Puppy Advice (merged)

MrsTinks

Ok I can see he's obviously been through the mill a bit already but guess what? He doesn't think like us You have to stop feeling sorry for him! Don't stop loving him but you can't carry on making up for the bad stuff in the past - if you do then you will always be a lower ranking pack member and he'll see it as his job to attack the world to keep you safe!
I've never heard of castration making matters worse, but I would discuss this with your vet - unless you have some serious reason to NOT castrate him (like he's from a long line of Cruft winners and you plan on showing him) then please get him done - It won't change who he is, but it WILL make him easier to live with.

My dog is dog aggressive too - mainly due to bad socialisation as a puppy and then being passed from pillar to post and eventually ending up with us after a very stressful time in RSPCA kennels...
I've done classes, I've read the books, and now I've gone down the "very expensive dog trainer" route... and less than a week on I can see changes already! Now Kira's problem isn't fear or insecurity, she's developed into full blown dog aggression unless the other dog is submissive. The way to deal with fear based aggression is not the same as what you would use on my dog forexample - if you used the wrong methods you could be making it all much worse...
Obviously you're also dealing with not only your dogs fear, but your own too.
He's still young so get him along to puppy socialisation classes asap with a good trainer. He needs to learn how to act around other dogs.

foreign_correspondent

Im not sure how worried to be about a bit of a growl - my dog and my mums dog love to see each other and really enjoy running around and playing together, however occassionally one will grown at the other if it is unhappy with something the other one does - however, they generally resolve these grumbles very quickly and get on fine.

However, it is impossible to advise really on a forum like this, without knowing the dog, so I would advise you to find a good dog trainer who can assess the dog and advise you properly.

lfckerry

I definatley dont see myself as living in the past and feeling sorry for him,the only thing i feel sorry about is that he cant run off lead at the moment!
Now the strangest thing has just happened,weve just come back from a walk at a local park, a terrier type dog which was off lead came over,they sniffed each others faces then did the bum sniffing thing-no growls,then the other dog barked at mine and mine just backed away. now im totally confused!?!what could that mean?it just doesnt make sense to me!!

elsien

Sounds like good news to me - he managed to say hello without freaking out.

I forgot to say before, you can get padded haltis, or you can use material to pad it out with so it doesn't make the nose quite so sore. Mine also tries to lie down and rub her nose on the grass, I just have to keep hoiking her back up again.

pebble65

That issue with the dog in the park barking at him was just another dog asserting his dominant position in respect to your dog. Its perfectly normal- and also as your dog backed off he is learning he isnt always the one in charge, He could be picking up on your apprehension, you mention you "dread" taking him out sometimes, so try to stay calm but assertive with him-you are the one in charge not your dog. And if he is a big doggie he will need a lot of exercise, which will help him loosen the tension and aggressive behaviour.Neuturing will also help with this.

misterjingles

We have a 15 month old bearded collie who "loses it" now & again. Fantastic temperament 99% of the time , let's the kids jump all over him . But now & again he tries to assert his dominance . Typically he'll block the doorway or gate, and when you try to move him , he snarls & snaps. Curiously , he can also be very timid especially with loud noises like lawnmowers.

We plan to get him neutered shortly, and while we admit it won't be a miracle cure , every little helps as they say.

We've also been given guidelines from a dog trainer on how not to respond in certain scenarios.... If he barks at us to play , then we do just the opposite , because we don't want HIM to dictate the tiime & place of play.

They can be pretty strong willed at this age and are in the rebel teenage years. Just got to persevere with it.

zebidee1

stephvetnurse wrote: »

hi
absolute rubbish that neutering will make fear/aggession worse! A lot of problems in male dogs stem from the testosterone in the system.
I would try neutering, might not solve the problem 100% but could do and could help lots

I'm really wary about trying to offer advice as I'm pretty much a beginner myself and it feels wrong to be disagreeing with the experts, lol.

Our lab is a scaredy lump and does the old 'growly, hackles up, I'm tough' thing and we had to get in a specialist behaviourist who emphaised that neutering will make a fear aggressive dog a lot worse as you are cutting off his source of testosterone which he needs in order to help lessen his fear.

Neutering an aggressive dog may well help, but not one who's simply agressive through fear. We spoke to our vet after we saw the behaviourist who agreed wholeheartedly, so I'm a bit surprised to see steph's comments. It's not something to 'just try' as you can't reverse it if it makes matters worse.

Like RooBee, I too really strongly recommend getting a behaviourist in (not just a trainer), if you get a good one they can help no end. The chap we saw taught us how to act as well as the dog and that had a big impact on things too.

lfckerry

The girl who does our training classes actually works at the vet and she did say that getting him neutered whilst he is fear aggresive will not make him better as like you say you are getting rid of what gives him his confidence!
What did a behaviourist do that changed your dogs attitude/mindset?
Thanks for the help guys!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Just see an expert. We can tell you that you need to be confident so that your dog can feel safe that he doesn't need to protect you from nasty scary dogs that he's already afraid of, but an expert can show you to your face what that looks like. Dogs mostly need quiet confidence and self assurance from their owners, so that they can relax and not have to be the boss, but you need someone to teach you how to radiate that, through body language, speech, attitude, posture, everything.

Basically, if you dread taking him for walks and are too scared to take the chance with him, as far as he knows 'mum is scared, she's really stressed, this outside world is really scaring her, it's gotta be rally, really dangerous out here, so I'd better be on my guard in case the scary thing turns up, she can't look after me so I have to be the strong one, I'm a bit scared myself but I can't let the other dogs know that - I know, I'll pick on those little girl puppies! They won't beat me up and everyone else will see I'm a really big tough alpha dog and not frighten my mum so much any more......' You get the idea?

toshkininny

Could anyone suggest the best website (if there is such a thing) that is full of info about where to start, everything you need to know about training, feeding, cheapest food, bits and bobs - infact everything!

Thank you!