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Post by tommyjake on Aug 13, 2005 18:32:45 GMT -5
My 6 year old shetland sheepdog Jake has been attacked by dogs on 3 occasions... the first about a year and a half ago by a staffie, then by a lurcher a year ago, and then by a german shepard about half a year ago. The first attack didnt seem to affect him, but by the time the second attack happeed he began to get really bad with other dogs. And when then he was attacked again he got extreamly bad with other dogs...
Whilst out on walks, if we come across another dog, he wil growl and show his teeth, and size it up. And if the dog comes over, Jake 9 times out of ten will go for it. Snap and bite starting a fight. He is like this with most dogs, but especialy if the dog is running about all over the place, or coming towards him. He also hates boxer dogs and i have no idea why.
Ive heard its called fear aggression, because Jake thinks that the other dog will attack because of past experiences, so he feels the need to attack first in order to protect himself.
Also, some changes in his personality seem to coinside with being attacked....he is now very quiet, refuses to play, never wants to have fun, always seems agitated...and so on... My vet reckons it might have something to do with him being attacked...hes kinda lost his happy spirit...
Before his attacks, he was such a happy and carefree little dog, he used to be absolutly fine with other dogs and always wanted to make friends.
I just want him back to his old self again. How can i train him to stop his aggression with other dogs? I desperatly need a solution, pleae help if you can. any suggestions welcome...
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Post by Aussienot on Aug 14, 2005 0:27:16 GMT -5
There are ways to lessen the occasions of his dog aggression (although you may never be able to overcome it) , and there certainly are ways to encourage his spirit. But first, what were the circumstances of the three attacks? Was he at a free run dog park, or were these free running dogs while you were out walking? And have you made sure he will not be attacked again?
I can understand him being afraid. And yes, from what you've written it does sound like well-earned fear aggression. He was terrorised by the attacks, believes with some justification he will not be protected by his leader, believes it will happen again and is offering a good offence to prevent a future attack.
You will not be able to let this dog off lead, and he should not be around other off lead dogs.
For now, if you are out walking and you encounter another dog, do everything you can to avoid getting close to the other dog. Cross the street, turn and walk the opposite direction, yell to the other owner to keep away, what ever you have to do to keep a safe distance between your dog and the other one. If you walk in an area that has free roaming dogs, choose another area to walk.
Get a friend with a calm non reactive type of dog to help you. Your friend should stand quietly some distance away from you and your dog. Can you get your dog (on leash) 100 feet from a 'scary' dog? If not, can you get him 150 - 200 feet from a 'scary dog'? 300 feet?
Find the distance where he is not bothered, and reward him for being not bothered. This is his tolerance distance.
Over the next few days or weeks, work on getting him closer 1 foot at a time. Gradually desensitise him to the presence of another dog, but never move so quickly that he begins to stress.
And don't force. Never force a fearful dog towards what they are afraid of. That's how fear biters are created.
While you are working on reducing his sensitivity, try these things to improve his spirit.
Be extra vigilant enforcing the rules of NILF
Timid or shy dogs crave a strong pack structure where they understand the rules. When they know what will happen, they stay calm. Certainty = confidence. So while Leadership exercises are normally applied for dominance, they can also be employed as confidence boosters.
Confidence building ways to put Leadership into practice:
* Practice walking through hallways, stairways, doors and gates first. Have the dog follow, but only when you give permission. * Practice the recall on a 30 foot cotton lead (horse lunge line). Work first in a familiar confined space like the backyard, then to the front yard, then to the street, then to a park. * Distance control. Dog is in a secure familiar area like the back yard, or on a long line. Let the dog move a will, but keep the dog within 2 yards of you. As soon as the dog moves too far away, give a correction sound like Aaah or Bahhhh, then recall and praise. * Attentiveness Training. On lead at first, then off lead in a secure area. You walk around silently, changing direction quickly and randomly. Praise and treat if dog watches and follows you. If the dog’s attention flags, make a game of it. Whoop it up and try to run away, then praise and play when the dog catches up. * Use a crate. Give the dog a ‘safe haven’ and allow retreat into the safe place whenever the situation may become stressful. * Use of a radio, particularly on talk stations when the dog is left alone
Engage in physical activity which makes the dog think: * Obedience work, focusing 80% on things the dog currently knows. Start and finish with a exercise the dog is very strong with. * Backyard agility. It’s easy enough to make your own pvc pipe jumps, tire jumps weave poles, and table. You can buy tunnels for under $100. Agility, done with purely positive really builds confidence in the nervous dog. * Tracking – unless you’ve got a herding dog, tracking is the only solo dog activity I can think of, and it has the added advantage of being equipment light and all on leash. * Retrieving games, like The two hose game - have two identical toys. Throw one in one direction. When the dog starts to come back to you with the toy, throw the other one in the opposite direction. Pick up the dropped two when the dog goes for the second toy. Keep yourself in the middle of the game, and gradually ask the dog to return the toy almost to your feet before the next throw. * Teach various tricks. See the 'Purely Positive' forum for ideas
Play games that encourage the dog to try:
* The food balls that the dog has to roll to extract the food * Tug games – and let the dog win 2 out of 10 times * Hide a toy and send the dog to go find it * Teach catching and work up to spectacular levels of difficulty * Hide and Seek with your dog (the last two also can include some obedience practice with sit or down stays)
Medical
* A Raw diet (species appropriate and chemical free) may help in aggression cases. * Reduce vaccinations to the bare minimum that is legal in your area * Naturopathy or Homeopath treatments can be extremely useful. * A vet check is a must to rule out thyroid or other underlying medical causes.
