Melissa,

It isn't hopless, just much more difficult. I would find a trainer with experience dealing with this type of problem. If you can find someone to help that has both in home and a group class that is much better. The way we do this is a multiple step process. First, the trainer will help you get the dog under obedience control. Second you will start on group and having experienced people establish a relationship with the dog. In the group the dog is systematicly "desensitized" to other people. At the end the dog is traded off with other handlers to work it so it responds to other people.

The longer you wait the harder it will be to correct the problem.

Last night the trainers were woring with a guy with a 2 y/o Cane Corso that is a total spook, afraid of everybody. In less than an hour the dog was walking on lead with 2 different people. Your problem is more difficult since the dog is people aggressive, but it is still fixable with the right trainer. You have made a good start by starting the obedience work, it will end up being the key to the solution in my opinion. It give the dog something to occupy it and disrupt those fear reations.

mspindler wrote: We're now left with a sharp 9 month old monster (almost 90 lbs.) who gets his hair up and growls & nips at pretty much everyone but the two of us. He'll lunge at the neighborhood kids just because he doesn't want them near him. Keep in mind, this dog is fabulous with my husband and I. In fact he's one of the best dogs I've ever owned, but his fear aggression is a HUGE problem.

**** I’ve done work with an Ecollar with many dogs like this. Often they won’t let me put the Ecollar on them so the owner has to do it. But after about 15–20 minutes or working on the recall, the dog’s attitude changes and I’m his new best friend. I then transfer this to the owners. That takes another 5–10 minutes.

***** I’ll work the dog around what bugs him while focusing his attention on me. Pretty soon he’s ignoring those other stimuli, whether it's other dogs, cats, people wearing sleeves or suits, or people he's snapping at, as in your case.

***** This usually takes a total of 30 minutes. Which is not to say that your problem is over!!! It will take another week or two, perhaps three or four, of you working with him for that to occur. As with any other training method, you’ll need to reinforce this occasionally.

Lou,

I considered trying an Ecollar, but I've heard that you aren't supposed to use them on aggressive dogs. If that isn't true, I'll run out and buy one right now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I do want to be certain that it won't make things worse before I do that though. Do you know anything about this or has anyone else had experience using an Ecollar on an aggressive dog?

Also, if anyone knows of a trainer in the Maryland area that's good at dealing with these types of issues, please let me know.

mspindler:

Trust Lou. He knows his stuff.

Melissa,

I feel your pain <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> You might as well be describing my first GSD. Trust me, 9 mos old is not too late, don't give up yet. The trick, as suggested above, is to find the right trainer and the right environment. I beat my head against the wall for almost two years, wasting my time on group obedience classes and high-price behaviorists. The problem was that those garden-variety "professionals" were simply afraid of my dog (and he knew it). For me the turning point was finding a sympathetic training director of a local SchH club who knew the breed, plus all the help I got from people who were used to large "aggressive" breeds. Now, in his "golden" years, he is the main attraction at a local park, where kids fight each other for a chance to play with him and walk him home-and he is eating it up.

Good luck to you.

Hi Gena,
I hate to be harsh but I think your dogs a dud and is the product of poor breeding.

I have a 16 month rott bitch. I got her at 14 weeks, the breeders held her for someone who decided they didnt want her.

We live in a remote area and dont have many visitors. For the first 12 months with us Linda saw maybe 3 other people apart from my girl friend and I and never left our 25 acre property. She had lots of interaction with us and our horses, poultry other dogs however. I realise this is not a good way to raise a young pup but at the time it was unaviodable as I was working away and couldnt have Linda with me.

I gave her novice level obedience. The first time she came to a urban enviroment it wasnt a problem for her. She loved everyone and is totally unafraid of traffic, other dogs, strange noises. I was actually concerened because she was so friendly with strangers. I have since found out a dog who is friendly with friendly strangers is displaying strong nerves and good breeding. I have never seen her urinate or display obvious fear at anything in her life.

