Dog Trainer - fear-based aggressive dog

[Anonymous]

Looking for any help. I have a 5 year old rescue dog whose litter was taken from the mother at 4 weeks (we took home at 8 weeks). I know not ideal, but an emergency rescue situation. Our dog has always had separation anxiety and stress, but in recent years that stress has turned into aggression. She is extremely aggressive toward other dogs (lunges, growls, hard to control), and some people, but also can be incredibly kind toward people as well. I know in her heart she is a sweet dog, she just channels her anxiety through aggressive behavior. Does anyone have a trainer they would recommend? At a loss here and need to help her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for any help. I have a 5 year old rescue dog whose litter was taken from the mother at 4 weeks (we took home at 8 weeks). I know not ideal, but an emergency rescue situation. Our dog has always had separation anxiety and stress, but in recent years that stress has turned into aggression. She is extremely aggressive toward other dogs (lunges, growls, hard to control), and some people, but also can be incredibly kind toward people as well. I know in her heart she is a sweet dog, she just channels her anxiety through aggressive behavior. Does anyone have a trainer they would recommend? At a loss here and need to help her.

You need a vet behavioral specialist who can prescribe meds. I'm not in the area so others can chime in on specific doctors, but a trainer isn't going to it.

Meds + to behavioral training. So, for instance, when you walk your dog, you need to have treats (the ones she likes best). If you see another dog, and your dog tenses, give a treat before she starts lunging and barking, then turn her around and away from the dog. Over time, your dog will be able to handle other dogs at gradually decreasing distances.

Same with people. Never walk your dog where and when she can be surprised (joggers, kids on bikes, etc). Have the vet specialist fit her for a harness and a muzzle. Acclimate her gradually to the muzzle with treats so she knows it's a good thing. If she's a potential danger to people and hard to control, she absolutely needs to be walked and encounter visitors on a muzzle.

Prozac probably for the rest of her life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for any help. I have a 5 year old rescue dog whose litter was taken from the mother at 4 weeks (we took home at 8 weeks). I know not ideal, but an emergency rescue situation. Our dog has always had separation anxiety and stress, but in recent years that stress has turned into aggression. She is extremely aggressive toward other dogs (lunges, growls, hard to control), and some people, but also can be incredibly kind toward people as well. I know in her heart she is a sweet dog, she just channels her anxiety through aggressive behavior. Does anyone have a trainer they would recommend? At a loss here and need to help her.

You need a vet behavioral specialist who can prescribe meds. I'm not in the area so others can chime in on specific doctors, but a trainer isn't going to it.

Meds + to behavioral training. So, for instance, when you walk your dog, you need to have treats (the ones she likes best). If you see another dog, and your dog tenses, give a treat before she starts lunging and barking, then turn her around and away from the dog. Over time, your dog will be able to handle other dogs at gradually decreasing distances.

Same with people. Never walk your dog where and when she can be surprised (joggers, kids on bikes, etc). Have the vet specialist fit her for a harness and a muzzle. Acclimate her gradually to the muzzle with treats so she knows it's a good thing. If she's a potential danger to people and hard to control, she absolutely needs to be walked and encounter visitors on a muzzle.

Prozac probably for the rest of her life.

pp here again- I'm sorry you're going through this btw. Our dog isn't aggressive but she went through a period of such high anxiety during a recent move that we actually considered putting her down. Her behavior was so stressed and reactive that we were kind of prisoners in our house. The vet specialist was very realistic about her personality, stresses, and containment. We're in a good place now, but there are things my dog doesn't manage well, and never will.
If your dog is dangerous, or doesn't respond to treatment, or you are unable to have a life compatible with having such a dog-- it is a situation that warrants euthanasia...but, if you haven't tried a vet specialist first, start there. Ours worked wonders. Our dog is still a challenge in certain circumstances, but so much better and easier.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thanks for the info. Our dog is 100% fine walking in our neighborhood with people around, it's just when we run into other dogs she goes crazy. I don't worry about her biting people at all, she will let most strangers pet her and approach her no problem. She does however bark like crazy anytime anyone approaches our house or strangers first enter our house (repair men, UPS men, etc.). The biggest problem for me is her behavior toward other dogs. It's to the point that I have to inspect the street before taking her out so that we don't run into another dog - that's what I would like to avoid. She really is lovable, just troubled.

