This is my first post here, so I would like to briefly introduce myself, and my dog Muttley. He was rescued from the streets of a bad neighborhood in Baltimore in Feb 2006, and I reluctantly adopted him. He is an 80 lb GSD mix, solidly built, perhaps with some Mastiff, boxer, or PBT. He is very aloof and independent, and my first attempt at training in an obedience class resulted in him breaking loose and attacking a young male black Lab.

I have posted about this on other forums, and have had a wide range of advice. I admit that he is not very well trained and I do not have a strong "dog trainer" personality, but he is generally well-behaved and reliable. I can take him almost anywhere and he is OK meeting new people, although he seems a bit fearful. He interacts well with most dogs, from a Papillon to an Anatolian, but there have been several more incidents with black Labs that make me think he had a bad experience when he was young and he may tend to look at them warily, which may trigger them to react and then he has attacked.

In each case where he has actually attacked and done some damage, I was able to pull him off and he settled down almost instantly, so I don't think he was in full dogfight mode. In his most recent incident, at an introductory training session at Petco, he positioned himself nose-to-nose with a young male black Lab, and the other dog seemed to take a quick snap at Muttley, at which moment I pulled him back and that was it. But later, the woman with the Lab offered Muttley a treat, while her dog sat next to her, and he bared his teeth at Muttley.

At this point I can manage the problem by limiting Muttley's exposure to black Labs, and watching his body language carefully. On the Cesar Millan forum, the advice was to "flood" him with exposure to other, stable black Labs and be sure that no bad incidents occur.

Flooding will get you in trouble...IMO.

Nose to nose greetings are a no-no for your guy from now on.

Finding stable dogs is difficult as everyone has their own opinion of stable.

Find out Mutley's language. He will tell you when he is "alert" to another dog...muzzle tight, ears up, leaning forward on his toes, whiskers forward. Or he could have ears back, tail wagging, head low. Tail wagging does NOT mean he is happy, mine wags at times when he wants to attack.


I can't speak for attacking only black labs. I do remember something about a reaction to black dogs posted on the web at one time. Search for that may help.

Safety for other dogs and Mutley first. No meetings with labs at all. Learn his body language, then others can help you figure out what to do. I worked with my guy to the point I can take him in public, but he will never play or behave with a puppy or dog outside his own pack. EVER. So, maybe your guy will never get along with labs.

It is up to you to figure out his language and his limits in a kind fair way.

Jo is right. Flooding is for someone of Cesar Millan's skill and experience, and that means that very very few of the "regular" dog-owning population should attempt it.

JMO: This dog does not need Petco or group classes or dog parks or any other overwhelming situation. He doesn't need to "meet new people" in a manner that causes him anxiety, either.

What he needs most right now is a solid perception that you are in charge and that you will protect him from all humans and dogs who cause him unease.

Can you tell us how he meets new people? What do you do, what does he do, etc.?

Tell us how you train obedience (on your own) and how you proof for distraction. It's not an unrelated question; some well-done motivational training is going to do a lot for this dog and your bond with him.

And welcome!

I figured the flooding might be a bad idea unless I got expert help. Now I think I am savvy enough to see his body language and keep him from getting into a bad situation.

The first incident in obedience class (Oct 2006) happened when I was trying to force him into a down, and he knocked me off balance, got loose, and apparently just went after the 6 month old black Lab. When I got to him the instructors were trying to intervene and it looked like Muttley was going for the throat, so I grabbed the leash off the ground and just pulled him off. I figured it was redirected aggression because I had been yanking him around on his prong collar trying to get him to heel in a group of 12 dogs and handlers while he was hopelessly distracted.

The second incident was last Fall when we were walking on a trail with a female dog and her owner. We encountered other dogs with no problem, but then we met a couple with a young black Lab. I think the female dog rolled into a submissive posture and Muttley went after the male, maybe protecting his new "bitch". But no serious injury.

Then just this past February Muttley and I observed a clicker training class, and he was very calm in the midst of three reactive barking dogs. One was a black Pitbull, and they met on normal dog terms nose to butt. Then I took him to an off-leash indoor "doggie social", and when I let him loose, within seconds, he was attacking a young black Lab, and I pulled him off with his harness. He was immediately calm, but the dog had minor injuries, and we had to leave.

Finally there was the Petco incident. By now I was seeing a real pattern. And there was a male black Lab in the place where Muttley was rescued, so maybe they fought.

I'm sure I send some anxiety down the leash when we meet new dogs and people, because of his history. When I first got him, he bit a handyman friend in the butt when he walked by after having hammered siding on the house, and Muttley had been very agitated. He had been fearful when they first met, and as a newbie I did not know that could be a danger sign. But now they are buddies, although George is still a little cautious.

Muttley usually seems happy to go up to people, but then he acts a bit fearful as they go to pet him. The more timid they are, the more he seems to worry. He is better with women than men, but once he has checked them out he becomes comfortable and then mostly ignores people.

He is also not very reactive toward other dogs who might be snarling and lunging, but held safely by their handlers on leash. He keeps a watchful eye, but does not show much body language. I think he has learned that being hard to read is effective for survival, as I've heard is true in dog fighting.

I do not do much obedience training. I was taught to use collar pops and choke chain and prong collar, but now I am trying to use treats and I may attempt clicker training. He is good at doing a sit-stay-come and I have him wait at the door and before being fed. No food or resource guarding problems. No separation anxiety or unusual fear of noises or other things. But he has poor leash manners and just about no recall. He is better at LLW with an anti-pull harness, and he is much better on my property than on public trails. When he has gotten loose, he just ran around and eventually went to a neighbor's where I just clipped the leash back on, and another time he just came back on his own when he was finished exloring.

I really don't walk him as much as I should because I have back and knee problems that limit the distance and speed I can go, so we are lucky to get in 1/4 to 1/2 mile a day. But he is mostly a bed potato and he seems relaxed and mellow. Sometimes I play fetch with him, but he was not a natural and I had to teach him. Now sometimes he will bring me an old bone to throw, but I think mostly he wants the treat I usually give him for bringing it to me.

Hi Paul and welcome.

I'm going to provide you with some links for marker (clicker training); some of the info is free, and there are also some good dvd's that you can buy.

I'm not qualified to address the aggression issues, so I'll stick with training...

(but I will ask, why do you continue to take him to places where it's likely that he will have a negative encounter? You can accomplish much more on your own, and it will be less stressful for the dog and for you; until you have a clear game plan as to how to handle these situations, avoid them)

Ahh, the recall! Here's the best tip that I got on this site for teaching the recall. Call your dog for all good things that you can, and use your recall word when you do. If 'come' has been your word, pick a new one and start over.

So, call your dog for dinner, a ride in the car, going for a walk, a game of fetch. You want your dog to associate that word with really good stuff. Never use your recall word for anything negative, like ending a game or getting a bath (you get the gist). And, don't call your dog to you to discipline him.

In addition, if you call your dog and he doesn't obey, you must go get him and bring him back to where you were calling from. Every time you call him and he blows you off, it reinforces him not obeying you in the future.
That may mean that you need to keep a long line on him when playing oustide, so that if he doesn't obey you, you can reel him in.

OK, some links:
Marker training e-book Free!
Pack Structure e-book Free!

Pack Structure Video

Dominant Dogs Video

Marker Training Video

You will get some good feedback from other members on the aggression issues, I'm sure...

And one more thing... a properly fitted prong collar will do wonders for his leash manners...and make the walks much more enjoyable for you. Harnesses encourage pulling, BTW.