I have started her in protection work, she responded from day one, yet is still a friendly loving dog.

These attributes are genetically predetermined largely. Maybe you can overide some of the effect of poor genes but the fact is you cant make ice cream out of chicken shit.

I understand your attached to your dog, but 10-15 years is a long time to live with a dud. Its a credit to you that you are kind hearted and want to help a animal that someone else has discarded. Despie this I donk think a rescue sheleter is a good place to source a dog. Espescially not a large working breed.

I dont know why people get dogs from rescue shelters when a well breed dog from a reputable breeder is so cheap given what you get for your money. Would you expect to get a good quality car for free from a junk yard? NO, so why do you think your going to get a good dog for free? If the dog was good it wouldnt be looking for a new home in the first place.

I know there are exceptions to this but it dosent sound like your dog is one of them.

Other than that as the other writters have said, socialise lots, basic obedience, and time might all help the dog become the sort of animal you want it to be. As they also said , dont breed from it and absoloutely dont kid your self it will protect you from a physical attack. A dog like that will be looking for you to protect it not the other way around.

Id personally recommend you have the dog humanely destroyed save some money and buy a dog from someone like Ed. Once youve had a well breed dog yould never have a poor one agin.

Renee,

Thanks for the encouragement. Was your dog extremely aggressive towards people? I'm assuming it was if the trainers were afraid of it. With the exception of my husband and I, everyone is afraid of my dog.

We had him enrolled in an obedience class. He did ok there for awhile, but I didn't really like her training methods so I began using Ed's obedience tape instead. The dog's behavior outside seems to have improved some. In fact, I haven't heard him growl at anyone in the past week. He seems a little more relaxed if we put him in a sit stay when people walk by. He won't allow anyone to approach him, but he seems to be acting better towards people who are just passing by.

We purchased a puppy from Ed less than a week ago, and the older dog seems to be calmer & happier since her arrival. He's always loved other dogs, so I'm wondering if maybe having a companion will help calm him down. If I'm very lucky, maybe her sweetness will rub off on him. She loves EVERYONE, especially children, so maybe we can get her to help us "convince" him that people aren't that bad <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Thanks again for your advice!

My concern would be the reverse, ie that the older dog's behavior would *rub off* on the new pup! Pls limit the time they are together, and don't leave them unsupervised. Pups tend to copy the more mature dog in the household.

I don't expect him to rub off on her. We're not going to allow that to happen. We spend time socializing her individually on a daily basis. She absolutely loves people, especially children. We make sure that she is in contact with new people every day. In fact, if someone is outside and is ignoring her, she will bark at them until they come over and pet her. This puppy has the most friendly outgoing personality I've ever seen, and we're not going to let that slip away <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Even though the older dog behaves much better when he's around the puppy, they only spend short periods of time together and they are always supervised. They have separate crates, in separate rooms and we also spend time playing with and training them each separately on a daily basis.

To Brendan:

First of all, my dog is not chicken shit. She may not be perfect and she may have some poor genes, but I don't think that classifies her as chicken shit.

Secondly, and this goes to Abe to, you have assumed that I obtained this dog from a shelter. I never said that nor did I indicate that. I got her from some people that found her running loose. Perhaps, she is not a good dog and perhaps somebody dumped her in somebody elses neighborhood. Those are questions I will never know the answers to. But I am not willing to just shoot her in the head without ever giving her a chance.

She is a smart dog and has responded well to the training that we have done with her so far. She does not chew, she does not dig, she does not shit in my house, she sits/lays/stays/etc. when I tell her to with one word commands. She doesn't jump and she barks only when it's appropriate for her to bark. You are right that I have become attached to her but I certainly don't believe she's a dud, as you've stated.

One more thing, I never intended to breed her as I believe there are way too many unwanted animals in this world already. And that comes from unresponsible pet owners, which I am not.

I apologize if I sound defensive but I am not willing to give up on her yet. I believe with a little hard work and dedication and the part of myself and my fiancee she can be a good dog.

Thank you for your post. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />