Could he get a crate for the office? Or even crate her in his car?

Ok, I will strongly suggest containment of Blaze at ALL times, absolutly NO contact with others until she is 100 percent predictable with her behavior (hopefully that will happen, but if not, no contact).

Now, how would you address these behaviors (people aggressive). Pack structure exercises and basic OB? Has anyone used the ecollar with success in these situations?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. We do have very strong laws regarding viscious animals and Ron is well aware of what can happen should someone file a complaint.

If she's gotten away before and bitten someone - what about keeping her muzzled when she's out in public, at least until she's improved in her behaviour? Is that overkill/overcautious?

I would suggest a muzzle when dealing with all people, until which time she can be trusted.

I will also suggest these videos (they happen to come in a box set.) and you can find them on leerburg.com

Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs DVD
Basic Dog Obedience DVD
Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Pet DVD

I would also add:

Remote Collar Training for the Pet Owner DVD

I have 3 of the 4 videos listed, I plan on getting more.

Get a crate for at home. Now you say it's your boyfriends dog and he works long hours so he can't leave the dog at home. Can't you go to his place and let the dog out at sometime during the day? If not, he should definitely crate her at work, and always have her on a leash at any other time.

Edited by Keleah Stull (02/16/2009 09:16 PM)
Edit reason: added more

You would use the e-collar for recall and obedience issues, not aggression.

At this time I keep her on a leash at ALL times if she were my dog. She has proven herself to be a liability, so she should never be running loose. The e-collar would be for proofing off leash work with distractions, such as the recall. She isn't ready for off-leash work yet. Get the collar and the DVD though, so you can be ready when the dog is at the proofing stage.

I don't have much experience with aggression, so I'll leave it at that!

I too would be very careful about using a remote collar on a dog with aggression issues. The stim from the remote collar is too ambiguous to properly correct for aggression against people. The dog can easily decide that the stranger is causing the stim and that can increase the aggression instead of decrease it.

If you decide that you must correct for people aggression then a prong collar is best. That way the dog knows exactly who is giving the correction. Before deciding to correct for aggression I'd really want to know why the dog is acting like this. If it's a fear issue corrections can be counter productive no matter what tool you use.

Lois,
I wouldn't necessarily put this down as people aggression. My dogs (past and present) who see people all the time and definitely NOT aggressive toward people can/have acted the same way, depending on how the person reacts to them.
As to the jumping on nipping of visitors/customers, it is not welcomed by any except the most avid dog lover.

If the dog is on a leash it can not jump on anyone. If the dog is on a leash it can not nip anyone. If the dog is on a leash one can teach the dog something.
In my mind keeping the dog in a crate at my place of business does nothing to teach the dog about meeting people.
If the dog is to meet strange people keep her on a leash.....teach her to meet people properly. A crate does nothing but contain the dog.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

I think crating her when he can't watch her is the best idea. If he knows he is having a client coming in that he has to focus on then have her crated in the office.

But if she is never allowed to make a mistake, how do you correct it and fix it? So, I would have her leashed with a basket muzzle on at all times when there is a possibility of someone coming into contact with her. During lunch or on walks, keep her leashed and take it off so she can have a break from it. If someone asks to pet her when she does not have her muzzle on, just say "sorry, she is on a petting diet" and walk away slowly and calmly.

Put a treat bucket outside the office door that says "Canine in training, Please bring a treat in with you" or something like that. When someone comes in, she should be tied to you or at least have her leash in hand. Put her in a sit and greet the person as usual, and specify for them to ignore the dog. "no touch, no talk, no eye contact". When the greeting is over, have them either (depending on their comfort level) let the dog come over to them muzzled and leashed. Ask them not to look at her but just open their hand slowly and let the dog take the treat through the muzzle. Then you say "yes" and put her in a "wait" beside you, still leashed, or in her crate..
Or option B, if they are uncomfortable having the dog approach them,
then just have them gently toss the treat towards the dog and you can allow her to pick it up.
Eventually those people coming in will be viewed as treat factories, so she will want to greet them.

If she is tense when someone comes in crate her right away. If she seems fine when they come in but then lunges in an attempt to nip, I would give her a firm leash correction, and a strong verbal reprimand to go with it. Don't be mean about it, just mean it. Maybe try correcting with a dominant dog collar, and put her in her crate. Avoid over correcting her and try to let her body cues tell you when she is getting uncomfortable. She will learn really fast that the people mean food, just make sure she is hungry. So no morning meals, night feeding only for now!

The thread is 9 months old.

Maybe we can get an update from the O.P.

Head slap,
Yeah yeah Lois, how did this all work out?