Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT
One of the most common calls we get from prospective clients starts with something like, “My dog is aggressive with other dogs, can it be fixed?” I’ve learned over the years that dog/dog aggression is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. The situation is further complicated because there are different types of dog/dog aggression.
Normal Dog Play
Sometimes, what an owner describes as dog/dog aggression is actually normal dog play. The way dogs play can seem scary to some human beings. These owners are overly conscientious about their dog’s behavior and his/her interaction with other dogs. While being conscientious about your dog’s behavior is a very good thing, like any good trait, it can be taken to an extreme. I sometimes wish I could wave a magic target stick that would make some overly conscientious owners worry less by transferring some of their worry and concern to owners who do not have enough of it. There’s a hilarious blog called Three Woofs and a Woo published by a photographer. She has wonderful shots of dogs playing.
Playground Bully
Some dogs never learned the manners of polite dog play society. They are like some people, just kind of clueless about how their behavior affects others. Jean Donaldson calls these dogs “Tarzans”. The most common sign of a playground bully is that the dog just doesn’t read cut off signals from their playmate. The other dog throws all kinds of body language that says, “OK, we’re done now, that’s enough play from you” and these bully dogs just don’t take the hint. Some dogs handle bullies quite well while others, well; they get a bit snarky when being mugged rudely by another dog who just doesn’t know when enough is enough. These dogs are rude, but not what we would call “truly dog aggressive”.
Fear Aggression
Many owners believe that in order for their dogs to be mentally healthy, they must go to the dog park, or have social interactions with other dogs of some kind. This is not always the case. The reason that a dog is afraid of other dogs can stem from several causes. Some puppies were not exposed to other puppies during their socialization window. The socialization window is the first 18 to 20 weeks of a dog’s life and it’s the most important developmental learning period in a dog’s life. Puppies who never learned how to read other puppies’ body language and play cues can be afraid of other dogs later in life. Imagine if you lived at home with your brothers and sisters and never saw other children until you were 16 years old. When you finally left the house to go to high school, you’d probably be pretty uncomfortable around teenagers your own age, right?
Some dogs have had one or more traumatizing experiences from their interactions with other dogs. These experiences might have been terrifying, but not result in any physical damage. The damage comes in the form of fear of other dogs. When I see young puppies at the dog park being knocked down, run over, and played with inappropriately for their age, I cringe. What may seem funny or cute to the owners who think they are doing the right thing by “socializing” their puppy with other dogs inappropriately may be setting that puppy up for fear aggression around other dogs later in life. Its inappropriate to socialize a young puppy at the dog park where you can’t control the play interaction. If you have a puppy, find a Puppy Kindergarten that focuses on lots of supervised, off leash play with other age appropriate puppies. I’ve had clients call me because their dog was brutally attacked by another dog and now their dog is afraid of all other dogs. That’s the problem with fear; it has a tendency to generalize.
Leash Reactivity (aka Leash Aggression)
I don’t like the term “leash aggression” because many of the dogs that react badly on leash by growling, barking, and lunging at other dogs are not aggressive. They’re reactive. You can tell whether your dog is exhibiting dog/dog aggression vs. leash reactivity by answering a simple question, “How does your dog play with other dogs off leash?” If your dog plays well at the dog park, but acts aggressively toward other dogs on leash, you have leash reactivity. If your dog displays fear aggression towards other dogs off leash, you have what most people call leash aggression.
Sometimes the most difficult cases for me to handle are the ones where the owners have never let their dog off leash around other dogs based on their reaction to other dogs while ON leash. I got a call from a woman who adopted a black lab mix from a shelter. Whenever she took the dog outside for a walk and encountered another dog on leash, she said her dog “was uncontrollably aggressive”. She had never let her new dog play with other dogs off leash because she was afraid of what her new dog would do. I decided to have a look for myself, or I should say I decided to let my dog Conner have a look for himself (see my colleague Greta’s post about Canine assistants for dog/dog fear & aggression). My dog Conner is absolutely amazing with other dogs. He just “speaks dog” with the most beautiful, calming body language that he throws at other dogs.
I had the owner stand with her dog on the sidewalk. I got Conner out of the car a block away. As we walked closer to her dog, I saw her dog put his ears up and rotate them out (sexy ears!) and then he started prancing and throwing play bows. As we got even closer, he starting barking hysterically and lunging on leash. Her dog wasn’t aggressive. He was leash reactive. He was so desperate to get to the other dog to play that he acted like a total lunatic. When I told the owner to drop her leash, I dropped Conner’s leash and totally appropriate and hilarious play ensued. It’s wonderful to see an owner cry tears of happiness.
We had some work to do with that dog, after all, while the owner was relieved her dog wasn’t dangerous, she still couldn’t walk him in the neighborhood acting like a total hysteric every time he saw another dog, but we knew what we had and could fix it relatively quickly. The way we treat leash reactivity and leash aggression can be quite different, but to treat it appropriately, we’ve got to know what we’ve got; hysterics, fear, or aggression?
Dog/Dog Aggression
We do encounter what we call “true dog/dog aggression”, but it’s the most rare type of dog/dog aggression. Some dogs just find fighting with other dogs incredibly reinforcing. Other dogs, because of their breeding, or how they’ve been handled, or both, actually will kill another dog. This type of dog/dog aggression is quite rare compared to the dog/dog aggression that we see that is fear based.
These cases are difficult because of the time and resources that it takes to counter condition this behavior. Performing this type of work to help these dogs takes controlled environments, a great deal of time, and many, many stimulus dogs before we begin to see any effect. Often the cost and time are prohibitive and we’re left with two choices; the 3 Ms (a lifetime of Management/Muzzles/Medication), or euthanasia.
Do you have stories from your trips to the dog park that you’d like to share? Have you or are you dealing with leash reactivity? Tell us your stories or share your thoughts. We love to hear from our dog owners.
