$7.99 Flat Rate Shipping
$7.99 Flat Rate Shipping
Conditions apply. Learn more.
Wishlist

Aggression Q&As

February 27, 2012

Recommended We have a 4 1/2 year old GSD and just had a baby 6 weeks ago. We've kept the two completely separated so far, but I'm wondering how to start introducing the two.

Ed and Cindy, My wife and I got our first GSD 4 1/2 years ago (I got her BH last year and I've done some SHZ with a local club) and we are in love with the breed and will forever have a GSD. She is 4 1/2, our only pet, high drive and very obedient that primarily stays outside but a huge part of the family! We've trained her to be very calm in the house and has her "place" as you call it (dog mat) in the house where we allow her to come in the evenings, but she isn't allowed anywhere else i...
100% (10 out of 10)
respondents found this answer helpful
February 15, 2012

Recommended Our small dog is very aggressive and has bitten several family members. He runs after family members with teeth bared and acts like a wild animal. A trainer came to our home and when the dog attacked him, he held him up off the ground by the leash until he passed out. Our dog was really aggressive and did bite him but was this extreme in your opinion?

I have a small dog, who has become very aggressive. He has bitten several family members and recently, in the last 6 months, has ran after several family members with teeth showing and acting like a wild animal. I had a trainer come to my home to help us with him. The dog did go for him very aggressively and he leashed him and held him head up in a choking (hanging) manner and the dog was fighting until (to me) he passed out with lack of oxygen. At his time the dog did defecate and urinate on...
51% (20 out of 39)
respondents found this answer helpful
January 19, 2012

We began having problems with our dog biting other dogs and even killed our kitten a couple months ago. I found your site, identified our mistakes and started groundwork. Is this dominance/aggression, prey drive or both? And if we continue to follow your training program, can the problem really be overcome?

Our problem is with our female basset/pit. We got her when she was 6 weeks old and she's lived peacefully for 3 years with 5 cats and an older non-dominant female weimaraner. The weim died 2 weeks ago and last weekend she killed our 4 month old kitten when he came near her food bowl. In the 2 months prior to that she bit the weim twice (over food and a toy) and 2 other dogs - 1 in our home and 1 in the other dog's home - again over a toy. She attacks without warning. My partner is so upse...
100% (10 out of 10)
respondents found this answer helpful
January 19, 2012

Recommended We don't expect my small dog to live long. I want to spoil him but I also want him to be a good dog. How should we train him?

Hello, I found your website while searching for a holistic vet. I adopted a Chihuahua Yorkie mix, but he is a biter. We started crate training him, but inconsistently. He had trouble getting house broken, and we discovered he had a bladder stone. Next came surgery, then the diagnosis of liver shunt. We searched for nutrition answers and found your site. We spoil the dog now, because we expect him to have a short life span, but he does have aggressive tendencies. My concern- after reading t...
91% (10 out of 11)
respondents found this answer helpful
January 3, 2012

Today my dog bit my daughter's friend. What do I do now?

Hi Cindy, I want to thank you, Ed and Michael for all the valuable services you provide to dog owners everywhere. I used the information and advice you have on your website plus the discussion boards to obedience train my dog. Nothing special, just a well behaved dog at home and in the park. Today something very sad and terrible happened. I did something very stupid that both me and my dog will regret for the rest of our days together. I want to share it with you and ask a question. I am h...
88% (28 out of 32)
respondents found this answer helpful
December 22, 2011

Recommended My dog was barreled over from behind by a strange dog off leash, since then he has become aggressive towards other dogs. What's the best way to approach the socializing of him to help him gain some confidence?

Hey, Firstly let me say "thank you" for the your website. I have found it very valuable and great info. I am interested in some of your DVDs, as I have a 10 month old shep, but don't know which ones would best suit. We currently attend obedience training at our GSD club every week, my problem isn't the obedience side, it is my dog's reaction to other dogs. When he was approximately 4/5 months old he was barreled over from behind by a strange dog off leash and he got sent flying, since the...
64% (32 out of 50)
respondents found this answer helpful
December 8, 2011

My dog is afraid of dogs larger than her or if they look a certain way. Could her fear be attributed to a possible negative experience in her past? Is there anything we can do to help this?

