Aggression Q&As

Cindy, I have several beagles that I hunt with, and two red heelers for working with our cows. One of the red heelers, a female, cannot be around the beagles without trying to kill them. We have to keep them separated all the time. The dog is very loving and usually obeys but not when it comes to the beagles, she hates them. Do you have any articles or books to suggest on reading for possible solutions? If not, then I will have to rehome her, and she is good with working with the cattl...

What DVD would you recommend to help me learn how to deal with a dog that has crazy resource guarding habits? Everything I've read says it's one of the hardest behavior issues to correct and most dogs will never be corrected. (?!) I have two Australian Shepherds, an unaltered male and an altered female. The female is the one with the problem. They're always crated separately for feeding so that has never been an issue and thankfully, she doesn't guard people or show aggression towards people ...

Hi, I have an 8 year old neutered male doberman who I have had since a puppy. He has been a wonderful loving animal towards humans and most dogs. Several years ago he started dog aggressive behavior at the beach. He would start out with play and then become aggressive...grabbing the other dog by the neck and growling but never breaking skin. I stopped taking him to the beach 2 years ago but still socialize him with friends' dogs...which has been fine. I have dogs over to my home and vic...

I'm being considered as a new patrol K9 handler with my agency. I've never worked K9 but I do have a 7 year old retired K9 at home as a family pet. When I got him he was very anti-social and wouldn't let anybody get close to me. Now through extensive training he's adapted very well as a family dog and is great with my wife. One major issue with him is that he displays his type- A personality towards other dogs in an aggressive manner. My fear is that if I am to start working a new K9 dog, ...

Hi, I have a six year old intact male GSD. He is an excellent dog in all respects. He is well trained, respectful of us in our home, sweet tempered, and responds well to voice commands and corrections. We have one problem which is my fault, and I am wondering if there is a way to solve it. He barks at other dogs when he is on leash. He is not aggressive with other dogs when he gets to know them properly and has readily accepted other dogs in the house when we have had visitors. The problem...

Hi, I have an apricot coloured GSD, she will soon be 7 years old. She is adorable with people, in fact so much so that I have to pen her when we have visitors after a while, as she wants a fuss all the time? My problem is I can't trust her with other dogs when we go out to the local woods for a walk. She lives with a greyhound, and I lost my male GSD a year ago. She is wonderful with them, and is very good with a stray cat that has adopted us, although I keep an eye on her with the cat, as...

I am so happy I found this site! My family and I are looking at getting a German Shepherd for our next dog. I would like to do protection training with him. I have been told to get a puppy and no, get an older dog so you know he is capable of protection work. We brought a German Shepherd home for a trial run from a local trainer. He was 16 months old and had early protection work done. We picked him from 4 dogs the trainer recommended for our family with small kids (2,4 and 6). A friend of mi...

As short as possible, I have a male dog,I also have his sister, both fixed at 9 mos. When they were about a year, I brought another male puppy to our home. The males were inseparable! When the new one turned a year, they began fighting, costing more than $10,000 in vet bills in less then 2 years. Over the next couple years, they still had fights, but not as bad. We knew the signs and separated them before hand. Now, all of sudden, they are at it again, BADLY! 3X in less than 2 weeks! The odde...

Hi Cindy, I have a doberman raised on Leerburg. So my dog and I are well trained on the Leerburg method as of 1 year. We are new and doing great. We were walking on a forest trail yesterday when our leashed dog was attacked by a dog whose owner was irresponsible and completely without any control. The dog was on a harness which was useless. My husband and I had to kick the dog repeatedly in the head to get him off. He was sinking his teeth in our dog's back and side, while our dog was ...

I adopted an 8 month old0 Pitt/Vizla mix from the humane society 4 months ago. She was an extremely great pet. Very loving, we could poke at her paws, ears and mouth. She loves to play with other dogs. This past week I began fostering a 10 month American Bulldog that she had previously played with. He is also a loving secure dog. Since the foster has come into our lives - my dog has become aggressive to my husband and myself. She won't let us look at her paws or rub her belly. She begins to l...