I’m sorry Sonali but what is a GS mix? German Shepherd? In my experience, the worst breed combination for a multi-dog household is any type of shepherd or shepherd mix and a bully breed (Pit, American Bulldog, etc). You’ve doubled the potential for trouble by adding a female as your second dog instead of a male. As humans, we’re terrible at reading dog language especially when the communication is silent. Often when I work an intrahousehold dog/dog aggression case, I’m narrating hard stares and other silent body language owners miss. Dog/dog interactions are often impossible to interpret without seeing them. I recommend that you get qualified help with this problem, ideally a veterinary behaviorist. This female on female aggression will most likely escalate over time. If you need help finding someone, let me know what area you are in and I’ll do my best.
i think my dog may be dog/dog aggressive. He is a Mini Schanuzer named Scotty, we got him at 9wks old and started to socialize he right off. He was great and had no problems at all. Then when he was aprox 10mos we took him for his first “professional” grooming. and afterward it was like we had a complete different dog. He was so skittish towards us after I picked him up, it took a cpl days for him to relax even around us. When at the park he became very guarded and to himself. A few days later he started to limp and when he got to the vet we found he had been punctured in the pad of his foot with the scissors they use and it had become impacted with dirt, mud and puss. After this He seemed like he had become leash aggressive, but then we saw it wasnt just on the leash that he behaved this way it was off as well. We had done all his grooming ourselves beore this with never a problem but at the park one day a woman came up to me and said she had worked at the place he was groomed and remembered him. she then explained to me how he was abused by the groomer, and also the big stinger… they leash dogs who are done being groomed to hooks on a wall, apparently my dog was leash to it next to another dog and was attacked. when I picked him up they nevr told me about any of this, not him being stabbed by scissors nor being attacked. As a result my dog is aggressive and I have no idea how to fix this. Oh and please do not ever take your dog to petco to get groomed you will regret it.
I have a 5 yearl old pitbull. I rescued her from a woman who had 4 other dogs in the house and my dog was fine!….BUT i got her home and we go for walks and my dog lunges, barks (constantly) and will not stop! Her tail is wagging but the hair on her back is raised. I now walk my dog after midnight because of this issue and its tiring me out. My friend wanted to help, he has a 6 yr old lab mix, very calm. We had both dog on leashes. Mine was acting up so badly that she wiggled out of her harness! She made a bee line for his dog. We were able to pull her away (she did not bite the other dog). I just dont know if this is aggression towards the other dog of if she has a very rude way of playing. Any advice would be appreciated! (she is fixed as well)
All dogs are more reactive on leash than off leash, the key is to understand why your particular dog is reacting. This article should help you figure out why your dog is reacting to other dogs on leash: https://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/what-is-a-reactive-rover. You can find a class in your area by looking for class titles like “Feisty Fido”, “Growly Dog” or “Reactive Rover”. If you have dog training experience, I like this book/DVD combo: https://astore.amazon.com/compaanimasol-20/detail/0578033798. You can also contact me privately with your location and I can help you find a class or trainer in your area: https://www.companionanimalsolutions.com/contact-us.
I love this site! If you have time, I’d love and greatly appreciate some input. I have a 9 year old lab/pit mix (Virgil) I adopted at 9 weeks from a shelter. We got him as a companion for our then 2 year old lab who passed away in August. About 3 years ago, we boarded them both to go on vacation, and at the facility Virgil got into a very bad fight (stitches, drains, the whole nine). We were told he was NOT the aggressor, and the owner of the main aggressor paid all the bills. Before this, both dogs were well socialized and well trained. We never got a bad report card from any boarding or day care visits. Virgil played rough sometimes, but never “mean”. After the incident, we started hiring a dogsitter and made the very poor choice to neglect regular walks or playdates. I feel very guilty about this, but there it is. Since Petey’s death, Virgil is leash reactive, and actually bit a dog’s face (with blood) at the Vet’s office (I believe I botched that by allowing a tight leash). After THAT I enrolled in a Reactive Dog class, which he’s passed with flying colors. Not perfect by any means, but making great progress every day. My QUESTION (finally!) is this: how likely do you think it is that he would be aggressive off leash. We want to get another dog, but the idea of trying a pre-adoption meet and greet scares me. Other than the dog he bit at the vet, he’s not “met” another dog off leash in several years. I’d love the answer to be “don’t worry, try it,” OR “don’t even think about it”, just so I could at least stop obsessing. Ok, thanks for reading.
Hi Steph, I’ve consulted with my colleagues and we disagree with your two choices: “don’t worry about it” or “don’t try it”. Instead, we think that finding the right dog to introduce to your dog is extremely important. Some dogs are very tolerant of rude or fearful dogs while other dogs have zero tolerance for this type of behavior. How and where you introduce the dogs is also very important. We sometimes use a chain link fence or x-pen when we’re evaluating dogs. We also recommend selecting the location for the introduction carefully. We recommend neutral territory and probably not a shelter setting. So I guess what we’re saying is go ahead and think about it, just think about it carefully. If there’s a qualified dog behavior professional in your area, you could engage them to help you find the right dog: https://www.companionanimalsolutions.com/private-dog-training/semi-private-dog-training and handle the initial introduction: https://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/introducing-dogs-to-other-dogs.
I’m glad you enjoy our site. Thanks for reading and feel free to send any follow up questions.
Thanks so much for your answer. And of course it’s the answer I expected–nothing’s ever black and white, is it? LOL. I am meeting with a friend today who has a well-mannered dog who is a certified Search and Rescue dog. He understands my situation and the training methods I’ve learned from the excellent Buddy’s Chance here in Austin, so fingers crossed. I think I’ve memorized the relevant articles from your site, so we’ll see how it goes. I really want to believe that he *wants* to get along with other dogs, but has learned his current fear response because of the last few years of relative isolation. I’ve read that a traumatic event like the fight at the boarding place can have lasting effects, but my hope is that because that happened when he was a 6 year old, well socialized adult that it won’t be permanent. It’s so frustrating to have the capacity to adopt a rescue/shelter dog, but be so afraid of the first 10 seconds. I’d hate to make a shelter dog even more traumatized by putting them at the mercy of my reactive dog. UGH. So frustrating! Thanks again for your help and the obvious thought and time you put into each of your answers. It is SO appreciated. I’ll be back with the follow up soon!
Cara Shannon at Buddy’s Chance is a terrific dog behavior resource for you. Good luck on your search and we’re looking forward to hearing back from you!