Hi Cindy, We adopted our 20lb cocker spaniel mix this past February. She is now about 1.5 years old. We noticed early on that she is selective about the dogs she'll interact with. She loves dogs that are about her size or smaller, but she is afraid of dogs that are bigger than her. Strangely, she also hates all dogs that look a certain way -- she barks and lunges at wrinkly flat-faced dog breeds (all bulldog-type breeds), regardless of size. If provoked by these types of dogs, she doe...
86% (12 out of 14)
respondents found this answer helpful
December 8, 2011

Recommended I loved the video of you and Rush biking. Do you have any suggestions for keeping our runs/rides safe?

Welcome home, Jeff! I can't believe how much he sounds like Ed. Loved the video of you and Rush biking. My large dog has a high prey drive, but he does great biking. Just in case, I use a Walky Dog attachment so he can't pull me over. But as much as my dog loves running with the bike, I come close to quitting every day. We live in the city, and I've lost count of how many times unleashed dogs have come after us. I hear this from other bikers and joggers all the time. It's always a diffe...
90% (9 out of 10)
respondents found this answer helpful
November 30, 2011

My 3 year old male is aggressive with other males only when I am around. Am I doing something wrong?

My 3 year old neutered doberman is aggressive with other males only when I am around. I walk him on a leash at all times, and he does not lunge at other males, but if they approach, he will attack. Unfortunately, I live in an area where numbers of people walk their dogs off-leash. If another dog approaches, I make my dog sit next to me and call out to the other dog owner that my dog is not friendly, but people don't always listen. My dog walker and the kennel where he is sometimes boarded rep...
100% (6 out of 6)
respondents found this answer helpful
November 28, 2011

I accidentally hurt my dog and he yelped. When I went over to “apologize” to him he growled at me. How should I have handled this?

Hello Cindy, I'm not planning on this happening again, but recently I walked past my dog who was lying on the floor. As I walked past him, he popped his head up and my knee clipped his snout. This was accidental, not intentional. It hurt him and he yelped. I felt very bad and went to 'apologize' (pet/reassure) and he growled at me! I told him in a low firm voice, 'no.' Then I left him alone to give him time to forgive me or forget about it. He doesn't growl at me; this is not a pattern. ...
94% (17 out of 18)
respondents found this answer helpful
November 28, 2011

I'm dog sitting for a friend with 5 dogs. Yesterday there was a fight. I'm not sure what to do at this point and am afraid to let the two fighters out at the same time. What would you suggest?

I'm dog sitting for a friend and they have 5 dogs. I added my 1 year old to the pack since I'm watching them and the house. Yesterday the Alpha female who is a pug and my dog which is a large mixed breed female got into a bad fight over toys. They have NEVER had a problem before. As I went to break them up and get the pug out of my dog's mouth I got bit by the Alpha male who is a boxer. I know that he was just trying to protect the female so not holding a grudge. I'm not sure what to do at th...
80% (4 out of 5)
respondents found this answer helpful
October 5, 2011

My one dog keeps attacking the other when he gets close to his food, toy, treat and even me. Is this a dominance issue? Is he dominant over me to the other dog?

I have a four year old Mastiff and a one year old Great Dane. I got both as puppies. The problem that I have now is that the Great Dane will attack my Mastiff if he comes to close to his food, toy, treat. The Great Dane even attacked the Mastiff when he tried to come over to me. There was no advance warning like growling. I always let the Great Dane know that his behavior was bad, and also let the Mastiff know that he was ok and doing nothing wrong. Most times when these attacks happen, withi...
86% (6 out of 7)
respondents found this answer helpful
October 5, 2011

A year ago, I adopted a 2nd Wire Fox Terrier. She keeps fight with my other Terrier, biting her head during fights. Is there any way or training I could give her to overcome the problem?

I am in trouble after adopting my 2nd wire fox terrier a year ago. The newly adopted fox terrier, was in very poor condition from her previous owners and was without any training and chance to socialise with other dogs. She is nervous when seeing other dogs and she has bitten other dogs a couple of time already when on street. I could only stop her by giving her a mask when we go out. But she keeps fighting with my other wire fox terrier at home, biting her head during fights. I am so w...
33% (1 out of 3)
respondents found this answer helpful
October 3, 2011

My dog is mostly an outside dog, but he comes in to sleep at night. After a previous incident, even if we leave him only for a short time he urinates in the house. What can I do? Also, my wife and I are expecting a baby, are there any articles we should be reading?

