Please advise on how to train newly aggressive dog

[Anonymous]

My 1.5 year old medium breed dog is usually very social and wants to play: he lunges to reach other dogs on walks, does puppy bows, runs around in zigzags at the end of the leash, and generally acts super excited and happy.
In the last couple of weeks, however, he has started to bark in an aggressive way towards a few of these dogs, usually the ones who bark at him.
Tonight, unfortunately, a dog started barking at him, and my dog tugged the leash out my hand and threw himself on him. I think the other dog bit him a little, and deservedly so.

I feel I need an intervention. What do I do first? Call a trainer? Who do you recommend? What can I expect?

[Anonymous]

OP again. I'm very upset about this, because I'm wondering if I should have done something about the excitement he was showing before - it didn't look aggressive, but perhaps it was?

[Anonymous]

Out the dog down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Out the dog down.

OP, ignore this idiot. Time for some 1-on-1 training sessions. Watch YouTube videos to get started.

[Anonymous]

Start by having him focus on you during walks. Carry treats, toys. Distract him when u see he is getting excited. You need to watch the distance between him and his target to have time to intervene with a distraction. The goal is to be more interesting than the target.

[Anonymous]

Same as previous person. There are good U tube videos you can watch to show you. Distance is key and treats to mark good behaviors. My dog was like this too and we made a lot of progress. I recommend a trainer who can come to you and help you learn how to train your dog. Worked really well for me. Look for a trainer who does positive reinforcement. No scaring the dog to behave, that may make your situation worse. There are also Facebook groups specifically for aggressive towards other dog dogs. Search them, can be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Is his name Chubbs?

The dog doesn't sound like a jerk. Sounds like a puppy.

Dogs bark. It's natural.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is his name Chubbs?

The dog doesn't sound like a jerk. Sounds like a puppy.

Dogs bark. It's natural.

OP here. No, we're not part of that Chevy Chase set

My gut feeling is that my 1.5 yo used to be a happy excitable puppy, but recently he's turned this to aggression. I heard the change of tone in the bark, and tonight he threw himself on the other dog. It was dark so I couldn't see their faces, there was no snarling or growling, just a tussle with barks, a whine when one got the other, very few signs to go by, but... it didn't feel friendly at all. I know his friendly stance, he used to to do it all the time.

I will look at videos on YouTube, but if someone has a favorite trainer they want to recommend, I'm all ears.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Do a puppy class if you can find one he’s not too old for.

[Anonymous]

My own mixed breed dog just turned 2 and also recently developed aggression issues. After 18 months of purely positive training—and we were fully committed, with lots of follow-up—I recently switched to “balanced” training. Essentially, a balanced trainer uses not only positive reinforcement but negative consequences as well, e.g. with the use of an e-collar.

I was opposed at the start, but my dog, who could perform beautifully in all respects at home (tricks, commands) started going batsh*t crazy when people came over. She developed protective territoriality issues concerned with protecting me and my DH. The last straw was when, even while wearing a muzzle, she muzzle punched my brother and gave him a black eye.

I’m now working with an excellent balanced trainer, and in only 3 session, my dog is amazingly much better. For our last session, our trainer had friends of hers come over to knock on our door, and then we worked on making sure our dog would bark to alert but then stand back and be polite. She had to allow the person to be greeted by us and come inside, and we were able to hug and talk with the strangers.

This involved about 45 minutes of lots of positive training (verbal marking & treats for every time the dog focused on us), plus two instances of negative reinforcement (e-collar stims when the dog started to react and didn’t respond to “uh uh”). The negative reinforcement was, “No!” followed by a stim. After two times, she absolutely responded well and maintained her distance. No more lunging at the door (or the stranger).

I was so thoroughly opposed to e-collar training that I feel I need to be an outspoken advocate now that I’ve seen its benefits. There are lots of good YouTube people to watch. I’ll go find a few of their names and report back.

Be sure, though, that you work with a trainer if you go the e-collar route. It’s easy, I imagine, to train improperly or too harshly. But a good trainer will demonstrate the e-collar on you and explain the best way to apply it.

I now have a dog who might soon be able to hang out in public spaces again, the way she used to before she hit her doggy teens. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

This is the PP. Check out Larry Krohn on YouTube. He’s a bit crass, but he’s good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My own mixed breed dog just turned 2 and also recently developed aggression issues. After 18 months of purely positive training—and we were fully committed, with lots of follow-up—I recently switched to “balanced” training. Essentially, a balanced trainer uses not only positive reinforcement but negative consequences as well, e.g. with the use of an e-collar.

