Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I am new to the message board, but I need help. I have a 2 year old Husky mix. She is finally starting to settle down and become a great dog. However, she has developed a BIG problem. She has suddenly become very dog aggressive. Today, she attacked my parents 13 year old lab mix. She does not attack alpha dogs. (Their G. SHepherd is alpha, and she has also been around an alpha Beagle...yes I said beagle )She will however, attack any (non-alpha dog) that comes too close to me or her food. Dogs can come close to me and she doesn't attack them, but when she feels like it she does! Where is this behavior coming from and how should I react/fix it!?!?!?

it sounds as if this is a sudden different behavior? if so, then pain can be a definate possibility. have a vet check her out. don't recall if you said if she were spay. that could help. otherwise you really need a behavior specialist to observe both of you to determine best the trigger. this trigger is vital to choosing the right 'treatment'. usually it is quite subtle & could be totally opposite to what you'd expect. in the meantime, you need to keep her out of any situation where this could happen again. someone or dog will get seriously hurt AND the more your dog does this, the harder it will be to 'fix'. I will add that almost any reaction you have in these situations is probably making her worse. not that I know how you have reacted, but most of us actually react with increased agitation/anger/fear/ yelling. we're only human, but if you think about it, this only reinforces the dog's feeling that something is wrong & that she needs to go into fight mode, keep us posted

I have a simular problem with my doby/lab/shep mix dog. I found him as a pup and he was sick for a few weeks so didn't get the socialization he should of gotten in a puppy class. Now that he's a 4 year old adult he is very protective of me. He gets along with my other 8 yr old beagle mix and my sisters new puppy(although there are times where he goes after the pup if she is too close to me or his food)but when I take my dogs to a off leash dog park I never know which dogs Ranger will like and which ones he wants to eat. He does better with smaller dogs since he grew up with my beagle mix.
I guess he is like this because of his lack of socialization and when he was a pup I took him everywhere as much as possible. Does anyone have any advice on the situation other then an expensive training expert?
I would like HELP also! Thanks

>>I have a simular problem with my doby/lab/shep mix dog. I found him as a pup and he was sick for a few weeks so didn't get the socialization he should of gotten in a puppy class. Now that he's a 4 year old adult he is very protective of me. He gets along with my other 8 yr old beagle mix and my sisters new puppy(although there are times where he goes after the pup if she is too close to me or his food)but when I take my dogs to a off leash dog park I never know which dogs Ranger will like and which ones he wants to eat. He does better with smaller dogs since he grew up with my beagle mix.
>>I guess he is like this because of his lack of socialization and when he was a pup I took him everywhere as much as possible. Does anyone have any advice on the situation other then an expensive training expert?
>>I would like HELP also! Thanks

>>>>>>>>>>>

Be careful not to put other people's dogs in danger. Even if he does not injure them, being attacked can cause the other dogs to become fearfully aggressive and ruin their owners' dog park fun. You could try a training class. That's cheaper than private training and would be a start in teaching him to calm down around other dogs.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

You really do need someone that knows canine behaviour observe your dog and work with you. I would make sure that you find someone that uses positive reinforcement. And until you get the behaviour fixed, do make sure that you don't give her the opportunity to go after other dogs....it's unhealthy (both physically and mentally) for the the other dog, and it will make it harder to fix your dog the deeper this behaviour is engrained.