Aggression Q&As

Hello my name is Lisa, I have a 3 1/2 year old shepherd make named Bud. I found him when he was a few months old and so I'm not sure about his temperaments in blood lines. We recently had some sheep on the property and he got loose and killed two. He was killed cats before but we thought he was playing too hard. Today he went after a calf but luckily I was there to stop it. I punished him but it doesn't seem to do anything I don't want to put him down. Is there anything to do to ge...

We have three dogs--to small terrier mixes (Gina and Henry, both over 12 years old, both about 15 lbs.) and a larger brown hound dog, Willie, who is about 60 lbs. We were told he was a lab/German Shepherd mix when we got him at the SPCA, about 7 years ago, but he is clearly some kind of hound. When we first brought Willie home, he was smaller than the terriers. Willie was quite aggressive with the terriers (causing several vet visits) as soon as he was physically bigger than they were, an...

I have a 12 year old Kuvasz, who has governed our pet family for the same amount of years. We recently introduced a Great Dane into the picture. The GD is slightly over a year now and has showed dominance over the Kuvasz by actual fighting. The Kuvasz has ruled by intimidation. The Great Dane didn't buy it and challenged her. The result was bloodshed in the form of puncture wounds. I tried to establish that the Kuvasz is dominant over the Great Dane, by feeding, greeting, and preferential tre...

I was at a show last year when during Brace two Bull Terriers went after each other. The owners hand got caught in between the neck of one dog and the mouth of the other. The dog had clamped on and was not letting go. Everyone tried to break it up but finally one person stuck their finger in the rear of the dog that had clamped on. This caused the dog to immediately let go - and since others had the dogs legs the fight was over - it was very scary but a good trick to learn if you know wha...

I have a 16 month old male Shepherd with whom I have inadvertently caused a big problem. When he was young he had hardly any interest in food and I tried everything to get him to eat, including teasing him that our other dog was, "going to get his food." I realize now how big a mistake that was. My question is, what can I do to undo the damage? To give you a little background, I am not an inexperienced dog trainer. I've raised many dogs, including two Dobermans that are well rounded, lika...

Should I use a breaker bar if my dogs fight?

Hi, I really appreciate your article on breaking up dog fights. Recently, my 85 lb. Dobie was attacked by a pit bull while we were out hiking. It was really frightening but she is physically OK. However, now she seems to be afraid when she encounters any dog, even if it is non-threatening. She flops over on her back, exposing her belly, even though she snarls. I'm interpreting this as a sign of submission. She didn't act like this before the pit bull attack, and I'm worried that any dog w...

We have four indoor dogs- two male and two female. They're all mature. The female german shepard mix is constantly guarding the food bowls and growling at the others when they walk by. This, we believe, is the cause of the fights. The little male terrier never gets involved but the beagle mix and the retriever mix will fight her. Before we pay any more to the vet, what should we do to stop the food guarding? We've placed three bowls of dry food in three separate places in the house...

I have a two year old belgian tervuren who I adopted at 4 months old from a household where the little boy abused him (he still has scars on his face). We've spent a good deal of time and training and socializing getting him over his, shall we say, dislike of small boys (never girls, just boys about the same size as his previous owner). Now, we used to go to the dog park for runs and a little bit of socialization, although we mostly went late at night because I didn't want other dogs hurt...

Dear Mr. Ed Frawley, I have a question concerning Displaced biting. We live in the middle of 20 fenced acres. Last night a car stopped at our gate about a quarter mile away that can be seen from our house. My seven year old bitch, Lady, became excited and grabbed my 15-year-old neutered submissive Rat Terrier that is half her size. I had two other dogs that joined in when the Rat Terrier was down, perhaps because he squealed. As Lady, who is a German Pinscher bitch, hung on ...

