I think I need Ceasar Millan.

[PUZZLDY5]

Back story here:

My dog Buster passed away if March. That left the house with Kira and Cassi. We opened our hearts and home to a puppy a couple of weeks ago.
Kira is an English Mastiff. She is 158lbs of love bug. The adores Xavier (the puppy). They play they run and chase each other. It's hilarious.
Cassi, HATES the puppy. (She is about 40 lbs mutt. Think Basset hound body with doberman attitude) She has become more and more aggressive with the pup and is now becoming more and more agressive with people comming in the house. Not with us or the people she knows but people she doesn't know. For example, my DH is interviewing people to bushhog the field. She went bananas when these people come in the house. Snarling, growling, snapping the works. I had to put her out back to get ther to stop. God help us if there is a stray dog come up to the fence line cause she goes nuts. If somebody would have asked me 6 months ago if she was capable of this I would have said no way. Today, not so much. I don't know what to do here. We've had her for 6 years now and I don't want to get rid of her but I can't have this.
If there are any dog trainers out there that could give me some advice I sure would sppreciate it.

ETA: This has started before we got the pup and before Buster passed away it's just getting progressivly worse.

 

[Carnie]

Sounds like she needs a vet work up. Could be a neurological issue, especially since you say it started before you got the puppy.

 

[sunnyday123]

Have you vet do a thyroid panel to rule out anything health wise; then, for the love of everything Holy, don't do anything CM does. Google Ian Dunbar instead. He's an amazing trainer who doesn't have the celebrity status CM does, but is 100 times better.

 

[FredinFL]

I've used CM methods with my guy with great results.

 

[PUZZLDY5]

Sorry, I forgot to mention I already took her to the vet cause I was sure something was medicly wrong but all the tests came back normal. I thought she had to be in pain or something was going on but she couldn't find anything.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

How much exercise does Cassi get? She could simply be one of those higher-energy dogs that's not getting enough exercise which is exacerbating her anxiety and bad behavior.

Does Cassi get regular walks/runs?

Just letting a dog out into the backyard isn't good exercise, even if they're running back and forth a lot ... they tend to get that "fenceline" mentality and think that need to defend "theirs."

Taking longer walks gets them out into unfamiliar territory and helps to stimulate the dog's mind as well as muscles....

 

[Simba22]

I'm a trainer but this is a behavior issue, NOT a training issue. You may want to contact a behaviorist in your area.

That being said...it sounds like an attention thing. Dogs will do ANYTHING to get ANY kind of attention...whether it's positive or negative. They would rather have you pay attention to them in a negative way, than not at all.

The trick is to not reward the behavior. If she is lashing out, don't coddle her. Try your best to ignore her. Remove her from the room without eye contact and without petting her, but don't yell at her either. Just remove her, close the door and walk away. When she is quiet, go and get her. Tell her "good quiet" and give her a treat. If she starts again, you start again. It may take a while for the pattern to set it, but eventually, she will figure out that bad behavior gets her a time out.

And try to avoid, as much as possible, using her crate as her time out spot. She will start to see it as a place of punishment for some wrong doing, and if you truly need her to go in it for something NOT behavior related, she will be afraid of it and avoid it. A dog's crate should be their "safe haven"...a place they can go to feel comfortable and safe.

I would recommend that you get her outside and just DO stuff with her. Play ball, go for walks, etc. You can desensitize her to other dogs/strangers by bringing her outside on a leash and having someone stand on the other side of your yard. Let her bark to her hearts content....but neither you or the other party should react. When she's quiet, and lays down, relaxed, give her a treat and lots of praise and have the "stranger" come a step or two closer. Do this until you are within a comfortable chatting distance (like if you were out for a walk and bumped into a friend and decided to stop and talk for a few minutes). You will have to do this daily! Don't push her too hard though. If you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed, she will be too. Dogs "feed" off of our emotions. If we're stressed/upset/nervous/sad...they know it. If you tense up, she will too.

As far as celebrity trainers go....I prefer the methods of Victoria Stillwell over Ceasar. Nothing AGAINST him...I just like Victoria's methods better and I think they are easier for "regular people" to follow.

 

[Sweetpancake]

Could it be that you're still grieving the loss of your old dog and she senses this and is being protective of you and your husband? Calm Assertiveness Our dogs are a reflection of ourselves.

 

[PUZZLDY5]

OP here..

Simba22 thank you for the advice. I will try that. It's just so bizzare how she has started doing this.


The reference to Ceaser Millan was sort of a joke thing. I think he's a great trainer but I'm not closed minded to any other methods either. Whatever works without mistreatment is good for me.

Maybe part of me is still mourning my Buster. We had him for 11 years. Not real easy to just snap out of a loss like that. Not for me anyway so maybe she is picking up on that a little bit.

I try and walk her. I try and walk her and puppy together (the whole pack thing) and she shuts down. She will not walk. She does just fine if it's just me and her. It's a struggle to take her. I will try again though.

 

[luvwinnie]

As someone who has worked through fear aggression issues with our adopted bulldog, I second the suggestion to get DVDs, books etc by Ian Dunbar and also jean Donaldson (Culture Clash is a book I think EVERY dog owner should read), but I also highly recommend you see a behaviorist as this is not something easily fixed on your own. It will take a lot of time and patience once you come up with a plan with the behaviorist. I wish you luck, i know how frustrating this can be, but there is hope.

 

[Aisling]

I need Cesar Millan, too. Calm and assertive, oooh baby!