Hi
I have a 7 month old staffy+chinese crested cross. He's a well behaved dog in the house most of the time. But when he gets excited he does tend to go "Temporarily" deaf! He does commands well but is still learning stay and come.
But the biggest problem we have with him is he snaps at most dogs as if he's scared of them. Sometimes he will talk to the dog excitedly then as soon as I talk or stroke the other dog, he'll go for them. Also if a dog comes onto the property he'll snap and snarl aggressively but wags his tail also. Its a very confusing emotion. He's much better with older dogs and dogs his size, but can be very aggressive towards dogs who seem to be like loose cannons (as it were).
I dont know if it could be from when he was 9 weeks old and we had just got him and my brother brought over his husky/mallimutt cross who was 17 weeks at the time. She kept jumping on him and pushing herself on top of him and he wsa terrified!! I have tried mingling him with other dogs but there isnt many round my area. Also a lot of dog owners tend to pull their dog away when my pup sees them and yelps with excitment as he wants to see them. But sometimes he does this before he snaps at a dog also.
We've tried the distraction technique and pulling him in the opposite direction but nothing works when he has his mind set on a dog.
I hope somebody can help me out!
Jealous or territorial??
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: Jealous or territorial??
Yep, we can.
I suspect it is neither jealousy (not really something dogs do in the human sense) or territorial, I think its probably a lot more to do with himself than with outside 'stuff'.
I would hazard a guess at a mixture of fear, frustration and not really knowing how he should communicate.
Just attempting to mingle him with other dogs is not going to work at this stage - from a distance hes frustrated, he does want to go and see/say hi/play. Once he gets close though, hes fearful and wants to defend himself and lacking the communication skills to 'talk to' and understand the other dog, he snaps to keep them away.
Right now I would work on getting his stress levels down as low as possible and getting him really focussed on you. To do that he needs as little exposure to the things he finds exciting/scary as possible, so that means either walk him when there are few other dogs around, ie early morning/late night or in a place there are few other dogs, or entertain him at home instead of walks, using games, clicker training, home agility or tracking or games of finding things... whatever you can think up!
It can take several days or even several weeks for a dogs stress levels to drop - before they have dropped, its hard for a dog to listen and learn, when they are really high, like when your dog sees another dog nearby, its impossible for him to listen to you at all, it isnt that he wont... its that he cant.
TO improve his bond and focus on you, try clicker training - his breed mix is made up of some pretty smart dogs and he should get the hang of this really fast. Its a great way to build a dogs confidence up in himself and in you and you can also build up his abilities with self control too (something frustrated dogs really need). Theres a thread in the Training Articles area about clicker training and you can also take a look at www.clickertraining.com which is free though to get the best out of it you should register (still free).
YOu might now think that your dog will be full of energy and rattling off the walls without walks but if you are doing enough clicker training and other games/trainign with him in and around the house, he wont be. Mental effort is as tiring or more so, than physical - 10 minutes of good training and mental work is well equivalent to half an hour or an hour round the pavements!
Once you have him less stressed and more focussed on you, you can try walks again. This time you need to work out the distance you can get to another dog BEFORE he reacts. He needs to see and know the other dog is there... but still able to at the very least, take a treat from you.
If he cant take a treat from you purely because he is outside, before he even sees another dog then thats something to work on first before attempting walks (if he normally likes treats indoors, if not try toys etc instead). Do make sure the treats you are offering are very high value - all too often people assume that a dogs normal kibble or some pet store doggy treats will do and usually, they wont. You need stinky, tiny, soft treats, some dogs need treats they lick rather than chew such as cheese spread or meat paste or baby food.
So find the 'line' where your dog can work with you and stay behind that for now - wherever that is, be it your doorstep, or 10ft from another dog.
You want your dog to associate seeing another dog with good stuff and you. You offering nice treats, you being in control, you giving him confidence.
Dont be tempted to push it, dont be worried about looking daft turning around and walking away, or ducking behind a parked car or asking someone not to come too close.. if you are in control of the situation, he doesnt need to deal with it. If every time he sees another dog there are delicious treats hes going to want to know about where you are and what you are doing.
I wouldnt expect him to ignore the other dog completely, or follow commands in the early stages - you just want him to recognise theres a dog there, and then take his focus off that and onto you. He can switch from the dog to you to the dog to you, thats fine as long as hes taking the treats and not getting wound up.
