We have two black labs, an uncle (Mottie - now 7 years old) and a nephew (Mowgli - now 5 years old). We live in the country and so rarely meet other dogs on long walks. They are healthy, walked every day and settled. Three years ago we took them both on leads to a Country Fair where there were lots of other dogs on leads. Mowgli suddenly attacked another dog (lots of noise, no biting, nothing serious), then another one two hours later. Still on the lead, I immediately nipped his ear on both occasions and he rolled over and took the punishment. We thought initially that it was a protective instinct, however he then attacked a much smaller dog, so no pattern. Since then he will always come to heel when we spot other dogs, call him to heel and he stays there. When he gets close then the hackles go up. I pre-empt by nipping his ear and praise him when he doesn't react, but it is a constant situation where we don't know how he will react. There seems to be no pattern. It would make sense to introduce him to lots of other dogs while on a lead and praise him when there is no reaction and punish him when there is, but I need to know that whatever I try will work. Would a spray collar reinforce the lesson? I am reluctant to involve a canine psychologist as we have always had dogs and have never had an issue up until now. This one baffles me. Any thoughts much appreciated. Rory
I think you need to work with a behaviourist who can observe what happens in person. But I do have some ideas and first is, whenever there is a sudden change in behaviour it's a good idea to get a Vet check to see if an underlying health concern is the cause. One possiblity for unusual aggression might be hypothyroidism. A good behaviourist will most likely ask for this to be done, a Vet check. That may be fear aggression. The leash is a trap to some dogs, especially if they are not used to walking on leash amongst other dogs. It could be "a good defense is a good offense" move. LOL, well, probably this doesn't mean that you actually bent over and bit his ear but I'm not sure exactly what you did. However much dog training theory believes if you punish a dog for behaviour like that he's likely to see other dogs as the cause of his punishment and then be even more likely to be unfriendly to them. Ditto the spray collar. REally, strongly suggest you get someone to observe. Good luck, it sounds like Mowgli is pretty unhappy, poor boy.
Punishing a dog for aggression leads to more aggression (because he associates the punishment with the presence of the other dogs). Please see a behaviourist before you make things much worse. That's a bit like saying you don't want to see an oncologist for a tumour, because you've never had a tumour before. It doesn't really make a lot of sense. I hope you'll reconsider. Treating dogs for aggression is quite a specialised topic. There are ways to make things better and ways to make things much worse. And it can be difficult to know which is which unless you are experienced.
Hello Rory, hope you find a good behaviourist to come and help you with this, it is obviously worrying for you.
Lots later......I thought I would report back in to tie this up and update. We now have a fantastically well behaved dog. It took a long time but the solution has been to walk him initially with a lead in areas where there were lots of other dogs - so parks, beaches anywhere with lots of people and lots of interested dogs, some well behaved and lots not so well behaved. Any interaction where a dog would come up to check him out I would keep talking so that he was focussed on what I was saying, when the hackles were up I would keep talking, no punishment, just talking so that his attention had to keep coming back to me. And every time the other dog would lose interest he would be rewarded with a biscuit. To the point where now he doesn't need a lead. He comes to heel as soon as he sees any other dogs and stays there until I let him go. Still unsure of the psychology behind it. He has always been alpha male and very loyal, so I suspect part "I want to be leader" and part "I will protect my family". There you go. Problem solved. Thanks for all the comments.
Although it is hard to tell from your description, it reads as if you practised a mixture of flooding and CAT. You were lucky. As you admit, you don't understand the psychology behind what you were doing. If anyone else is in a similar position, I strongly urge you to follow Pippa's advice and consult a dog behaviourist first.
I’m not quite in the same position but my 2 year old lab is a lunatic on the leash, especially when he sees other dogs or people, growling, barking , heckles. most of the time I attempt to avoid the situation all together because his reactive behaviour makes me nervous my son was mauled when he was young and I never want that pain inflicted on another family. I don’t think he would be aggressive considering he goes to daycare 3 full days a week and is very well socialized and never a problem with other dogs or people, after reading some of the the conversation here it may be because he is on a leash and a halti and is not comfortable being around other dogs in that situation. He has seen a trainer but of course he never acts up when we are there lol
