Aggression Q&As

Hi Ed, First, I want to thank you for having such a wonderful site. I have read it frequently and learned a great deal. It is the first place I go when I have a question. I just read your section on Q&A on Fear Biters, and either I missed it or it did not address the situation I have. I have an 11-month old AKC male Rottweiler named Roark. We got Roark from my brother 2.5 months ago, just before my brother committed suicide. While I know that Roark was never mistreated, he d...

I have a 3 year old neutered male boxer that was bought at a pet store and given to me as a gift. I received him at 8 weeks old to find the next day at the vet that he had a respiratory infection and would need to be hospitalized immediately. I knew then I should have taken him back to the pet store but knew they would destroy him. Well, they paid the vet bills and everything was fine. He has always been skiddish and never been struck. As he gets older the following problem get wor...

I have two dogs. My first is the younger of the two, she is a Rout/Beagle mix who was trained as a pup to work with handicapped children. She is well trained but sometimes refuses to go outside because she escaped once and the pound picked her up and had her for a week. My second dog just turned 4 and is a GSD. He is papered and was neutered. He is leash and house broken but does not respond to commands like sit, stay, and come. Is he to old for obedience training? He is very well behaved...

I was reviewing the Q&A section on your web site regarding fear biting. My questions were not really answered. Here's the situation. We have a 1 year old Lab Shepard mix. We are not sure if she has other breeds in her. We also have 4 children. 3 weeks ago, she growled and nipped at our youngest, who is 2, unprovoked. She was boarded at the vet over the weekend, and they were unable to give her a bath or give her a heart worm test. Every time they approached her to put a leash on her, she ...

We utilize a muzzle and choke collar in training. She is dominate aggressive and used to be a fear biter however that is changing with socialization and the prudent use of a muzzle. The dog has been checked by a vet and the vet found no reason for this behavior. she was adopted from a shelter with very little background known. We have had to string her up twice. The problem of dominance shows basically when she is determined not do something that is asked of her even though she is fully c...

Hello, I am writing this out of desperation!!..I have been reviewing your web site and other Q & A's about dog's with behavioral problems, and I am finding that we are now in the same boat with many other dog owners!!!..We own a spayed female German Shepard since she was 8 weeks old (she will be 2 this year)...First mistake was I got her from a backyard breeder and I was clueless what I was doing...I just wanted a German Shepard and I found the cheapest one in an ad in the paper..(...

Dear Mr. Frawley: I am writing to say I felt great comfort finding your site with your wisdom about dogs. Yesterday, I took our new puppy (18 days with us) to my vet and had him put down. He was a pit bull mix and approximately 4 months old. When we adopted him from the shelter he was a shy, fearful pup who let me carry him into the car. He had been dumped on a highway at about 2 1/2 months and spent the next at this local kill shelter. I was advised to that training him was...

Hello- I have a five year old Dalmatian very alpha male who has bitten people, including my kids in circumstances when he is frightened or is "guarding" me. He is not a bad dog or a mean dog. He may not even realize that it is my son when he bites. It seems to be an automatic response. For example, he was lying in a curled up position, next to my chair, the wall and the desk, no room to move, and asleep. My son came up to him and reached down to get his collar to take him upstairs....

Hi, I have a male, deaf dalmatian that's seven years old. My boyfriend and I got him when he was a puppy - not knowing that he was deaf when we got him. This dalmatian has always lived with two other male dogs in the house. My boyfriend and I broke up a year ago, and he has had the dog. The dog is perfectly fine with either of us (other than some incessant whining). However, he is fearfully aggressive with kids and men. He is also extremely aggressive towards other dogs when he's e...

Hello, I read your web site and found the information very helpful. I did, however, want to place my situation before you. If you would be kind enough to respond it would be appreciated. My background with animals is fairly strong. I have worked for the Humane Society as well as with veterinarian, I have taken dog behavior courses through college and strongly believe in dog obedience classes, socialization from an early age and firm correction (very sharp words and correctio...

Mr. Frawley, We have adopted our son's puppy that I believe is about 6-7 months old, his name is Ozzie. We are not sure what kind of dog he is. We know that he is part chocolate Lab and the other half looks like it might be a Daschund (spelling?) or a "wiener dog." Anyway, he has been an excellent puppy. We have him house trained and we have all fallen in love with him. We also have a Newfoundland female that is about 10 years old. Just this past week, we had Ozzie out for a walk w...

Dear Leerburg Kennels: I have been searching the internet for information to help me with a tough decision. It was refreshing to find a site that was realistic and practical to those who submitted questions. Furthermore, I was very pleased that help was available from people so knowledgeable. I have a 2 1/2 year old female (spayed) golden retriever that my family got as a puppy after our 9 year old Sharpei died (the Sharpei was a perfect dog in many respects). The golden has...

I have a 5 yr old Old English Sheepdog. We purchased this pup from a private breeder who I now feel, gave little regard to temperament. From the very beginning, he has been a "nervous" dog. When Barnaby was 6 months old I took him to a local basic obedience class. During a session of 'meet your neighbor,' where the dogs were allowed to sniff each other, he lunged and pinned the other dog to the floor. I soon realized that all dogs were considered the "enemy" to him and avoided cont...

Dear Ed, Hello there from Australia and thank you once again for your invaluable advice and information provided through your web site. A while ago you advised me (via email) about training my German Shepherd. Upon purchasing your Basic Dog Obedience video and applying the training techniques within, I am thrilled to report overwhelming improvement in the discipline and relationship with my dog as a direct result of that video. Thank you 1 million times over!!! Zach is just over 2 ...

I have a 10-month-old Beagle puppy. I got the dog from the SPCA when she was two to three months old. She is a terrific dog, very friendly with all people and other animals. I have trained her and although stubborn she responds very well and listens. My question - I have seen her on three occasions since owning her become somewhat aggressive and always under similar circumstances. Each time it involved her finding some candy or sweets and attempting to eat it. The first time she had a piece o...

I have a 10-month-old Beagle puppy. I got the dog from the SPCA when she was two to three months old. She is a terrific dog, very friendly with all people and other animals. I have trained her and although stubborn she responds very well and listens. My question - I have seen her on three occasions since owning her become somewhat aggressive and always under similar circumstances. Each time it involved her finding some candy or sweets and attempting to eat it. The first time she had a piece o...

We had a very unfortunate accident happen last Sunday evening. Our neighbor's dog bit my husbands face. I would like to give you a little history first. The dog is a German Shepherd. She is 3 or 4 and has been spade. They have another dog that is younger than she is and is a male. He is part lab, part chow. I should also mention the German Shepherd has been to obedience school. Last November the wife was home alone and asked me to come over to see some new furniture she just...

I have an extremely aggressive 2 year old Brazilian Fila male and a shy female of the same breed. The problem is the male. He is very sweet to the family, you can take his food when he eats, he wants attention like a puppy but when seeing strangers he becomes wild and dangerous, almost out of control from anger. I physically stopped him a couple of times in the past in the middle of an attack. I worked with him when he was younger on the basic commands, 'sit', 'come', 'down', but not enou...

I'm suffering terrible from guilt. One week ago I put our 9 year old Fox Hound to sleep. He was a wonderful dog to the family. We got Gage when he was 5 months old from a local animal shelter. He was very fearful of people. When we brought him home he stayed in his kennel for 3 days, except when we physically removed him to go potty. Once he warmed up to us he was great! Very loving. However, he was always very shy around people. When he was 1 we took him to the vet, because we not...