what would you do? Dog help

[chicamama03]

After trying just about everything from training, remote collar, ...... our 2 year old Cattle Dog is just getting more aggressive. She is fine with us, but has already bit two adults (walking down the street when she had got out and today, she charged the neighbor's 4 year old.) What]s worse is my 6 month old German Shepherd followed suit (and he's constantly socialized and in training. My husband is ay his wits end. She came so close to this kid I would not forgive myself if she had damaged him, let alone a law suit.

I just don't know what to do. She needs to be on a ranch where her job is defined and she does not have to deal with the whole metropolis of semi urban living I suppose. Wishful thinking. I've never dealt with anything like this before. My last Queensland was docile and very sweet. I know she's more true to the temperament. She was also very socialized as a pup. Went everywhere.

I'm at my wits end, but biting is just crossing the line.

Thoughts, advise?

Syl

 

[carolinagirl58]

I was in this position once with a Rottweiler we had. She was very aggressive to everyone but was especially scary with kids. I knew if she ever did get at one, it would be bad. When new neighbors with young children move in across the field, you could see her obsessing about escaping her 5' tall dog yard. I would never forgive myself if she bit a child. I did not want to rehome her because I was afraid that out of my control, she might have even more access to someone's child. We could not afford professional training. The only person who was safe with her was my husband and he does not have the knowledge to deal with an animal like that. We did the only reasonable thing we could do and had her put to sleep. It was a sad ending for a beautiful animal but it had to be done. I leaned with that dog it's not always how you raise them. I have had rotties before her and after her and never again had a problem with them. But that one was never quite right in the head.

 

[nzpouter]

how attached are you to the dog..? I'm not really a big fan of giving an aggro animal much of a chance when there's a lot of gentle natured dogs on death row...

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
x2!

Sadly-I'd opt for euthanizing -unless you can afford professional help that turns the dog around completely...I'm sorry..

 

[terrilhb]

Quote:
X2. As sad as it sounds I had a GS, Akita, Chow mix. He was fantastic with me and my family. But hated everyone else. Broke choke collars, broke a pronged collar and ran through the underground fence. Never felt the shock collar. The day he missed a little girls face by a 1/4inch I had him put down. It broke my heart but I could not take the chance of him hurting anyone. Especially a child. I pray it works out for you.

 

[happyhensny]

My husband was bit by a black Lab a couple of years ago. The dog had previous aggression tendencies. My son was with him, if that dog bit my son I would have owned their house. I am very sorry to put it this way but If you know the dogs are not good around people it is very dangerous to keep them. Love him, give him lots of treats and bring him to the vet. This will be extremely hard for you and I am very sorry for the pain this situation is causing.

 

[watchdogps]

Need more info. How is the dog contained in the yard? Is she like this in the house? How about in other contexts, like with you, while playing, eating etc?
Shock collars have been proven to INCREASE aggression. They may squelch it for a while b/c the dog fears the correction, but it doesnt chnage the way the dog feels about the stimulus, except to add further bad association to it. While it sounds backward to us, the best way to turn something like this around is to put a positive association to it. For example, if the dog is going after people who go by the yard, you set it up so someone is going by, and just before she freaks out, you stuff treats down her gullet. A few times of that and when someone goes by she will look to mommy.
I'd suggest you
a) find a way to make sure she is more secure. No excuses for her getting out.
b) muzzle train her. if there IS a tiny chance of her getting loose, or if she might bite while on leash, she is muzzled.
c) look up clicker training techniques for this. Try googling the follwoing trainers: Jean Donaldson, Dr Sophia Yin, Karen Prior.

Fighting aggression with agression will be a losing battle in the end.

 

[dainerra]

working on certain prey drive issues with a remote collar can be done, but only by VERY experienced people. If the timing is even a split second off, they are going to associate the shock as an attack by the thing they are afraid of.

First, I'd have someone knowledgeable in working with aggression issues observe her. They will be able to help you figure out if she is acting out of aggression or fear (get them before they get me!)

How long have you had her?
How much exercise does she get?
Does she spend time alone outdoors? (sometimes people think it's fun to tease dogs that are alone in the yard)
What training has she had? Was she socialized as a pup?

Step one would definitely be control! keep her on leash and if you leave the yard to exercise her, use a muzzle. Just like watchdog said

Yes, the young dog will pick up cues on "appropriate" behavior from her, so I would limit their time together. None of the dogs outside unsupervised, esp not together.

I saw that you said she was socialized as a pup. What about since then? When did the behavior start? It could even be medical - thyroid issues can come out as aggressive behavior. If she isn't spayed, some girls get a bit PMSy when it is close to their heat cycle.

BUT, if you don't want or can't afford the vet workup and trainer evaluations, then your only options are 100% management/containment or have the dog put down.

Honestly, very few people are going to want to take on an aggressive dog. Plus, unless you have the new owner sign a waiver stating they accept all future liability for the dog's aggression, then future victims can come after you as well. That is why rescues won't take an aggressive dog.

 

[watchdogps]

Quote:
Agreed on the collar note as above, and adding that if someone is novice enough to ask how to deal with agression, they are NOT experienced enough to use a remote collar. Please dont take that as offensive, but it's true. Those things are handed out like candy, and they really need to be considered precision instruments.

Be very careful when choosing that trainer that is experienced in aggression. There are a LOT out there who will just try to further bully your dog into submission. If they want to use methods that include yanking the dogs collar (any kind of collar), shocking or other force based methods, keep looking.

 

[Nicole01]

We have 2 dogs that are not so great temperaments. They are both fear biters. My rescued Aussie is very afraid of strange men and my golden does not like children outside our home. We kennel the two girls up when ever anyone comes over. They've gotten better as they are growing older. We do what we can to build their confidence. Of course, one dog feeds off the others energy all the time. They both protect our house and property. We keep a very close eye once outside and don't let them out of sight. Luckily we have a nice private backyard where we can throw the ball without leashing them.

It would depend on the dog on what I would do. If the aggression increased, I'd put the dog down.