Aggressive dog!! need help!?

Hi 333

I have been in your exact situation. The thing I had to do is simply put him in another room if someone came over. Once a dog is showing aggression, it is nearly impossible to get them out of it. Don't give him the opportunity to get loose. If you don't have a fenced in yard, take him out on a leash and don't let him get close to other people. I would hate for you to have him put down because of this.

I had a siberian husky who was not aggressive, but pretty hard to train. I remember taking her to puppy kindergarden and the instructor saying "uh oh" as we walked in the door. I asked what they meant, and they diplomatically said, "Huskies can be a bit head strong". The good news is that after two passes through the class, my dog was excellent in all aspects that were taught, except for come when called. She did it flawlessly on a long lead, but took off like a rocket when you unclipped the lead. I chalked it up to huskies being leash-aware, and decided she was smart. She always came home, so we quit worrying about it. I found out years later that the reason she took off for the hinterlands every time the kids left a door open too long was because the construction workers at the job site near our house were feeding her!

Anyway, back to your question. The insurance industry does a study of the incidence of dog related claims, bites or worse basically, by breed. Guess what? You have two of the top three in that mix of yours, and the third one you mentioned, terriers, are known for their agressive tendencies as well. As you probably know, pit bulls seem just fine until one day something can snap in their heads and they have a hold of the face of a little toddler and will not let go no matter what. Its rare, and often seems the owners were less than exemplary dog owners, but still, looking at hard data, not anecdotes, you have the #1 and #3 highest insurance claim breeds (Rottweillers are #2).

So, nobody is going to sympathize with you for knowingly having an agressive dog with these bloodlines if an incident were to happen. I recommend giving serious consideration to placing the dog with an experienced rescue facility, or finding a good home where the dog will not be around strangers or children. Your neighbors and friends, especially the kids, don't deserve to be exposed to unnecessary risk because you've become attached to a dog that isn't well socialized.

Sorry to be giving you unpleasant news, but you owe it to your community to not bring an aggressive dog into the lives of the people around you.

Hmmm 1 year old and fixed? Either he starting to show his dominance,is still puppy play for him, or maybe there is something that is just not right in the head with him. But before you resort to the last, keep trying obedience with him and make him understand he is not alpha. When he growls, make your correction right then and there. If you have a prong collar and know the proper way to use it, it can be a great training tool for disciplining your dog. This will also help as he develops and matures and test his boundaries. An animal behaviorist may be able to help you more also and can determine if there is just something not right in his head. A good obedience trainer may be able help you in different ways to fix his problem is it behavioral. lets hope it is that and a screw loose. And yes I do understand that some dogs are born like this...it is called bad breeding.

Hi,

You mention that 'he's' your baby....... think this is the problem!

I have a Ridgeback who if allowed will try to dominate/rule the house (which I can't allow as I have three small children).

What I aim to do is to keep her at the bottom of pack (if you know what I mean/reminding myself that she is just a dog!).

This involves:

• feeding her last/my children feed her.

• she leaves the room when we eat (no feeding from the table)

• not allowed on furniture/upstairs.

• when I cuddle my children she will sometimes try and squeeze in between me and the girls so I gently but firmly push her way.

• If the children are playing on the floor the children will move the dog.

• when we leave the house the children and I go first then the dog this also applies when we go walking (kids up front and dog behind).

• When I go down stairs in the morning/or come into the house I will always fuss everyone else first, then I'll acknowledge the dog.

Don't get me wrong I love my dog to death but I know that I have to be the master in the house and confident with it (which we need to be when we have such a big/potentially threatening animal living with us.

It is hard work as you always need to be one step ahead of your actions. There have been times when I have lapsed and consequently witnessed negative behaviour in my dog.

Have a look on the internet - I'v just come across:www.sspca.org/Dogs/AggressiveBehavior.html

Good luck!

The dog needs to see an aggression specialist. Since you've had him from a young age there's either something that went wrong in his puppyhood or he was just badly bred. Keep him away from people you are unsure of. But there are many different kinds of aggressions out there and they all need to be treated in a different way. Save some money and see a specialist that works in dog aggression. There's no reason to put the dog down, you don't even know why he's being aggressive yet.

