Dog aggression towards other dogs.

[Tabbyxlynn]

I have a quick question. I adopted a terrrier mix about a month ago. He is 5 months old and before I adopted him he was a stray in detroit. He has dog aggression issues. He loves people, children, and other animals but every time he sees another dog he goes crazy and starts barking and pulling at his leash to get to the other dog. If he does get up to the dog he starts jumping all over the place and gets right in their face and paws at them. Now there is a dog next door to me that he doesn't have a problem with and the foster family that had him before I adopted him they had two other dogs and he played with them with no problem. It just seems to be other dogs while we are at stores or out on a walk that he has an issue with. Is there any advice that anyone can give me on how to have him stop this behavior and how to get him to properly play and greet other dogs? Thank you for your time.

[neil62]

yes im desperate to. Have been round the net asked around to. My gsd, is 18 months old and she will attack another small dog or cat. i would trust her with any person, any age. she did go for one person but i was really scared of him to, it was dark and a hoodie came past and not the sort i would cross. its seems to be just dogs she feels she can bully. But not the new puppy we've just got though or dogs she is used to. im really hoping for help

[jacksdad]

You have come to the right place. There are a few of us floating around here that also have dogs that react less than ideal with other dogs.

Because you both have basically a puppy and a teenager, ages I don't have experience with, I don't want to send you off in the wrong direction with tips typically given for adult dogs. There is a lot of similarity, but young dogs have development stages that may need to be taken into account. However, you can't go wrong right now with avoiding other dogs or whatever it is that sets your dog off. This may not sound like a solution, and by it's self it's not. But if your dogs are reacting out of fear, then they are stressed and until they calm down you will have a harder time working with them. And when they are in full blown bark/lunge fit at another dog, they can't learn or listen. It will even help if your dog is just having impulse control issues and just really, really wants to run over to the other dog and not being able to builds frustration which often is displayed as "aggression". Avoiding the "trigger" buys you a calmer dog and sometime to learn and work on some basic training that will help you deal with whatever it is that is setting your dog off, such as another strange dog.

Neil62, because you dog is older, it might be more helpful if you started your own thread. If you do, please include some additional information regarding your dogs typical day. details like morning exercise, how often feed, evening exercise, type and how much training and anything else you can think about.

Tabbyxlynn, if you could provide basically the same info.

The details help provide a more rounded picture of your dog and help offer better advice.

[Tabbyxlynn]

Okay here is some more information. My terrier (his name is Norman Bates) is a very high energy dog. I train him myself daily. On my days off I work with him 3-5 times a day and I use clicker and positive reinforment training.He knows sit, down, stay (for the most part), off, leave it, roll over, high five, double five, spin in both directions,wait, and he is learning come. He goes for two walks a day one in the morning and one in the evening. The walks are usually two miles or more. He eats three times a day and he eats Eukanuba Puppy food but i'm going to switch his food soon to Natural Balance. He is also crate trained so I put him in his crate while im at work but he isn't in there for a long time usually because my boyfriend is usually home a few hours after I leave for work. He constantly plays...all day and rarely takes naps during the day. I let him outside frequently to use the rest room or just hang out outside with the dog next door. I live in town homes so I don't have a backyard but I have him on a 20 foot tie out in the front of my home. He is very good at walking on a leash until he sees another dog then he starts pulling like crazy and barking very loud. It's one of those really deep barks. I really would like to be able for him to accept other dogs and even be able to play with other dogs. He isn't a bad dog at all but he's getting the rep as one from other people in my community. But like I said in the original posts once he knows the dogs he is okay with them it's just dogs that he doesn't know he freaks out on them. I think he is mostly like this because he was a stray and wasn't socialized properly during his socializing period. But I would like some ideas on how to break this behavior he has learned from the streets.

[Tabbyxlynn]

Oh and also in the evening when I take him for his walk I take him to this park that is by my house and there is an open field, when no one else is there my boyfriend and I will stand at either ends of the park and run with him. We will have Norman with me at first then my boyfriend will take of running and have Norman chase him and then I will start running the other way and Norman will run with me. We usually let him run like this for about an hour or so. Also when we take him for walks it's usually at parks and one trails where he can see other dogs and new enviroments. I'm trying to get him use to these things. But it just doesn't seem to be working.

[Nettle]

It's all about realistic expectations.

He is a terrier. Terriers are bred for a tough job, they are hard little devils, they don't like other dogs/animals except for individuals that they may form a tolerance with, and once grown they don't play with other dogs either.

Yours sounds like he has a lot of good exercise and attention, and a good bond with his human family. So carry on with what he enjoys and forget about him having friends and playing because he doesn't want it and he doesn't need it. He is bred to kill other animals, not to like them.

So far as the tethering out goes - I'm not quite clear - is he tethered out where strange dogs can challenge him? This will freak him out.

[Tabbyxlynn]

He isn't out where other dogs can challenge him. There is a border collie next door that also goes outside on a tie out and they both have enough slack where they can meet in the middle if they want to and they do. My dog will play with the collie with no problems. There is also across a bit from us a pitbull and another terrier that are out on tie outs sometimes too and he doesn't even bark or growl at them at all. He will just sit there and watch them play. No other dogs are around to tease him or anything.