Gradually (over a period of months!) you will be able to close the gap between him adn other dogs. You may be able to introduce him to other dogs that you already know will behave nicely. We can explain how to do that when the time comes, but right now you have weeks if not months of work to do before that becomes an issue.
It is worth also reading the loose lead walking thread in the training articles section if your dog doesnt walk on a loose lead - this encourages the dog to be in control of the leash tension by keeping a good focus on you.
You may also think that your dog is frustrated about not getting to see other dogs because he wants doggy friends. It is nice if our dogs can be friends iwth other dogs but often they are not, and its not harmful if they are not permitted to greet every dog in the street!
Its also very likel that a lot of dogs act in frustration at seeing another dog, NOT because they want to be friends, but because their walks are fairly boring and another dog is something to fixate on that is almost guaranteed to get a reaction, from somewhere (from the dog, from you, from the dogs handler...) behaving that way can create some excitement and become the focus of the walk without the dog ever actually wanting to be buddies with the dogs he/she sees. So dont feel bad that you will be avoiding other dogs for now, it is by no means forever!
I suspect it is neither jealousy (not really something dogs do in the human sense) or territorial, I think its probably a lot more to do with himself than with outside 'stuff'.
I would hazard a guess at a mixture of fear, frustration and not really knowing how he should communicate.
Just attempting to mingle him with other dogs is not going to work at this stage - from a distance hes frustrated, he does want to go and see/say hi/play. Once he gets close though, hes fearful and wants to defend himself and lacking the communication skills to 'talk to' and understand the other dog, he snaps to keep them away.
Right now I would work on getting his stress levels down as low as possible and getting him really focussed on you. To do that he needs as little exposure to the things he finds exciting/scary as possible, so that means either walk him when there are few other dogs around, ie early morning/late night or in a place there are few other dogs, or entertain him at home instead of walks, using games, clicker training, home agility or tracking or games of finding things... whatever you can think up!
It can take several days or even several weeks for a dogs stress levels to drop - before they have dropped, its hard for a dog to listen and learn, when they are really high, like when your dog sees another dog nearby, its impossible for him to listen to you at all, it isnt that he wont... its that he cant.
TO improve his bond and focus on you, try clicker training - his breed mix is made up of some pretty smart dogs and he should get the hang of this really fast. Its a great way to build a dogs confidence up in himself and in you and you can also build up his abilities with self control too (something frustrated dogs really need). Theres a thread in the Training Articles area about clicker training and you can also take a look at www.clickertraining.com which is free though to get the best out of it you should register (still free).
YOu might now think that your dog will be full of energy and rattling off the walls without walks but if you are doing enough clicker training and other games/trainign with him in and around the house, he wont be. Mental effort is as tiring or more so, than physical - 10 minutes of good training and mental work is well equivalent to half an hour or an hour round the pavements!
Once you have him less stressed and more focussed on you, you can try walks again. This time you need to work out the distance you can get to another dog BEFORE he reacts. He needs to see and know the other dog is there... but still able to at the very least, take a treat from you.
If he cant take a treat from you purely because he is outside, before he even sees another dog then thats something to work on first before attempting walks (if he normally likes treats indoors, if not try toys etc instead). Do make sure the treats you are offering are very high value - all too often people assume that a dogs normal kibble or some pet store doggy treats will do and usually, they wont. You need stinky, tiny, soft treats, some dogs need treats they lick rather than chew such as cheese spread or meat paste or baby food.
So find the 'line' where your dog can work with you and stay behind that for now - wherever that is, be it your doorstep, or 10ft from another dog.
You want your dog to associate seeing another dog with good stuff and you. You offering nice treats, you being in control, you giving him confidence.
Dont be tempted to push it, dont be worried about looking daft turning around and walking away, or ducking behind a parked car or asking someone not to come too close.. if you are in control of the situation, he doesnt need to deal with it. If every time he sees another dog there are delicious treats hes going to want to know about where you are and what you are doing.
I wouldnt expect him to ignore the other dog completely, or follow commands in the early stages - you just want him to recognise theres a dog there, and then take his focus off that and onto you. He can switch from the dog to you to the dog to you, thats fine as long as hes taking the treats and not getting wound up.
Gradually (over a period of months!) you will be able to close the gap between him adn other dogs. You may be able to introduce him to other dogs that you already know will behave nicely. We can explain how to do that when the time comes, but right now you have weeks if not months of work to do before that becomes an issue.
