Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Aggressive dog?

I got my puppy when he was about two months. I left him with my family for a year because where I was living I could not have him with me. But now he has been with me for two years. When I walk him he is aggressive towards people and other dogs. He is getting to strong for me to handle him. I love him dearly and he is a sweetheart to me. So I don't want to get rid of him or anything. But I am afraid that he will do something bad and he will get taken away from me. What should I do?
Answers:
You should see about an obedience class, However if he is getting to hard for you to handle, then you need to consider if you are capable of paying a large law suit, and deal with the emotional downfall, if this dog mauls another dog or child, or attacks someone else..
get him a muzzle for when you take him for walks..it doesn't hurt the dog.
Training --- http://www.leerburg.com/aggresiv.htm...
Get him a muzzle definitely!!!

It sounds like you've fussed this dog too much. Its too connected to you and you need to sort of distance yourself from it so that it will let other people near you.
Sounds like your dog needs obedience classes and maybe a trip to a dog behaviorist. You need to learn to control your dog properly. And your dog needs to learn to behave. Its not really that hard. I work with dog that were given up because their owners "Can't handle them" And i weigh a measly 120 lbs so its not about power. Its about control.
Find a good trainer in your area to work with you and your dog. They will recommend proper training equipment and offer different ways for you to handle your dog. Its never too late to train and it brings you and your dog closer together.
Good luck and don't give up.
Whenever he starts getting aggressive towards other people, scold him and tell him "bad dog" so that he gets the point that he didn't do a good job. Dogs are really very smart and he may be thinking that he is protecting you, when in reality he is actually agrivating you. Let him know this, he will want to make you happy and he will try to do right. When he does something right have some sort of treat handy and tell him "good boy". After awhile of doing this, he'll learn.
Please don't use the Leerburg techniques recommended by another poster! They're abusive and frequently result in increased aggression.

Find an animal behaviorist who doesn't use shock collars or other force methods and work with them on the aggression problem. You'll need a professional to help you.
Get involved in a training class. For home training, a choke chain or pinch collar could be helpful too.
If he is not neutered it might help lessen his aggression, along with strict training. The behavior should not be accepted.
Good Luck!
muzzle is not going to be your answer, you have an alpha dog problem. You need to figure out what is going on that is giving your dog the impression that he is in charge. He is also unsocialized. That si something that was suppose to have been done when he was a puppy, but it would appear that never happened. What I would do, but I have done this several times, is when I am out walking him and he starts this behavior, I would grab him by the scruff of the neck and force him to the ground, and if possible, to roll over on his back. This is a technique that alot of behaviorlist will use, "How to be Your Dog's Best Friend" by the Monks of New Skete. You need to show the dog who is the dominate one in the pack cause he currently things he is. All a Muzzle is going to do is contain the problem, not solve it.
A Gentle Leader will help you to control his head. If you get one of these, the DVD that comes with it will help you to introduce it to your dog. If you're worried that he will bite someone, then get a basket muzzle (not a cloth grooming one!) A basket muzzle allows the dog to breathe properly and you can also feed him through the muzzle, which is important as you will need to reward him with food when you're training him.
Please, don't put a shock collar on this dog. It's been proven again and again that these terrible devices do not teach the dog anything. Forcing the dog to the ground and trying to "be dominant", as the above poster suggests, is a great way to get yourself bitten. Hard. Seek the help of a positive trainer who will not punish your dog, but who will help you to help him.

http://www.apdt.com/
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?i...
Your dog is aggressive because your family didn't train him to be socialized as a pup. You are going to need to a canine behaviorist-no doubt about it. You can't have any aggressive dog around. What do you do if he needs to go to a vet? What is he got out? If he hurt someone o something, you would be sued and held criminally liable.
Your best bet is to immediately get the dog in training, and then consult a dog behaviorist. If you don't know where to find a behaviorist, call your vet office and ask for a referral for someone who deals with aggressive dogs. IN the meantime, you need to teach him basic obedience immediately. Sit, stay, come, lay down are all incredibly important for him to learn now. Additionally, make sure you have a muzzle on him every single time he goes for a walk and to the vet office, and talk to your vet about medication options. Meds like Clomicalm and prozac can be used to help calm him enough mentally so you can work on training him to be less aggressive. Meds alone will never work, but will be effective in combination with training.

You sound like you are committed to your dog, and that is great. Just be patient with him, and he will come around.
Train him... Get a prong collar so that you have more control.. If you are seriously worried about what he might do, put a muzzle on him when you walk..
He needs more socialization, which you should have been doing in the last 2 years.. You can't blame anything on your family if you have had the dog with you for 2 years now.

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