My dog is agressive to other dogs.

pboae

lillyj, is it possible he has some Boxer in him? A lot fo what you are describing, his stance and the way he plays, sounds very much like Boxer behaviour, though Danes do some of it too (especially the straight up shoulders back stance) so maybe he's getting it from there.

If it *is* frustration and lack of socialisation, then the good news is that this is much easier to deal with than fear aggression. A good trainer, maybe one who can introduce you to stooge dogs eventually, will help you work wonders with him, but you need to get him properly assesed first.

I would be very wary of dog borstal as well. It's biased much too far towards entertainment instead of being about what's best for the dog. I know of a couple of dogs who have come out of it much worse than when they went in.

Try not to worry about the dangerous dog's act. Yes it is true that another person only has to feel threatened by your dog, but in practice the police will look to see whether you have been acting responsibly and had taken reasonable precautions. Otherwise, someone with a dog phobia could walk past on the other side of the road, and be frightened by your dog, and you could find yourself on the wrong side of the DDA, theoretically possible, but very very unlikely.

My dog is absolutely food obesessed and when I first started on his desensitisation programme he wouldn't even sniff the treats I add (and I had allsorts, sausages, cheese, baked liver, chicken, you name it). It was useful in a way because I could use it to judge how he was improving. Once we reached the stage where he would take a treat from me at a certain distance, I knew he was ready to move a bit closer. Then we'd go back a step and I'd have to wait a while until he would take a treat again, then move closer again, etc etc.

It's also not uncommon for dogs to take a dislike to certain colourings, sometimes it's due to a bad experience and sometimes it's because very pale or very dark dogs can be hard for other dogs to read. My dog dislikes dogs with black faces or dark markings on their faces. Probably because he can't make their eyes out cleary. So it may well be that your boy doesn't like white dogs, or dogs with white faces.

LillyJ

I suppose he could have boxer in him, but he definately has a labrador face, with the posture of a great dane and a big rottie neck! He also has long legs like a dane.

I think that when I ring the RSPCA to ask about the exercise area, then I will ask them about a behaviouralist, as they will obviously want him to be protected from the dangerous dogs act, and they are so local to me they may know of places nearby.

I just hope it is lack of socialisation, so I want him assessed properly then we will know more of his prognosis. It is a shame as we can't go and stay with family as they have dogs, so Christmas was pretty lonely for us this year because of him! He also can't go to kennels because there are too many dogs, but we found a nice man who used to be a dog walker in California who can't afford a dog of his own who looks after him in his own home for a small fee when we go away.

elsien

Your dog sounds a bit like mine (except mine's smaller, so I can hold her with a halti.) - desperate to play with other dogs, but doesn't know how. Mine turns aggressive and snaps because she can't seem to judge if other dogs are friendly or not, so she tries to get in first just in case.
I couldn't work out from your first post if your dog is muzzled at times? I just wanted to say that putting a muzzle on mine made her a lot worse, as she knew she couldn't defend herself so went into total panic when any dog came anywhere near.
I don't have any suggestions other than those already given, but good luck with everything.

LillyJ

No we don't muzzle him. We don't feel the need as he isn't off the lead, and it would probably frustrate him more like you said as he doesn't even like the Halti!

climbatron

Sounds like a socialisation issue to me. You're stuck in a catch-22. You can't let him off the lead yet, but he'll get more and more hyper until you do.

Is there a dog training group nearby? Mixing with other dogs will calm him down so 1/ he won't be as keen to race over to other dogs and 2/ he won't adopt a defensive stance with dogs he doesn't know.

Don't forget that people at training are all looking for the same thing - calm, well trained dogs, so will be much more forgiving than the average joe in the park.

When I first went, there was a GHD that was really aggresive and couldn't come off the lead. It would bark and strain at the lead to get to other dogs. It turned out it was just scared, and after a couple of months of being around other dogs it calmed right down and was happy to mix without getting too giddy.

Ask your vet for some contacts - they usually know

HTH

cally1978

Have u watched the dog whisperer?? I am trying his methods with my lab who is also aggressive to other dogs, for the first time ever he has let another dog sniff him without an all out war!!! Cesars methods really do work for my dog, give it a try!! By the way his methods have also stopped him being pushy, stopped seperation anxiety and barking at strangers, a person can now come into my house and not even realise I have a dog!!

LillyJ

climbatron wrote: »

Sounds like a socialisation issue to me. You're stuck in a catch-22. You can't let him off the lead yet, but he'll get more and more hyper until you do.

Is there a dog training group nearby? Mixing with other dogs will calm him down so 1/ he won't be as keen to race over to other dogs and 2/ he won't adopt a defensive stance with dogs he doesn't know.

Don't forget that people at training are all looking for the same thing - calm, well trained dogs, so will be much more forgiving than the average joe in the park.

When I first went, there was a GHD that was really aggresive and couldn't come off the lead. It would bark and strain at the lead to get to other dogs. It turned out it was just scared, and after a couple of months of being around other dogs it calmed right down and was happy to mix without getting too giddy.

Ask your vet for some contacts - they usually know

HTH

Thank you . We did take him to a class but he didn't even get as far as getting out of the car, he just got so distressed by seeing dogs out of the car window. It is a shame as I really think he needs to interact with dogs to get over it. The vet suggested we see a trainer and gave me a name and number and said that she would assess him before going down the behaviouralist route. So at least she will be able to tell if he is scared or what.

LillyJ

cally1978 wrote: »

Have u watched the dog whisperer?? I am trying his methods with my lab who is also aggressive to other dogs, for the first time ever he has let another dog sniff him without an all out war!!! Cesars methods really do work for my dog, give it a try!! By the way his methods have also stopped him being pushy, stopped seperation anxiety and barking at strangers, a person can now come into my house and not even realise I have a dog!!

The problem is no owner will let their dog near enough to ours to allow it!

t_r

cally1978 wrote: »

Have u watched the dog whisperer?? I am trying his methods with my lab who is also aggressive to other dogs, for the first time ever he has let another dog sniff him without an all out war!!! Cesars methods really do work for my dog, give it a try!! By the way his methods have also stopped him being pushy, stopped seperation anxiety and barking at strangers, a person can now come into my house and not even realise I have a dog!!

DO NOT DO THIS IF DONE INCORRECTLY YOUR DOGS BEHAVIOUR WILL GET WORSE DO NOT TAKE THE CHANCE HE IS A BIG DOG AND TREATED INCORRECTLY WOULD BE ABLE TO DO SERIOUS DAMAGE.
I don't like DW even dog borstal tells you not to copy there methods. Its not to make trainers rich its because done incorrectly the dog will not be able to understand what you are doing.

Go to a professional or go back to the rescue do not try to do this on the cheap

LillyJ

I just rang the rescue where we got him and they said " he is a rescue dog, phone your vet" then said bye and hung up. So that was really helpful! I rang the RSPCA about using their exercise paddock but they said they had to ask the manager and she wasn't back till monday so I am going to call then.