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Post by Brooke on Aug 14, 2005 22:05:57 GMT -5
I would kind of like to know as well where these attacks are taking place. It seems odd that this has happened 3 times. It ultimately sounds like you are going to need to re-evaluate the places you are taking him and look for some safer environments to allow him to be in.
Lets say for instance you got shot 3 times in a certain part of town and the person you were with continued to make you go there... 1. how comfortable would you be in the area? and 2. How comfortable would you be with trusting the person you are with to ...among many other things to protect you.
Although we don't know all the circumstances yet...and there are things you can do to alieviate the situation and encourage change, I'm thinking you may possibly be expecting a lot out of him for a full recovery for what he's been through...
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Post by tommyjake on Aug 15, 2005 18:11:13 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice. Each attack has been at a differnt location. The first one was whilst we were at our freetyle training lesson, and suddenly this staffie came running into our training lesson completly unsupervised and off lead from a nearby house. It ignored the other dogs but went straight for jake; grabbing him by the throat. And the second time was out on a walk, Jake was on his extending lead. we approached a turning in the field and jake went round infront of us, and the lurcher - which was off lead- came round the other side of the corner. So the two dogs met face to face. Jake just stood there, and suddenly the lurcher grabbed him by the neck and shook him about. the owner didnt do anything, but just said 'oh hes done this before'
Then the 3rd time, we were in a differnt field near to our house. And as before, Jake came face to face with the other dog- the german shepard- round a corner whilst on the extending lead. the dog was off lead and there was no sight of the owner. By this time Jake was already quite bad with other dogs, but he stood still and didnt show any aggression towards the german shepard, but all of a sudden the dog grabbed Jake by the throat and threw him about - it was his worst attack yet! And completly out of the blue. His owner then appeared from the other side of the field and leaded up her dog.
Since then Jake is aggressive towards most dogs... the majority. We never let him go round corners first, and try to avoid dogs whenever possible. We have tryed so many things like walking from a distance, and treating him if he ignores the other dog. but nothing ever works. He tends to be the worst with dogs who are off lead and running around wildly.
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Post by tommyjake on Aug 15, 2005 18:25:01 GMT -5
Aussienot - yea i do a number of things you suggested... he does obedience, freestyle and agility. I play games with him alot, and hide a treat and say 'find it'. And i also do leadership exercises with him. These games and mentally active things i do with him keep him happy at the time, but as soon as i stop he becomes deppressed again. Also, he chews his feet alot, and i have heard that this is a sign of stress. Is this true?
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Post by sibemom on Aug 24, 2005 18:52:59 GMT -5
Chewing or excessive licking can be a sign of anxiety, it also can be a sign of allergies. Have you taken him in for a complete blood work up? With the way you describe his behaviors as far as the fear aggresion of other dogs, I would bet it's anxiety. All it takes is one time for a dog to be attacked by another for them to become dog aggresive and yes it is usualy brought on by the fear of getting attacked again. Aussie mapped it out perfectly on what to do and if you are already following some of this with little success then you might have to go a step farther and look into some medications. I am not big fan of medicating a dog for aggresion or anxiety but sometimes you have to. I used a natural remedy with my GSD, and we have had MAJOR SUCCESS, she too was very similar in her fear aggresion of not only other dogs but people. She has gotten 100% better. She's still a little fussy about other dogs but by giving her the remedy it got her to a relaxed point where she would accept what I was teaching her more then when she was so stressed. She was never attacked by another dog, this was just something I am sure in her nature/breeding, that we had to work through. I have since stopped using it and she is still holding fast by focusing on me and not the other dogs. Check into it, natural methods can be helpful, and my vet always for this type of issue prefers to go the natural way first
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