Hello, I have a 10 month old un-neutered black lab. We socialised him well as a small puppy and attended training classes and the like so he could meet plenty of other dogs and he was absolutely fine, very friendly, relaxed and confident. When he was about 6 months he was chased and bitten by 5 small dogs in the park, a similar thing happened a few weeks later and now his behaviour towards other dogs has changed totally and so has theirs towards him. Anytime I take him somewhere that other dogs are off the lead they immediately start to chase him and behave aggressively, even if he was just walking alongside me doing nothing. This happens every time we are out and generally the other dog owners can’t stop their dogs from chasing him and can’t understand what provoked this behaviour in their own dog. Almost every dog that we come across on the lead in the street he now barks at and struggles to get away. He plays with very few dogs now and his initial reaction is always to bark at them and run away first before he’ll relax enough to let them approach him. What can I do to help him? I still socialise him as much as I can and he has a few dogs he sees regularly but they’re a lot older and like spending time with him but don’t really play. I continue to take him to the park or beach daily but more often than not we’ll leave early as every dog chases him and then I struggle to recall him. Does anyone have any insight into why other dogs behave this way towards him, I’m guessing his behaviour is down to fear from being attacked? And any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks
Hi Avallon, I'm sorry to hear about the distressing events surrounding your dog. You mention that he runs away from the other dogs, who are off lead. Such behaviour can put the other dogs in prey drive. Since your dog seems to be fearful now of other dogs, the chasing only makes his attitude worse. That's my guess of what is happening from your description. I don't have any explanation for why the dogs gang up on your dog when your dog is walking by your side. One would have to observe the body language of all the dogs. But I suggest you not go through with such experiment as you do not want to traumatise your dog. I would try LAT training with your dog, and evaluate whether that reduces the anxiety and avoidance behaviour. There are several entries on LAT on this site. Please ensure you keep your dog below threshold distance, and see whether you can initially put a fence between your dog and the other dogs, when you take the technique on the road. The fence seems to be required as the other dog owners cannot be relied upon to keep their dogs away from your dog. Alternatively find an obedience club where one of the instructors knows something about LAT and use the well behaved dogs there for your LAT training. In all honesty, , I should say there is no guarantee the training will eliminate the problem. But it should go some way to reducing your dog's anxiety. It will probably take some time, so don't expect a quick fix. Let us know how you get on. Good luck. Michael
Hi Avallon, welcome to the forum, and sorry to hear your dog has had such an upsetting experience. You might find it helpful to talk to a canine behaviourist. What part of the world are you in?
