If she see's a dog on the street, I have to cross the road and make her sit behind a car so she can't see, but she still jumps around, barks and growls. It's nearly impossible. She goes to dog training, but we have to work with a lot of extra space around us because if another dog looks at her, she'll crack.
I can walk her past any cat, no problem. She loves people and she'll happily allow my 5 year old niece to pull at her ears and kiss her face, not that I'd ever leave them alone.
What tactics would you use to try to calm her aggression? I've been working with her for a year and a half so far. Trainers at class don't do much to help her, they've tried to ban her from classes a few times because they're afraid my tiny 55kg frame won't be able to hold onto her 60kg, even though I've never let go of her before. I've tried a few behaviorists in the area, but none seemed to have make much progress.
Dog Training Aids - Do You Know How Safe The Methods Used For Dog Obedience Training Are?
Recommended Answer:
Here is a link to the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors http://www.nadoi.org/
Also check with the shelters to see if anyone offers a special class, it is often called a growley or growler class. Read books by Patricia McConnell. You can't expect to do this on your own.
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/
Dog Training Command - Communicating With Your Dog
- Animals that live in groups have to be able to communicate in order to cooperate and
avoid disputes. Communicating involves a set of postural and facial signals that indicate
the animal's mood and intent. Affiliative (Friendly) Behavior decreases the social
distance between participants in an interaction. A relaxed body, rapid tail wag, jumping,
whimpering, barking in a playful way and a “happy face” are characteristics of affiliative
behavior. Aggressive behavior is also a part of normal social behavior. Dogs have
choices to make as to how to react when social conflict presents itself. These choices are
termed agonistic (social conflict) behaviors. One choice a dog can make when he feels
threatened or challenged is to avoid the social conflict by fleeing. Avoidance behaviors
include backing away or trying to escape. Another choice a dog can make is to display
submissive behaviors in order to turn off or inhibit a threat. Active submission is
expressed by ears flattened or pulled back, tail tucked, eye contact avoided (looks away),
body turned away, eyes dilated, and whining or high pitched vocalizations. Passive
submission is expressed by the dog rolling onto its back, exposing its abdomen and
sometimes urinating. A third choice a dog can make is to threaten. Threatening
behavior is a warning that if the recipient doesn't stop what he is doing, a bite could
happen. Threatening behavior is expressed by barking, growling, staring, showing teeth,
lunging, snapping, and inhibited bites. The last choice a dog can make when it is
threatened or challenged is to act aggressively.
What is aggressive behavior?
Aggressive behavior has the intent to do harm to another. Animal behaviorists generally
discriminate two kinds of aggressive behaviors, offensive and defensive. Offensive
aggression is expressed by lunging, chasing, and moving toward the opponent. The
dog's body postures make him appear larger and more intimidating by standing up tall
with a stiff body,orienting towards the opponent and raising the hair on the back. His tail
is straight up in a vertical line and may be wagging slowly. The dog's ears are up and
forward or pricked forward. There is direct eye contact or staring, teeth are bared and he
may be barking and/or growling. Defensive aggression is when the dog is protective or
fearful. He may hold his position or move away. His body is crouched, the hair on his
back may be raised, and he is usually not directly oriented toward the opponent. His tail
is usually down, ears pinned back and he may look away from his opponent, or alternate
between staring and avoidance of eye contact. The dog's teeth may be bared and he may
be growling, barking or whining and whimpering. Ambivalent behavior is when the dog
has mixed motivations, and displays both offensive and defensive behaviors such as
staring with ears flattened or crouched body posture and lunging. When the dog has not
yet decided what to do, he may engage in displacement behaviors such as licking,
yawning, scratching, and/or sneezing.
What are the different types of aggressive behavior?
Dominance Aggression is motivated by a challenge to the dog's social status or to his
control of a social interaction. Dogs are social animals and view their human families as
their social group. If the dog perceives one of his family members or other dogs have
challenged him, he may threaten or attack. Challenges may occur over a preferred
resting spot, food or toys. Even hugging or reaching over the dog may cause the dog to
respond aggressively. Dominance aggression is the reasons for fighting between family
dogs. Sometimes one dog is bullying the other dog by following it around and instigating
fights even though the other dog is being submissive and trying to avoid confrontation.
Dominance aggression is most commonly seen in males between the ages of 18-36
months (See What You Should Know About Dominance Aggression). It is an offensive
type of aggression. Possessive Aggression is when the dog is defending a valuable
object such as a bone, a toy, or a favored sleeping place such as a couch. Possessive
aggression may have offensive or defensive components. Sometimes dominance and
possessive aggression will overlap. Territorial Aggression is when the dog is
attempting to defend his perceived property, the house, the yard or even a regularly
walked path. The dog may be so motivated to get at the intruder that he jumps fences or
goes through windows and doors. The owner may or may not be present. Territorial
aggression has mostly offensive components but may have defensive components as well.
Protective Aggression is when the dog is attempting to protect you or himself from a
real or a perceived threat such as a stranger or another dog. It has mostly offensive
components. Possessive, territorial and protective aggression are similar forms of
aggression and may overlap each other. Pain induced aggression is a def - In the United States many people call themselves "behaviorists", but have little or no educational background in canine behavior. You need to seek the assistance of either a veterinary behaviorist or a university educated, CERTIFIED canine behaviorist. Contact the veterinary medicine department of Purdue or Tufts for a referral.
Unfortunately, I suspect you are not located in the US, and I'm afraid I don't know where to refer you in your country. (Americans rarely measure weight in kilograms).
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