Oh boy! My debut post! And I’ve got a question. First I’ll say that I’ve found the Leerburg articles to be really helpful to me and have given me some new vocabulary related to dogs like "hard, sharp, rank…" I’ve got a 75 lb. female neutered rescue pit x lab mix that I would describe as naturally dominant and sharp. This girl has issues and in all likelyhood has a genetically poor temperment. At the time I adopted her (she was 2 ½ years old), I did not know this but did embark on a strict program of excercise and discipline as soon as I got her. I’ve been able to work with her to the point where her phobias have nearly gone away, I can walk her on a leash properly, and she no longer growls at me. With me she seems to be a normal happy dog. However, her human and dog aggression has not gone away.

My specific question has to do with Ladybug’s human aggression. I am a carpenter, so I work with quite a few men. There are us carpenters plus a bunch of other tradesmen coming and going. When I was bringing Ladybug to work with me, there were many times when Ladybug showed aggression toward people I work with. Usually it happens like this: Somebody arrives on a jobsite, Ladybug acts very happy to see the new person, Ladybug approaches the new person in a submissive manner, new person gives her attention and pats, Ladybug growls and snaps at the person, then she goes right back into attention seeking mode like nothing happened or nothing bothered her.. She does seem to adjust to men I work with daily, but they may just adjust to the dog. I’m lucky the men I work with didn’t freak out at this behavior. They are all dog lovers and rather tough, stable men. We’ve got 2 Irac war veterans and 3 firemen included in the employee and subcontractor group! It’s not just men Ladybug does this with either. I just happen to work with men only. She will do exactly the same thing with women as well. She does this if tied to my truck or loose on a jobsite.

I have been leaving my dog home when I go to work because of this problem and because it’s just too darn cold here in Maine for her to be on a jobsite. But the temperature will rise eventually and my thoughts are turning back to bringing my dog to work with me again. Is there any training I can do to prevent this human aggression in my dog?

A little more background on Ladybug: She sometimes acts aggressively toward my man and visitors at home, and her previous owners were not abusive- just ill informed. For instance, I’m positive that the previous owners suffocated her with a plastic bag because she was scared to death of bags when I got her and because it is a fairly common "training method" around here. Other than using outdated training methods with Ladybug, I believe they were kind to her. I have no reason to believe she has ever bitten a human, but she sure can scare ya!Oh yeah, and I've had her for about a year and a half.

Welcome Ingrid

You'll get plenty of good advice from people experienced with aggression.

One thing jumps out at me: She should not be loose anywhere. Not at a job site, not on a walk, and not at home when family and friends are visiting. Certainly not now and maybe not ever.

My jaw hit the desk when you said she had been suffocated with a plastic bag. Taking away a dog's air is something some dogs need to have done. But I think HOW it's done is very important...and by whom. I think you need a lot of experience handling dogs and doing this kind of thing to get the desired result.

What she had done to her is abusive IMO. Poor thing, no wonder she's afraid.

I'm glad she found you.

oh wow....i'm with sarah, that bag thing - that is horrible and abusive. i'm glad you have her indeed.

the one thing i thought of - i have an aggressive dog, but i am new to dogs, so there will be more experienced people weighing in - i agree with not having her loose, and if you can, tethering her will probably help direct expected behaviour and i think confidence as well.

i'm wondering - you mention she's naturally dominant - teagan had a lot of dominance issues when i got her, and it was really only after a lot of work, over time, that i ever saw submissive signals from her - with anyone, dog or human. if ladybug's approaching people submissively - and i haven't seen her - then i'm not sure her issue is dominance. i would wonder if she doesn't maybe have some fear aggression issues and sort of loses confidence mid-interaction???? more experience people????

 Quote: Sarah Morris

One thing jumps out at me: She should not be loose anywhere. Not at a job site, not on a walk, and not at home when family and friends are visiting.

Absolutely positively. That's number 1.

