attacking other dogs
Sometimes when we are walking or at the dog park, Cooper (3 year old male) will lunge at other dogs. He never bites, but gets really aggressive. It is very embaressing and I am not sure what to do. I think he is trying to show dominance, but I need him to get along with other dogs. Sometimes I can "sense" when he gets aggressive and can sometimes stop it. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tammey & Caven on
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Hello Jessica. We never have any problems from Bear he is perfect, of course. But, Joni our great dane, seems to just hate every other dog on earth outside of our home. To cure her I used a choker and a pay attention order.This is how you do it:
Use a choker and short leash (6') as training tools making sure you put the choker on properly and keep Cooper on the corrrect side so that the choker stays loose when you are not pulling against it. Take him on training walks often and make him focus on only walking.
To do this you walk him at a fairly rapid pace and when he starts to look around or trys to stray you, say his name to get his attention, give the command "pay attention" and give the leash a sharp yank to get his attention and then continue with your walk. Don't stop and talk to him about it. You want to keep him moving so he does not have much time to think about any thing but walking. When you yank on the leash it should be a quick sharp jerk that pulls tight but not hard enough to hurt him just becoming uncomfortable and then it should fall back loose. Cooper should learn that a tight leash is only for bad dogs. Also, it doesn't hurt to praise him while he is walking right.
At the end of your training walks he should get lots of praise, treats, and attention so that he knows how good he did. We hug and pet Joni and feed her poodles. Ha ha Not really. Poodles cost to much.
Good luck with it and look around for a good book on leash training.
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Permalink Reply by Jessica on
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Thanks
I will try the short leash. He currently has a 15 ft retractable leash but I can shorten it. I am going to start taking treats on the walks.
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The trick is to just keep him focused. Corgis are smart dogs and he will do any thing you want him to with just a little work. I learned leash training about 15 years ago from a continuing ed class at a local community college and the same process has worked with every dog I have ever spent any time with. You might even check your local community college for a class, ( is it Travis County Community College?). I think they were the origanators of the continuing ed programs. Have fun!
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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If you havent now would be a good time to take a basic obedience class. This will give you the opportunity to be in the company of other dogs in a more safe environment. This will also help you learn how to most effectively learn to redirect Coopers attentions as well as teach him more focus on you.
Learning what lies behind his behavior will also be most helpful. Is he fearful? Has he be well socialized prior to this time? Did he come from an environment that exposed him to people and other dogs? Is he intact?
The display you speak of may have many causes and learning just what is triggering the behavior will be helpful to you. Leash jerks to a fearful dog will only reinforce that this is a bad situation and increase the behavior. A good trainer will be able to help you learn what the basis of this behavior is. Good luck.
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Permalink Reply by Vladimir on
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I had the same problem with my corgi (who I no longer own)
He used to go after dogs. He only started it when he was in the dog park with my twin's corgi (she was small then) and he constantly had the need to protect her. When he saw another dog approach her or try to dominate her, he'd go bezerk and charge them, not biting or anything (he did attack a dog one time, though), just shoving himself into the other dog, pushing him away with growls and snarls. I had it under control, but I could see him starting his display everytime we'd go to the park. After my twin's corgi grew up, he settled down a bit, but still showed that possessive display every so often. The only way I corrected it, the same way I controlled it before, and cured it was from doing what you said, stopping him before he does it due to the fact that I too sensed it. As soon as I saw him go in that stiff, eyeing position, I just jabbed the side of his neck quickly and not painfully with a firm, "hey..." just so his attention is turned to me. Once I did that, he'd turn to me and waited for my next command which would be, after a few seconds of him looking at me, "go play". About a week or two of doing that, it completely stopped and I found him playing with the other dogs more!
When he was really bad (he actually did go after an American Eskimo Dog one time and took a lot of fur from the dog's neck), I had to roll him. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone unless they are experienced with dogs, which I do. I would try the 'getting him to stop before he actually does it' That works a lot!
Good luck!
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