I would really appreciate some input. My dog just turned two years old. He was neutered at about 9 months and up until that point had always been just the sweetest dog ever. We would go to the dog park every day and he’d always play well. Once he got neutered, he started acting out. He’ll “go after” another dog at the park (generally ones that are intact males, or younger dogs who will eventually get bigger than him, I’ve noticed). He has NEVER drawn blood, as I make it a point to check on the other dog whenever he gets carried away, but it looks and sounds really bad when it’s happening. Any suggestions as to what to do, short of just no longer going to the park?
It’s impossible to troubleshoot when I haven’t seen the behavior but I’ll try to make a few suggestions. I would keep moving whenever you’re at the dog park. People standing around give dogs too much opportunity to get into trouble, keep walking and if you see one of his “target” dogs, run away in the opposite direction before he locks on. I would work on his recall: https://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?id=dtb810p. I would also tell him “too bad” and leave the dog park immediately.
Thanks for replying so quicky. Yeah, we could be playing fetch (both of my dogs LOVE the frisbee) and a dog can try to join them or we could just be walking and he sees a dog from far away and does the same thing. I think we are going to avoid the dog park for awhile though…it’s causing me more stress than anything.
I also am thinking of trying to keep him on a long lead if we do go back because when it happens and he takes off after a dog, it’s impossible for me to catch him. When he knows he’s in trouble, he refuses to listen to me, even though his recall is wonderful any other time. Stubborn little Klee Kai. 🙁
Hi, I just read your article and I’m hoping you have a few minutes to help me out. Under the “fear aggression” category I saw you noted that having a traumatizing experience at the dog park may lead to aggression toward dogs and this is just the issue I am now dealing with. I have a female purebred yellow lab that’s 3.5 years old. We’ve gone to the same park at least 4 times a week but she has recently been attacked by a 7mo male great dane and 4yo female lab/bulldog in the same day. Today i brought her back to the park and another dog attacked her (and bit me too). After that point any dog that came close she lunged and barked at. How can I solve this problem? I don’t want to give up going to the park as it is the only exercise outlet for her besides walking on the busy streets of downtown. Please Help!!
I’m so sorry that you and your dog have both been attacked and bitten at the park. It sounds to me like your dog has pretty good common sense. If the park you’re using isn’t safe, then I would recommend that you not use that park. Even if you successfully counter condition your dog’s fear of other dogs, if she’s attacked again, you’re right back at square one. I’m curious about the limitations you’ve put on your options for your dog: either go to a dangerous park or walk busy city streets. Are those really your only two options?
If you decide to counter condition your dog’s fear of other dogs, you’re going to have to find a different off leash park. Have you read this article? https://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/dog-park-safety-tips. You don’t say what kind of physical condition you’re in but can you jog with your dog? I say this having started jogging at 6:30 in the morning with my Australian Shepherd and it’s nearly killing me at this point but I know I’ll get into better condition over time. There are devices you can hook up to a bike to jog your dog. Since your dog is already 3.5 years old, have you considered clicker training tricks? Most dogs who are over three years old thrive on 30 minute per day vigorous walks combined with mental stimulation. I live with two male Australian Shepherds and I can tell you from experience that 60 seconds of clicker training tricks wears them out more than any amount of physical exercise (except herding which requires them to use their brains).
If you want to learn about counter conditioning a dog’s fear, I can recommend this inexpensive booklet very highly: https://astore.amazon.com/compaanimasol-20/detail/1891767003
Hello, I need some serious guidance to help my 1 year old pitbull/heeler mix Eyla. She is my first dog and I thought I was doing a pretty good job raising her so far until yesterday. I have an invisible fence system that worked 100% of the time until a couple of months ago. Now she knows if she runs really fast she can make it though. Yesterday a woman was walking her 2 dogs who were very complacent, yet Eyla darted through to the dogs and was very aggressive/dominant towards them. Then at the dog park a little “yappy” dog went nuts (probably scared of her) and she went after him standing over him and chasing him. There is no real danger here (yet), just aggressive, dominant behavior that scares me and other dog owners. She also freaks out on leash or in the car when she sees other dogs. Over the holidays a dog went after her and I got in the middle and even got bit by the other dog…then a week later I watched a friends dog for 10 days. Now that she’s back to being alone she is just going nuts with other dogs. Did this series of events put her over the edge and over her stress threshold? She plays with the 4 neighboring dogs everyday and is totally fine with them. It is just dogs she hasn’t met yet that seem to set her off. How do I resolve this aggressive and freaking out behavior before something bad happens. I have never been scared to have her off leash before yesterday as she has always been an extremely playful & social puppy.
Hi, I have a question. I have a male 7 month old lab/akita/sharpei mix. I recently moved across the country with him, which seemed to be a stressful experience. He was the sweetest dog prior to the move, but now he is acting really aggressive. We now live with a roommate who has a 6 month old male lab. I don’t know what to do. Any advice will help.
Hi Kelly, you haven’t given me enough information to really be able to evaluate what is happening with your dog. Is you dog aggressive with people? other dogs? In what situations is your dog aggressive? Is your dog generally anxious or does your dog respond to specific triggers? You don’t say where you live but I recommend that you engage a qualified Animal Behavior Consultant to help you: https://www.companionanimalsolutions.com/why-choose-us-2/qualified-animal-behavior-specialists. You can also contact us directly at https://companionanimalsolutions.com and we’d be happy to help you find someone in your area.
Hi Jamey, it’s hard for me to know what happening with Eyla but given your description, she sounds conflicted. She likes other dogs and gets excited but lacks confidence so can be a bully with strange dogs. Here are some articles that might help you:
https://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/what-is-a-reactive-rover/
https://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/invisible-fences-not-a-recommended-solution/
I recommend that you find a qualified professional in your area to help you sort this out. This article contains information on how to evaluate whether someone is qualified to work with you: https://www.companionanimalsolutions.com/why-choose-us-2/qualified-animal-behavior-specialists. If you need help finding someone, we’re happy to help.
