Need advice , my pup is getting aggressive ..

[rclouse79]

Show them who is boss. I had an awesome border collie healer mix I got from the pound. She growled at me soon after I got her from the shelter. I put her on her back and grabbed her nose and told her no. That was the only time it happened in her 14 years.

 

[McCrapper]

I have a male German Sheperd that had a similar disposition around 12-18 months, he would never test me but started doing the growling/snapping thing to my son who fed him. My son was around 6/7 when that started, anytime he approached when the dog was eating or he was about to feed him there was tension. First time I caught it, it was a swift belly kick, ran him out of the house deal. Then I would make my son feed him with me standing there over the dog with my son at my side. Dog would be eating and we would just stand there, I would pet the dog, son would pet the dog, while he ate, any negative response from dog was met with discipline. Rinse/repeat daily. My younger daughter could approach and be near by but my son was considered competition/brother type thing. Thats how I interpreted at least. I always asserted dominance when the dog was a puppy so he never challenged me, that helped us. He has clear cut feeding times and any snacks/treats are from me usually. The dog knows hes a dog and that he is part of the family but knows he is below the kids.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I read through a few pieces of this so apologies if it was mentioned.

We have a 13 month old lab. Wasn’t being aggressive but just not doing what we needed. We snagged a cheap shock collar off Amazon. It has sound. Shock. Vibrate.

I’ve only shocked her twice in 3 months (since we got it). First time changed her outlook on life. I felt awful but it achieved what we wanted.

Now we just need to play the sound and she listens instantly.

May work. $30 I think.

 

[Marbles]

Dogs have personalities, like people. For my last GSD, punishment made aggression worse, it is what I was always taught and everyone said, so it was the first thing I tried. I ended up making a game of having a sorta good treat, then something really good. I started slow, trying to not provoke full on aggression, but get him close to it, then give him a taste of bacon fat or liver or whatever the really good treat was. You don't need much, just a taste. By the time I was done, he no longer growled and would let my infant daughter crawl up to his bowl.

Using well trained commands can also help, something that forces him to leave the food, then you give it back. It takes time, it will not be successful immediately.

With my GSD, he was never aggressive with me, it was having a kid that drove me to break the food aggression with others. I also got him as an adult and there where issues, he never responded well to force and I eventually put him down as he progressively got more aggressive with strangers and clearly had anxiety issues. Thinking back, problems first showed up after leaving him with a kennel service for two weeks. Given his very poor response to force, I suspect they tried harsher methods and everything just spiraled for that stay as when we picked him up they would not even open his cage.

Anyway, harsh methods can certainly work, they can also certainly cause more problems and break the dogs trust in people. Good luck.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I’m constantly angered by that, “one friend” to the depths of my core, yet… I married into a family of them.

I have a GSP female. Shes your typical GSP psycho but she just turned 3 and has turned into a sweetheart 90% of the time. I tell my wife and kids that whatever training I do, they undo.

 

[*zap*]

reward based dog training is fine at a beginning level but in the end a dog has to understand that it must do what it is told by a higher pack member...period. In most situations with high drive dogs reward based training for the whole training process is lacking.
most people do not understand dogs, how they learn and the time/commitment it takes to have a well trained/high drive dog.

however, some dogs just want to make the owner happy....but not all dogs are that way.

 

[KurtR]

I read through a few pieces of this so apologies if it was mentioned.

We have a 13 month old lab. Wasn’t being aggressive but just not doing what we needed. We snagged a cheap shock collar off Amazon. It has sound. Shock. Vibrate.

I’ve only shocked her twice in 3 months (since we got it). First time changed her outlook on life. I felt awful but it achieved what we wanted.

Now we just need to play the sound and she listens instantly.

May work. $30 I think.

Problem is you need the collar all the time. The dog does not understand why it’s getting shocked just that it is. If you don’t correctly teach first then condition to the collar you have just created another set of problems that get progressively harder to fix. If the dog does not behave the same with or with out the collar it a trainer problem not a dog problem.

 

[*zap*]

tri-tronics 3 step introduction is the best way to start e-training. You should also have a live collar and a dummy collar and the dog should understand the basic commands while on leash.
a dog needs to understand that it can turn off very low level e-stimulation by initiating the desired response to the command. use the lowest level possible to begin this type of training.
it may also be best to wait until the dog is a bit older to start e-training which gives you plenty of time to perfect short leash and long line obedience.
my terrier is 20 months and very hard headed/stubborn, I have not started e-collar yet and just use a martingale collar but I know how to snap a correction with a leash....

 

[Antares]

OP, I think you’ve already gotten some excellent advice. Be consistent, you can turn this around.

Some things I feel need to be addressed:

Exercise - I haven’t seen this discussed much. Is the dog getting enough? If not, run him into the ground. This works best with anxiety and destructive behavior, but it can’t hurt with your situation. Tired dogs are happy dogs.

Physical domination vs beating - There’s a difference. I’ll just assume people are being sloppy with their word choice and aren’t actually a bunch of deadbeat, animal abusers. You need to be firm, consistent, and dominant. Extra emphasis on consistent.

Shooting - People advocating for this need to chill TF out. We get it, you’re a big, strong man.

