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Dogomania

Aggression


imported_Aussie

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I've got a question concerning aggression, hey that rhymes! One of my doggies, Bonzai, tends to be aggresive with other dogs. He would never bite a person and he's never bitten a dog, but he does growl and he has gotten into "mini-fights" with a couple dogs. However, he didn't bite the dog and the other dog didn't actually bite him. I think it's because he wants to be dominant or he's posessive or something. We have another Aussie and he gets along with her most of the time. He's snapped at her several times when there's food around and he thinks it's his - but once again he's never bitten her. I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to get him over this. It's not a major problem, but I've run out of ideas.

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When you find out how to get your dog over this...let me know!
When you have a dominant dog its kinda difficult to make them stop what comes naturally...towards other dogs...
its a different story when they try to dominant you....you can train a dog to be submissive to you....
I have a Rottweiler which is very dominant...when ever she is with the dogs I walk with (one of my freinds has a Shepherd mix, and the other has a Lab) she will not let one of them get out of line...she jumps on top of them if they try to get ahead of her on the trail..she purposely gets sticks and drops them in front of the other dogs and takes a hissy fit if they try to take it...she will even hump the males, oh yes...it is very embarressing when your female is humping another dog, and she does it very male like...even grabbing the skin on their neck and holding it in her mouth (never breaking the skin) this is very common behavior for a dominant bitch. The only dogs she does not try to dominant are my 3 Newfoundland dogs...she really respects them and backs off...even though they are not dominant them selves...and they just seem to go about business in their merry little way...I have never seen them try to dominant her.....
very perplexing behavior at times...any way, I have attended aggression seminars and worked with animal behaviorist...what they suggested when my dog is barking and growling at another dog (oh yes, on lead she turns into a wild beast!) is to redirect her attention with a tasty morsel of food...it is supposed to be a reward for looking at you and stopping the barking...any way the technique has to be just right...because as far as I can tell I am giving it to her way to early and she thinks I'm rewarding her!
Dogs have their own unique body language, a dominant dog meeting up with another dog that does not show submissive behavior right away will some times have to put the other dog into place...usually dogs will greet each other side by side...play bow is defenitey friendly body language,
face to face confrontations are a sure bet of an aggressive response...another thing there is offensive behavior and there is also fearful behavior...
offensive is when your dog feels it has to put the other dog in its place before it gets him/her, some dogs get very stressed when exposed to a situation with which it is not comfortable...I do remember the five F's if stressed..Fight, Flight, Fool around, Freeze, Faint.

I'll try to dig up my paper work from the aggression seminars I attended (they were 2 years ago and I forget most of the lessons they taught us..)
I can suggest some books for you to pick up....
The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
Excel-erated Learning by Dr. Pam Reid PhD
Calming Signals by Turid Ruugas

What I did, I avoid public parks where I am sure to meet up with other dogs, I have a group of friends with dogs that my dog actually gets along
with and we walk in the country together (where no one else walks) I have Newfoundland dogs which I have used as buffers to stop a potential dog fight...honestly it has worked for me in the past....I tried to attend obedience with my Rottie...it was a nightmare...luckily I got my Sister to enroll one of the Newf's and we used the Newf to shield my Rottie from the other dogs. :wink:

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At one point, my doggy attempted to be dominant over us, but that's straightend out now, he understands when it comes to us, he's not in charge. I used to attend dog training classes with him, he wasn't aggressive then. One day, I was using Bonzai as a demonstration dog at a puppy class and a little puppy jumped in his face (he was trying to play) and my aussie snapped at him and that was the first time I saw him act like that with other dogs. He used to be very, very bad about it. If he even saw a dog close to him being rewarded with food he'd try to snap at him. But is has improved alittle. My dog trainer suggested the same thing to me about the food thing. I thought the same thing, but maybe it would actually work. I dunno, just thought I'd get people's opinions about this issue.

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[quote]One day, I was using Bonzai as a demonstration dog at a puppy class and a little puppy jumped in his face (he was trying to play) and my aussie snapped at him and that was the first time I saw him act like that with other dogs[/quote]
Sounds like your dog is offensive towards other dogs...at the aggession seminar I attended the instruction did stress that some times a dog may be confronted by another dog and what may not seem that bad to us...may have had a very big impact on your Dog..perhaps redirecting your dogs attention will work for you...they also taught us other simple little exercises like "off" & "take it" and "Gentle" which teaches the dog to epen its mouth and thus relax the jaw. Tight jaw muscles result in harder bites...this can be used when introducing dog to any other dog...or person..
good luck and let me know how your progressing...sorry I have no other suggestions...the redirect attention did not work for me...I have alot of patience with my baby and try to work around it...but there still may be hope for you...try to find some other dogs that your dog gets along with (besides your other Aussie) perhaps if your dog has a few other friends like I have found for my dog, you can at least socialize him.
and don't give up on obedience either...just make sure that all introductions with other dogs are side by side...not face to face.

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Good luck Aussie. My lab mix is dog-aggressive too. I know that she's just dominant... she thinks she's queen. *sigh* There's just no dog out there that has tryed to dominate her yet and that could actually beat her (thinkin of the schnauzer down the street). Let me know how it goes!!

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