I was opposed at the start, but my dog, who could perform beautifully in all respects at home (tricks, commands) started going batsh*t crazy when people came over. She developed protective territoriality issues concerned with protecting me and my DH. The last straw was when, even while wearing a muzzle, she muzzle punched my brother and gave him a black eye.

I’m now working with an excellent balanced trainer, and in only 3 session, my dog is amazingly much better. For our last session, our trainer had friends of hers come over to knock on our door, and then we worked on making sure our dog would bark to alert but then stand back and be polite. She had to allow the person to be greeted by us and come inside, and we were able to hug and talk with the strangers.

This involved about 45 minutes of lots of positive training (verbal marking & treats for every time the dog focused on us), plus two instances of negative reinforcement (e-collar stims when the dog started to react and didn’t respond to “uh uh”). The negative reinforcement was, “No!” followed by a stim. After two times, she absolutely responded well and maintained her distance. No more lunging at the door (or the stranger).

I was so thoroughly opposed to e-collar training that I feel I need to be an outspoken advocate now that I’ve seen its benefits. There are lots of good YouTube people to watch. I’ll go find a few of their names and report back.

Be sure, though, that you work with a trainer if you go the e-collar route. It’s easy, I imagine, to train improperly or too harshly. But a good trainer will demonstrate the e-collar on you and explain the best way to apply it.

I now have a dog who might soon be able to hang out in public spaces again, the way she used to before she hit her doggy teens. Good luck!

OP here.

Thank you, PP, your experience is very interesting! My dog has had plenty of positive training. All to no avail in situations where another dog gets all up in his face.

My dog has a super thick ruff of fur around his neck, and I worry about prong placement: if they're not in contact with skin, and I don't know it, I could unintentionally dial up the shock level too much and hurt him if the prongs move a bit and touch his skin. A hit or miss kind of issue. Have you come across advice for that?

[Anonymous]

That's not aggression, it's reactivity.

OP, read some dog books or blogs. Not DCUM. This forum isn't a good resource.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's not aggression, it's reactivity.

OP, read some dog books or blogs. Not DCUM. This forum isn't a good resource.

Aren’t those essentially the same thing?

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thank you, PP, your experience is very interesting! My dog has had plenty of positive training. All to no avail in situations where another dog gets all up in his face.

My dog has a super thick ruff of fur around his neck, and I worry about prong placement: if they're not in contact with skin, and I don't know it, I could unintentionally dial up the shock level too much and hurt him if the prongs move a bit and touch his skin. A hit or miss kind of issue. Have you come across advice for that?

PP here. I purchased the Mini Educator:
https://tinyurl.com/yxhovcxh

There are two extra sets of prongs included. One set has shorter than average prongs for smooth-coated breeds, and one set has longer than average prongs for thick-coated breeds. I’ve raised Samoyeds, and I would—for instance—use the longer prongs in that instance.

Realizing that my dog was at the point where she was at risk of doing damage, which would lead to us having to euthanize her, was what led me to continue my search for training options. I was thoroughly opposed to e-collars but I can’t describe how effective it’s been.

We have a “working level” with her of only 5 (out of 100), and it feels like a small tens unit (your trainer will have you demonstrate the device on your own body). The working level is designed to alert your dog to the fact that she needs to return/attend to you. I rarely use it because she’s so attuned to me now, and she’s not fearful or any less the awesome, loving pup that I adore (my DH was worried this training would affect her demeanor).

Then there was an aversive level that the trainer used exactly 2 times, and that’s all. The aversive level was at the lowest point that my dog reacted, and she didn’t reacted with a yelp or anything demonstrating pain. Instead, her ears went back and she stepped away. That was it. The reaction to the e-collar can be so slight that an entire training session is typically devoted to finding your dog’s working level, simply looking for a sign that the dog even notices the collar.

My dog was sleeping on the ground and wouldn’t stir until we got to a pretty high level during her first-ever training session. Once she understood the sensation, we were able to get her to the working level of 5. Again, I rarely activate the collar at all. It’s been only 6 weeks of training and she’s done remarkably well.

Caveat: My dog is undeniably brilliant.