Heh...city living. Yes, he has a crate, but I live in a studio apt that is probably about the size of your bathroom. LOL!! There is no separate room to put him in. Ideally, we would like to place him in a home outside of the city, but it is hard b/c there are so many Rotties in the shelter it isn't exactly hard to adopt one...the problem is that any home that would want to consider him for adoption probably won't want him if this behavior continues so I'm trying to figure this out...

Is your bathroom a separate room? Even if his crate is too big to fit in the bathroom, dog proof the bathroom and put him in there as a sort of big crate with a kong. Anywhere that he can be separated from the guests until he calms down and you can try again. Or if you have a blanket or something that you can put over the crate so he can't see the guests this will help also but a different room is usually best/easiest.

And tethering him to you will prevent him from getting to the guests if you don't want him to be greeted yet, and just hold him close to you and have your friends not greet him. Ideally they need to ignore him. They don't need to discipline or correct him, they just need to not talk to him or move towards him or pet him unless he is calm.

It will take work but it shouldn't be too bad. I have worked with quite a few large hyperactive super friendly just wanna play and be petted cause they love love love love love love people so much kinda dogs... phew that takes my breath away just thinking about saying it fast! It is not impossible and I think with a bit of effort and that wonderful thing called tethering you will be fine.

Tethering will also help bonding and pack structure.

Thanks for the advice....this is going to take sometime...it's just frustrating as I felt I was making such progress like getting him to heel very well, he knows to wait when I open the front door and he sits while it is open and I go out first and I say "OK" and then he is allowed to walk out, he sits and knows down and then we seem to be going backwards in this area which is pretty serious: aggression...which is pretty scary....

He just sounds like a dog that needs some training to learn manners around people and was probably not socialised and exposed to very much in his life. Jennifer is addressing his manners with visitors so I will tell you what I would do outside. I'd keep him out of the middle of things and off to the side for a while and just let him sit and take it all in. Keep him out of situations and contact with people and objects he see's as a threat and as his manners improve with the people you know he'll probably relax more and not feel threatened by the odd things in the city.

Regarding the aggression, the warning signals are alert behavior, ears forward, staring, etc. If you correct that behavior before he acts aggressively it is much easier than trying to stop the aggression once he has already begun the barking growling lunging etc.

I would get a DD collar for him if you feel that you cannot properly control him, and prong collars often have the opposite effect that we want on a dog in regards to aggression it will heighten the reaction and escalate the aggression and situation. That is why you have to catch him before he reacts. Ears up, staring, turning the head to look at someone, he needs to be redirected to you immediately. On a walk he should be focused on YOU anyways and not anyone else.

Steve, you are correct that if possible he should be kept in a quiet area for a while to address any nervousness but she mentioned it is crazy where she lives. In large cities there really are no quiet areas.

I also do not think this aggression is from fear or nervousness. Gloria stated that his react to the truck was not aggressive, just slightly startled. That is your gauge for nervous/fearful/unsure vs territorial. If he startles and shows any sign of stress/fear prior to the aggression then it is fear based/self preservation etc but if he is forward moving, alert and does not show outward signs of fear (eats back, lips pulled back/tight, eyes darting, hindquarters lowered, tail not moving/low/tucked etc) then it is more than likely territorial aggression.

This is JMO, I have seen and worked with dogs that are fear aggressive/fear biters and the behavior and body language she describes does not sound like fear aggression.

Edited by Jennifer Marshal (02/23/2008 07:57 PM)
Edit reason: spelling

Gloria may just have to be careful about the times she takes him out in public. At 6am its not likely to be overly crowded. Without seeing him I just think he is probably a little sharp and see's somethings as a threat and doesnt know not to react. The reason I think that is he was able to recognise the friend with garbage bags and not react. I just get the impression its an issue of training and experiences for a formerly neglected dog. But to be completely honest, this all just guessing.

You know, I think that this could be territorial. Since the dog never showed this behavior before, is it possible that the dog is now getting secure in its "new" home and now is "protective" (you guys know what I mean) now that he is sure of his position in the pack and what belongs to the pack, maybe he's just secure and confident. I have seen this with a ACD that I fostered (male, unneutered)after a few weeks he started to alarm bark and behave territorial-ly but it did take him quite awhile to get accustom to the new home and pack.

Hmmmm, the rescue organization I'm fostering him from had a trainer meet with me to evaluate him and see how I was doing with him about a week after I got him. We went for an hour walk together and his assessment was that he was just "young and little dumb".

The trainer was glad that Truman wasn't pulling, but what he failed to get and yes, I still have this problem is getting him to pay attention to whoever is walking him. He just sorta plods forward and yes, he'll turn when you turn, but his attention seems to focused on anywhere but you unless you say his name and he'll instantly look up.

Is this they type of thing that just takes time? Establishing a bond so that he learns to pay attention just to me rather than all that is going on??

I do try to walk him very early and late at night, but the afternoon walk is all in the lovely chaos of NYC....there is no avoiding it although the early AM and late PM walk are relatively stress free....

If it is territorial/dominance aggression how do I begin to nip this? Get him to focus more on me? Do I do this by snapping him a correction when his ears perk up and he looks aroused?? Or is this too hard on him b/c he is in a new environment and needs to feel he can absorb things in....like for instance there are carriages of horses that ride through Central Park and he looked very alert and interested(ears up, tail up, chest out) when he saw horses for what I'm going to assume was the first time, but I didn't correct him as I just let him take in the sight and smell of them...he didn't bark or try to chase them...So, you see, I'm not sure what the hell to do...

I don't mean this as anything argumentive or to contradict anyone at all Gloria, but I would not look for him to fit exactly into any definition. Almost everything takes time. What have you been doing to train his attention?