End game - OP, if the situation becomes untenable, please contact a breed specific rescue. Be honest about the situation, there’s no shame in saying “this dog needs more than I can give it right now.” Someone wants that dog. PM me if you want; I’m happy to help you find a rescue.

Good luck and happy new year!

 

[CRJR45]

OP, I think you’ve already gotten some excellent advice. Be consistent, you can turn this around.

Some things I feel need to be addressed:

Exercise - I haven’t seen this discussed much. Is the dog getting enough? If not, run him into the ground. This works best with anxiety and destructive behavior, but it can’t hurt with your situation. Tired dogs are happy dogs.

Physical domination vs beating - There’s a difference. I’ll just assume people are being sloppy with their word choice and aren’t actually a bunch of deadbeat, animal abusers. You need to be firm, consistent, and dominant. Extra emphasis on consistent.

Shooting - People advocating for this need to chill TF out. We get it, you’re a big, strong man.

End game - OP, if the situation becomes untenable, please contact a breed specific rescue. Be honest about the situation, there’s no shame in saying “this dog needs more than I can give it right now.” Someone wants that dog. PM me if you want; I’m happy to help you find a rescue.

Good luck and happy new year!

Exercise - Not as much as he needs , but I try .
Beating - yeah I get the difference , mostly I use my voice , but I try to be consistent . Obviously I could do better . I make excuses for the dog .
Shooting - Ya , lots of potential serial killers out there , LOL
End game - The breeder I got him from puts a clause in all her contracts that as a last resort the dog comes back to her , and I stay in touch with her . So theres that option .

I feel better about the outcome now . When I started this thread I was very disheartened . I thought I was doing a good job with him and obviously I'm not , but I'll do better .

 

[Lowg08]

They have to believe you will hurt them. I’ve got bulldogs and I don’t put up with any of it. We don’t growl or anything stupid. Make a believer out of them one time. All you got to do. I just have to speak and mine will go lay down. Of course they only get fed at a specific time of day and are not given our food. That creates a bad habit. My wife gave one a hot dog one time. It thought it was ok. Made a pizza went to pee the pizza was gone off the counter. They know now what happens if they get near the counter.

 

[Antares]

Exercise - Not as much as he needs , but I try .
Beating - yeah I get the difference , mostly I use my voice , but I try to be consistent . Obviously I could do better . I make excuses for the dog .
Shooting - Ya , lots of potential serial killers out there , LOL
End game - The breeder I got him from puts a clause in all her contracts that as a last resort the dog comes back to her , and I stay in touch with her . So theres that option .

I feel better about the outcome now . When I started this thread I was very disheartened . I thought I was doing a good job with him and obviously I'm not , but I'll do better .

You got this, bud. Thats good about the breeder. Stay in touch with them.

 

[tony]

We had shit heads trying break in our cars on Christmas night. Like right in front of us. My high priced dobe wouldn't get off his new fuzzy blanket Santa paws brought him.
Id take my chances with a little growling

 

[Lowg08]

We had shit heads trying break in our cars on Christmas night. Like right in front of us. My high priced dobe wouldn't get off his new fuzzy blanket Santa paws brought him.
Id take my chances with a little growling

lol. You need to borrow a Lucy. That’s my 110 pound bulldog. Big baby until someone shows up that ain’t supposed too.

As a side note both my bulldogs have been to a portion of training that military dogs do. We have a friend that was k9 military. He has dogs that will crouch between your feet that will move with you while you shoot and pivot. We don’t do that part.

 

[CRJR45]

We had shit heads trying break in our cars on Christmas night. Like right in front of us. My high priced dobe wouldn't get off his new fuzzy blanket Santa paws brought him.
Id take my chances with a little growling

Buddy would be losing his shit , he sounds like a Rottweiler when he barks . He watches out the front window like a guard dog .

 

[*zap*]

My 20# terrier will mess a person up in the right circumstances

 

[KurtR]

Every one thinks there dog will protect them if need be. Reality is most are more bark than bite. There is a reason certain breeds of dogs with the right genetics are used for bite work.

 

[Lowg08]

Every one thinks there dog will protect them if need be. Reality is most are more bark than bite. There is a reason certain breeds of dogs with the right genetics are used for bite work.

This is very correct. It’s one reason we sent ours to training. Let’s just say. A meth head stealing off my front porch learned a very valuable lesson. Ain’t tried it again and just so happened to hang around til the cops got here. When these dogs pass on. We will be adopting retiring police or military dogs.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Me proving I'm the bigger dog is not the issue , IOM , the issue is even if he learns I'm the alpha , what will he think when the grandkids are here ? Will he think he has to declare his dominance over them ? Thats what I'm trying to cure /stop / prevent , you know ?

Listen to molliesmaster!

YOU might think you're the "bigger dog". Apparently, HE doesn't think so.
Once you establish dominance in your home, he eill always defer to you.

AND...


Kids will be kids! You also need to establish dominance with them. You don't need to be mean, but as the dog is trained to tolerate kids, you must also establish "dog" rules with the grandkids. They need to know how to act around the dog.
I'm not a dog trainer, but I have trained horses.
The hardest part of training a horse is training the owner. LOL!

 

[*zap*]

Every one thinks there dog will protect them if need be. Reality is most are more bark than bite. There is a reason certain breeds of dogs with the right genetics are used for bite work.

I seen the right genetic dogs run away. I seen mutts tear people a new ahole.