As some poeple on here know I have had problems with my dog being aggressive (mainly through my moaning!) to other dogs. I eventually feel like I'm getting somewhere at last with him.

He is being a star in training class and although he had a couple of half attempted lunges at the start of the class he is getting there and has even been off lead around 10+ dogs all under strict control, it has also made me feel better as there is lots of other dogs much worse then him there :lol: We know now that he is not totally aggressive but scared...instead of going for other dogs he is now moving out of the way on occasions which we had never seen him do before.

We have had to be much tougher on him, but his tail was wagging through today’s session so it is another step in the right direction. He is still bad outside but it is controlled and some things are rubbing off on him; he does not lunge every time and if he does we can stop it quickly.

Fingers crossed that we will get there, it's a long journey and we have had lots of help and advice on the way. I thought I'd just post on here as I know how horrible it feels to have a dog aggro dog and thought it may make other people in the same situation have a little hope :)

my little girl is similar, perhaps i wouldent call it dog aggro but similar, shes was a star when i got her and still is,but when she feels threatend even before another dog has done anything she growls and warns them first and maybe sometimes has a nip, this started after being attacked but when she did start i started putting her on a lead around other dogs and slowley she is getting there she isent aggressive just scared and protective aswell lol, hopefully aswell being spayed will helpxgood luck with your little man you sound like your doing a great job

my little girl is similar, perhaps i wouldent call it dog aggro but similar, shes was a star when i got her and still is,but when she feels threatend even before another dog has done anything she growls and warns them first and maybe sometimes has a nip, this started after being attacked but when she did start i started putting her on a lead around other dogs and slowley she is getting there she isent aggressive just scared and protective aswell lol, hopefully aswell being spayed will helpxgood luck with your little man you sound like your doing a great job

Love how you call her a little girl... think my little boy is as big as yours, looking at the piccy's you have put up of her. :lol:

What do you reckon she is a mix of?

lol yea shes not that little but there both my girls love em to death, she deff a staffy as she has the staffy head, and i think ridgeback as she does have the ridge on her back but not as prominant, but also either mastiff or boxer you can see in her to with the black mask and eyes and the shape of the muzzle, i could be sat here for days trying to work it out lol

Molly's also fear aggressive, although we don't know why because she's a rescue girly after being abused.

She's gone from rearing up on her hind legs and 10 minutes of hell hound barking at every dog in sight (20 months ago) to being within 30 feet of an unknown offlead dog whilst off her own lead and turning away from it and coming to sit properly in front of me this week.

I'm so proud of her I could cry. She's made such progress that we have whole walks where she doesn't need to go on a lead at all, including when we clap eyes on another dog. We taught her to ignore other dogs rather than pushing her to be close to other dogs for two reasons, the first being that she actually runs away and hides from many other dogs and the second being that when she has been close to other dogs she gets too rough and for that reason we don't trust her.

Molly's also fear aggressive, although we don't know why because she's a rescue girly after being abused.

She's gone from rearing up on her hind legs and 10 minutes of hell hound barking at every dog in sight (20 months ago) to being within 30 feet of an unknown offlead dog whilst off her own lead and turning away from it and coming to sit properly in front of me this week.

I'm so proud of her I could cry. She's made such progress that we have whole walks where she doesn't need to go on a lead at all, including when we clap eyes on another dog. We taught her to ignore other dogs rather than pushing her to be close to other dogs for two reasons, the first being that she actually runs away and hides from many other dogs and the second being that when she has been close to other dogs she gets too rough and for that reason we don't trust her.

Thats exactly what we want... he will never play with other dogs but to have the control over him and for him not to be scared / aggressive; just to ignore them. I'm glad your getting there.....I think you are well ahead of us still :)

I'd like to know what they have done to these poor dogs prior to make them this way as it seems such extreme behaviour; where I take D the majority of the aggro cases are rescues just like him with exactly the same problems.... then again it is maybe because the people that take them on care enough to try and sort it out :)

medusa, i have a dog like this, what did you do to get her behaviour to change?

i have both types of dog, my lab will do anything i tell her to do on the spot shes a great dog, is never ever ever ever on a lead and ill admit that, well obviously in vets ect, but my other one is how i described her but if shes in naughty mood as soon as she sees a dog she runs straight up to it, n i can not remember how i trained my lab to not go near a dog unless i tell her its so difficult isent it

i have both types of dog, my lab will do anything i tell her to do on the spot shes a great dog, is never ever ever ever on a lead and ill admit that, well obviously in vets ect, but my other one is how i described her but if shes in naughty mood as soon as she sees a dog she runs straight up to it, n i can not remember how i trained my lab to not go near a dog unless i tell her its so difficult isent it

Some dogs are just not interested in causing mayhem! I've never had a dog like D before and my other dog was well trained. I suppose it depends on the standards you have for your dog. I think I have high expectations about how a dog should behave and what they should and should not do, when other people are quite happy to have thier dogs running circles around them yapping!