First off thank you for adopting a shelter dog! I worked at a shelter years ago. A guy's dog was seized because it bit him. The dog started out semi-aggressive, he said that it just got worse and worse. When the shelter had the dog for the required 10 days for evaluation( for behavior related to rabies, state law for that state), I was in the process of feeding the dog, when was a Husky, anyway the dog attacked me. I had to be rushed to the ER and treated for bite wounds that still hurt years later. The shelter had no choice but to euthanize the dog since he had bitten more than one person in less than 10 days. My suggestion, seek professional help A.S.A.P.. as in right now. If you can not afford it, see about a temporary forster home that can get the training. I am not lecturing just telling you what can happen. I will not say euthanize him at all. But in some states they require people to register the dog as a dangerous dog if it shows signs of aggression. Hope all works out for you best of luck.

Agression can be controlled but you need professional help if you are unable to do it yourself.First of all how often do you walk the dog?If you are walking him regularly and he pulls you and is aggressive to other dogs you have to assert YOUR dominance over him and show him you are pack leader.If you are unable to afford a professional behaviour specialist and thats what you need and wish to try a few things yourself try and use a different type of lead and check chain as obviously an ordinary one may not be strong enough.A lot of people use haltis or what are called 'gentle leaders' and they fit over the snout etc and give you a little more control.When on a walk he displays aggression stop immediately and place him into a submissive position and that is make him lie down on his side or even his back until this agression phase has passed.When he is calm and do not praise him or pat him continue on your walk and continue doing this.It is hard and a lot of work but once he knows you are pack leader and this behaviour is un acceptable than he will start to stop this aggression.He also needs long long walks to get rid of this pent up anger he has.Obviously this is a result of poor rearing skills and does not matter how he came to be like this you need to fix the problem pronto or you will face your worst fears and that is euthanasia.Obedience people will never be able to help you with this a speciiialist will but try the above and see how you go

If I had a dog that I could not trust to not hurt a human, I would put it down. I see a behavior specialist for my dog, due to dog on dog issues, but thankfully that doesn't carry over to people.

This is something that is way too complicated to address in a forum like this. You need someone that you can consult on a regular basis to help you along.

My behavioral specialist feels that my dogs issues are not based on the home life, but actually are genetic. You have to ask yourself what you are willing to risk. My brother in law and wife had a 9 month puppy they adopted from a shelter that had people issues. They had her put down as they were not willing to risk she might hurt someone, and worse maybe a child some day.

I will try and give you advice that is free to put into place. First exercise, tire you dog out, a tired dog is a good dog. Then adopt the nothing in life is free routine. If he wants or gets anything then make him work for it. he want his food then make him sit/down/stay and then he gets it. He brings you a toy to play, make him sit first. He wants you to fuss him them make him go into a down first.Keep this up 100% of the time and he will pay a lot more attention and have more respect for you. teach him" leave it" have a treat on the palm of your hand and say leave it, if he grabs for it then leave your hand there but close you hand up. Once you can have your hand open and he doesn't grab the treat them give it too him and say take it. He will learn that if he leaves he will get a treat. You can then work on leaving object and then onto people. So leave it will make him turn to you, focus on you and behave a lot better. Yes you need training but these simple home training tips will improve his focus on you and what you expect from him.

Good luck.

Please please please find the money and get him to a professional or you will end up with a dog so out of control you will need to euthanize.

First, go to the vet and rule out a thyroid/cushings disease/pain problem that may cause this sort of behavior. Thyroid problems are common and can rear their ugly head as early as adolescence and even a dog in the low end of normal can have a thyroid dysfunction. Look up Dr. Dodd and Dr. Dodman's research on this.

Then, go to a behaviorist to get the proper techniques catered to YOUR DOG. People on here are going to tell you all about dominance/fear/territorial stuff but one method that works for one kind of aggression can severely exacerbate another type of dog's aggression. Only a professional can tell you this.

And don't wait...it WILL get worse.

And it's also not always the owner. Sometimes it's the breeder and rarely there are just "bad eggs" out there. Keep trying.