Infrequent, unpredictable aggression!
My perfect, darling Al has, on 4-5 occasions with 4 different dogs, suddenly and seemingly capriciously snapped at and pursued another dog. I've had to intervene to break it up. No actual biting as far as I can tell, but it sure looked like he was trying to do actual damage. I have been unable to identify antecedents except in one case where I had him on his back in my lap, checking his paws, and my partner's dog approached (perhaps out of mere curiosity, a very nonaggressive beta dog), and Al may have felt threatened in his vulnerable position. Another time, a much larger dog was sniffing Al (not his butt, I think, more like his penis) and perhaps the other was getting too up-close and personal. In some cases, a lot of things were happening, play and activity, but I did not see the actual start of the incidents. It was very fast.
Can any experts offer advice? What should I look for?
How should I respond? I each case, I've tried to correct him severely, manhandled him a bit, remonstrating loudly and getting right in-his-face, then letting him know we're still buddies maybe 5 min. later.
Can any experts offer advice? What should I look for?
How should I respond? I each case, I've tried to correct him severely, manhandled him a bit, remonstrating loudly and getting right in-his-face, then letting him know we're still buddies maybe 5 min. later.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Was he leashed or loose? Sometimes leashed dogs, unable to perform the normal doggie rituals, behave more aggressively than non-leashed dogs. My own sweet Jack, from whom I can literally pry food from his mouth without so much as him turning a hair, once snarled in a perfect storm of events involving a much-prized found object (someone's glove), one of his bestest dog friends who was loose, and him being confined by me on a leash whilst the other dog was making motions to steal the glove. I think he felt cornered and thought the prize, so long coveted, was about to be stolen by the other dog.
I'm not one of the experts you are looking for, by the way..... Far from it.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Al was unleashed in most of these. The one wherein he was sniffed, he was leashed. There was one snap when he was in the car, in the back seat with me and another dog.
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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There could be much at play here. Some corgis just are protective of their space. In rescue we have many that just have to be only dogs. Could be that Al just doesnt like dogs that close especially if he is in a vulnerable position. Beth is right on regarding the leash issue. Some dogs are just leash aggressive. I have met many. Most dogs will posture before acting out. One sign is a fixed stare at another dog. Another is you will notice the head raise and the body stiffen. If you have put him in a vulnerable position I would not reprimand him for this behavior. Dogs need the ability to protect themselves even if you know that no harm was intended. I suspect that for some reason he is not totally comfortable in the company of other dogs. Not knowing his history nor his personality I could not venture to guess why. I do know that he needs to know that you will not put him in harms way or else he may become more reactive to other dogs.
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Al has had a lot of exposure to other dogs in many situations with no problems. Usually he's friendly and playful.
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Permalink Reply by Paula Hess on
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Manhandling or getting upset is actually making the situation heighten. Showing the dog calm authority also shows him how to react. If Prez OBama gets on your tv and says RED ZONE, everyone in America goes into a tizzy. If he gets on the tv and says he has a situation and is handling it, everyone stays tuned to see what's next. That's one way of trying to understand. If your dog feels uncomfortable with the situation, just step between the dogs and make him some space. That's you telling him that you won't let anything happen to him. He will build his trust issues in time. When he is doing well with other dogs, give him plenty of praise. A raised tail (or stub) moving quickly like a rattlesnake can be a red flag. That shows his nervousness. Ears erect and forward and a puffed chest def shows his dominant side. Redirect his attention by getting him to focus on you. Once again....praise for doing the correct response. Once you have controll of him he will relax. Is he a young dog? Did this behavior just erupt? When 2 dogs meet (even from a distance), they are already showing signs of dominance by using their eyes. The dog that looks at the other dog the longest wins. Just like the who can stay the quietest game. If your dog goes into that stare....redirect and reward. I like to use the "look" cue. I hold a treat at my eyes and when he looks into my eyes, he gets the reward. After he gets the idea of what "look" means, you move the hand with the treat away from your eyes and only reward him the second that he looks into your eyes. Each time make it so he is staring at you for a longer period of time. He will concentrate on you and you will have better control. I had a Samoyed who would hide his face behind something as to say, " I can't see you, so forth, I don't hear you". It was really just his sense of humor. I hope this helps some. I am really bad at writing things down. I am a show-er not a writer.
