Aggression Q&As

I have a 4 year old dog (Buster) who has always showed aggression over food, mainly anyone besides myself and my husband who enters the kitchen when I am in there. I have no problem taking away his food or holding his bowl when he is eating. Last week my friend came over to visit and her girls stayed overnight. I was in the kitchen when one of the girls who is eleven came in, I immediately knew by the look on his face he was going to growl so I said NO!!!! He then jumped at her and...

Hello, I have a little Westie mix, 1 1/2 years old, 20 lbs, neutered male. He is of course territorial. He is up to date on his shots, has a microchip, and we have an underground electric fence around our property. We live in town. He's a good little dog, but barks when anyone comes to the door or near the yard. He's hadn't bitten anyone until today. He was in our front yard barking this evening and I could tell he was barking at someone or something in particular - usually its just ...

I just finished watching your Aggressive dog video with my family (significant other and 11 y/o boy girl twins. We bought a GSD at 6 weeks old. He is beautiful He was the Pack Leader and I liked the way he maneuvered the pack. But shortly after we brought him home he became a dominant aggressive and handler aggressive dog. He is very strong willed. When I discipline him and give him a correction he will pounce, snarl, spit and bark at me with fangs showing. He is very frightening at times...

We have a 3 1/2 month old rat terrier mix. While it seems we have broken her of her "mouthing" biting she is aggressively biting more frequently. When she has been aggressive with me (growling, etc) I have taken her by the scruff and told her "No" or "Settle down" in a very stern voice. We have 4 kids ages 4-11 and she has bitten each of them several times and in an aggressive way at least once. Sometimes they have "deserved it" because they were bothering her at inappropriate times but j...

We have a 6 month old black lab that weighs 75 pounds. He has a habit of snapping. He has always been somewhat nervous for a lab but he seems to have adjusted well to us. We do have 7 and 9 year old sons. The dog seems to be playing but it is very difficult for me to tell. The hair on the back of his neck does not stand up as far as I can see. How can I break him of this habit? And/or, how can I determine if I need to get rid of him for another dog? When should he grow out of this habit? Than...

Hi, I have 3 three Great Danes. We have the mom, and two of her puppies, which are now two years of age. The mom is still nice to both of them. The two puppies are both boys and have always been such great friends until recently. Our one dog just had bloat and survived the surgery but was really vulnerable when he came home. As soon as he walked into the door at our house the other dog which is the leader attacked him. Every single time that he sees him he attacks him. We put a muzzle on t...

Our male 10 months old GSD was standing up on our couch barking loud and hard out the window at a white plastic bag which was floating around in the wind. I tried to stop him and pull him down from the couch put he turned on me as if fighting with another dog and just touched me a few times with his teeth but did not bite hard but it was a bit of frenzied attack, he would not come down on command. So I tried to pull him down, and this was a bit of a shock to me because, I thought I had establ...

If you have time I would appreciate your opinion on the following. This was about 15 years ago. Our son, Derek, was nine. We had a GSD I had trained in basic AKC obedience. I would have trusted her with the boy anywhere, anytime. When people came to the house she would stand between them and the rest of the house for about 30 seconds. When she walked away it was OK for the people to come into the house. If anyone tried to walk past her before she moved away the dog would act very u...

I just finished reading your articles on dog aggression. It sounds like my dog Meeka. She is a 2 year old Keeshond. We have great concern for her, (at least I do). My husband feels that she will change in time. We purchased her from a pet store back in Dec 1997. The first day was wonderful, she even slept in her crate peacefully that evening. But from there on she has never been the same. She started to show these signs as she got older. It is like she is terrified of other people....

We have a Welsh Springer Spaniel who is three years old We are the dog?s third owners. Cooper is basically a sweet loving dog, but definitely has some very defined aggressive characteristics. 1) He will growl and show his teeth if I ask him to get off something or move. If I continue, he will lunge at me until I walk away. 2) He will growl and show his teeth if he is sitting on a chair and my husband comes and tells him to move (same behavior as above). ...