If you have done it with one I'm sure you will get there with your new girl, it's remembering all the little tricks and positions you have to be in to get them to understand what you want that I keep forgetting :lol:

medusa, i have a dog like this, what did you do to get her behaviour to change?

We have used a combination approach:

Getting her tired in safe areas without other dogs present when we can (so she's generally very well exercised and not got much pent up energy)

Attention and company almost full time (unless I'm in a supermarket or somewhere else she can't go)

Intensive walking practice on and off lead, including walking properly to heel upon command, in busy and challenging spaces

Treats (and only the ones that she thinks are irresistible, cut into really small piece) rewarding her for being a good girl dozens of times a day

Putting her back on lead at the first sign of another dog and walking her off the path, sitting her down and getting her to sit down calmly until the other dog has passed, in combination with treats to get her to pay attention to me rather than the other dog

Finding the right food for her which makes her a generally happy and more content dog

Regular training sessions teaching her lots of tricks for treats, which we can ask her to do if she's feeling anxious

Developing lots of commands and tones of voice, where she knows what is meant by them all- most of her commands are whispered, meaning that she pays lots of attention to my voice, if I ever raise my voice to full command tone she will back away from another dog even if she's already got into the barking and running routine. She also knows that the word 'now' added to a command makes it more immediate.

Plus a small smattering of going backwards before she goes forwards, despair, being sent to her bed and ignored, and the occasional command to roll over and give me her tummy, putting her in full submission pose.



It's been a long road, but she was a very fearful and scared beastie when she came to us and is now a happy and friendly girl, which is worth all of it. The loveliest bit is that she's still only 2 and a half, so she's got years to live her happy life. She's currently snuggled up in her bed with Billy (one of the cats) getting a soggy wash.

As some poeple on here know I have had problems with my dog being aggressive (mainly through my moaning!) to other dogs. I eventually feel like I'm getting somewhere at last with him.

He is being a star in training class and although he had a couple of half attempted lunges at the start of the class he is getting there and has even been off lead around 10+ dogs all under strict control, it has also made me feel better as there is lots of other dogs much worse then him there :lol: We know now that he is not totally aggressive but scared...instead of going for other dogs he is now moving out of the way on occasions which we had never seen him do before.

We have had to be much tougher on him, but his tail was wagging through today’s session so it is another step in the right direction. He is still bad outside but it is controlled and some things are rubbing off on him; he does not lunge every time and if he does we can stop it quickly.

Fingers crossed that we will get there, it's a long journey and we have had lots of help and advice on the way. I thought I'd just post on here as I know how horrible it feels to have a dog aggro dog and thought it may make other people in the same situation have a little hope :)

Good to hear that.how long has he been going to the classes for?.can i ask what type off Dog he is, if you have any piccys it wud be great :).ive got a cross Dog thats VERY male dog agressive and would love to help him by taking him to classes can i ask were you go too?

He is a mutt, no one really knows what he is though the majority reckon there is some Labrador in there in the distant past, maybe English bull or some sort of bulll breed or even mastiff/ american bull dog though I can't see that. Marking wise a bit like a jack russel; white with tan patches, the size of a male labrador but more powerful with big feet as though he never grew to the size he should have... everyone comments on the size of them and asks if he's growing still!

We got to a place in Barnsley with him, only been there a few times but they are used to his type of problems and he's been so good; I never thought I could have in the same room with other dogs moving about! (still a long long way to go). PM me if you want to know any more, it's hard finding a training place willing to take aggro dogs and there is people there who have the same problems and worked through it :)

Thats exactly what we want... he will never play with other dogs but to have the control over him and for him not to be scared / aggressive; just to ignore them. I'm glad your getting there.....I think you are well ahead of us still :) Never say never ;)

I was convinced I wouldn't be able to do anything really worthwhile with two dogs I had staying here once. Hunny is fear aggressive, and Clive is terrier type aggressive, so we had some incredibly noisy bouts of dog shouting when they first wound up in the same space. We even had to cancel a holiday over it

3-4 days later and they were safe in the same space, and by the time Hunny went home, they both had their chops wrapped round the same ball looking for all the world like they were french kissing :hihi:

We got to a place in Barnsley with him, Can you share the details with us Evei? Places like that are always useful to know of!

What is so strange with Molly is that she has doggy friends with whom she gets on fabulously- it's just the new dogs she's terrified of!

She plays gently and sweetly with the cats and mothers various kittens around here too, to the point that I've seen her sitting still but crying when the kittens catch her eyes with their claws. I know I can't expect that from her when she's around other dogs, but it's so much nicer for her that she's starting to calm down around other dogs.