My husband & I adopted a female spayed lab mix at 9 months old. We could do absolutely nothing with her. She apparently had never been taught anything & was hyper & demanded attention. She had food aggression but it has improved. We leave her alone during her meal & she's fine & no problem at all w/hand feeding. Hubby feeds her. She only slept when we did & was destructive (not anymore), but she had a SWEET personality. I got her to a trainer who used only positive training who kept her 2 wee...

Came across your website while searching for help with regards to my 3 year old GSD. He's a well-bred, German line GSD, very high drive. He's very good with people but not so much with other dogs (only certain ones it seems). I deal with this by avoiding other dogs. However, my big problem, that I don't know how to handle, is his interaction with my 6 and 8 year old grandchildren. They live out of state, so we only see them a few times a year. He has NEVER shown any signs of biting or growlin...

Hi Ed & Cindy, I'm currently dog-walking a 65 pound, 5.5 month old neutered Mastiff/Labrador from a local shelter. He's been in residence a month. He's currently wearing a wire muzzle when walking or playing in the yard. He has bitten people 5 times - 3 times on the same person when she's been removing his muzzle. He had no prior (known) behavioral concerns after living his first rescue months with a woman and her young child along with some other animals. The other dogs at the shelte...

Hi, I have 3 GSDs and my one is a certified therapy dog now. She is very sweet to people and dogs. When she visits with another dog she makes this loud gurgley, growling sound but doesn't lunge, snap, or bite. Its almost like she's trying to talk to them but it startles people. I give her a loud verbal correction as well as with the correction (choke chain) collar. She stops at that point but does it again with the next dog. What am I doing wrong and how can I correct it? Thank You

I have a 6 year old male German Shepherd who has not been socialized very well and when I try to board him he becomes aggressive to whoever is trying to take him into the boarding area. Once in the area it takes him forever to calm down before the staff can do anything with him. My Vet has him on Prozac to keep him calm. I am not comfortable with doing that because he is fine with me and doesn't act out. I am currently working with a personal trainer who has me using a muzzle on him whenever ...

I read all about dog aggression towards other dogs. My 15 months old female GSD has most probably been exposed to an aggressive dog (not attacked) at the age of 6 months. An experienced trainer in Austria recognized the reason for her aggression towards other dogs and advised me to raise her up with her collar whenever she would bark aggressively or try to run towards other dogs. That would cause her discomfort and she would eventually stop the behavior. What is your opinion? He also exposed ...

My 3 y/o intact and 18 m/o spayed GSDs are contained in our small recessed fenced yard and exercised elsewhere. Our neighbors own a 4 y/o spayed Newfie and 2 y/o intact Pit Bull who run loose on their larger property. When their dogs run up to our fence, no reward or deterrent is effective to get our dogs to stop their fence fighting which has progressed to the males locking teeth through the chain links. Also, the fence goes up a rocky and now icy hill so that it is difficult to get to the d...

I am looking for some guidance as to what type of training my dog needs. I have a female miniature Schnauzer/Maltese mix that will be 2 in January. She has recently began attacking our 11 year old poodle (also female). The poodle is sick with heart problems and the attacks on her are becoming more frequent. Millie, the mixed breed, also chases the cats and tries to go after them but not in the aggressive nature that she has with the poodle. The poodle now trembles when Millie is anywhere near...

We rescued a Black lab about 2 or 3 years old, when we rescued her she was brought in with another female dog. We have introduced her to other dogs and she is very aggressive, always growling, showing her teeth, and this one time went after the dog. She is very dominate and other dogs are scared to death around her. We are not sure of her past or know what has happened, but we need to find out a way to snap this behavior fast. Is there anything you can recommend? we need her to be able to be ...

Owners of loose, undisciplined dogs apparently take it deeply personal when I prevent their charging dogs from "saying hi" to my 3-month old Malinois. It's always "Oh, they won't hurt him" and just now, it was "your attitude needs an adjustment, young lady." I haven't had to kick any (out of a grand total of five dogs) yet, but I can just imagine the city-wide outcry that would follow if I dared to use anything at all beyond body language. These have all been full-sized or full-sized plus obe...