Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

sandand_surf asked in PetsDogs · 1 decade ago

Any ideas for a dog that is dominant/aggressive with some other dogs?

I have a 3-4 year old terrier mix (she has Boston in her and St. Bernard according to DNA - but who knows). She is a spayed female about 37 pounds.

She rarely gets along with female dogs, but has played very well with a male boxer and a male Mastiff. One male lab she does't get along with, but he's a brat. She plays fairly well with neighbor's male dachshund for hours at a time (some occasional growling, but it gets resolved) and was excellent with a small female puppy.

The problem is I never know. Sometimes she just gives off the dominant vibe and gets snapped at. Both of my brothers have female dominant dogs and can't bring them over to the house. We've tried having them in the same room on leashes, both will be quiet and lying down, one flinches and the other goes for the jugular. So for Christmas this year, one was with us, one in a bedroom and we had to switch and endure barking and whining.

My dog has taken obedience classes, and did get attacked by another dog (I think on general principle because of my dog's general attitude). She had submitted to this dog at one class, then the next they went at each other - but it was mostly bluff as no one was injured (and the trainer pointed that out to us). But still....

I know one of the dogs in the family has never had obedience and has no idea what a leash is and has never been on a "walk" in her life. That's a border collie. The other dog is an Australian Shepherd who is pretty good obedience wise, but does have her moments.

Short of taking her to Cesar or Victoria, Any ides on how to get 2 dogs to be more tolerant or is it probably not going to happen once the aggression has started?

2 Answers

Relevance
  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Ceasar does much of what he does because it's what America wants to see, not necessarily because he thinks it's right. Most of his viewers can't face the realities of dealing with an aggressive dog, so to keep himself marketable he often has to make it look like these issues can be easily wrapped up in a nice, neat, tidy bow. Victoria Stillwell doesn't really seem to deal with dogs with serious aggression problems, and is more content to teach owners to house train their poodles, prevent resource-guarding, and prevent the family retriever from jumping on grandma when she comes through the front door.

    A dominant or aggressive dog will always have dominant or aggressive tendencies. It's a matter of whether the owner is strong-minded and sharp enough to make the dog focus on the master for leadership, and to control the environment and prevent dog fights. This dog may NEVER be friendly and happy around other dogs and will probably have more of a problem with other females than with males. But she can be taught to be INDIFFERENT to the presence of other dogs. It involves introducing them more gradually on neutral territory, possibly on a pack-walk. Make it long, rigorous, and difficult. Weighted backpacks would be good. Whatever you can do to encourage each dog to focus on accomplishing a task and less on the fact that another dog is there.

    Then, when back on the home territory, being willing to quickly correct any showing of aggression so aggressively that the dog dislikes the correction more than they dislike the other dog. Humanely, but AGGRESSIVELY. Cesar doesn't beg, and he doesn't really speak in a soft, pleading voice. He doesn't try to bribe aggressive dogs to be nice with treats or affection. He shows them that he is in control and not them. His hardest cases often get re-homed or are continuing works in progress, because not everybody has the right mindset to stay consistent with his teachings.

  • 1 decade ago

    basically <

    aggressive dogs are ..well...aggressive dogs...it is what it is...in short.

    the few people i know who have had dogs w/ this mind set, simply (as one put it)

    looked for the "trigger" in this case other female dogs

    and the "tell" (or prep move) like squaring the back legs and or lifting the rear to pounce...

    and then wold immediately get the dogs attention on themselves , rather than the "prey"

    one was a rot, and the other was a dobe....i don't have this problem, and am grateful, i hope you can get tghis solved

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.