Aggression Q&As

I have a 7 mos old giant schnauzer female, my third giant -- so I'm familiar with the breed. My problem is that she has suddenly started barking and growling at people (who aren't accompanied by dogs). But it's unpredictable. In a large crowd, she accepts strangers and tolerates the attention. It's typically when only one person approaches, or passes by even at some distance, that she will bark or growl. Also, it is unpredictable: first she'll let three people pet her, and then suddenly ...

Dear Mr. Frawley, I have a small (29 lb) Border Collie who has nipped several people when she's been off leash, and I obviously have to do something about it. I bought a shock collar for her, but that doesn't work beyond about eight feet. I assume I need a muzzle for her, but I don't know if that's the right way to go, or simply to keep her on a long leash. We have a nylon muzzle that we've tried, but she simply tugs and squirms until it's off. It's kind of like trying to muzzle a porpoise...

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, 80lb, 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 the...

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 ...

Hi, I hope that you can give me some advise how to handle this situation. I have 16 months old Bullmastiff Baron, and 18-month-old Bullmastiff Cesar. Sweet dogs, I raised them from puppies. I keep them separate in outdoor kennels most of the day, and take them inside over the night. I also take them for a walk twice a day and they both behave well, sit, down and heel. I was feeding them in the kennel twice a day, and everything was o.k., until now, when Baron the younger one, when ...

Dear Sir: First, let me say that I appreciate your site very much. I have found it to be very helpful and informative. I also enjoy looking at your beautiful dogs! They are wonderful. I know you are terribly busy, but I hope you can help me with a puzzle. We adopted a lab mix puppy last year. He will be 2 years old in April. He is a great dog and very smart. He learned the general obedience commands easily and has several other tricks we taught him. However, he has t...

I have a 5-year old male German Shepherd that is very aggressive towards the others shepherds when my female is in heat. She is almost 10 and cannot be spayed due to congestive heart failure. I keep her in another part of the yard during heat but even during this time, my male shepherd will try to about kill my other males/females. I have 5 dogs total and do not breed them anymore. I am having him neutered next week but I was wondering if they made any kind of muzzle that he could wea...

Ed, I am the owner of a 7yr old neutered English Bulldog. I have had him since he was 8 weeks old. Tank used to be a very friendly, social dog. He loved attention from people. Over the past year his behavior has progressively gotten worse. I have talked to many trainers in the past, all of which told me that since dominance training does not work (in fact disciplining makes him more aggressive), that it is a medical issue. I am a veterinary technician, and he has always gotten the ...

Hello all, I was cruising around your website and I must say, VERY IMPRESSIVE!! You folks really know your dogs! While I don't presently own a dog ( we had a beagle when I was young ) I like to ride my bicycle -- a lot. Which is why I'm writing. My problem is: One of my favorite stomping grounds, and where I will live when I retire is Door County. The problem here is when riding on Door County's many farm roads, every now and then some idiot's aggressive unrestrained dog com...

I have read through some of your articles and feedback to relative questions by your audience, yet I still have no idea what to do. I had been with my boyfriend for approximately a year when he came home with a 13 month old shelter pup (German Sheppard mix) which he named Shadow. From the get go it was obvious that this dog had some behavioral problems (he growled & tried to bite the vet at his first check up). [**A little of my history, I have NEVER been fearful of dogs. I have had extre...

First let me thank you for opening our eyes to a whole new way of looking at our dogs, training and leadership. After a lot of work we still have a problem I would like your advice on. We have two Portuguese Water Dog males (10 and 3yo) We have had aggression problems with the young male (Pete)since he was about 1 1/2yo. These include fights with the older dog, aborted attacks while on leash on walks and biting us (mainly my wife). Things are MUCH better after buying and applying y...

Hi Ed, I have a 22 month old intact GSD (German blood line) that I am training for schutzhund. I have most of your DVD's and read all your articles. Thank you for the incredible amount of info both in your web site and your DVD's. I had an episode of unprovoked aggression and I would like your opinion on what happened. Let me start by stating that my dog is very well socialized and has never shown aggression towards strangers both at home and outside. He has a very balanced ...

Hi, I was reading your article on-line about aggressive dog behavior and was hoping you could give me some advice regarding my dog. She is a 3-year-old Chinese Shar Pei Mix, who is most likely inbred. As a puppy she growled at strangers and has never really liked being pet. She was definitely a hand licker and still doesn't like her paws being touched. I took her to obedience training and socialized her at the local dog park where she gets along great with other dogs, but never...

Hi, I hope you can answer this question for me. A little background about the situation.... I have a 4 and half year old pit/boxer/shepard neutared male (his name is Spencer). In the last month I left my abusive husband and have moved in with my parents (he never hurt Spencer). My parents have two chihuahuas. My dog and the chichis have met before and have gotten along fine, my dog and the chichis have never been left alone together. Also, my dog has been around cats and I ha...

Ed, I have a 2 1/2 yr. old male rott. that has been neutered, and I adopted him from a humane society. He had toy aggression, food aggression, and just overall dominance. He had bitten me several times (a couple over toys, and a couple because I touched a sore spot on him that hurt him). I then bought your dom. dog collar, which worked like a charm, and some of your training vids. I believe that that is why he is still alive today. Anyway, he has done very well in the past 6 m...

I am in the beginning phases of using remote collar. I purchased your dvd months ago and have been studying it and I am in the conditional phase with my 3 year old bitch. I have an issue and I am not sure how to deal with it. I have gotten my GSD to accept our cats as part of her pack to the point where they coexist with no issues, other then my GSD's food bowl. So fine, not willing of taking the chance of one of the cats getting bit I feed her in her cage. The problem is wh...

First let me say thank you for putting together such an amazing web site. I also purchased your video on dog aggression and have learned a tremendous amount. I have two Dobermans, male and female littermates, now 8 months old. They have had few nasty fights, but through tips from your video and training and working with them separately, we have made amazing progress. I am still stuck on one issue... Ruger, the male, is the sweetest boy. However, he awakens from a dead sleep snarlin...

My husband and I have a 3 year old pitbull-sheppard mix. He is our baby. We adopted him about a year & a half ago. When we first got him, he was not all that aggressive, but now he is getting worse and over protective of me. We have researched both breeds and they say that protective/aggressive behavior is normal for these breeds. He is fine with dogs that are smaller than him, but not with dogs his size: he attacked my brothers dog in my fathers house. He also has snipped at friend...

I just read your article. I found it comforting since I am in the process of coming to terms of having to put my dog down. Jack is aggressive and has bitten people. Fortunately none of the bites broke the skin ............until this last one. And while everyone was always very understanding (honestly) I know I no longer can control him and now live in an area where there are children. However, I can not locate anyone who will put him down - his vet says because he isn't sick he won't do i...

Hello! I just happened to stumble across your website and I have to say it's pretty great. I just need an opinion regarding my three year old Sharplaninac (Yugoslavian shepherd). They are rare in the States. As a breed they are large, intelligent, stubborn and protective. We got him as a puppy and he immediately was very lively and loud, and stubborn stubborn stubborn. I wasn't there when he was growing up since I was away at college, and lets just say my parents don't have tim...