Doggie dilemma

[Tracy Savage]

We have a dog that is VERY lovable with us and people he knows. He is fear aggressive with people he doesn't know. He hasn't bitten anyone but he threatens. Anyway, would getting a calmer female dog help his disposition?

 

[simba928]

the number 1 thing your dog needs is to be socialized. I would contact a behaviorist in your area that knows how to handle that issue. The last thing you want is for your dog to bite you or someone else. Find someone that knows what they're doing and can come see your dog in action as opposed to you just explaining over the phone. And you will need a lot of patience and time. There is no magic cure for dogs like that, not even getting another dog.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No. I have a dog that is similar and he has bitten someone. It was my 8yo nephew.

We have a female dog with a good dispostion. She will correct him because he is "off" or if he is being aggressive when he should not be. They have gotten in a few fights when he has become aggressive towards me. She will fly in and attack him.

We muzzle him in public which helps the anxiety of the person because you know he cannot bite. We were at the park today with him muzzled however at one point a shih-zhu came into "our space" and he went "red zone". He was disciplined quickly.

We are probably going to put the dog down. Right now we are trying to see if we can socialize him a little better. However he is probably as good as he is going to get. He was messed up bad when we got him at 4mons and he has come along way but now that he has bitten we are just sick that we may put him down.

He is an insecure dog and will always be that way. We have done a ton of work and he has come along way. He has gone from fearing the bike (at 4mons) to running alongside it at the park today. He is going on 5ys old now.

In short another dog is not the answer. It will just be more problems. My other dog is suffering socially because of him.

 

[Pakey]

I will also say no. I have a male who I adopted at 20 months; he had been abused and has horrible fear/agression. If I had children still living at home, I would not have been able to take this dog.

We have a very sweet loving female who is a year older than the male and it has not made a bit of difference in the male's disposition. He ignores her except he will growl at her if she comes near me while he is on my lap.

He's small and has few teeth but the intent is definitely there. He has shared our home for 2 years with the other dog here and I have seen little improvement. He has other "issues" and would have to be put down if it weren't for us; nobody else would be crazy enough to keep a dog like this.

 

[kellyg403]

I also would say no. We have a dog that no matter the socialization I can not ever let her around the grandbabies without fear. She has issues with things 'smaller' than herself. She is a lab and something mixed and is not very large. She was found with 3 litermates in a box at the grocery store. She weighed the most, but we are talking oz's. They had ticks all over them, the vet said probably their living conditions were horrendous, for them and the mother. His guess is the mother, not being taken care of, probably died and the owner got rid of the puppies. They were less than 3 weeks old. One of the puppies, my dil has and she is wonderful. No aggression, no worries. Plays with my grandd with no issues and actually takes a lot from her. Our girl, has never been around smaller children or dogs or cats. Any one of those things and she gets crabby. And aggressive. We have tried a lot of things. We already had an older female boxer, very docile, in the house when she came. They have gotten into it a few times and now, Chloe the lab mix, does not even go to her food bowl until Ginger has eaten. Ginger puts the little dog in her place and I know that Chloe gets it.

I wish you luck. We love this dog, but we have tried so many things. She is so smart. I thought we were getting better with things. We have been doing the socialization as recommended. Not long ago, my neighbors little toy poodle wandered in our yard. The boys were coming in the house and Chloe beelined out the door and onto that poor puppy. Without a doubt she does not like anything smaller and it is not an option. Our neighbors bigger dog is a chow. One time not long ago, the dog got out and somehow got into the back yard fence and spent the day with my dogs. Not a minute of issue...because the dog is bigger? Only thing I can assume.

Kelly

 

[luvwinnie]

Is your dog a rescue? Have you worked with a trainer? Is the dog aggressive in all situations or can you determine triggers? There is hope for fear aggressive dogs. We adopted Hooch, our bulldog, 2 years ago, and at first he was completely shut down. After a few months he developed fear aggression towards anyone who came to the house, including my family who he knew. We worked with a trainer and through positive training, love and patience, he overcame it. Is he a "perfect" dog? No...he can stiill be "reactive" every now and then but he has made huge strides. We have learned SO much from him about dog behavior and about patience and acceptance.

