An incident we just had with a snake got me to thinking about this. Often when we're on walks, we have confrontations with other dogs who are left to roam leashless. A couple of days ago there was an unpleasant incident with a bulldog and a hound of some kind who started circling us and trying to dash in. Darwin, of course was going crazy, and I could tell from his behaviour afterwards that he was really scared. But rather than let me put myself between him and the other dogs, he was constantly straining to get at them.

Now that I think about it, when there's an aggressive dog nearby, Darwin always strains at the leash. The question is, would he attack if I released him? Obviously, I'm not going to test that, but I have the feeling that it's more of a kind of bravado intended to scare. Perhaps he'd just lunge, or circle, or close more distance and keep it. I thought of this because of the way he was straining at the snake, when he was clearly terrified.

Anyway, the point is, if he's not actually intending to attack, maybe I could handle the situation better than just restraining him right down near the collar and restricting his movements. When I do that he just gets more and more frustrated, rearing up and twisting. I know this may sound like a minor point, but if I felt I could handle these situations better, then I'd feel more relaxed too, and I'm sure that would tranmit itself to Darwin.

 Quote: arik kershenbaum

Anyway, the point is, if he's not actually intending to attack, maybe I could handle the situation better than just restraining him right down near the collar and restricting his movements. When I do that he just gets more and more frustrated, rearing up and twisting. I know this may sound like a minor point, but if I felt I could handle these situations better, then I'd feel more relaxed too, and I'm sure that would tranmit itself to Darwin.

I don't think it's a minor point and I feel sure there ARE ways to handle this. Unfortunately, I'm not experienced enough to tell you exactly how.

But I'll bump this up for you so the "pros" can see it and respond.

Arik,
Can I ask something? If it has been addressed in previous posts, let me know.
Are you sure the dog is showing fear? What are these fearful signs you keep refering to?

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

I have a dominate male GSD, and I have learned that how he acts around other dogs can actually cause an attack. So I started using the leave it command when ever we encountered other dogs. What that means to him is not to bow up at or even look at the other dogs. We were confronted on a hike one day with five loose dogs two of them good size male pits. I commanded him to leave it and started thinking to myself "don't even think about it", which made me change my body posture (I was really scared to death). I feel if I had not taught him the leave it command around other dogs, we would have probable been attacked that day.
Now, this will not work in all situations, but it worked for me that day.

 Quote: randy allen

Are you sure the dog is showing fear? What are these fearful signs you keep refering to?

Of course, I can't be sure it's fear, but that's certainly my impression. With the snake, I'm sure he was afraid; he was yelping and jumping at small noises. After the incident with the two dogs, he kept circling around me, keeping very close and looking over his shoulder. I know I shouldn't assume dogs behave like humans, but that's what I would have done if I was him!

the difference between the circumstances may have been that your dog knew that his body language and appearance made a big difference when faced with other dogs, and not snakes.

I dont think that the dog intends on attacking most of the time when they lunge (on the leash) towards another dog. I think that most of the time they may want to get to the other dog to go through the whole posturing and establishing dominance routine. obviously, this may not always be what the other dog has in mind but its how they behave when not leashed, so that would be my guess. Also, your dog probably feels encouraged because your with him and since theres two of you, and not just him, *my dog* get a little cockier when im "backing them up" and make a bigger show.

Arik,
Fearful signs. Did he try to shy away at first before he went to agression? Did he actually cling to you or was he being protective (circling and watching)? Tail and ear position? Was his bark high pitched and yappy or more of a deeper guttural nature than normal? Body position/ language? Low, playful, erect, hectic, what?
Before you can determine what direction to take with the dog, you need to be sure of where the dog is coming from. This may not be fear based, lets see if we can be reasonably sure of what the dog needs.

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

Well, he certainly shyed away at first, but was more circling than clinging. His ears and tail were up, but they always are, except when he's tired. I didn't notice anything different about his bark but I'll keep a closer eye on his body language the next time it happens (although it's a little hard to concentrate at the time...).

Actually, he's improved a lot over the last few days. I took Laura's suggestion and started using "leave it" whenever we pass another dog, together with "good dog" when he ignores the other dog - and it really works! He's starting to get the hang of it. He only really reacts to a dog if they start growling or barking at him first.

Today a large and aggressive dog came charging us (with the owner running behind him, screaming at him, for all the good it did). Of course, it wouldn't be reasonable to expect Darwin just to ignore him, but he stayed behind me while I lashed out with my foot (just catching the dog's nose - at which point he retreated to the other side of the street). Once again, I suspect that fear may have played a role in his passive reaction here, but once again, I wasn't in the position to observe Darwin's behaviour!

I'm really new to protection and i'm starting bite training with my puppy. My puppy has good prey drive but will only bite certian things. what should I do

Romano, you need to create a new post for yourself. Click on 'Forums' and scroll all the way down until you see 'protection training'.
Enter that forum and you will see different categories where you can make a relevent post...
** Sorry, I see that you already did that!

Edited by Lynne Barrows (04/29/2008 07:49 AM)
Edit reason: added a line