Hi Christine,
Great article! It made me think of a question that I have been meaning to get a behaviorist’s opinion on for quite some time. Last year I adopted a spayed, female Doberman who was approximately 2 years old. I quickly discovered that she was SUPER high strung and quite reactive to other dogs. She was generally fine with my other dogs (Chihuahuas) and my cat, although I could tell she wanted to play with them. They wereb’t too keen on the idea as she was much too hyper and rough for them. At one time she did pick up one of my foster Chihuahuas by the rear end (with her mouth), until he screamed and I screamed, at which time she let him go. She did not break skin. Also, when running her on my friend’s acreage with her larger dogs, she would get really worked up and then nip at the other dogs’ bums, sometimes grabbing chunks of fur, but never breaking the skin. She seemed to target a younger male Border Collie, constantly going after him (and his bum, lol), but leaving the older, larger, females alone. She has played well with my sister’s Doberman, as well as our Aussie X puppy, although she doesn’t know when to quit sometimes and I have to separate them for a bit. My friend doesn’t let me bring her over anymore as she says she is dog aggressive. I think it is more of her being overstimulated and a bully, then anything. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think she is aggressive? Do you know how I can better manage off-leash interactions with her and other dogs and help keep her manners in check?
Thanks,
Lindsay
Hello, me and my fiance just adopted a lab mix from a local shelter. While in the shelter, she was fine around the dog she was put with. She’s extremely friendly with people but when we brought her home and tried to introduce her to our other dogs, she growls and I believe that she may be aggressive towards them. I put a muzzle on her, she was fine with it, and when I let her down with the others, she acted mean. I really want to keep her but I’m afraid that she will end up hurting one of my other dogs. Could it be that she’s just afraid of them? What should I do? Is there a way that she can learn to not be aggressive to them?
I’m so sorry that your new dog is acting aggressively towards your other dogs. You don’t give me enough details to know WHY she’s behaving aggressively but the most common reason (aside for fighting over food, bones, etc) is fear. Before giving up, I would do two things: 1) keep her physically separated from your other dogs temporarily and 2) find a qualified professional to help you. You can email us privately and we’d be happy to help you locate someone in your area. For future reference, here’s how we recommend your introduce dogs for the first time: https://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/introducing-dogs-to-other-dogs/
Thanks for your reply, we actually bought her a muzzle and kept her on a leash and introduced her to our animals in a safe place. She growled a little at first but right now she’s laying on the bed with 2 of my other dogs and she’s doing great. I believe it was just fear and when she seen that the other dogs wouldn’t hurt her, she warmed up to them.
I’m so glad to hear that your new dog’s fear is decreasing and she’s integrating better. Thanks for writing back to keep us updated on how things are going!
I really haven’t a clue what my dog falls under – it seems that he experiences almost every single on of theses Playground bully, fear aggression, leash aggression/reactivity . He’s a 5yr old Eskie, I adopted from a household that neglected and secluded him for the first 3yrs of his life. Naturally he was cautious and fearful of everything.. Though over the past two years he’s slowly becoming more acclimated with me having company over and talking him pretty much everywhere. We have a designated park day over the weekend where I watch him run around for about 2hrs. Initially I had him playing with bigger dogs (our park has a big dog and little dog section) hoping that he’d give up his obsessive “I’m alpha” attitude (plus we were worried that he’d bully any dog smaller than him) but that was a huge mistake. He got into a serious fight with an unfixed pitbull that was there where they snarled, growled, and lunged at each other viciously – luckily neither of the injured one another. Shortly after this I got him fixed hoping that it would fix his Alpha dog bickering issue… It seemed to have worked for the most part however he still shows serious aggression to aggressive-like breeds (i.e pittbulls+mixes, american bulldogs, and boxers) Pretty much all other breeds he’s fine with – he does the lunging whimpering excited like behavior as if he wants to play with them/ meet them etc. But the minute he sees any type of pittbull, boxer, bulldog etc, he stiffens up and start growling and barking viciously and tried to lung at them. I’m sure the fact that he was never socialized as a pup has something to do with it as well as the fact that the one attack left a lasting impression on him. I have moved him to the small dog park and he seems to be acting wonderfully with the other dogs – he still gets a little upset if dogs get too touchy-feelly though…
Any incite on what I should do?
I think you’ve analyzed the cause of your dog’s behavior well and I applaud you for neutering your dog, watching him carefully and managing his interactions with other dogs. It’s hard for us to accept sometimes that there are multiple causes for behavior and multiple causes require multiple solutions, not just one. I recommend that you find a qualified professional to help you with your dog because your dog’s issues are contextual: https://www.companionanimalsolutions.com/why-choose-us-2/qualified-animal-behavior-specialists. If you’d like help finding someone, you can always email us and we’re happy to help get you a referral: https://companionanimalsolutions.com. Thanks for reading Behind the Behavior and keep up the good work!
Hi Christine,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments and willingness to offer advice. I have a beautiful four-year old labrador mix (75 pounds – ½ Lab, ¼ Chow, ¼ Whippet). Almost everywhere we go, she has no problems with other dogs (even when they come in our house unannounced with friends). I’ve had her for almost two years and the biggest problem is at the dog park we go to every day.
To be sure, she is a world-class b**tch at the park, a real bully who exhibits behaviors that range from pinning other dogs down like a wrestler to barking aggressively in other dogs faces (who just entered the dog park) to playing too rough with other dogs, whether much larger or smaller. She has a particular wrath for entering dogs who are larger than she is. And her bark is exceptionally loud and intimidating (many a Dane and Shepherd have cowered at her feet when she unleashes with a full-throat).
Nonetheless, she has never bitten another dog before (despite the thousands of such encounters with other dogs,), her barking and bullying typically stop after five minutes after the new unwelcomed dog enters (because they’ve submitted maybe?), and the forty or so regular people I see there everyday are fine with her, frequently joking that she is just asserting her matriarchal authority over her park. I think they might be – like many dog owners whose sympathies override their judgment – simply delusional about her.
As a side note, she has been bitten twice before (though not at the dog park and not for anything she did), and has shown no sign of behavioral change as a result (despite one of her bites going an inch and a half into her skull!), but its simply a miracle another dog has bitten her for the crap she pulls.
Should I not take her to the park anymore out of fear of what might happen? Keep her on a leash at the dog park? Give her more frequent timeouts? Take treats with me and bribe her away from her bellicose greetings (which she might just resume after)? Not worry since no one else does and since there has never been a serious incident there before? Hire a behavioral consultant?
Thank you for your time in reading this.
