Aggression Q&As

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...

Ed, I would like to ask you a question about my 8 month Great Pyr/lab mix. I've had her since she was 8 weeks old. She has been well socialized, gets plenty of exercise, and has been to obedience class. We have a 12 year old Schipperke, and two cats that have been around her since the beginning. 3 months ago she started being food protective with other animals. We no longer give her bones, and we feed her separately from the other animals. At 6 months old we saw the first signs of ...

Cindy, I have an 8 month old german shepherd (Jones) that I have socialized extensively to try and make sure that he had no aggression problems. He has never showed any sign of aggression towards other dogs or people. He has never showed any sign that would worry me. Today we were at a park with a few friends who have a 10 month old Weimaraner and a 4 month old german pointer. The dogs were playing fine and I pulled out a Kong that i throw for my dog and started throwing it for the...

Hi, I hope you can help me. We have (2) one and a half year old Bloodhound brothers that we are training for search and rescue. The problem that we are having is they are now at the age where they want to kill each other. They got along wonderfully as pups (inseparable) but now all hell has broken loose. No, they are not neutered. Yes, they have been crate trained but at over 120 pounds each, they have outgrown their crates. We cannot afford at this time to purchase new crates. We ...

Dear Cindy, I've written in the past and appreciate the expert advice you gave. I hope you don't mind that I am contacting you again. I had a major crisis this morning, resulting in a death by pack-attack of one of my dogs and bite wounds to myself (I was trying to break up the fight). My mother passed this October after which, in my grief, I adopted a new small dog to replace the one I'd had and that had lived here for the last few years. The 9 pound rescue m...

Dear Mr. Leerburg, My name is Daniel Noguera and I own a 2 years old Vizsla named Diego. While looking online for tools to correct my dog?s problems I found your website and numerous excellent resources. However, I?m still confused about what my best alternative will be among your resources to address my dog?s unwanted behavior; therefore, I?m hoping to get some assistance from you. To do so, I will describe some of my dog?s issues. * Diego does not trust new dogs coming...

Hi Ed, Earlier this year I emailed you with a raw-feeding question, via a Yahoo Group (I think), and of course you were nice enough to respond! I'm sure you don't remember me, but anyway, the raw feeding is going great with our four dogs. :) Only by accident did I come across your Leerburg website today, while Googling for information on the dominance issue we are now having with our two female littermates, 14 months old, lab/chow mix. I only made the connection that you ...

Cindy: I have a 15 month old female German Shepherd that is extremely dog reactive. When I have her out for a walk and she sees another dog she starts screaming. I don't know how else to describe it. People come out of their houses because they think that a dog has been hurt. She also pulls and is only focused on the other dog. This is what I am currently doing to try and stop this behavior: I have had private sessions with a trainer and introducing her to other dogs...

Hello, We have, currently, 5 pit bulls in our household: 3 male and 2 female. 1 of the females is fixed, the other is the mother to the 3 males. All are pure bred. We've always had a little aggression with the males (the are just 6 months now, the last three out of a litter of 8) but n0othing major until recently. When preparing two of the puppies for their walks, Cocoa, the largest of the males, charged from the back porch and attacked his brother violently. We had a hard time eve...

Hi there, We have four dogs in our household. A Male Neutered Standard Poodle (2 1/2 years old); a Female In Tact English Bull Dog (will be two in July); and two 13 month old Black Russian Terriers. A recently neutered (8 weeks ago) male and an in tact female. The Black Russians are littermates. We are having problems with our 13 month old Male Black Russian (100lbs) named Ralph. He is a bully and aggressive with the Poodle and the Bull Dog. He doesn't mess with his sis...

I have two male Yorkshire Terriers that are 10 years old. They both were brought into the house at the same time (Christmas) when they were 3 and six months. They have fought since they were six months. They are cousins (their fathers were brothers). It is definitely a dominance thing but lately they are having many fights (3 in the last two weeks). When they fight they cannot be separated and it is very scary. Sometimes injury occurs. We are in the Philadelphia area...

Hello, I've been searching your site on dog dominance, but can't seem to find quite what I'm looking for. I recently adopted a third standard poodle (male), and after just one month, he and my two females are getting along really well. I have had no growling, no "arguments," no dominance issues between the new guy, and the other two. My two females have always gotten along so very well, which is why we got a third, and so far, the new boy is fitting in so nicely! I've been...