All hands on deck!!! I really need some good advice. I had a yard sale this weekend. I had Jeter and Dakota outside with me. One on each side of me at the foot of my garage. My wife and youngest daughter(16) were out there with me. Of course there was a lot of activity so it took me about 20 minutes to get the dogs settled and relaxed laying on each side of me. I had their leashes tethered to the garage door frame so they couldn't get far. Enough leash for them to get up move around a little and get comfortable. I figured they would much rather be outside with me and the family then cooped up in the house barking from all the activity outside all day. I took them for a nice long walk first. To make a long story just a little longer Jeter went after a 5 year old. Had he not been tethered to something I would be in court today. This child was of course acting like a child. Erratic movements and little bursts of energy in the driveway. The kid went to approach Dakota who just wagged her tail and then he gestured towards Jeter and that was it. Jeter would have definitely followed through with an attack. I KNOW HOW BAD THIS IS. But this is not the end of the story. I brought the dogs in the house and that's when the other problems began. Jeter was whining, panting and drooling up a storm in his crate and it was obvious anxiety. He wanted to be with me. My son thinks that Jeter thinks it's his job to protect me and he is constantly on duty. He is fine with people when I am out walking him. I can stop to talk with people and he sits and waits to begin walking again. When I leave the house for work each day he is fine in his crate. I dont know if having him out there with me and then bringing him in created this behavior because he knew I was outside. Like I said he doesn't have a problem when I leave the house and drive away. I come home to a dry crate. I had to wipe up his drool 10 times on Saturday. I used to take him to the dog park and he was great until he mixed it up with a pair of Bulldogs that didn't want to share a Frisbee. He was about 16 months old then and I haven't brought him back since. I feel like he has become unsocialized and I don't know how to fix it. He shows aggression towards all other dogs except Dakota. He is 2 1/2 now and I am limited to exercising him by biking and walking with him. I would like to get him back to the dog park and be able to trust him with all people big and small. We have a close friend with a new born and I keep him locked up when they come to visit. I am afraid to trust him. He gets so anxious that when my wife went to let him out so he can have a little time out of the crate when we were busy with the yard sale this weekend, he barrels her over or knocks her down. He is 80 lbs and as strong as a 150 lb dog. HELP!!! I feel like its a matter of time before he bites someone or attacks another dog. There are small dogs on my block that sometimes run on their front lawns. If Jeter gets out he will definitely kill them. I rescued this dog when he was 5 months old and the shelter had no idea of his background. I worked with trainers and his basic obedience is very good. Sit, down, place, stay are all no problem until he sees another dog or any small animal. Even on walks I can tell he is anxious. I cant take a risk of him getting loose and I love him to death. Trainers are very expensive and its hard to choose the right one. I feel like he needs several weeks at Cesar's place in California. I would be willing to spend whatever I have to to do that but Cesar has become so big that you can get an audience with the President before you can get with Cesar. Sorry for such a long story but I am freaked out about how to help this dog.

 Quote: Alec S. Garrison

HELP!!! I feel like its a matter of time before he bites someone or attacks another dog.

Don't give him the opportunity for this to happen...

OK, so now you know that he must be managed around small children and small animals.

I have one like that, too...(90 lb female; strong as an ox, if you'll pardon the expression)

Little kids can trigger an aggressive response just by being a kid. They are on the same eye level as a dog, and often will look a dog directly in the eyes. The dog can perceive this as a challenge. Kids also tend to pet dogs directly on their heads which can also be perceived as a challenge. The simple answer is to keep him separated from small children.

I have a 7 year old, and I manage his interaction with my dog very closely. He is not allowed to approach her when she's lying down, when she's eating, or when she's in her crate. He is allowed to call her to him if he wants to pet her, and he is allowed to play fetch with her oustide.(with me supervising)

When he has kids over to play oustide, she is on a longline, being closely supervised by me. I do not allow small children to pet her or approach her. When kids come over to play in the house, she is crated.

I hope this helps; I'll leave it to others to address the dog park issue...