Finn
Finn, some dogs’ social behavior is so unambiguous that the other dogs just back off or submit. It sounds like that’s what has been happening at the dog park with your girl. I once went to the dog park with a client and her goofy Saint Bernard. His approach was all bluster and the other dogs just turned their heads, wandered off, etc. After about 15 minutes in, he tried it with a female Belgian Malnois. She gave a huge, dramatic, non violent correction (perfect!) and the Saint Bernard just wandered off. We got the dog back to the car because that was exactly the experience I wanted this dog to have due to his age AND because humans seem to be biologically incapable of providing that kind of correction: appropriate, dramatic, beautifully timed and non violent (no physical contact).
In your dog’s case, it’s different for two reasons: 1) her age: her biological critical periods for dog/dog socialization have passed and 2) you’ve been lucky so far. I would recommend that you not take her to the dog park anymore because she’s getting too much practice at social bullying. My concern is that at some point, a fearful dog will really hurt her because the other dog thinks he/she is fighting for her life. If you want her to have the dog park experience, I would engage a professional who can work with you at the dog park.
You are obviously a wonderful, responsible dog owner. Thank you for your questions and thank you for reading Behind the Behavior!
Hello,
I’ve been reading your website and am not sure where my dogs fit. I have a nearly 5 year old Lab and an 8 year old Husky. We brought our lab home at 10 weeks and upon seeing our husky, she immediately submitted and rolled on her back. For a few weeks our husky did not like our lab and I had to monitor them very closely. It didn’t take long before they were best friends and became inseparable. This was the case for many years. In May 2011 my husband, myself, and our two dogs moved across the country. Prior to this move they were crated during the day, now they are blocked off in our kitchen which is a fair size. In the fall of 2011 we had a couple of incidents in which my lab suddenly became aggressive toward our husky. There were two incidents, both of which occurred in a relatively small space where I was present. We started increasing their walks by getting a dog walker that came mid-day. I also took my lab to the vet to rule out anything medical- she came back fine. We were told this behavior is our lab’s attempt to establish dominance. The aggression stopped for several months. Their play is still pretty vocal and physical, but they haven’t escalated to aggression. Within the last week, however, we’ve had several aggressive incidents. This time the triggers are unclear and both dogs are behaving aggressively. It’s also unclear who starts the fight. They respond to me yelling “hey” and can be redirected from each other; however, they spend the next several hours avoiding each other and the feelings in the room are very tense. Any advice on why this taking place or what we should do to resolve it is most appreciated.
Intra-household dog/dog aggression cases are the most difficult cases we see and the only type of cases we won’t take remotely. Here are my suggestions:
1. If you were my client, I would recommend that these dogs be kept separately until someone can come in and work with you. Put one dog in a bedroom or crate with a stuffed Kong, bully stick, etc. while the other is out with the family for two hours and then switch.
2. Find a qualified professional to help you. If you email us privately, we can help find someone in your area: https://www.companionanimalsolutions.com/why-choose-us-2/qualified-animal-behavior-specialists
3. You say the dogs “checked out fine” at the vet. Vets sometimes don’t know what to look for. We recommend a full endocrine panel, xrays, etc.
Hi Christine,
Let me start by saying that I love this website and it’s been extremely helpful in the past.
About 3 weeks ago I adopted my second dog. She’s (I think) a lab/shepard mix 6 months old. She’s real sweet in the house and gets along well with my other pup Ollie, who is 2. Not totally terrible on a leash, she pulls a bit but we’re working on it. I have her sit a wait when she pulls and she’s been listening pretty well with this command. The problem is when another dog/cat/ and sometimes human comes into sight, Hudson freaks out. She pulls, jumps, backflips, and barks. I currently live in a townhome so when a take the dogs out, more often than not, we see a neighbor out with their dog. At the dog park she does “ok”. A little mouthy but I don’t think it’s malicious. I love taking Ollie all over the place with me and I’m so afraid I won’t be able to do the same with Hudson. Do you think she’s dog aggressive or just a puppy? I have this fear that Hudson is going to get older and worse. Any advice?
Hudson is what we call a “Reactive Rover”. You can read more about leash reactivity here: https://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/what-is-a-reactive-rover. You’ll likely need professional help with this since you’re seeing this behavior at 6 months old. Keep in mind that dogs go through a biological fear period between 8/9 months old so trying to suppress the behavior will just likely make it worse in the long run. If you’d like, you can email us at info at companionanimalsolutions.com and we’ll help you find a leash reactivity class. If you’re in the Seattle area, we just updated our schedule over the weekend: https://www.companionanimalsolutions.com/dog-training-classes/class-schedule-and-registration
I have a 1 1/2 female red nose pit. We just took her in because her owner couldnt keep her where is was moving. I am trying to do research and came across this article. I was just wondering is it agression when a dog growls and bites the under side of the neck. She wags her tail when she does it but seems to be real rough, (but she was played with rough). The other dog is a 2 1/2 male boxer who doesn’t like to play with other dogs. He is really good with other dogs just doesn;t want to play. She on the other hand is very hyper active, most the time she doesn’t bother him but sometimes when he walks by she jumps up and starts biting him and biting his legs. She has drawn blood or anything but I also always stop her in fear it will start a fight or that she is trying to fight? Any suggestions or advice on her behavior.
It’s impossible for me to evaluate dog/dog interactions without seeing them, either in person or via video. Given your description though, I would probably time her out for soliciting play from a dog who doesn’t want to play with her. Also, make sure she gets other dog/dog interactions so she’s less likely to make your Boxer the target of her play drive. The thing you have to watch with Pits is that their play doesn’t tip from “play” to “gameness” which can get ugly. It’s all about the individual dogs (what lines is she out of) and what was her early socialization like?