[Anonymous]

https://yourdogsfriend.org/

https://www.behaviorsolutions.guru/

[Anonymous]

Ridgeside K9 - Aaron is fantastic with all types of dogs. He offers a board and train program that honestly was wonderful for my two. He is located in Western LC, but can make arrangements to pick up, drop off...whatever you need. He is very accommodating.

https://www.ridgesidek9.com/

[Anonymous]

Are you walking the same route everyday? Is she territorial then?

[Anonymous]

She needs meds before working with a trainer. You can search for prozac on this forum

[Anonymous]

Contact Dr. Amy Pike in Manassas. She is one of the few certified veterinary behaviorists in the area. They can probably recommend a trainer to work with and will let you know if you should start there or with a consultation with Dr. Pike. As others have said, the way to tackle these problems is with a combination of a good trainer and a veterinary behaviorist who can prescribe medication if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Thanks for the info. Our dog is 100% fine walking in our neighborhood with people around, it's just when we run into other dogs she goes crazy. I don't worry about her biting people at all, she will let most strangers pet her and approach her no problem. She does however bark like crazy anytime anyone approaches our house or strangers first enter our house (repair men, UPS men, etc.). The biggest problem for me is her behavior toward other dogs. It's to the point that I have to inspect the street before taking her out so that we don't run into another dog - that's what I would like to avoid. She really is lovable, just troubled.

She sounds leash reactive and territorial. You can deal with the leash reactivity the way I mentioned before with treats-- the key is not to let her get close enough to other dogs to go nuts-- so she should be able to see the other dog, become alert, but not lunging, barking, etc.

As for people entering the house- it sounds like it's a problem initially, but she doesn't keep barking at them? If so, I think a behavior specialist can help with this--but it's the harder issue because it can't be consistently trained. Containment may be part of the answer.

I wouldn't let strangers pet her and approach her if she's leash reactive-- I'm not trying to be a busybody, but given her ramp up in anxiety, she might accidentally perceive a threat. I also wouldn't leave her completely unconfined if she is barking a people entering the house. I know you think she wouldn't bite- but if she's stressed enough, she will.

[Anonymous]

In NW DC and Silver Spring I recommend Brittany Fulton of Dances with Dogs. She teaches some of the reactive dog classes at Humane Rescue Alliance. Contact her at [e-mail].

If you’re willing to drive, Nancy Williams is an amazing behaviorist out in Manchester, MD. She has a much shorter wait and more reasonable fee than veterinary behaviorist. That said, she knows her stuff; she helped to evaluate Michael Vicks’ former fighting dogs for rehabilitation potential. Contact her at [e-mail].

If you don’t yet have a vet for medication, contact Dr. Gouri Krishna in Kensington. She is kind, straightforward, and non-judgmental. Dr. Krishna uses both pharmaceutical and herbal medicines to help animals and can refer you to trainers and behaviorists.

[Anonymous]

Your dog is territorial and I am nor sure about fear based. It sounds like she is acting off of your fear. And you fear her behavior... so a vicious circle. Protecting her route from other dogs and protecting her house from new comers. By now probably sensing your apprehension and acting to protect you. This is lack of proper training from the beginning. See a specialist like pps recommended. Her being taken at a young age is not that big of a deal, I don't think dogs remember that far. Definitely a specialist for aggressive animals. Can you answer this: when someone is coming in and you tell her to go upstairs, stop it, does she stop or growls and snarls at you?

[Anonymous]

It depends where you are. If you are in NW DC, sidewalk dog training:
http://sidewalkdogtraining.com/

Read the yelp reviews:
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sidewalk-dog-training-washington

[Anonymous]

This guy is amazing~~http://www.obedienceworks.com/

[Anonymous]

Trainer here: your dog needs to be kept away from the front doors/windows. If she has free range of the house, she’s just practicing the behavior 400x a day. Block her access to that portion of the house, unless you are able to babysit it 100% of the time (in which case you can treat it just like the above pp suggested with treats on walks).