I've a rottweiler male that have big issues with aggression towards other male dogs. When I walk with him and he see another male dog he often lungs after them and want to attack them. I study a dog education and he's with me three days a week and it's many dogs around us so this behavior is clearly not OK. I live in Sweden and here prong collars are forbidden to use, I've tried use a normal metal choke chain but his fur looks awful after using it. Then I've used a nylon choking collar, that works better, he have a so big head so when the collar is one it lays way to far down on his neck. With the nylon one I use to secure if (it has a little plastic part there you can regulate the size) behind the ears. Only problem with this is that to be able to keep it behind the ears I've too tight it too much. When he lungs, I give a fast correction, but then it sits too tight and he gets nervous from it.

Can this type of collar: http://www.dogsecurity.se/engelsk/spitout.html - be more effective? We're going to visit a trainer that trains police dogs but until that I need a method that is effective. I'm also afraid of letting my boyfriend walk him because he isn't as strong as me and if Busther would lunge forward I'm sure my boyfriend would just fall.

Hi, and welcome,

Are you asking about tools, or management and training?

Sounds like you expect various tools to do the job.


Who has this dog the other four days?

(Others will reply too, but I think everyone will need to know at least these answers.)

I guess I mostly ask about training, it's a behavior that I want to remove, and to remove it I guess I might need tools etc.

I've the dog the other four days also, but then he's at home with me, not going anywhere.

What is your training background?

Do you know if the dog is fear-aggressive?

What is his basic obedience like? How reliable? Who trained him?

How long have you had this dog and how old is he?



What does this mean: "I study a dog education and he's with me three days a week and it's many dogs around us so this behavior is clearly not OK. "

Does it mean that he comes with you to where many dogs are being trained close up around him? If so, then are you not AT a place with dog trainers there? What do the instructors tell you? That he is fearful? What?

Why is he there?

What is the idea of the police dog trainer? Is this person known for dealing with fearful dogs, aggressive dogs, what? Why does this have to be a police dog trainer?

You're not getting a lot of answers, I think, because the picture is so unclear.

It is pretty clear that you allow him to get too focused before doing something about it. That's why I ask if you are surrounded by dogs in training. If this was happening with my dog and I was not sure what I should be working on (fear, etc.), the absolute minimum to me would be to avoid the closeness that triggers him (and triggers the corrections, which are not doing anything to actually fix anything, IMO).

I would see a dog walking towards us, and I would sit my dog far off the sidewalk, focused on me, or I would calmly turn around, BEFORE my dog was triggered.

But again, how is his basic obedience, how old is he, why is he so close to so many dogs, etc., etc.


ETA
You mean that he strains toward dogs, barking and pulling, right? At what proximity?

PS

The answer may well be that you need a trainer now, and not waiting for a police trainer.

I'm asking so many questions because he needs managing he isn't getting right now, from what we've heard so far, and he needs reliable obedience under distraction.

I've studied to become a trainer but it was in Ukraine and there the methods are very different and not always so "good" (like hitting the dog so hard so it faints and always remember what it did and the consequence). I've always had boxers, but they're different from rottweilers. The problem that most trainers around here don't have any experience of "working breeds", they mostly train for fun like agility, freestyle etc. They have little experience with bigger dogs with other problems.

I study a basic education required if you want to open a dog hotel or work on a professional level with dogs. We also train with out own dogs, the problem that the instructors only have had a few retrievers and just tell me to distract Busther with a treat when he gets aggressive. They think he's dominant. and it's clearly not fear based, I've a dog that had fear based aggression and that's different. That police dog trainer have worked with dogs that have showed aggression towards other dogs, and he's previous experience of rottweilers.
He's three years old, I've had him for around 3-4 months. the previous owner said he had a problem with other male dogs. But she used to give him a hard correction so he would ignore other dogs. He has good basic obedience, good recall with distraction, does not pull the leash, listens etc, the problem when a male dog comes.

I hope I made everything a bit clearer otherwise just ask for more information!

Good basic ob means that when there is a distraction (high level, too, like another dog), the dog still does what you say.


I will link you to some detailed info about getting this basic ob in place while not triggering his reactivity, but would first like answers to the questions I asked, if you would.


He comes with you to where many dogs are being trained close up around him?

Why is he there?

It is pretty clear that you allow him to get too focused before doing something about it. That's why I ask if you are surrounded by dogs in training. ARE YOU?

You mean that he strains toward dogs, barking and pulling, right? At what proximity? How far away is a safe distance?

"They think he's dominant. and it's clearly not fear based, "

I've met more than a few supposedly dominant-aggressive dogs who were fearful. Everyone's POV is colored by experience, and I've had some experience with overuse of the dominant-aggressive adjective.

But anyway .....

There are other aggression-experienced folks on this board, too.

And I'll be back after a few hours of work in case no one sees and replies.

Whether or not its fear based or anything else Amanda, you've seen there's a point where he reacts. The first thing is to keep him out of that position. Use a distance where he doesnt feel the need to defend himself or put the other dog in it place, whatever it is.

Another reason for you not wanting to be in a position of having to heavily correct him when he's already on edge, is that you don't really know this adult male completely. Your corrections are probably going to be too late, and he could come at you.

Work with him at a distance from other dogs. Teach him sit or even better, down and slowly decrease the distance.Later, if you correct him, its for breaking the command. He needs to learn to deal with other dogs being around, but you shouldnt just throw him into the middle of all these other dogs, and you need to control this training. It can't just be random, here and there with different surprizes coming around the corner.

It comes down to two things. Management for you and obedience for him. Your boyfriend? Maybe some rocks in his pockets?

 Quote: steve strom

Whether or not its fear based or anything else Amanda, you've seen there's a point where he reacts. The first thing is to keep him out of that position. Use a distance where he doesnt feel the need to defend himself or put the other dog in it place, whatever it is.

Another reason for you not wanting to be in a position of having to heavily correct him when he's already on edge, is that you don't really know this adult male completely. Your corrections are probably going to be too late, and he could come at you.

Work with him at a distance from other dogs. Teach him sit or even better, down and slowly decrease the distance.Later, if you correct him, its for breaking the command. He needs to learn to deal with other dogs being around, but you shouldnt just throw him into the middle of all these other dogs, and you need to control this training. It can't just be random, here and there with different surprizes coming around the corner.

It comes down to two things. Management for you and obedience for him. Your boyfriend? Maybe some rocks in his pockets?

We have several very detailed threads here that go into exactly how to do what Steve is saying .... let me know if you want me to, and I'll be happy to dig up a few.

'quote' We have several very detailed threads here that go into exactly how to do what Steve is saying .... let me know if you want me to, and I'll be happy to dig up a few.

I would love to see the threads if you wouldn't mind.