wife was home alone and asked me to come over to see some new furniture she just...

I have an extremely aggressive 2 year old Brazilian Fila male and a shy female of the same breed. The problem is the male. He is very sweet to the family, you can take his food when he eats, he wants attention like a puppy but when seeing strangers he becomes wild and dangerous, almost out of control from anger. I physically stopped him a couple of times in the past in the middle of an attack. I worked with him when he was younger on the basic commands, 'sit', 'come', 'down', but not enou...

I'm suffering terrible from guilt. One week ago I put our 9 year old Fox Hound to sleep. He was a wonderful dog to the family. We got Gage when he was 5 months old from a local animal shelter. He was very fearful of people. When we brought him home he stayed in his kennel for 3 days, except when we physically removed him to go potty. Once he warmed up to us he was great! Very loving. However, he was always very shy around people. When he was 1 we took him to the vet, because we not...

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