I have a 6 year old dog that I raised from a puppy. She has always been fearful, and as she got older, the fear became aggression. She is fine in the home, but is very aggressive on the street. I just moved to a city and have major concerns about her behavior.
She has never bitten, but has run to the ankles of people and barked and growled while wagging her tail. She scares people. I don't want to get rid of her because I am hopeful that I can do something about it.
I am a college student and have a tight budget. Any advice?

Hi Page, what type/breed of dog are we looking at here?

Paige,
I am hardly a dog trainer, but have spent a lot of time on my aggressive older dog, especially lately. I think you need two things, control and reward. I would start by reading this site well, and making sure the dog is trained in basic obedience. I would also never let the dog get close enough to a stranger to reach their ankle. Even in a large city, you can do that. If the dog is too fearful to trust in an elevator, you may have to use the stairs or muzzle her until you are outside.

In my (limited) experience, a bag of treats can help to redirect the dog from strange people/dogs to you. If you can possibly teach her the "look" command at home (look at me and get a treat), then walk her at the quietest hours and the least travelled streets for a while, she may become more relaxed. My old GSD/chow has improved alot in a fairly short period of time with this method.

I walk her on 2 leads now, one prong collar, and one dominant dog collar attached to a leather lead around my neck and shoulder. This gives me a free right hand to deliver treats, but I can also stop her in her tracks if she tries to lunge. In addition, I am much calmer, as I know I have the tools at hand to completely control her without hurting her, and because of the treats, she loves to go for walks anytime. My husband reports that she is also calmer with him, and he uses a single lead. Actually, I am finding it somewhat easier to teach an old dog new tricks, then to teach a mature (not allowed to say old) husband new (dog) tricks.

polly

she's lab/chow/and maybe something else like a spaniel

Where did you get the over the shoulder harness...that sounds like a good idea. I have tried treats, and she responds welll by looking at me when I call her name for a treat.

The lead is the 6' leather Amish lead from Leerburg. I run the snap through the handle to make a loop, which I place over my left shoulder, then cinch tight under my arm and attach the snap to the dog's collar. You could also think about a police lead ( I think that is the correct one) that is also 6 feet, and can be worn in several ways. The important thing to me is that the dog is tethered to me in such a way that I don't need an extra hand to hold the second lead, and this lead is looser then the one on the prong, so she doesn't get pressure through the dominant dog collar unintentionally.

I bought a book called Feisty Fido from another member of this board, and it describes in some detail how to desensitize a dog with treats. By the way, I think a wagging tail on a dog does not always mean happiness, it can be a sign of aggression.

What is the difference between a nylon choke collar and a dominant dog collar? I looked at them both under leerburg equipment, but couldn't see a difference other than an extra snap/clip?

A nylong choke collar slips over the head of the dog while a dominat dog collar wraps around the neck and clips on. The problem is that the extra length for a nylong collar often allows the dog enough slack to turn his head and chew through the nylong - not a good thing when dealing with a dog trying to bite.

The dominant dog collar is designed fit up under the jaw with only an inch or two of slack. These collars are also better made than the normal nylon collar (they ave to be)

Hope this answers your question. This is all dealt with in my new DVD DEALING WITH DOMINAT AND AGGRESSIVE DOGS http://leerburg.com/301.htm

Hi Ed. Thanks for this great site! I have posted quite a few times since finding it and it's a huge help. Do you think this is good for Willie, see 'Aggression' in your forum. Maybe I haven't been doing things long enough or right but Willie doesn't seem to mind the prong collar much.