Dog becoming people and dog aggressive. Help!

[bock]

Sabrina is a 10 pound six year old chihuahua mix. We made a lot of mistakes when we got her, the first being she was a petstore puppy ( not from a puppy mill though), and the second was that we didn't do much to socialize her during those key times. I was only in 4th grade then, and I guess my parents just figured she would be fine with strangers like our rescued lab.

We live way out in the country, but besides barking at approaching people and at the door when people knocked, she was perfectly fine until this year mostly. We take them on walks every evening, we have taken them camping, they often go to the river park on walks, we take them to the vet, and even to a dog-athon with a lot of dogs. She slowly started becoming more aggressive after a few main events.

#1. She growled at my one year old cousin when we Sabrina was sitting by me on the couch and he touched my leg. I told her NO firmly and put her outside.

#2. At the vet office last year, she was wonderful for our vet, but was nearly bitten by three boxers when we walked out of the waiting room. She wasn't the same around dogs since.

#3. At the pond she ran up and bit the neighbor's lab on the leg, but he didn't even notice. She used to love the pointer that lived there.

#4. I came in the backyard to find my neighbor's 7 year old grandchild kissing and hugging Sabrina. She had huge whale eye and was trembling and growling. If I hadn't asked her to put her down, she most likely would have been bitten.

#5. At the dog-athon she was absolutely great. Then, an out of control mix jumped on her and smashed her into a corner in his excitement. It really scared her.

#6. At the 4th this year, she lunged at my three year old cousin when she was calmly petting her back. However, she is perfect with the adults, and is ok with my 8 and 6 year old cousins. I can no longer trust her around kids.

#7. I calmly allowed my neighbor's border collie to meet Sabrina, using the technique I learned in a dog behavior class at the shelter. I realized too late it wasn't going to worked out. Sabrina bit her back leg and ran.

#8. When the vet came over when Sugar was sick, Sabrina actually chased her and was nipping her shoes. She has never done anything like that before.

I just don't get it, she loves one of my mom's friends, and she has always let my sister's 11 year old friends pet her and give her love. Kids any younger then that, she doesn't seem to like. She likes dogs she has known for a while too. I feel like I can't trust her around anyone now. She has to be locked up when kids come to visit, because it would be absolutely terrible if she hurt anyone. I realize we failed at socializing her, and I really want to try to fix it. I feel her recent experiences have set her over the edge. We are leaving this weekend on a camping trip where dogs are not allowed, and our neighbor is coming over to feed the other animals. I am now worried that she will try to bite her, but my family says I am being paranoid and won't listen. We are going to have her give the dogs treats before she enters the yard, but I don't even think they will notice if they are too excited. I just want her to be a normal and stable dog, does anyone have any dog training advice to help her be more social again? Thanks ahead of time, and sorry for such a long post.

ETA, we were talking about it, and decided to ask the trainer at the shelter I volunteer at for help. Hopefully we can set that up.

 

[mstricer]

Chihuahuas are crazy. You need the Dog Whisper

 

[MiniatureCochin]

The only thing I can think of right now is just make sure she is getting A LOT of exercise ( pack walks on leash, not playing in the yard) so she never has excessive energy to take out on other dogs/people. I'd definitely look into Dog Whisperer techniques, and the Dog Breed Info site has some good information on behavior issues.

 

[dainerra]

little dogs are easily frightened. Her bad experiences with the boxers at the waiting room and the mix at the dog-a-thon have taught and reinforced that you won't protect her and that the world is a dangerous place. So, she reacts first "get them before they get me". The same with children. She is afraid of them (though incident #1 you describe is a bit different - she was telling your cousin that you belong to her!)

Get a trainer that has experience working with a reactive dog. Also look up techniques specific to reactive dogs - one recommended book is "Control Unleashed" Again, though, make sure that any trainer has experience dealing with reactive dogs. Training her the way that you would train your average dog will actually make things worse.

In the meantime, DON'T try to socialize her. First you need to work on her issues. So keep her away from strange dogs. Don't give them a chance to bother her. When approached by people, make sure that they don't loom over her and intimidate her. Again, get a trainer who knows how to deal with a reactive dog. Good luck with your girl

Oh, and there is no such thing as a pet store dog that doesn't come from a puppy mill. Perhaps not from one who has hundreds of dogs but still a breeder who doesn't care about anything but money.

 

[bock]

Thank you! We took a 2 mile walk last night (which we do almost every day), and there were 2 people and a dog sitting in the front yard. Sabrina got a little excited when she saw them, but no barking! We are still looking into the trainer thing, but I will definitely buy that book. I hope we can get her through this.

Also, I usually jog a few miles every morning. I tried to take the dogs a few times, but they could hardly keep up. Plus I was a little worried, considering Sugar is 11 years old. Maybe I should try to take them again though.

Oh, and the pet store we got her from obviously has no business selling puppies. What I meant by not from a puppy mill, is she was born in a home and at least interacted with people, and was 8 weeks and healthy when we got her. Still a byb though, and I hate to think the life her parents must live. My parents made no effort to educate themselves on the subject, and got her because they claimed there were no small breed puppies in the shelter. That is not any excuse, but now we volunteer at the shelter, and this will be the first and last time we ever support a byb or puppymill. I still love my baby though, and nothing will change that.

 

[watchdogps]

Please do NOT use dog whisperer garbage on her. His "techniques" are simply intimidation and will make her worse in the long run. The advice Dainerra gave is good, and I would also suggest checkg out Patricia McConnells booklets - there is one for shy dogs and one for reactive dogs, both of which could help. They are inexpensive as well. Also, do not punish her for growling. All that does is teach her not to warn, and with a possible biter we want as much warning as possible.