Our 3 yr old lab/chow (spayed) drew blood for the 4th time in two years on our 5 yr old GS today. Unfortunately, this time the GS has a serious wound and is staying at the vet for treatment. This was the situation this time: We live on a farm, and we had a new sheep (we have one other sheep, which the dogs "raised") brought in to the corral that is next to their run. The sheep was sniffing the lab/chow through the fence and Kota, the GS came over to get a sniff, and all hell broke loose. ...

I had the awful experience of witnessing a dog fight between a Pit bull and a Rottweiler. The owners of this dogs were walking their respective dogs when they walked to close to each other, and WHAM! That is when the fight broke out. Despite the owners efforts in trying to separate the dogs, the fight went on for about 15 minutes until one of the dogs was nearly dead. I always though that pit bulls were the most powerful fighters in the dog world but in this case I am sad to say th...

Dear Ed, We have a 2 1/2 yr old female Rotti who was attacked a month ago by a female Pit Bull while my husband was walking her - luckily neither my husband or my dog were injured. The dog had gotten away from it's owner. Since then she has shown aggression towards dogs smaller than her and towards small children - but still very friendly to adults. Before the attack she had always been loving and friendly to EVERYONE especially children. She has basic obedience training. Please gi...

Ed, I just read your material on breaking up a fight and found it quite informative. I do have some questions I would like advice on. First let me explain the situation... I have 8 dogs, assorted breeds, and 3 are pits bulls. Last night a vicious fight broke out between the Shepherd & Dobie. The Shepherd in the Alpha Female and once the others saw what was going on, all joined in against the loser (the Dobie). We were able to get all the dogs to stop BUT the pits who were in a deat...

I have three German Shepherds - a 4 year old male, a 4 year old bitch and their 18 month old son. My bitch and dog got along great and mated. They had 9 pups and we kept 1 dog, now 18 months old. But the bitch was a rescue dog who was previously mistreated. We had the dog castrated first and at a later date the bitch spayed as she shows aggression to anyone but myself and my husband and 3 children, but found this was a big mistake getting the dog castrated because since then the bitch wil...

German Shepherd is 4 years old, male. We had him from 3 months. Household is wife (59), daughter (27) and me (62). We live on a 4-acre lot and use invisible fencing. We also have a 9 by 12 ft holding area -- chain link fence variety of good quality. The dog Zeus, was supposed to be my daughter's. She took him to obedience training a few times and then dropped out. Said that he didn't need it. There are 2 cats in the house. We are grandparents and grand kids visit. They use the trampoline ...

I have two female shepherd-malamute mixes. They were wonderful together (litter-mates) until they hit four years old. The fighting began over-night, and they're now separated permanently. I read an article, however, that suggested using a fire extinguisher on them when they fight. It robs them of oxygen immediately and they can't breathe, so they separate. Thoughts? Sue

I know you must get many letters so I appreciate you taking the time to read and answer my email. and I am writing to ask your opinion because I am at wit's end with my dog which is part Border Collie and part Australian Sheppard. I picked up the dog when it was 6 weeks old and met the mother, but the father was locked up because they said it would attack strangers (perhaps that should have been a clue - but I did not know it at the time). I trained her by positive reinforcement. The dog,...

Ed, My friends (who happen to own one of your GSD's) suggested that I write to you and you will try to help my friend. Here goes: A co-worker of mine owns 2 spayed female boxers, littermates she brought home together as puppies, they're now 3 years old. Their household consists of 2 cats, 2 teenage girls, 1 teenage boy, who spends the most time with them, and the parents. About a month ago the alpha started to attack the submissive one. I don't live in this family, so I don'...

Hello Mr Frawley, I was a first time visitor to your site today, and what a thorough site it is. Compliments to you. Reading some of your Q&A's made me wonder whether you could offer advice on a problem I have with my (normally) very well-behaved female mixed breed dog. Millie is almost two years old, she is crossed with a Labrador and some small, lean brown and black breed (markings like a Rottweiler). She is a fantastic dog, smart, happy-go-lucky and very loyal to m...