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There was none of this staring-down. No antecedents that I noticed. Each time, it was very fast and took me totally by surprise, like lightning. You're right; I may have reacted inappropriately.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on
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How old is Al? My beloved Bertie, who was the most affable puppy, unafraid and friendly toward all (neither alpha nor submissive, just happy) has changed slightly over the years. When he outgrew puppydom, he became less interested in playing with others and more interested in fetching stuff -- that was at about 1 1/2 to 2 years. Then he began to get what I call "picky." It's not straight out aggression -- he has never gone after or attacked anyone or anything at all will nilly on his own. However, once in a while, a dog will come up to him (Bertie and the other dog are unleashed -- this is in a dog park or the woods), and after a little sniffing, Bertie will give a ferocious sounding, back-off type warning snap/growl/bark, and has chased the other dog off a little or gotten into a loud sounding back-and-forth. I cannot tell what it is about the other dog that prompts this, so instead, I look for a little warning from Bertie -- he stiffens up, his ears go straight up, he just gets a certain look about him, and I go and stand between him and the other dog, and gradually call Bertie off. If the other dog doesn't back off or keeps returning to sniff, I ask his owner to call him away, to avoid any misunderstandings. No outright fights have occurred, no actual teeth touching flesh, just noise and flash, and it is pretty rare, but it is still upsetting. So I too am interested to see what the trainers/behaviorists have to say.
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Hi Susan, Try to observe the other dogs energy level. Is the other dog playful and rambuncious? Does the other dog try to sniff at the same spot at the same time as Bertie? Just like people...there are jerks out there that we just don't care to be in the same space with. You know your dog and his reactions so, try to see how the other dog is acting and it might be the other dog, that is literally the instigator. That is how I start assessing an issue when an owner says, " I just don't understand". "He looked and acted normal till that dog came." Observe both parties. Watch tails, ears, chest and one paw lifted. The paw lifted is a stress indicator. Unless your corgi is a pointing type hunting dog. It sounds as if you know the signals from your dog. Any other questions... I would love to help. If you find it a serious issue...seek a professional in your area. I have a year old corgi with similar issues and it has alot to do with his cocky teenager attitude. He is in the "Mine, mine mine" stage. We are working on that with positive training techniques. We also just lost our 11 year old Samoyed in April. He was the patriarchal figure in our "pack". Since his passing... our corgi has been indifferent to all our other pets. But, not on a consistant basis. Almost an animal behaviorist nightmare. Almost. We are getting through it slowly. So,I understand your confusion and lack of trusting your dog not to snap on a dime. lol That was my funny. As far as "breed specific" behaviors... corgis have to be tenacious to herd an animal many, many times his size. They also protect what is theirs (sheep, cows, socks, tennis balls and people). With positive training, you can teach him to be calm and incontrol. Too many people use "bad dog" every time the dog is bad. You don't ever hear them saying "good dog" when he is just hanging out or laying down. If you tell him he is good when he is calm, he will know THAT is a good thing that you like. They like to please. Sounds simple, cause it is. It is the language of dogs. Dogs dont like complicated.
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I once read something by a trainer that also said sometimes it's the other dog that's the instigator, and we unwittingly worsen the situation in that case by correcting our own dog.
Some people have poorly socialized dogs that are, in dog language, very rude and don't follow normal social cues. As the trainer explained it, it would be the equivalent if we were sitting on a park bench, and someone came up and sat on our lap, and when we we yelled "Hey, what the heck are you doing?!?" our spouse reprimanded us for being rude to the lap-sitter.
I try very hard to observe normal dog behavior and figure it out, but I admit I'm not very quick at picking up all the cues. How my dog knows that he can meet one dog and, after a quick precursory sniff, immediately start leaping about madly on its head; and with another dog know that a longer sniff and no playing is in order is beyond me. The social cues can be subtle and are not always easy for us humans to pick up on.
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This makes sense to me. Possibly, in each case, the other dog did something -- perhaps unintentionally -- that crossed a boundary and set him off.
Good point -- I may have disciplined him for something that was really a reasonable reaction, at least in his eyes.
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Well that's it, isn't it -- we are far from fluent in "dog." For Bertie, I've just chalked it up to "you can't love everyone" and try keep an eye out to avoid those situations. He's been really well socialized over the years (he's 5 now), but sadly on two occasions has been on the receiving end of seemingly unprovoked attacks (one lab and one golden) when he wasn't even approaching or looking at those other dogs. It has made him wary, and I've tried to have him around nice versions of those big dogs whenever possible, which has helped a lot. He's also got a younger dog now to protect (Ethel has been with us for a year and a half now), and that has given him a slightly different attitude. But what he smells and senses when other dogs approach, I can only wonder about. But he's still social and friendly the majority of the time, so we just take care.
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Permalink Reply by Derek on
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What you view as aggression might be something different. Fear responses, aggression, dominance, and personal space disputes look similar to most people. I would recommend talking to a trainer near you about it. They will hopefully be able to help you. As you said, you are not sure what is setting him off. Different reactions and their reasons require different training and not call tecniques work for everyone. Getting angry with him and reacting tends to make his reactions worse (from my experience) and may lead to more incidents.
Example: My dog was very freindly with everyone until she got bit by a big dog. After that she lunged at any large dog that walked up to her with enthusiasm (or way too much energy). She had a strong fear response. My trainer freind had me socialize her with many large calm dogs, and when she did react badly I was to say nothing, and remove her from the situation until she was calm. After 2 months of this, training 4-5 days a week at the dog park she is calmer with big dogs.
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