It is worth also reading the loose lead walking thread in the training articles section if your dog doesnt walk on a loose lead - this encourages the dog to be in control of the leash tension by keeping a good focus on you.
You may also think that your dog is frustrated about not getting to see other dogs because he wants doggy friends. It is nice if our dogs can be friends iwth other dogs but often they are not, and its not harmful if they are not permitted to greet every dog in the street!
Its also very likel that a lot of dogs act in frustration at seeing another dog, NOT because they want to be friends, but because their walks are fairly boring and another dog is something to fixate on that is almost guaranteed to get a reaction, from somewhere (from the dog, from you, from the dogs handler...) behaving that way can create some excitement and become the focus of the walk without the dog ever actually wanting to be buddies with the dogs he/she sees. So dont feel bad that you will be avoiding other dogs for now, it is by no means forever!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: Jealous or territorial??
I also have a reactive dog, he flips out at other dogs and to a small degree people. What emma outlines is what you got to do. I am 4 months into this, so when she says months, she isn't kidding. BUT do NOT let that discourage you. Once things start turning around, they really turn around. Just yesterday I took my dog to the beach for the first time. It was full of people, and I stopped counting the dogs we past without issue after the 10th one. We spent about an hour and then left. NOT ONE reaction.
I share this with you so you know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it might not be that far off. Just keep in mind though, each dog is different and you do need to work at your dogs pace.
Lastly, there are several of us who are hanging around this forum who have been right where you stand now, so please do not hesitate to ask questions.
I share this with you so you know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it might not be that far off. Just keep in mind though, each dog is different and you do need to work at your dogs pace.
Lastly, there are several of us who are hanging around this forum who have been right where you stand now, so please do not hesitate to ask questions.
Re: Jealous or territorial??
Agree with advice already posted. He is probably conflicted, wanting to interact, but also worried. Being on leash can be frustrating too, as he can't interact the way he would off leash, and some dogs are great without the leash but vocal and reactive on leash because they can't communicate naturally, and they feel trapped. And often because we're adding to the anxiety by choking up on the leash. Clicker training would be the basis for the reading material I'd suggest. One book would be "Click to Calm" by Emma Parsons, and a slightly more advanced book is "Control Unleashed" by Leslie McDevitt, which contain excellent information about how to change the situation for the dog. Patricia McConnell's "Feisty Fido" has some good info on how to set up new habits, and a plan for yourself and your dog. Here's a little article that I did an interview for. It's mostly what I said though there were a few omissions (for instance, I was specific about how I would use a harness), It's pretty abbreviated (and the books will do you better) http://dogs.krqe.com/Conduct/rehab_your ... index.html
Sandy in OK
www.positivelycanine.com
www.positivelycanine.com
Re: Jealous or territorial??
Totally off the topic of your question...but a staffy/chinese crested? I've got to see that! Post a photo if you can! And best of luck. Great advice given here - advice I've followed myself and have done a world of progress with my dog.
Re: Jealous or territorial??
Hello everyone
Thank you so much for the replies and thank you for the advice emma
I will try to put a picture up Noobs but am still learning the ins and outs of this site!
I thought I should give an update on how things are going and add some bits I forgot to put in that I thought may help! Also I have been watching carefully how he reactes to other dogs and what kind of temprament the other dogs have
When I first got Leo (my pup) he first met my mothers yorkie and they are best of friends now (my mothers dog is very submissive though and a bit of a wimp!) but then he met my brothers huskie who proceeded to try and flatten him and stand on him as she is massive!...he now snarls when he sees her.
He was scared of other dogs for a while and cower especially at big dogs. Then he wanted to talk to them and enjoyed meeting them. But I did notice he tended to like the dogs who were more submissive and calmer. But we met a dog a couple of months ago who snapped at poor Leo and ever since he is so tempramental round other dogs.
We met an old dog shortly after and Leo was sweet as pie with him...but then we met with my Mum's neighbour and her passive dalmation. Leo was fine one minite then yelping and snappy the next. Another instance is my neighbours friends dog is only young, but was off the leash yesterday whilst we were walking back from mym mums and he came running up to Leo and sort of squared up to him...Leo was fine till he did that then started snarling and yelping.
So as you can see, it is a strange thing. He can be fine with a small majority of dogs yet funny with others. I'll keep up with the training but maybe there is something there I havent noticed.