Hello, what a wonderful site and such good advice. A year ago this month we went to look at (and maybe bring home!) a cocker spaniel from rescue a couple of hours away. She had already done the pre-approval work but when there our hearts went out to a little dog, isolated in a garage, that had just been dropped off by the local humane society although she had no room. He was very thin, covered with fleas and was found frozen to the ground in somebodies front yard. Estimate 8 months old by the teeth. We took him. He has thrived beautifully. After a few weeks his tail came up and curled across his back with his new confidence. Very good with other dogs and has play dates in our fenced in back yard. We walk him daily as vet and groomer think is brittaney spaniel, yellow lab and maybe something else. He weighs 45 pounds with a lot of energy. He house broke in about 5 weeks with constant tethering and knows come, sit, stay although only at 50% if distracted during our off leash walks in park. OK…the the point of my question/problem. I rarely tie him up as he stays right near me. Only when working in the front yard as will wonder off in boredom and he is good about it. But, Halloween I tied him to the tree in the front yard on a relatively handing out candy. He was good for about 20 minutes but then a child wandered over to him and he went nuts. Lunging and barking. I took him in the house and he barked non-stop for an hour until I finally had the insight to put him his kennel that we no longer used. That quieted him down. Fast forward to yesterday. My husband took him to the groomer who we have used for 15 years for our cockers. She is picky about the dogs she takes and only ties them up when owners are arriving. Toby was tied up and a young girl headed toward him and again Toby became very, her words, aggressive. Lunging, barking and acted like he wanted to attack her. I have young grand children that come over and need to desensitize him to whatever is creating this. He has been fine with the kids but as they grow, their friends may be along etc. The groomer thinks he may have been tied up in a yard where he was abused, or taunted by children and that caused me to remember the Halloween episode. The first 4 months I had him he was very afraid on our walks. Would hide behind my legs when people were too close. Now he is confident and anxious to meet people and I have had no other signs of any issues.. I don’t have this problem on a leash, just tied up apparently. Would welcome your thoughts. Thank you!
I have 2 Labs, female age 9 and male age 11, the male is the father of the female. I also have a 5 year old rescue mixed breed female. All of these dogs have been spayed / neutered. My problem is the 9 year old female is very aggressive, ” attacks” the other 2 dogs with no apparent provocation. Just a few minutes ago, she jumped on the 11 year old male Lab. He does not fight back, as he is a very calm dog. I had to pull her off of him . This is the 2nd time she has been aggressive this week. Just this past Tuesday, she attacked the rescue dog. I do not know what to do and it is very scary when she goes for one of the other dogs. HELP ! No food or toys are involved, it is as if she just feels like being a bitch.
My daughter has a 5 year old boxer mix who has suddenly become aggressive towards our other dogs. Boomer has always been a very passive dog, and though physically strong due to his breed, has only reacted to attacks against him, and in those situations he rarely even broke the other dog’s skin, resorting instead to pinning the other dog.
Within the last two weeks he has attacked 4 dogs. The initial attack was on our 4lb Morkie who was outside with Boomer. The morkie walked toward the perimeter fence and he bolted across the yard and began to throw himself on her growling and snapping. I was within 10 feet and was able to stop him from seriously hurting her. The second attack was within a few days of the first when he attack another dog that he has interacted with his whole life. The terrier mix is only about 15 lbs and she was sitting on the floor of our living room and Boomer got up and just went at her, trying to pin her under his weight while growling and showing his teeth. Again, we were quite close and were able to get him off the dog.
This weekend I agreed to watch Boomer while my daughter was out of town. He stayed at our house, which he has done several times without incident. Yesterday he went after our lab. And though they are closer in weight (both 90-100 lbs) the lab is elderly and not much of a match against Boomer. This attack was not witnessed, as the dogs were in our den and we were in another room, so we cannot say exactly how it began. Finally today, he attacked our 14 year old mini schnauzer. The attack was completely unprovoked and vicious. The schnauzer was laying on the floor as was Boomer. Boomer stood up and ran to the schnauzer and began biting and trashing the dog. My son was able to pull him off, in time to save the schnauzer’s life, unfortunately, he was left with severe wound on his back and shoulders.
We do not know what to do. Boomer has NEVER been aggressive. We used to joke that he walked around singing a song, as he was always happy and playful. Over New Year’s he began displaying what I would describe as hallucinations in that he would suddenly become fearful and look around as if follwing a fly. My daughter took him to the vet and put him on Prozac. Could these things be related? Is there something behavioraly we need to try?
This just makes no sense as he has always been such a good dog.
Any thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated!!
I have a soft-coated wheaten terrier, neutered male, approaching age 4. He is a fabulous companion and has been a beloved member of our family since he was 13 weeks old! I take him to work every day, to the barn four or five times a week and basically have him with me always. He plays well with others — and is given ample time off leash to do so. However, living in the city requires that he spends a good deal of time on leash. Therein lies my concern: As most dogs do, he likes to greet others that he sees on the sidewalk. Occasionally, he can be snarky to unassuming poochies on the other leash. For instance, just today, he went up to say hi to a pug (incidentally one of his best buddies is a pug) and almost immediately went after him. While it wasn’t a bloodthirsty incident in any way, fairly benign actually…it was quite embarrassing because it seemed so out of place, as the pug had done nothing. Or maybe I just missed the body language of both sides. I’ve read your recommended articles on leash reactivity. But my pooch’s behavior doesn’t seem to apply. And what I”m wondering is how I should help teach him to be a better dog citizen on the sidewalk. Or maybe dogs will be dogs — and I’m simply over-thinking it. He is after all a terrier (although my groomer says one of the best she’s ever met 🙂 Please advise.
hi there, i have a 16 months old boxer girl named lola… shes a very good dog does everything i tell/ask her to do.. she is excellent with people and children of all ages and my cat (dont know about anybody else’s) i have always sociallised her from the day i brought her home and has some good doggy friends she was brilliant on and off the lead until the last month or so some dogs she will play with others she will attack for nothing,the bigger the dog the better, she got bit by a toy poodle so she isnt very keen on small dogs and it is most upsetting.. i dont want to stop her from going to the park and letting her run her energy off im hoping she will grow out of this… any advice would be much appreciated..
I’m fostering a blue Weimaraner that was kept with the mother dog for 2 1/2 years, basically unattended. Someone was leaving them food and water but not interacting with or “policing” them. The owner was basically gone most the time. When we took the mother and daughter into rescue the mother was of normal weight and food aggressive. The daughter was skin draped over bones and food aggressive, (likely because she was getting much.) I have the daughter; she is now of normal weight, much less food aggressive, likely because she can eat as much as she wants whenever she wants; but she is very reactive and protective of herself with any dog that gets too much in her face. I don’t mean necessarily growling etc. at them, but if the other dog is naturally an “up front” personality, she cowers and snaps at the air as if to say “Stay away, don’t hurt me”. She has , on occasion, snapped at one of the other dogs, fortunately no one has hurt her in response. I so want to help her stop fearing other dogs. I would certainly appreciate any guidence you can send my way. She is just great with any people, absolutely no issues there.