Alec: Paragraphs! Please! It is very difficult to read when you don't break it up. The longer the post, the harder it is to read.

I hope someone can help you. I am interested in following this thread.

I'm rushed, sorry -- but the dog should not have been in that yard-sale situation at all. As Lynne said, crate the dog and don't put him into an over-the-top situation like that. Management!

I think dog parks are a disaster waiting to happen. That would not even be on my list of maybes.

About exercise: How about training a retrieve and playing fetch in your back yard? (I mean in addition to the walking/biking)?

About this: "My son thinks that Jeter thinks it's his job to protect me and he is constantly on duty," I think it's more likely that the dog perceives himself as pack leader and you as his underling, or that he was reacting in fear. I'm just going by the number of owners who have told me in advance that their companion dog was "too protective," and then I find that the dog is resource-guarding or fearful. That's about a 99% rate, so far.

I'd start some good daily pack work.

I'd order this:
http://leerburg.com/308.htm

And listen to these. starting with #10, while I waited for the video:
http://leerburg.com/dogtrainingpodcasts.htm

You can do this. Management, pack structure, and focus will work wonders.

No dog parks...
I have a boy who cannot ever go to a dog park...oh well.

I have worked with him for hundreds of hours to teach him to trust me. I don't need him to protect me, so I stepped in front of him whenever he alerted to something. ANYTHING! I stopped him and stepped in front of him, shoulders back, alert posture. Then, I decided when to move out. I taught him look and leave it commands also. Do the same with your dog in SAFE areas so he doesn't damage children, dogs, or property. It will establish structure in his life.

He cannot get near other dogs right now, but after working with him, you should be able to walk past a dog or child, say leave it and he leaves it, or say look, he looks at you, and go your way.

Teach your dog to look at you on command will help tremendously.


As far as children, my boy isn't to be trusted around children. My grandson has two scars to prove it. No small loss that your dog or my dog can't be around children. We just have manage the contact at home and in public. Leave it and look work with children too. You just have to be aware of your surroundings and your dog's posture. Your dog will always tell you when he or she is getting ready to be stupid...you just have a very short time to learn the signals. THAT is why it is important to manage, control, teach, and watch your dog at all times until he or she is proofed.

You can find the look command by searching the site and threads.

Oh, and in the case of lunging at a child, I have no problems with someone being heavy handed on the lead and yanking that dog into submission--provided you know for a fact that the dog isn't going to come back up the lead and eat you up. THAT is a very tough call to make and you better be damn sure of the type of dog you have before you try that...if you try it at all.

Some good advice here. Also I will remember to use paragraphs for long posts. Connie, I cant swear to it but I have to (for now) disagree that Jeter see's me as his underling. I have very good control over him and I can get him to submit to me with just my eyes and hand signals. There are moments when he seems to want to challenge me but its very rare and as soon as I use my voice he gets in line.

I have a very deep voice and I know how to address him with posture and all that. Any thoughts on the anxiousness issue. He was panting like he was going to have a heart attack when I put him in his crate after the kid episode and for the rest of the day. He never does that when I leave the house at other times.

Child--prey---equals anxiety.

It *sounds* like a fear-based aggression to me. It *sounds* like he was reacting defensively when the child came near (i.e. he thought he had to defend himself from some perceived threat.) The drooling and anxiety when he was put inside would corroborate this. I could be wrong on this.

How does he react to children at other times? on walks, at the park etc.?

 Quote: Alec S. Garrison

Any thoughts on the anxiousness issue. He was panting like he was going to have a heart attack when I put him in his crate after the kid episode and for the rest of the day. He never does that when I leave the house at other times.

It was a very stressful incident, for the dog and for you. Your reaction would have fed the dog's anxiety. I would not be too concerned about the drooling and stress in the crate that day as long as he's back to his normal behavior.

Move past this and focus on how to manage him in the future. I know it's a real eye opener when you realize that your dog has issues that you had perhaps never given any consideration to in the past, but these are all managable with some planning on your part.