Thank you so much for the replies and thank you for the advice emma
I will try to put a picture up Noobs but am still learning the ins and outs of this site!
I thought I should give an update on how things are going and add some bits I forgot to put in that I thought may help! Also I have been watching carefully how he reactes to other dogs and what kind of temprament the other dogs have
When I first got Leo (my pup) he first met my mothers yorkie and they are best of friends now (my mothers dog is very submissive though and a bit of a wimp!) but then he met my brothers huskie who proceeded to try and flatten him and stand on him as she is massive!...he now snarls when he sees her.
He was scared of other dogs for a while and cower especially at big dogs. Then he wanted to talk to them and enjoyed meeting them. But I did notice he tended to like the dogs who were more submissive and calmer. But we met a dog a couple of months ago who snapped at poor Leo and ever since he is so tempramental round other dogs.
We met an old dog shortly after and Leo was sweet as pie with him...but then we met with my Mum's neighbour and her passive dalmation. Leo was fine one minite then yelping and snappy the next. Another instance is my neighbours friends dog is only young, but was off the leash yesterday whilst we were walking back from mym mums and he came running up to Leo and sort of squared up to him...Leo was fine till he did that then started snarling and yelping.
So as you can see, it is a strange thing. He can be fine with a small majority of dogs yet funny with others. I'll keep up with the training but maybe there is something there I havent noticed.
Re: Jealous or territorial??
OH NO!!!!
I forgot you have to ask permissions to post images...have been offline for a bit as my computer died on me.
Sorry forum mods and administrators...please dont ban me!
I forgot you have to ask permissions to post images...have been offline for a bit as my computer died on me.
Sorry forum mods and administrators...please dont ban me!
Re: Jealous or territorial??
What an ADORABLE dog! He looks like he's pretty small. A lot of times little dogs feel like they have to put on a big show, to keep potentially scary dogs away. Let's say, instead of saying that I like all teenagers, it would be more accurate to say I like polite teenagers who are friendly and appropriate. I might be less happy to meet a group of teenagers who were threatening, and flashing gang signs at me. If they started getting in my space and shoving me, I might even shout at them, or try to defend myself. Because I might be afraid, or at the very least , uncomfortable with the situation. If I was exposed to a whole lot of mannerless teens, I might start generalizing my anxiety to that age group, or to teens who dressed a certain way, even if they were minding their own business. It's sounds like Leo is appropriate with dogs who are appropriate with him, but meeting quite a few "gangsta" dogs. The more bad experiences he has, the harder it will be for him to be comfortable around dogs he doesn't know. He needs to be able to trust you to keep him safe. That may mean teaching him to get behind you, or turning and going the opposite direction when a dog is lunging your direction, teaching him to look a the dog (for a split second, from a comfortable distance) as a game he plays with you instead of long enough to build up to a worried reaction, etc. Be careful the type of dogs you allow around Leo. Sometimes what looks "friendly" to us humans looks very intimidating to a dog. On leash greetings can be very iffy (and I wouldn't do ANY of that with Leo and strange dogs.) And a dog rushing into his face isn't a friendly dog, in dog terms, it's a socially inappropriate, rude dog. Don't allow that to happen.
Sandy in OK
www.positivelycanine.com
www.positivelycanine.com
Re: Jealous or territorial??
Bikersblue, I don't think your going to get banded for posting dog pictures...just the same, you might want to have the chocolate bribes out for when the moderator shows up. 
ok, joking aside, it's not all that strange for your dog to be ok with one dog, but not another. Pawzk9's analogy of the teenagers is pretty good.
So, moving forward, want to second the advice of no more dog/dog greetings with strange dogs and the continuing to build his confidence in you that you would deal with and protect him from the "hooligans". Remember, when dogs are on leash, their mobility options are limited and that right there ups their stress. having a strange dog come up to them in a even just an overbearing/rude manner (never mind even being overtly "aggressive"), combined with being on leash is sometimes too much for a dog and they go into flight or flight mode. and since the leash doesn't allow flight...that leaves fight and the get them before they get me reactions.
ok, joking aside, it's not all that strange for your dog to be ok with one dog, but not another. Pawzk9's analogy of the teenagers is pretty good.