I have a soft-coated wheaten terrier, neutered male, approaching age 4. He is a fabulous companion and has been a beloved member of our family since he was 13 weeks old! I take him to work every day, to the barn four or five times a week and basically have him with me always. He plays well with others — and is given ample time off leash to do so. However, living in the city requires that he spends a good deal of time on leash. Therein lies my concern: As most dogs do, he likes to greet others that he sees on the sidewalk. Occasionally, he can be snarky to unassuming poochies on the other leash. For instance, just today, he went up to say hi to a pug (incidentally one of his best buddies is a pug) and almost immediately went after him. While it wasn’t a bloodthirsty incident in any way, fairly benign actually…it was quite embarrassing because it seemed so out of place, as the pug had done nothing. Or maybe I just missed the body language of both sides. I’ve read your recommended articles on leash reactivity. But my pooch’s behavior doesn’t seem to apply. And what I”m wondering is how I should help teach him to be a better dog citizen on the sidewalk. Or maybe dogs will be dogs — and I’m simply over-thinking it. He is after all a terrier (although my groomer says one of the best she’s ever met Please advise.
Hello! I hope you can offer me some advice: I have a 3 Puppie home . They are all Schnauzers 2 Males and 1 Female. Hank is my youngest and the source of the problems. He is 2 and about a Year ago I found out he has Retinal Degeneration! He is very confident but Male Aggressive. My other boy , Scooter is the sweetest puppie ever. He is 5 and is always ready to please everyone. Scooter can;t move without Hank Growlling and Scooter is showing all signs of I’m not challenging you but Hank can’t see that. I trully believe Hanks’ problem has gotten worse each time he looses more of his vision, but Scooter should not have to feel like he has to stay in the bedroom so Hank won’t growl. Hank was neutered without much change in his behavior. I would love to hire a behaviorist but I am disabled and don’t make enough money to do this. I want to try Medication too but I have the same issue: Money..Is there any other choices besides the one I will never consider: I know I can fix this somehow. I love my babies and don’t want them to suffer in any way. Could you give me some suggestions of what works best including medications, trainers in Tulsa, OK and other options? I trully appreciate your assistance more than you will ever know. My boys play so well together sometimes and I know they love one another. I just want everyone to be happy again.
Thanks,
Summer
Hello, I purchased a female 2 month old pitbull mix boxer 2 days ago we noticed she was teething which I totally understand is normal for puppies the only thing that worries me is I don’t know if she’s being aggresive during play time she doesn’t growl/snarl when it comes to tug a rope but when we take away the toy she sometimes starts to nip and my feet or my sweats is this aggresive behavior.? How can we stop her from biting after play time or any time even if we say “NO” , will this follow her as she gets older will she be aggresive? Also she is very social with people and other animals but when we let her play with the neighbors pitbull puppy she sorta wanted to nip is that a sign?
Hi. I would really appreciate your opinion.
I have a 5 year old minature poodle and a 5 year old labradoodle. We had the labradoodle from a small puppy and he is so laid back it is unreal. We got the minature poodle(Bobby) when he was 9 mths old. Bobby is fine with our other dog and lots of dogs he knows. If he meets a new dog he can go in to nip their hind quarters. He can also get aggressive towards dogs that want to play with our other dogs. This has got progressively worse. He recently bite one of my neighbours when we were standing talking (something we have done on numerous occasions without it being a problem).
When I leave Bobby with the dog minder he is no trouble he shows no aggression towards other dogs or people. I am wondering if his aggression is being protective towards me and our other dog? He now wears a muzzle when out walking but will still show aggression and bark at some dogs and people.
Bobby barks a lot at people coming to the house and has been known to try and nip them. Once they have been in the house for a few minutes he is fine. It is like they are allowed in so that is ok and he will relax.
Bobby was not socialised properly before we got him and appeared to have never been out on a walk. He was kept with his Mum and his sister in a tiny house with a tiny garden. He was scared when we first took him out and would run away from other dogs. He will only allow family members to stroke him. If anyone else approaches him he is very scared. He will let others stroke him if I am holding him. He will take treats from others but still won’t let them touch him.
Bobby is generally a well behaved dog and is cuddly and friendly but he is unpredictable and we have no idea how to deal with this.
Do you think this is fear aggression?
hi Christine i have read through most of your recent posts and found some fantastic information i am going to read a few of your reccommended articles next but am just seeking some advice regarding our 13 & 1/2 week old puppy she is a french bulldog, American Staffy cross. Very sweet and loving pup when we first got her she was young 7&1/2 weeks and was pretty timid understandably. We took her to the local dogpark yesterday and she barked incessintly, it sounded kinda agrressive and she demonstrated scared, stressed behaviour tail tucked up to her tummy a couple of times she really became aggressive towards dogs approaching her under a table almost like she was guna attack. We took her back the next day and she behaved the same, just seeking some advice on how to handle this reaction as I do not want it to have a long lasting negative impact on her ? Thanks
In my opinion, your dog is too young to be attending the dog park. It’s too overwhelming and scary. I recommend finding a dog training studio in your area that holds Puppy Playgroup drop ins. Play can be monitored by a trainer and your dog can get a chance to join in at her own pace. If you need help finding a facility in your area, just let us know and we’d be happy to help you.