Do you have any of the Leerburg videos, and have you read any of the articles or eBooks? Podcasts?

I do not have experience with the exact thing you are talking about. Could it be that she is happy to see people, but on her own terms, and her threashold is crossed when people reach out to pet her?

Is is possible to bring a crate to work and that way she can come to work, but only be out when she has your full attention, like at break times? Then you may be able to set up some controlled training excersices and not let her practice behavior you do not like.

I agree this dog should not be loose around visitors. And another thing to remember is that petting on top of the head or bending over the dog is a dominant "gesture".

People that pet her, would be better off petting her under the chin at first, taking care NOT to "loom" over the top of her.

Truly dominant dogs will take this as a challenge.

http://www.leerburg.com/301.htm

http://www.leerburg.com/qaaggres.htm

http://www.leerburg.com/dominac2.htm

http://www.leerburg.com/domdogdirectory.htm

http://www.leerburg.com/dogtrainingebooks.htm
(Scroll to the Dominant Dog eBook.)

And I want to emphasize that this dog cannot be loose in public or with visitors in your home.

Great suggestions! I'd been thinking along these lines that Ladybug should not be allowed to be loose in public. I'm even thinking now that the crate is even better than being tethered. You never know when a stranger will show up and think, "Oooh, look a doggy!" and try to pet her on a tether. It may be that I just can not bring this dog to work and will have to be happy with walking, biking and working longline with her (along with enjoying her as a pet of course).

Jennifer C. described Ladybug's behavior very accurately. It is like she wants attention on her own terms and that when she snaps, it's like a threshold has been crossed. With other dogs Ladybug displays dominance. She tees other dogs, controls where they may walk, and is very territorial. And she has attacked 3 dogs. I would not have allowed 3 attacks, but 2 were on dogs that she had previously played with happily. We don't have to worry about any more attacks because I will not allow the circumstances for an attack.

I'm guessing you gals are right that her human aggression is more fear based than dominance based. Oh, and Connie, I've read the articles and ebooks you so kindly provided links to but only own 1 Leerburg DVD- Remote Collar Training. I don't own a remote training collar yet, but it sure is a good dvd! I like Ed's "invisible leash" analogy!

I regret not adding the word "intentionally" before "abusive" in my original post when I was describing Ladybug's previous owners. I hope I did not give the impression that I did not think suffocating a dog with a plastic bag was abuse.

I had Ladybug on my mind last night and it occured to me that her reactions to people are very understandable when you consider what she's been through.

If her previous owners did indeed use a plastic bag to suffocate her that's not a very easy thing to do with a larger dog, or any dog for that matter. You have to be close to the dog and you'd have to do it very quickly. And most dogs would figure out very quickly what that bag meant. I wouldn't be surprised if they approached her in a non-menacing manner, leaned over and...BAM! Plastic bag over the head. Sudden and quick and out-of-the blue.

If it played out like this it's no wonder she freaks out when people approach her. She can't trust that this seemingly nice person won't surprise her and take away her air.

From what I understand from people who use this barbaric method, it only takes one time. Then the dog will never get into trashcans ever again. Even though I never trained her not to, Ladybug has never gotten into my kitchen trash, and I knew another dog that had it done to him (before I knew the dog and owner) and he never got into the trash again. One time I had a huge spider in my house and wanted to kill it. It was about a year after I had Ladybug. I decided to use a rolled up newspaper to kill the spider because i had a newspaper handy. Being the sensitive person that I am, I predicted that Ladybug might have a reaction to a rolled up newspaper. Sure enough, she did have a reaction- she ran and hid. I didn't make any big deal over it. I didn't say or let her know I felt a thing about it. The spider was killed and that was all. When Ladybug came out of hiding, life went on as usual.

I like to leave the past in the past. Dogs like it that way too from what I can tell, but they still remember some things like we do. Dogs like humans can be resiliant and overcome past abuse, but for the most part, they seem to enjoy living in the present.