So, moving forward, want to second the advice of no more dog/dog greetings with strange dogs and the continuing to build his confidence in you that you would deal with and protect him from the "hooligans". Remember, when dogs are on leash, their mobility options are limited and that right there ups their stress. having a strange dog come up to them in a even just an overbearing/rude manner (never mind even being overtly "aggressive"), combined with being on leash is sometimes too much for a dog and they go into flight or flight mode. and since the leash doesn't allow flight...that leaves fight and the get them before they get me reactions.
Re: Jealous or territorial??
oh, forgot to mention, leo's looks like a bundle of fun.
Re: Jealous or territorial??
Hes so cute!
You dont need permission to post pics as long as they are yours to post (ie you took the photo or have permission from someone who did).
We mostly try to keep photos to the photo section as there are still some people in the world on slow connections and it can take ages to open a thread containing pics, but its not an absolute rule and I dont splat people for posting piccies in threads! (Might ask folk to resize a pic thats so big it distorts the thread view but thats about it).
You dont need permission to post pics as long as they are yours to post (ie you took the photo or have permission from someone who did).
We mostly try to keep photos to the photo section as there are still some people in the world on slow connections and it can take ages to open a thread containing pics, but its not an absolute rule and I dont splat people for posting piccies in threads! (Might ask folk to resize a pic thats so big it distorts the thread view but thats about it).
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: Jealous or territorial??
thank you everyone and thank you emmabeth for that I have tried putting a picture up in the gallery but it says I have no permissoin 
well yes he is a bundle of fun jacksdad lol he's coming up for 8 months soon. He's about the size of an adult staffy at the moment and very strong! But yesterday I had a slight breakthrough!
He also likes to bark at dogs through the window (he perches himself on my windowsill my poor cat dont get a look in!) but Ive started taking him down and telling him it's ok when he starts and now he hardly does it. If he does, a quick distracting prod in the ribs gets his attention (I never do it hard, just enough to distract him) so lets hoping this is the start...also he did his training then we played for a bit, I gave him a command halfway through and he did it without any coaxing!
The commands n tricks he does do are: sit, lay down, paw (both paws) dance (its funny n he loves it lol), he can wait for a treat (the one where you put it down n tell them to wait
) but he's still getting the hang of stay and come. He hates being away from me so am wondering if he has a bit if seperation anxiety. I am working on shutting him in another room then going away...but he still wimpers and howls like a mini wolf!
Here he is (I even resized the image
)
I have tried putting a picture up in the gallery but it says I have no permissoin well yes he is a bundle of fun jacksdad lol he's coming up for 8 months soon. He's about the size of an adult staffy at the moment and very strong! But yesterday I had a slight breakthrough!
He also likes to bark at dogs through the window (he perches himself on my windowsill
my poor cat dont get a look in!) but Ive started taking him down and telling him it's ok when he starts and now he hardly does it. If he does, a quick distracting prod in the ribs gets his attention (I never do it hard, just enough to distract him) so lets hoping this is the start...also he did his training then we played for a bit, I gave him a command halfway through and he did it without any coaxing!The commands n tricks he does do are: sit, lay down, paw (both paws) dance (its funny n he loves it lol), he can wait for a treat (the one where you put it down n tell them to wait
) but he's still getting the hang of stay and come. He hates being away from me so am wondering if he has a bit if seperation anxiety. I am working on shutting him in another room then going away...but he still wimpers and howls like a mini wolf!Here he is (I even resized the image
)Re: Jealous or territorial??
Noobs wrote:Totally off the topic of your question...but a staffy/chinese crested? I've got to see that! Post a photo if you can! And best of luck. Great advice given here - advice I've followed myself and have done a world of progress with my dog.
I have done noobs
if you still cant see the pictures, send me a private message and I will give you a better link to see him...most people right now are describing him as a long haired staffy lol. His mother was one of the old style red staffys whilst his father was a chinese crested but with long hiar, otherwise known as a powderpuff chinese crested. Leo has quite long hair on his legs and round his neck, and also a smattering of long hairs all over his body, but underneath he has the course hair of a staffy-
***Melissa***
- Posts: 1026
- Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:30 am
- Location: Mafikeng, South Africa
Re: Jealous or territorial??
What a cutie pie
There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams
Re: Jealous or territorial??
Thank you ***Melissa*** he looks nicer now hes been bathed and no longer greyish now he just looks like a furball on legs with all his now dry fur sticking up
now he just looks like a furball on legs with all his now dry fur sticking up