Hello Cindy, How have you guys been? Hope all is well. A while back my GSD began urinating in an area in my home. I cleaned it with vinegar and soap and blocked him from that area. He then learned to open doors, deadbolts and doors that open in. He is too smart. He became an outside dog during the day and comes in to sleep. Now even if we leave him for a short time he on occasions will urinate. What can I do? This is my only issue, thanks to your videos he is great in every other as...
No ratings yet
Was this Q&A helpful? Let us know!
September 21, 2011

My dog injured the neighbor girl when she tried to hug and then kiss him. Our nieghbors said it is just an accident but I feel horrible, our dog has never done anything like this before, any suggestions on what we should do?

The other day I was taking our 1 and half year old Basset Hound on a walk when the neighbor child (12 years old) ran up and started to hug him, I notice she was starting to try and kiss his forehead so I hurried up and told her not to kiss him and tried to seperate them but our basset snaped at her. She has a stratch on her face and a cut lip (didn't require stitches). We are not sure if he actually bite her on the lip or just manged to cut the lip with his claws. Our nieghbors (her parents) ...
92% (23 out of 25)
respondents found this answer helpful
September 21, 2011

My dog has been growling at us, especially while he is eating. Can this be corrected with proper training or is he going to always be aggressive?

We bought a cocker spaniel around 12 weeks old. He will be five months next week. He is so smart and very easily house trained and learns new tricks/commands daily. He is very friendly when he meets new people and dogs. However, at home sometimes he is quite scary to me. Mason, our new dog, has some behaviors that make me nervous. If you go close to him when he is eating, he growls and if you get too close will show his teeth. If he is laying on the floor and you go to close to his toy, he wi...
82% (9 out of 11)
respondents found this answer helpful
September 21, 2011

My 18 month old dog has started growling at strangers and the vet. I am committed to stopping this growling, can you make some dvd recommendations for me?

Dear Ed and Cindy, I am asking for your recomendation of training video's. My 18 month old male akita has been "growling" at strangers and vet. At my request we did a thyroid ck and he is low thyroid. His temperment is now better w strangers. I feel it time to ramp up training as he should be feeling better. I got a muzzle for at the vet office from you, so they can be safe. I want to make sure no training mistakes are at the vet office. I use a prong collar on walks. I require him to hea...
100% (4 out of 4)
respondents found this answer helpful
September 21, 2011

Recommended My boyfriend has a GSD that has bitten 2 people. This dog growls and shows his teeth at me everyday. My boyfriend says the dog does this because I don’t give him love and attention. The dog won’t listen to either of us and does what he wants. Help!

The info on your site is very helpful. I have been with my boyfriend and we have been together for 2 years. He has a 4 year old German shepherd that is 100 pounds. In the past year, the dog has bitten 2 different people. Ever since he bit those people, he has become more aggressive towards me. He hasn't bit me (yet) but he growls and shows his teeth at me everyday. My boyfriend does not discipline him at all and he constantly yells at him all night long to lay down because he paces around the...
86% (30 out of 35)
respondents found this answer helpful
September 14, 2011

Recommended We gave our aggressive dog to a family friend and it injured another dog so severely the dog needed to be euthanized. Our friend doesn't want the dog anymore, what should be do? We are broke and scared of him but he's a great and loyal dog. I don't want to put him down, but we are strapped for time.

3 years ago my husband and I rescued a terrier mix from a southern rescue. Having had such good luck with our first rescue, we figured we couldn't go wrong. We were told Charlie was 6 months old, house and crate trained. The day we got Charlie he was covered in scratches, bites and feces. He was also clearly younger than 6 months old. His teeth had just started to poke through. Either way we brought him home and started to work with him. It was a nightmare. He was anxious and dog aggressi...
62% (29 out of 47)
respondents found this answer helpful
September 14, 2011

I need a muzzle for my dog who has recently shown aggression towards my eldest daugher. Please help!

Hello Ed, I need a muzzle for my dog Diesel, and may have to find other alternatives anyway. Diesel has been our family dog since he was 7 weeks old, but he has recently shown aggression on more than one occasion towards my eldest daughter (15). He is only 1.5 years old, and is very protective with my five children, including my eldest. But, he will not tolerate ANY form of discipline towards my children when administered by my daughter. First, let me explain what the discipline entails: s...
100% (2 out of 2)
respondents found this answer helpful
Search All Q&As

Recommended in this category

Q&A Categories

Send Cindy a Question
View My Q&As
Scroll to Top