To keep her or not to keep her

[Ninjasquirrel]

We have been doing a foster to adopt with our girl duchess. Shes a really sweet border collie mix but...shes aggressive to other dogs. We can tell her "leave it" with the cat and chickens and she leaves them but with dogs shes fuil on aggressor. She listens to commands but it hurts the feelings of other dog owners. I dont know what to do. Shes a good dog but i worry. Some advice?

 

[Kayla's Lunch]

Is she aggressive to your other dogs or just strangers' dogs? I have a cattle dog who from a very young age (3 months old) didn't like any other dogs but those in the family. Where would your dog see other dogs? My dogs don't go anywhere to see other dogs, so I don't really care what they think of other dogs. They all just have to get along here at home. I guess it depends on what you are planning to do with this dog in the future. My dogs just have to make me happy, they don't have to please anyone else.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It really depends on your lifestyle and if her dislike of other dogs (not an uncommon thing) would have a noticeable impact on it.

The obvious first question is do you already have other dogs? If yes, she's probably not going to work out - it's miserable trying to juggle dogs that don't like each other (I spent 6 weeks micromanaging 2 dogs that were aggressive to each other, we literally had to put one in a room when the other was out, then switch every couple of hours throughout the day).

If you don't have other dogs, then how much interaction do you have with dogs outside the household? Are you in a busy neighborhood where many homes have dogs (so it would be difficult to walk her) or anything like that?

I did have one dog that was unpredictably aggressive to other dogs, but the only time he'd see other dogs would be on walks, so we were just careful on walks to steer clear of other dogs whenever possible.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Is she aggressive to your other dogs or just strangers' dogs? I have a cattle dog who from a very young age (3 months old) didn't like any other dogs but those in the family. Where would your dog see other dogs? My dogs don't go anywhere to see other dogs, so I don't really care what they think of other dogs. They all just have to get along here at home. I guess it depends on what you are planning to do with this dog in the future. My dogs just have to make me happy, they don't have to please anyone else.

We only have a cat and the chickens so no other dogs. We do not live in a big neighborhood either. I guess what threw me is my mother in law and my sister who both have dogs. They were insistent that "oh she looks like she could be friends with our dog". My mother in laws dog is also dog aggressive so dont ask me how she got that notion in her head. I told them both "hey bringing the dog out is probably not a good idea" but they didnt listen. She doesn't respond to "leave it" when anothet dog is present. If I walk her away she can calm down and reapproach. We are mostly home bodies but Id like to take her to a pet store to pick out treats, toys, etc. Because she is picky. All i know right now is she doesnt like a lot of dog treats and she does not like balls, frisbees or bones

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Also I called the shelter for more information. The lady was very forth coming with me. She said they test all of their dogs individually and in play groups. It specifically says in her file that she is good with other dogs but is nervous. So I'm praying its just nerves. I was able to walk her today without the leash in the front and backyard. The chickens were in the run. She looked over there once but listened when I told her to leave it and walked away. She's a very good dog. I might try a muzzle with her around other dogs to be sure. Her not being good with other dogs isnt really a deal breaker but it is cause for concern

 

[jaks2578]

Quick question...is she on a leash or restrained in any way when introduced to other dogs? If so, being restrained causes dogs to become more territorial, nervous, fearful, etc. which leads them to be more aggressive.

 

[Trimurtisan]

We had a Treeing Walker Coonhound that had an extremely high prey drive. Great with adults, even better with children, but if any form of animal where present, she should try to kill it.

One day she broke and jumped through a window to get at a neighbor's Yorki (yes,a closed window). The owner of the Yorkie ended up breaking her nose try to protect her dog. In an effort to not get sued or have my dog put down I had to turn her over to a shelter.

It was one of those "just keep her separated from the public" scenarios, until one day it wasn't. The reality of the situation is I lived in a neighborhood with a lot of dogs that would pass our home all day long. There was never a separation from public.

I was also very uneducated in the breed I had. Not saying you are, but I was. She wasn't a bad dog at all, she was great at what she was bred for. I made friends with the shelter employees, and expressed deeply that she needed to be on a farm. It took 6 weeks, but that is exactly where she went. 40 acres and no other dogs.

I'm not going to suggest whether or not I think you should keep the dog, but I will say that my "determination" to make it work, almost got my dog, and others killed.

 

[Thyme4Chickens]

Hi. This is just my 2 cents worth - I had a fearful, agressive, rescue dog who passed away a few year ago.

My dog really started to calm down when I committed to making his life as "other dog free" as possible. I had started reading a lot of sound advice on Victoria Stillwell's website/forum - highly recommend that if it's still in existence). Walking routes where it was unlikely to meet other dogs (lots of trial and error!), telling people firmly and directly that other dogs were not allowed to come on our propery or to "say hi" when we were out and about.

it hurts the feelings of other dog owners.

I told them both "hey bringing the dog out is probably not a good idea" but they didnt listen.

It's hard not to focus on other people's perceptions of how dogs "should" be. But if you keep going with the trial, I'd strongly advise telling people directly "do not bring your dog over".

Every situation is different - we got to the point with our dog (after a year plus of strict dog avoidance) where he was relaxed being in the vicinity of other dogs (but not if they approached him).

Again, just my 2 cents. There is so much stress on all sides (human and dog!) adjusting to a rescue situation, that cutting out as must stress as possible was the way forward for us. Good luck and best wishes, whatever you decide!

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Quick question...is she on a leash or restrained in any way when introduced to other dogs? If so, being restrained causes dogs to become more territorial, nervous, fearful, etc. which leads them to be more aggressive.

She IS on a leash. Thats good to know. The shelter claims shes not aggressive it all and they were shocked to hear that. I got little background from them and called the shelter she was transferred from. Turns out she was not a stray at all. Shes also not 5. She's 3. Her owner moved and left her there all alone. Truely horrible!

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Hi. This is just my 2 cents worth - I had a fearful, agressive, rescue dog who passed away a few year ago.

My dog really started to calm down when I committed to making his life as "other dog free" as possible. I had started reading a lot of sound advice on Victoria Stillwell's website/forum - highly recommend that if it's still in existence). Walking routes where it was unlikely to meet other dogs (lots of trial and error!), telling people firmly and directly that other dogs were not allowed to come on our propery or to "say hi" when we were out and about.





It's hard not to focus on other people's perceptions of how dogs "should" be. But if you keep going with the trial, I'd strongly advise telling people directly "do not bring your dog over".

Every situation is different - we got to the point with our dog (after a year plus of strict dog avoidance) where he was relaxed being in the vicinity of other dogs (but not if they approached him).

Again, just my 2 cents. There is so much stress on all sides (human and dog!) adjusting to a rescue situation, that cutting out as must stress as possible was the way forward for us. Good luck and best wishes, whatever you decide!

I told her to leave her dog in the car. She had brought him over because she was travelling back from her lake house and it was on the way. She asked if she could bring him out of the car. I told her not a good idea AND no. She did it anyway and presented him to Duchess like a treat (hes a very small dog). She immediately tried to nip him and growled and snarled when he was pulled away. Ive been watching training videos on aggressive dogs and how to train them out of it. She is nowhere near the level of aggression some of these dogs in the videos are.