Bob attacks some dogs... not all, but some. We can't work out if it's related to them being in tact, neutered, or female. It does seem to be more towards the males though. Although today he had an altercation with a German Shepherd bitch (muzzled) - Bob went for her and she went back at him HARD.. .and it was horrible. I had him by the collar but they were entwined and both going for it. So it can be bitches too it seems. It's random. Some dogs he will greet nicely. Some dogs he'll just go for. We can't read it, or trust that he'll be OK when he approaches another dog. We saw a behaviourist and she advised that it was due to fear since he was neutered, his testosterone levels had dropped and he was below a threshold where he feels confident greeting another dog. My OH feels nervous taking him to the pub now as he has been known to attack dogs that come in there - could it be a territorial thing? But then if he is attacking some of them off and on lead, then that can't be territorial can it? We are very confused and upset about this. 95% of the time he's perfectly OK... but then the 5% just makes you worry and not enjoy taking him out. Any advice or suggestions? Thank you in advance.
Hi Louise. Is Bob usually on lead or off lead when he goes for other dogs? Is it usually dogs/bitches he doesn't know? It might be worth setting up some play dates with dogs you know that aren't reactive. Did the behaviourist give you any guidance or training tips for what you could try? I can imagine how you feel as Harley became more reactive with certain breeds of dogs after being attacked several times. It has taken several months but I can see the end of the tunnel (won't go into it as will do a separate post). Sorry for all the questions but just trying to get a bit more if an idea.
Hi Naya thanks for your reply. It's both on and off lead it happens. More so on lead I think. But off lead too so it doesn't really make sense. I mostly do off lead as I do the main walking and I love letting him run. Off lead his hackles will go up and if he stands still and doesn't approach a dog I'll grab his collar to avoid any interaction. Our trainer told me about body language and I try and read it as best I can to avoid any potential situations. Some times I just know it's going to be a lovely interaction with play. Usually if a dog belts up to him in play mode it almost doesn't give him a chance to freak out he goes straight into play time! It is not always with dogs he doesn't know. He went for my friend's puppy recently and after that he decided he wanted to play. And poor Gus (choc lab) he loves him and usually plays but the other day he went for him. But after that they were best mates again. We do use a dog walker and he has loads of opportunities to get in the pack and have a run. It's so random that's why we are struggling to read the behaviours.
That does sound quite random! It has taken me a while to read Harley's body language. If she spots a dog she's not sure about she will stand still, if her tail goes straight up it means she is on high alert / unsure. If her hackles go up i now know that she's not happy. Because I have learnt these I can usually distract her before it goes further than her tail going up. I know if Harley is on lead and an off lead dog runs up she gets uncomfortable quicker - if I see this going to happen I change direction and call for the owner to get their dog. What is he like with the dog walker? What are the other dogs like with him?
He's fine with the dog walker. She mentioned he'd gone for the odd dog and he'd be put on the lead and then let off. But she says he's fine, a perfectly normal lab and she adores him. He's around a massive pack of dogs at her house usually. So it's very confusing. I wonder if we need to see any other behaviourist perhaps. Just for another opinion?!
Another set of eyes might help, so finding another behaviourist could be an idea. I done a lot of work with Harley around every dog she seen. The minute I saw another dog in the distance I would engage her in a game or get her to sit and reward everytime she looked at me. I would pop her on lead when the dog got closer and skip (I know!) past them with a really excited voice and throw treats for her. After a few times of doing this, everytime she seen another dog she would rush to my side, look at me and we would do the treat/dance around etc. She now ignores 95% of dogs unless it's a dog we know. Could you try something like this?
That's helpful I may try that. It's a shame though because he will play nicely with the majority so he'll miss out on that play time if he is coming to me. But then for the minority it's not fair for him to go at them. May look up another behaviourist and see what they say.
I think the main thing is that you've got to stop him doing this (I know, that's what you are asking for advice about ) - but the more times he does it, the more times he will do it. So the first thing is massively upping your threshold for risk - don't risk it and if that means you change what you do with him for a long while, then that's fine. That probably means no trips to the pub were he might meet a dog he doesn't like in very close quarters and so on. The second thing is train an interrupter cue and get it really, really strong - it has to be super strong to get his attention off another dog. As soon as you see any signs - any stiffness etc. interrupt him and move him away (this also applies to the other dog - if the other dog looks stiff, move your dog away even if your dog still looks relaxed). If your interrupter cue fails, grab him and move him away. Just remove him from the situation. And lots of positive interactions with other dogs will help, but make sure that they are going to be really positive because of the point above - don't risk him reacting towards another dog.