Cindy, I think I done been challenged by my GSD pup. Dog--13 month old German working line GSD, intact male. Generally good natured and obedient when not distracted. Situation--I gave Otis a meat bone, which I do often. This time, he marched off with it and took it out of the room with purpose. He covered it with his paws when I went to check on him and growled seriously when I tried to take it away, then picked it up in his mouth and growled again when I told him "au...

Greetings Mr. Frawley, I've just spent an hour or so going over many of your articles and have learned quite a bit regarding my dominant female dog. She (Mia) is a rescue dog, boarder collie mix, 35lbs. When we first got her, she was incredibly passive. To this day she won't allow a stranger without a dog to pet her. However, in the year that we've had her she's opened up a lot and now plays energetically with several larger dogs in the neighborhood, mostly chasing but also some wr...

Dearest Cindy, Thank you for providing an excellent resource such as your web site. All of the training tools that you have for sale on it make life very easy. Speaking for thousands of your viewers, we really appreciate you and Ed imparting all of your wisdom onto us. We are truly blessed! My husband and I own a 15 month old, 80 lb, unneutered rottweiler named Sigma. He is a wonderful dog!... as per many peoples remarks. In addition to being very loving, he is very low in t...

I have a 2 1/2 and a 10 month shih Tzu. I have had the 2 1/2 since she was 1 year and the 10 month since 8 weeks old, both shelter rescues. My problem is that they socialize a lot with people and dogs. They're fine with people, but for some reason when they see other dogs they go ballistic. If I take them close to the other dogs they just want to play. It is very embarrassing because if I am in the house and they see another dog passing the window they try and knock the window out trying...

Hi- We have a 5 year chocolate lab. We bought her from a breeder. About three years ago she started showing signs of aggression. I can't really pin point when it began. Anyway, we have had dog trainers, animal behaviorists, dog walkers (which we still have). She is food aggressive, has dog aggression and it aggressive towards my husband and me. It isn't ALL the time, but I am ready to get rid of her. I don't want to, I love her, but I am afraid of her. I just took her for a ...

Dear Ed, I have spent a LOT of time searching and perusing your website. It has excellent articles and advice. Of course, we all think that our question is just a little different and we should ask it... I didn't find exactly what I was looking for so I thought I would ask you directly. I totally understand if you don't have time to answer but I would appreciate your advice. My husband and I brought home our new golden retriever puppy, a female, and the obvious leader of the...

We adopted a 4 yr old GSD female about 1 1/2 yr ago. (She is def. an Alpha female). We immediately enrolled her in a beginners and then intermediate obedience class. My son (28) started taking her to a local Schutzhund club weekly. She does well, but the comment was always "she's a rescue"- as an excuse for the possibility she would not do well. Now they exclaim "And she's a rescue" because she does well. (I purchased a GSD puppy for my son). The problem is with me... She is the lo...

Dear Ed, I have a 10.5 year old German SHepherd. I got her when she was 6 weeks old. She was diagnosed as fear aggressive very early on. I have had two trainers and a behaviorist. To make this as short as possible, I will give you the readers digest version. She does not like strangers or other dogs. We have had her on Prozac and propanol since she was 3 years old. We can walk her outside without trouble but we do not let her near others on the street. We have a fenced in large yar...

Dear Mr. Frawley, We have been watching your videos on training puppies and dominate dogs. we had a question for you about a male pure bred boxer that is about 13 months old. He has been owned in six different homes before we had brought him into our home and lifes about 2 months ago. We know for a fact that he was beaten as a puppy and it shows even when you try to pet him or even make any fast movements close to him. He will either flinch or move his head back. we know that in yo...

Ed, You are a wealth of knowledge and we are "lucky," yes lucky to have you... Thank You. I am asking for your knowledge and wisdom today... Here's my problem... 2 days ago I was in Emergency with my 18 yr. old son getting his faced stitched up after Dragon bit him. Dragon was lying on my bed (don't even say it... I know about the bed). Jeff was walking into the room, at about a foot away from the bed he lunged up at his face and did a full mouth bite to his face. ...