Hi, I’m in a real sticky situation with my parents three dogs. They have a 12 year old rat terrier/ chihuahua mix, a 5 year old jack Russell and a 6 month old lab/shepherd mix. Since I rescued the youngest one, the JRT has really had some problems adjusting since she is “my” dog and I’m 45 mins away at college. I’d keep her with me but the pet deposit is ridiculous for my apartment. Anyways, a couple days ago the JRT and lab mix were playing out side apparently and the 12 yr old came and either tried to join the party or break up their playing and the JRT snapped and attacked her. She’s in a half body cast due to torn shoulder muscle, throat stitches and drain as well as stitches on her butt. All from this attack. Luckily my dad made in time to pull her off of her. The problem is my JRT has never showed signs of aggression towards anything ever. She’s been the most happy go lucky dog and it just breaks my heart that she attacked our other one. We’ve separated them now and the JRT is living with me at the moment but should I never bring them back together? Or what training could I do to possibly fix this problem? All dogs are spayed as of now, older dog has always been kind of grumpy and growly but has never tried to hurt anyone either just gives a little growl every now and then to keep the others in line. She’s currently in the hospital till Monday 🙁
I have two dogs: 3 year old husky-retriever mix (Bear) who we raised from 8 weeks old and a 5 year old Boxer-Pitbull mix (Tank) who we rescued a year ago. Bear used to be really good at the dog park. He got along with other dogs and really liked to follow me around the park and interact here and there with other dogs. When we got Tank we started taking them both to the dog park. They both have been fine, ran and played without problems. About 4-5 months ago Bear (the husky-retriever mix) began instigating fights with Tank (boxer-pit). This only happens at the dog park. Bear will jump on Tank, bite his neck, bark at him, etc. Tank will ignore it most of the time though reaches a threshold where he will growl and fight back. They have never bitten each other, just loud barking and growling. I typically will put Bear on a leash once he starts instigating fights with Tank and will let Tank roam without a leash. Then I will take them home.
Today Bear did the usual instigating and I put him on a leash. After one lap around the park Tank began barking and running very fast in a circle around Bear and myself. Bear looked scared at the time. I could not get a hold of Tank and control him. He just kept running in a circle and barking at us. It’s really upsetting because people were scared and the one guy called the park manager. He wasn’t biting, but he was barking really loudly. I’ve never seen him get like that. I don’t know what happened today and why they have been fighting the past 4-5 months. The thing is today the park was basically empty as well. It’s a rather large park and there were only about 3-4 dogs there not including mine.
As far as my life the only thing that has changed is I am 7 months pregnant. I still spend a great deal of time with the dogs and have given them attention. Other than that, nothing else has changed in our lives or at the dog park.
Any advice is appreciated.
To add to my above question, the dogs get along just fine at home. They play, but don’t fight at all. When we go for walks, I will walk both of them at once and they walk by side and do just fine. Sometimes I have problems getting Bear to follow commands, but he usually is obedient. Tank obeys me all the time at home. He does the sit and stay command very well. At the dog park, when they are fighting I have no control. They will act as if I am not even there and will not obey me at all when they are fighting. When Tank was running in circles and barking at Bear and myself, I tried the commands, tried walking away, tried putting him on his leash and I couldn’t catch him. He didn’t respond to any attempts I had to control him.
Hi, i have a 5 month old king shepard, rottie, chow, wolf mix male dog. We got him from a local breeder at 8 weeks old. He was well socialized and around the other puppies up until we adopted him. My friend adopted one of his sisters from the litter, and we had play dates for about a month. Then out of nowhere he started baring his teeth and acting fearful and aggressive towards the other puppy. It slowly progressed from there. At first we couldnt walk him because he would just sit down and refuse to move if anything passed us by, a car, bike, person, dog, even if a leaf blew past us. We got him over and ignoring everything except people and dogs now. He luges and barks at other dogs and people, and if they get to close he snaps at them. He hasnt bitten anyone or any animal yet, but it still worries me. I have tried the techniques above as well as many others, with patience, but none seem to work. As soon as that other dog or person is in his eyesight he gets fixated. We have even tried blocking his line of view to get his attention back on us, and he will sit there and keep trying to see around us. ive tried just walking past using the command ‘nevermind’ which he knows very well, but if the person or dog is in his sight before i make the command he will sit down and refuse to move, then bark and lunge when they get near. Ive tried forcing him to continue, and immiedately he puts his paws on the leash and rolls on his back. Ive tried waiting him out, he does the same thing. And sometimes he will sit down, then try to hightail it home. I even tried getting him to sit and focus on he as they person or dog walked past as that is how we got him over his fear of cars and bikes. He is also fearful or loud noises, garbage bags, booming voices (men), and pringles cans and objects like them that make noise.
I have never had a dog with this behavior before so i do not understand where it came from, or how to correct it. All his playdates were well monitored, the breeder he came from was excellent, i knew him and his family personally and they are great with dogs and training them, and there had been no ‘incidents’ at my home, or anywhere else. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I have a 6 year old collie shepard mix that I adopped when she was 3. She was given up by previous owner because of a new baby and an alergy to her. My dog is very sweet and gentle. 2 weeks ago she was attacked by another dog. She was meeting this dog for the first time in our driveway. The other dog is a 5 year old Shar pei Boxer mix. It had been adopted by our friends about a month ago. The dog had been a stray. The other dog was on a leash my dog was not. they started to sniff eachother and then the other dog attaked my dog. The other dog put his paws around my dogs neck while he was bitting her just under her ear. My dog as very scared and was yelpping so loud that other people came out of their houses. The other owner myself and my husband were all trying to get this dog off my dog ( I know is was dangerous). The other dog finally let go of my dog. My dog was not injured bad. She had some hair gone and one tooth mark that scabed and is now coming off. My problem is now she bark a lot in the house about noises outside (she rarely barked before) She is also a little scared around even her best friend a yellow lab. On walks when she used to see other dogs she would want to see them. She would only bark if they would start to bark at her first. Now she is barking at them and lungging on the leash at them. How do I help her through this. I know she is scared of being attacked.
I have 3 year old female boxer who has always been well mannered with other dogs and people, We have taken her to dog parks to play off leash many times with no incidents. We have another dog, a shiloh shepard and they get along great. Recently she seems to “pick” on small dogs. She especially likes the ones that arent interested in her. If they growl, bark or bite she is drawn to them like a magnet. She dosent growl, or bite back she just WONT leave them alone. The last time we went to a dog park there was a small dog there along with our two. She ran straight for it, not barking or growling. She pinned it to the ground and would not get off her. The other dog in the mean time, is biting her face (drawing blood) and of course doing everything it could to get out from under Bella. We finally got her off, and the only dog hurt was herself. I dont know where this insistance to jump on small dogs is coming from. We try to only go to parks that separate the big dogs from the small ones, but she always seems to find the one. I dont know how to get this to stop. She is very dominate with our other dog, but he doesnt care. She is wonderful with our children and all the neighborhood kids. I am just scared to take her back to the park or day care. Any comments would be appreciated.