Q&A: What should I do about my dog-aggressive dog?
Question by ninjaaa!: What should I do about my dog-aggressive dog?
I have two beagles, one 9 and one 7. When we are out on walks, and we see other dogs walking, the 7 year-old one gets aggressive. There is no growling or snarling, or any obvious signs of aggression, but when she first sees the dog she will stop and look at it intently. She will then start barking and pulling towards the dog. Pulling her back does not dissuade her. Occasionally, she will run between my legs, as if trying to back away. Generally there is a lot of agitation.
She only got this way a few months ago; before, she would pull towards the dog a bit, but relent when I continued walking. She doesn’t do this to dogs who are behind gates when we walk by other houses, or to dogs who she sees being walked when she is behind our gate.
After I have walked away from the other dog, or the other dog has gone by, she will continue to be quite agitated, often trying to turn back to go the direction of the other dog and just generally acting very excitable.
She will continue to be this way for the rest of the walk.
I’m wondering if this could have been because she was only recently spayed (I know, very very late). What should I do to control and prevent this behaviour? So far, I do not consent to her efforts to get near the other dog, and I try to calm her down by sitting her down, but it doesn’t work.
Thanks for all the help.
I have tried snapping her just as she starts staring, then walking in another direction calmly. She is fine with this but I can’t keep changing direction everytime I meet another dog. I want her to be able to walk past another dog with no problem, something she used to be able to do until a couple of months ago.
Oh, another thing. Would it speed up the behavioural correction if I walked her alone, and corrected her alone? I walk her with my other beagle (who is fine on walks).
Best answer:
Answer by Yo LO!
Put her on a choke chain or pinch collar when you walk her. If she acts aggressively towards another dog, tell her NO and SNAP her hard and continue your walk – If she does it again, SNAP her again (And again and again and again till she gets it).
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Spaying isn’t the cause. Has this happened once or twice and you give her attention to settle her? She now knows she can get a reaction and attention from you while on the lead. When your dog stops and stares that is a sign of aggression. That is when you need to yank, say no and mean it. Stop it before it starts, redirect her.
my little dog, (he is 2) has just started doing the same thing. i find if i see another dog and he goes crazy at it.. i hold him still in a sitting position saying no and incouraging him to sit.. this carms him down.. if he runs at a dog on the beach, and they turn around at him he will run off squaling even though they havent touched him.. take treats with you and encourage the good behaviour and see if that helps. it might be a good idea to talk to a trainer as well
An electric collar on low level stimulation applied continuously while she acting aggressively towards another dog will take you out of the loop and teach her that her behavior is what is causing the correction and discomfort she feels. This way your relationship is not negatively affected and she can be cured of this behavior in about a week time. Try it, it works..
My friend had an older beagle that was only aggressive (dog and food) around her. When I walk her beagle with my two dogs, the beagle is fine. The difference is my friend is not the alpha and therefore the beagle runs the show. There is no leadership in the home. The beagle has been given no discipline and training not followed through. Sounds like your beagle is walking in front of you on walks. Get a pinch collar, choke collars are bad for the throat area, give the beagle a short lead and it needs to stay on your left. Relax, no tension in your arms. When you near another dog, keep walking as if you see nothing. When your beagle even looks at the other dog, correct him with a short tug on the collar and continue walking calmly. Your body language should read “We are walking this way and don’t even think about disobeying me or starting with the other dog.” I own two large dogs and so control is a must for me.
OK first of all you should not be issuing any kind of corrections to this dog until it has been assessed by a behaviourist. The reason for this is if it is fear aggression no corrections can be issued, you have to deal with it in a different manner.
You said “she will run between my legs, as if trying to back away” – This sounds like fear based aggression.
And yeah, I wouldn’t walk her with the other dog for the time being.
You said “I have tried snapping her just as she starts staring, then walking in another direction calmly. She is fine with this but I can’t keep changing direction everytime I meet another dog”. Well that’s actually part of the behaviour modification for fear aggressive dogs, if your dog can’t handle something you turn in the other direction.