Aggressive Old English Sheepdog
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Aggressive Old English Sheepdog
We have two OES - 1 ***** and 1 dog. The ***** was bought first and the dog at a later date for company! At first she was very aggressive towards the dog, this seems to have calmed down since the dog has got bigger and now they play quite nicely with the odd spot of aggression - this can be a growl i.e. I am sitting near owner not you etc or she can go for him properly - we have worked out the triggers for this - food, attention etc but I would like to have some advice on how to deal with it - I have been advised to throw chains down on the floor with a loud baah! noise but it does not seem to be having any effect - she knows she has done wrong as she goes for him and immediately bows down for a punishment - they recently went to kennels and Max came back with a bite on his ear - so she is drawing blood. Can anyone please advise on how best to deal with this behaviour as it is very upsetting when fur is flying!
Victoria did show a way to do this on yesterday's show, if you hear a growl, make a noise and then give neither of them any attention, when they calm down try again.
With food, it's similar, just take it away and wait. When we got our dog he'd launch for his food and then he'd lose it, which taught him that he can't have it unless he waits to be told otherwise. Similarly if your dogs realise that neither get fod if they fight, they'll leave each other alone.
If you have problems, talk to a behaviourist or ask at your local dog school about 'growl classes' which are for dog-to-dog aggression.
With food, it's similar, just take it away and wait. When we got our dog he'd launch for his food and then he'd lose it, which taught him that he can't have it unless he waits to be told otherwise. Similarly if your dogs realise that neither get fod if they fight, they'll leave each other alone.
If you have problems, talk to a behaviourist or ask at your local dog school about 'growl classes' which are for dog-to-dog aggression.
Aggression begets aggression. If you really want to start a fight, do something like throw a chain and yell "bah!" loudly.
I was reading another study just yesterday where the researchers looked at factors preceding a serious dog bite, loud noise was up there with movement.
Train. Start with 'Go to Mat'. Work with each dog individually. When they get really good at going to their mat and staying there, introduce distractions. Bounce a ball, leave food in the middle of the floor and make them wait on their mat before they can have it.
When they can stay on their mat with those sorts of distractions, then teach them to stay on their mats at the same time. When they can do that, pet one briefly, then go pet the other - both must stay on their mats.
Eventually you can get to the point where once stays on the mat while you treat and pet the other, then they swap. Each step needs to be completed in order, don't rush it.
I was reading another study just yesterday where the researchers looked at factors preceding a serious dog bite, loud noise was up there with movement.
Train. Start with 'Go to Mat'. Work with each dog individually. When they get really good at going to their mat and staying there, introduce distractions. Bounce a ball, leave food in the middle of the floor and make them wait on their mat before they can have it.
When they can stay on their mat with those sorts of distractions, then teach them to stay on their mats at the same time. When they can do that, pet one briefly, then go pet the other - both must stay on their mats.
Eventually you can get to the point where once stays on the mat while you treat and pet the other, then they swap. Each step needs to be completed in order, don't rush it.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
Aggressive Old English
thanks for both replies - can I check = how do we deal with a situation when its already kicked off! Sometimes she can just go for him and we miss the reason why but need to get her off him or its happened in the garden and we were in the house? - how do we deal with her then? Sorry for all the questions but I don't think we are dealing with this in the right way and Max is coming off worse - and he is such a lovely chilled out dog!
That's a tough one to answer in writing!
It's important to realise that most aggression is ritualised and designed to ultimately avoid a serious fight. With that in mind, if it's just a scuffle (noisy, violent, but no punctures, no blood), then walking off calmly and letting it end is probably the best thing to do. It should end reasonably promptly though.
If one dog latches on and punctures skin (i.e you suspect or see blood), then grab the biting dog by the back legs and tail and pull him off backwards and upwards. Keep walking backwards until you can restrain him, then work on the other dog.
If he's really latched on, a finger up the bum (or squeeze of the balls) usually surprises just enough to release the bite briefly I am told. Despite breaking up a few dog fights, I've never had to do this thankfully!
If your problem is this serious, you really need to see a behaviourist in person and take steps to manage these dogs when you are not supervising. It's worth seeing a behaviourist, because separating dogs can give you never-ending problems which may not be necessary.
It's important to realise that most aggression is ritualised and designed to ultimately avoid a serious fight. With that in mind, if it's just a scuffle (noisy, violent, but no punctures, no blood), then walking off calmly and letting it end is probably the best thing to do. It should end reasonably promptly though.
If one dog latches on and punctures skin (i.e you suspect or see blood), then grab the biting dog by the back legs and tail and pull him off backwards and upwards. Keep walking backwards until you can restrain him, then work on the other dog.
If he's really latched on, a finger up the bum (or squeeze of the balls) usually surprises just enough to release the bite briefly I am told. Despite breaking up a few dog fights, I've never had to do this thankfully!
If your problem is this serious, you really need to see a behaviourist in person and take steps to manage these dogs when you are not supervising. It's worth seeing a behaviourist, because separating dogs can give you never-ending problems which may not be necessary.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
