Boston starts the fight.....mummy is the one that ends up in ER!
My boston saw my cousins dog today ( they used to be best friends, who knows what happened??) and they just launched at each other... i was so scared that my dog was gonna get hurt that i tried to get in the middle of them - my boston walked away without so much as a scratch - and stupid mummy (me!!) now has 2 rather bruised and bitten fingers and a thumb thats totally distroyed - im pretty sure that im gonna have a nice scar the whole length of my thumb to show for it!
Anyone else had a problem with aggressive behaviour like this? I dont understand, THEY WERE best friends! spent the whole day together upstairs in their big kennel and now as soon as they sell each other they get on edge, if one of them starts barking, they both go off and then attack ! Wero has already got a scar on his lip from thier last "fight" which is when we first saw them like this.... and now i have spent 1000 dollars on making a nice big pen for them to run around in all day together and i cant put them up there because im afraid to come back to a chewed up dog!
Can you describe what steps you've taken to work on his leash reactivity (you talked a little about that in another thread--something about a corrective collar)? Be specific about how you respond when he would tense up on the leash. I have some ideas but don't want to make any assumptions, and it would be very helpful to know how you managed the other behavior--they can be related. Thanks!
well as soon as he starts to get tense or crazy i try to quickly get him interested in something else, when we are out, its walking faster or calling his attention, which usually works... he is always on a short lease but he gets pulled to attention, no yelling, no shouting, always trying to keep calm but sometimes he zones out - in the park i dont seem to have any problems, if he gets alittle crazy, a small tug on his leash in the direction we are walking and keep on going and he is fine.... to be honest, 99% of the time at the park when he is OFF leash, he goes upto other dogs and has no problems....just has a sniff and carries on...he has only had problems at the park when the other dog has snapped at him first for being a curious puppy and getting too close....but at home, with the other dogs... its just a nightmare.... they see each other and if anyone starts barking - all hell breaks loose, no amount of leash, calling, food will snap him out of it... the two of them to be honest, my BT and my cousins dog... the water spray usually has wero running for cover but even that doesnt faze him when his gets in this state.... its a complete flip to how them used to be together!
*Sidenote to this is that i have been thinking recently that maybe my BT is just a good dog with a soft owner that doesnt put him in his place enough. BT came 6 months ago at age 4 months, our 2yr old Min Pin wasnt happy, they soon made friends but the "baby" BT is clearly favoured by mommy... he gets his dinner first, doesnt get told off or told to get down as much, sleeps on mommys bed.... its just kinda hit me that maybe my BT needs to be treated abit more like a dog every once in a while.... told off when he does wrong... not treated like a prince all the time. he knows where to pee although has just started scenting all over the house,sits for food and treats,on command...but as far as anything else, i really do just let him do what he wants and my partner says that i am going to have to stop using the line "he is just a baby" very soon because its not going to be an excuse forever... my BT is a total mommys boy, very jealous of anyone with mommy....crys if i leave him for just a minute!.... maybe half of his behaviour issues with other dogs comes from how I are treating him *
I think you've hit on something regarding how you treat the puppy. When I was researching how to integrate Tessie into our house with our senior dog, one of the things it said is that the "first" dog should be fed first, treated first, given more attention in order to show the puppy the pack order. It's really hard NOT to treat the puppy as "most important" and, because they're so stinkin' cute, baby the heck out of 'em, but it doesn't always work best in the long run....
Full.... wero was told to get off the sofa last night..... he didnt get the last bite of mommies quesadilla...... and they slept together in the living room all night. Wero was whining alittle at the gate ( that we had to put up to block them off from the rest of the house) but not as much as I had imagined.... damage report this morning? as of yet I havnt found anything destroyed although he had pooped in the kitchen ( even though there is a puppy pad in the laundry room for accidents!!!! grrrrrr)...
*He isnt neutered but its something we are talking about - went to the vets 2 days ago to check out when and how etc, hoping to get him booked in for the next week or two to have him done - and the female min-pin whilst we are there.
Neutering will help a LOT. Testosterone coursing through his system is not helpful and without proper handling (and I'm raising my hand to say that I wouldn't know what to do, either--my breeder does!) can cause some nice behavior. You should see some mellowing out after the surgery.
Thanks for those - i will have a read.
We just went for a walk me and wero alone, a good hour we walked in the opposite direction to which we normally go. The first dog he saw was a big lab which he immeadiately barked at and wanted to rip to shreds.... he then walked past 3 oher dogs and bearly even flinched..... as if he wasnt interested at all?!?!! so weirdddd.....
I think i need to really be marching him up and down like this more often, he is completely tired out now - i can hear him snoring through the patio doors!
Yes, tired is GOOD, LOL! Mine get all vibrating if they don't get a good walk with some off leash time every day.
It may be good to add "feisty Fido" to your must read list--I've been using the techniques on Truman and have seen dramatic and complete transformation. Not just on walks, either. Once i got him to relax on his leash around other dogs, he was free to relax at home. Whenever they freak out on leash (or any time) they release cortisol and adrenaline in their bloodstream. This then stays there for 48 hours, causing all kinds of health issues and stress! So what they have found is if you use classical conditioning (think Pavolov), you change the emotion behind the reaction and keep them from starting that flood of hormones. I've been using a clicker and treats to get him to stop staring at other dogs--he can look for a count of two, then I call his name, he looks at me, I click and give a treat (the click is an immediate mark of the behavior you want, the treat comes after). Once he got what I wanted, he looked on his own, then looked at me on his own. Click and treat. His body was relaxed, and he walked without reaction. Yesterday it was past 6 dogs he's reacted to before! Today, it was past a good fence fight that my other two were trying to engage themselves in. Truman stayed calm and looked to me (and my treats). Over time, the treats are phased out and brought out for refreshers every so often.
ANY negative addition to the situation only adds to the stress response, so any choke collar, any tug, harsh word, etc. is only going to add to the stress. It may indeed curb the behavior, but you will see that stress come out in other places--either you may get bitten, he may freak out over other dogs he loved before, etc. I saw Truman's extra stress in how he played with his brother--he was incredibly rough and they'd escalate every time to a war. With the change in training, he's playing appropriately with Jango, and is overall more relaxed.
Read those articles as well--they are very helpful in understanding true dog psychology--not that pop-culture preached by Cesar Milan. And the one featuring multiple dogs is really helpful. She knows her stuff--since that article, she's added a Great Dane who was left in a garage for the first 6 months of her life with no socialization. You'd never know it with how well she's doing.
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Boston starts the fight.....mummy is the one that ends up in ER!
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