Hello all. I am putting this post up to seek some advice - not about my lab but for a friend of mine who has just adopted a dog from abroad. She is 18 months old and has been in the UK a few months living with foster carers. My friend has had her a few weeks and although the dog (bitch) is great in the house as soon as they taker her out on a walk she behaves in an aggressive manner to other dogs and humans. Any ideas about how to work with her to help this situation? My guess is that she is just become a bit frightened due to all the changes in her life. All suggestions warmly welcomed.
Re: aggressive dog It is kind of you to seek help for your friend Usually what looks like aggression is fear. The dog is saying, at the top of its voice "FOR GOD'S SAKE PLEASE GET AWAY FROM ME NOW, JUST GET BACK, I DON'T KNOW YOU, THIS IS ALL TOO WEIRD, YOU ARE SCARING THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME!!! IT'S ALL TOO MUCH!!!". There is a little bit about it in this article: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/socialising-an-adult-labrador/ That might be a good starting point for your friend to read? The article has some practical suggestions for what to do to help a dog behave in a more acceptable way and what to do to de-sensitise a dog to the fear inducing situations so they don't seem so scary. The basic approach is to solidly teach (in a familiar environment) a behaviour that is incompatible with barking and lunging (like sitting and looking at the handler or heeling close to the handler) and then trying this out in 'real world' situation, putting as much distance as the dog needs between it and the scary thing (people and other dogs). That might be a lot of distance at first. The pattern becomes: - see a dog up ahead - cross the road (or further if needed...however far it takes so the dog is not going beserk), using treats to get the dog's attention - sit (or heel) on the other side of the road while the strange dog passes, all the while delivering a constant stream of tasty treats and giving praise for quiet behaviour. Over time, the intensity of the fear reaction should lessen. But it does take time and patience. A lot of time and patience. The behaviour of the human is also important. Your friend needs to present an attitude that is calm, relaxed and positive. This will help to tell the dog 'there is nothing to worry about here, I've got it covered'. Things not to do are: staring at the strange dog/person, stiffening up, tightening the lead, sounding alarmed or angry. Things to do are: smile, yawn (this helps!!), relax your body, talk calmly and give lots of happy praise for any attention your dog gives you. Hope that helps a little. Others on here have experience of this so I'm sure there will be plenty of other ideas
Re: aggressive dog Thank you very much for responding to my post. I will print off your reply and the link to the article so she can join the forum and read it. She's a lovely wee dog and I am sure things will improve over time!
