I have an 18 month old Dutch Shepherd as a pet which we are training in basic obediance and agility. She is not a personal defense dog or involved in any protection sports (if it matters). She is basically our pet. She is excellent with people that greet her properly and excellant with children.
She only has one issue, when a smaller dog barks at her or shows any kind of dominant behavior, she responds aggresively. She is fine with larger dogs or well behaved smaller dogs.
What is this behavior about and how do we stop it? Avoiding the situation is not possible since she is constantly around people and dogs. We can control the situation with a "No" and correction, but we have not be sucessful in stopping the behavor in the first place. Any suggestions?
Reg: 08-17-2007
Posts: 528
Loc: La Habra, California
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Aggressive? Has she bitten a dog, or does she just snap?
The word "aggression" is often misused. Many dogs that are dominant will snap at other dogs when challenged, this isn't aggression, it's a method of establishing pack structure. What you need to do is determine whether she's dog aggressive or simply dominant and intolerant of rudeness. One of my dogs is great with other dogs unless they show dominant postures, in which case she'll snap at them.
Here's a tip: If your dog was within reach of another dog, it snapped at that dog, and didn't bite it, it was a warning snap. Dogs do not miss bites on stationary objects or other dogs/people. They just don't.
A snap is a warning, "respect my space" is what I usually see snapping for.
If it's dominance, not aggression, you might be able to improve it by working on pack structure. There are a few excellent articles (and a great DVD) on this site which address that very thing.
Carol Boche Webboard User Reg: 10-30-2005
Posts: 4531
Loc: South Dakota, USA
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Wes,
I think you should send your Dutchie to me..... Just kidding.....
Sounds like yappy, bouncy, excited little dogs are kicking your girl into drive.
When you see an excited dog like the ones that set her off, what do you do?
The key is not to let her escalate into aggression so you have to keep her attention directed towards you before she gets tense.
I would start by leaving the situation, not completely, but far enough away to where you can get her attention back and then work on some obedience. This will help her focus on you and learn that you are what she needs to focus on and not any other distraction.
Where are you at in your obedience training?
Until The Tale of the Lioness is told, the Story will Always Glorfy the Hunter
Wes,
Are these small dog just in the vicinity and acting like brats? Or are they actually loose and actively running around at the feet of your dog?
If its the later, I don't blame her a bit for breaking. You should talk to the owners and inform them next time you're going to let your dog have an early dinner if they don't keep their dog under control. It works every time. Presto, no more small dog problems.
Randy
You should talk to the owners and inform them next time you're going to let your dog have an early dinner if they don't keep their dog under control. It works every time. Presto, no more small dog problems.
Randy
though i have found owners of small dogs can be oddly offended if you tell them your dog has a prey reaction to their dogs. i don't know why.
but randy is right, they do generally take it seriously.
To answer Steve's question, they are more than "warning snaps". She has already gotten into a dog fight. No harm done, but it wasn't a warning.
And Carol, no you can't have her,other than this one issue, she's an incredible dog.
I do have the pack structure DVD and I believe some of the root cause is not having pack structure fully developed. I'm working on that as well. As far as obediance training, we have gone through our private sessions and we continue to take her to group classes to reinforce what she knows with distractions. I should also add if she is already focused on me, we can heel past small yappy rude dogs sucessfully. The problem is when she is "at ease" when the distraction occurs. Its very difficult to get change her focus from the distraction to me. If I already have her focus, I can keep it.
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Aggression toward vocal small dogs???
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Just kidding.....
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