 

[luvwinnie]

I also would say no. We have a dog that no matter the socialization I can not ever let her around the grandbabies without fear. She has issues with things 'smaller' than herself. She is a lab and something mixed and is not very large. She was found with 3 litermates in a box at the grocery store. She weighed the most, but we are talking oz's. They had ticks all over them, the vet said probably their living conditions were horrendous, for them and the mother. His guess is the mother, not being taken care of, probably died and the owner got rid of the puppies. They were less than 3 weeks old. One of the puppies, my dil has and she is wonderful. No aggression, no worries. Plays with my grandd with no issues and actually takes a lot from her. Our girl, has never been around smaller children or dogs or cats. Any one of those things and she gets crabby. And aggressive. We have tried a lot of things. We already had an older female boxer, very docile, in the house when she came. They have gotten into it a few times and now, Chloe the lab mix, does not even go to her food bowl until Ginger has eaten. Ginger puts the little dog in her place and I know that Chloe gets it.

I wish you luck. We love this dog, but we have tried so many things. She is so smart. I thought we were getting better with things. We have been doing the socialization as recommended. Not long ago, my neighbors little toy poodle wandered in our yard. The boys were coming in the house and Chloe beelined out the door and onto that poor puppy. Without a doubt she does not like anything smaller and it is not an option. Our neighbors bigger dog is a chow. One time not long ago, the dog got out and somehow got into the back yard fence and spent the day with my dogs. Not a minute of issue...because the dog is bigger? Only thing I can assume.

Kelly

That's interesting. Our Hooch has issues with dogs larger than him. I've never seen him "react" to smaller dogs.

 

[kellyg403]

I agree...strange. But, again, I think it was because there has never been anyone in the house smaller than herself. Ever. She was about 2 1/2 when the grandbabies came along. While they were crawling she would growl and had to be removed. So, we never let her out when they were coming over. They are 4 now and she is better with them. You can let them interact but they are bigger than she is now, walking and talking etc. I can only assume that is the case.

It took forever to get her to even walk on a leash. She missed a lot of socialization because even as a puppy if you got near her with a lease she would literally pee on the floor and yelp. I can only think, even as a small puppy a few weeks old...there was an issue there.

Kelly

 

[luvwinnie]

I forgot to suggest books at www.dogwise.com. A great one is "Scaredy Dog".

 

[Tracy Savage]

Is your dog a rescue? Have you worked with a trainer? Is the dog aggressive in all situations or can you determine triggers? There is hope for fear aggressive dogs. We adopted Hooch, our bulldog, 2 years ago, and at first he was completely shut down. After a few months he developed fear aggression towards anyone who came to the house, including my family who he knew. We worked with a trainer and through positive training, love and patience, he overcame it. Is he a "perfect" dog? No...he can stiill be "reactive" every now and then but he has made huge strides. We have learned SO much from him about dog behavior and about patience and acceptance.

Yes he was a rescue, but he was just a puppy. He sailed thru obedience classes, much better than the purebreds I have to say! He was about a year old when we started to notice his issues. He's a beagle and shepard mix. He is so sweet at home you would never know what he all about. I have tried to socialize by walking in public, having people over and taking him to the vets office for hours at a time for weeks. We would just walk the lobby see people and pets. (big office) it was so stressful on him. His eyes would be bloodshot, his ears all red and hot and I swear his fur would fall off in clumps! He never lunged or showed his teeth but he barks and has a fit continually. If he knows you he loves you, you can't keep him away from you.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

It really depends on the dog. My Eragon was a rescue and we know nothing about his background, but he exhibits all the signs of abuse. He latched onto me very quickly, but when he is around people he doesn't know, he will bark at them and hide behind me. If somebody he doesn't know tries to pet him, he flinches a mile. It used to be when somebody came over, he would bark nonstop no matter what I would do.

About six months after adopting Erie, I adopted Matthias. He had been brought in with his litter because the owners weren't expecting puppies. This dog has neve met a stranger. He is high energy and loves everybdoy. He has really brought Erie out of his shell. Erie is still scared of strangers and may still bark, but he stops barking pretty quickly and will let most people pet him. Adopting Mattie was the best thing I could have done for Erie. But Erie was never aggressive. HE barked and maybe growled once or twice (if that) but he has never bitten nor shown any signs that he might bite.

Talk to your vet about things you can do, or a dog behaviorist. You said he sailed through obedience, perhaps there is a more advanced obedience class he can take. Is there a chance he was abused? The most classic symtpom is being hand shy around strangers. There are specific things you can do for dogs who were abused.