Help with agressionQuestion:I have an american bull dog who is two years old. Over the last two years he has had both of his knees replaced (TPLO surgeries). I started trianing and solcializing him when he was a puppy, but the whole knee stuff started and it has been a long couple of years with surgery and recovery. He has never had formal training beyond a few lessons. Now that I am able to take him out for walks on a regular basis (for his recovery) he is exhibiting some aggression. He was socialized a lot as a puppy and we have another dog (male golden retriever) and cat who he adores. But and it's a big but, He acted rather aggressive to some kids at the park today. He lunged and growled at one kid who ran over to pet him. He acts nervous and shakes a bit when people walk by. He has never had an agressive reaction in his life before this. I am really thrown and am not sure what to do. I was about to enroll him in trainig again, but I am not sure if he needs behavoiral therapy, one on one training or what now. Does anyone have any advise about what route to go?:confused: Answer: Maybe the kid didn't approach him properly. How is he when he is approached slowly, without eye contact, and is petted only on the chest? Does your dog exhibit this behavior only when on-leash? Maybe you can consult a canine behaviorist, and train him yourself at home in the meantime. Answer: I recommend you get a reputable trainer or behaviorist to help you. Don't go with anyone who uses aggressive means to train your dog. There are a lot of people who think that harshness solves aggression. It does not. It makes it worse. More exposure to kids, but from a distance where he is not agitated....lots of treats for calm behavior. Walk past a fenced school yard or park. Don't allow anyone to run toward your dog. Turn him away if he even begins to get agitated...get his attention on you with a treat lure. You can also browse the forums for other training tips in the meantime. But I would definitely get him together with a reputable, gentle trainer or better yet, a certified behaviorist. Hope things improve. Answer: Thanks for the quick replys. Yes, Brando seems much calmer in the house than on leash. I just thought he was excited about the walks, but I am starting to think he's more nervous than excited. Before he got agressive, a little girl approched him (slowly) and pet him. This was fine until two other kids appoched, one running with his hand out. That's when Brando lunged/growled at the boy. He has been couped up in the house and only on leash in the backyard. He get's a lot of visitors in the house and gets really excited, licks/wags his tail etc. He does kinda move his head away when people pet him there, and likes the chest/belly better. When I walk him he pulls a lot, esp. when people are around. I thought he was excited to see people like he is at home. I am not sure if it is the unframiliar envirionment, children or a combination of things. Either way I am going to look up some trainers in my area tomorrow. Answer: Maybe he feels more "trapped" when he's on a leash, so he feels like he has to be on the defensive. It also seems like people need to be more gentle and slow down when meeting Brando. It's not unusual for a dog to be uncomfortable with being approached head-on rapidly and stroked on the head by a stranger. When he encounters a person who wants to pet him, just tell them to avoid eye contact, let him sniff their hand, and to give him chest rubs instead. Good luck with finding a good trainer. Remember: don't let a trainer use a particular method if you feel uncomfortable with it. Answer: No kind or amount of surgery should cause a change in a dog's temperament. I think it's more conincidental with the fact that your dog has reached finally reached maturity. However, I don't think this behavior is appropriate nor typical of the breed, but I have a good friend who is a tried & true AB owner & trainer (competes with her dogs). I'm going to send her over here. And no offense, but I refuse to place blame on other people when my dog acts like a complete aggressive ass. I don't care if kids are running around playing cops & robbers screaming at the tops of their lungs, no dog should lunge & growl at them. Although I don't necessarily trust kids around dogs farther than I can throw them, I think we've begun putting too much blame on them to explain negative behaviors in dogs so we feel ok about it. ;) Answer: No kind or amount of surgery should cause a change in a dog's temperament. I think it's more conincidental with the fact that your dog has reached finally reached maturity. it could be, or he could be in some amount of pain or traumatized by the surgery. how long ago was the last surgery? (also, i didn't think they were blaming the children. to me it came across like Dizzy was just describing what set Brando off.) Answer: However, I don't think this behavior is appropriate nor typical of the breed, but I have a good friend who is a tried & true AB owner & trainer (competes with her dogs). I'm going to send her over here. And no offense, but I refuse to place blame on other people when my dog acts like a complete aggressive ass. I don't care if kids are running around playing cops & robbers screaming at the tops of their lungs, no dog should lunge & growl at them. Although I don't necessarily trust kids around dogs farther than I can throw them, I think we've begun putting too much blame on them to explain negative behaviors in dogs so we feel ok about it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I totally agree that it is not appropriate temperament and/or learned behavior and that we can't blame the environment for everything a dog does. It IS the dog reacting abnormally to these triggers. HOWEVER.....the fact is....this dog IS unstable for whatever reasons with kids running up close, with people coming down over his head with their hands and the only way to combat this fear at this point is to work with the dog, try to socialize him more, desensatize him gradually to the targets which bring on this behavior. It is a natural thing for a lot of dogs to dislike being petted on top of the head or for people to come at them head on, bending over them etc. When they're at the point where they're biting or lunging, this is extreme. To help the dog get more comfortable with that, he needs to be worked with in a methodical and correct way. I think it's important not to get him close to kids because he may well bite. Walking on he outskirts of a park or school yard would help a little bit in getting him use to kids while associating good treats with them. I also think it's imperative to get in a reputable behaviorist to observe him and help you before this gets even worse. It's very difficult on the Internet when we can't see all the nuances of his body language and the rest of it. I agree that the surgery is highly unlikely to have anything to do with it. Answer: If your dog "shakes and acts nervous" when its around people that is a TEMPERAMENT problem, not a training problem. This is what I would call a fear biter. You can't train a dog to not be afraid or nervous. That is genetic. Fear biters are dangerous. You never know what is going to set them off. I agree totally with Miakoda, no surgery should create these types of issues in a sound dog. Good, strong temperaments are hard to ruin. I hate to say this but this dog sounds like a canidate for euthanization. Answer: I don't think anyone was blaming other people or the kids either. My suggestion was just so that the chances of getting another extreme reaction from Brando would hopefully be reduced if a person who wanted to meet him took it more slow. It's not their fault if he reacts that way though, which is why I think he should see a behaviorist. Answer: it could be, or he could be in some amount of pain or traumatized by the surgery. how long ago was the last surgery? (also, i didn't think they were blaming the children. to me it came across like Dizzy was just describing what set Brando off.) Traumatized by surgery? Please tell me you are kidding. I have never in my 5 years of doing surgeries, ever seen an animal traumatized by something they were asleep for. And my own dogs have had their fair share as I had one with severe bilateral HD whom I did an FHO on, one with horrible hips & knees who tore both ACLs so we replaced those, another who leg was injured so we fused the elbow joint, numerous spays & neuters............ The truth is a stable dog is a stable dog is a stable dog. You can modify behaviors sometimes but you cannot take an unstable dog, change it's genetic makeup, & make it a stable one. I've also owned, own, & dealt with dogs that have been through severe abuse and/or neglect & yet many of these dogs were & are still happy go lucky. That's because they are mentally stable. There are way too many stable dogs out there to keep letting unstable ones have chance after chance to hurt someone. |
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