Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:06 pm Post subject: Bully-boy behaviour - dog on dog aggression
I've just come back from a walk in the park with Mojo and am still shaking with stress and am furious with him. We met a couple of dogs during our walk... he avoided one (same size as him), played briefly with another (considerably bigger than him who play bowed with him and he realised wasn't going to trounce him) and then we came across a couple of little ones - a bichon and a lab-cross puppy and he decided to attack theses two. He pounced on the bichon first growling and snarling and dominating (thankfully no teeth involved) and then started chasing the puppy - again snarling and growling and NOT playful behaviour - just plain nasty. This is the 2nd time he's done this with small dogs and I suspect he's doing it because they are smaller than him and he thinks he can get away with it. I managed to get hold of him and nearly throttled him trying to get his lead back on. After checking the other dogs were ok and apologising profusely we headed straight home and he was in no doubt I was furious because he walked beautifully to heel :/.
I don't know what to do. He's 2 years old, was castrated 3 weeks ago, and just gutted that he appears to be turning into a complete pillock. I'm also rather concerned that this behaviour moves on to threatening the children :/.
Has he had any previous (bad) experiences with small dogs?
Porscha is a cowbag with some small dogs (normally white) but if they put her in her place, she soon backs off. You should have seen her running scared with Moss (Sarah's daughter's dog )
Edited to add - why don't you drop Lizi a line? xx
Thanks Jo. Funny you should mention the white dog thing... both times he's done it it's been with white dogs though I don't think there's a pattern there or anything (the puppy was black for one thing). I think a muzzle's going to be the way to go initially, if nothing more than to help protect other dogs and reassure owners that I'm trying to do something about it.
I would say you need a good trainer or behaviourist to take a look at his behaviour around small dogs and then help you through strategies for dealing with him in these situations.
Amy how old is Mojo? He sounds a little like my choccy - going through an adolescent brat 'let's test mum's patience limit' phase hehe... Sometimes I forget that, socially, dogs aren't much different than we are.. We can't be expected to get along with EVERYBODY! There are always going to be those who rub us the wrong way.. Maybe the Bichon and the Lab puppy just weren't Mojo's cup of tea... Sure, but he needs to learn to 'turn the other cheek' when he meets dogs that he doesn't like.. as opposed to trying to start a scuffle...
I'd second the suggestion to find a reputable behaviourist if you are concerned. The APBC is a good place to start: http://www.apbc.org.uk
You worry that the behaviour might turn to the children - just want to mention that dog to dog aggression, if that's what this is, is different from dog to human aggression. I've met quite a number of dogs who are dog aggressive to varying degrees but are completely fine with people, even when kicking off at other dogs. The only time there'd be an issue is if a person was accidentally caught up in an incident involving two or more dogs and got hurt.
That's not to say a dog couldn't be both dog aggressive and people aggressive of course, but one doesn't "transfer" to the other.
Last edited by -Angela- on Tue Jan 31, 2012 3:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
Only because ive been asking whether or not to castrate on another thread.... you say Mojo has just been castrated. Some people have commented that soon after castration, they get a surge of hormones and send them a bit overboard before they settle down.
It could just be this???
you dont want him getting into teh habit of going for little dogs though, so maybe like you say, take measures to protect others and him and then see how he is in a month or so.
I too heard that there's a surge of hormones following castration.
In addition to a behaviourist I'd say take him to training / socialisation classes too. I've had 2 behaviourists for Baxter and they were good in terms of teaching us how to manage his behaviour, however, I don't want to just manage it I want to help him get over it completely. I've found an amazing class and trainer for Baxter and within 2 weeks he's a different dog. Obedience classes for us aren't about the training, they're about the socialisation with people and dogs of all ages, breeds and different levels of aggression/temparament.
Good luck, I know how unnerving this kind of thing can be. xxx
Logically I don't see how you can get a hormone surge after castration as you are removing the bits.....I think its more likely the hormone levels decreasing and being abit all over the shop that can sometimes cause "issues"(rather like what can happen with us humans).
If that is the case you may well find things settle down in time but it would be a good idea to consult a behaviourist for advice.
However, I think you have to take a step back and actually think 'dog' for a moment.
A dogs body language is extremely subtle and there may very well have been a lot of communication occuring before the actual 'chasing off'.
The fact that there was no physical contact by Mojo and it was all noise to me sounds like this wasn't actually outright aggression, more of a 'bugger off I don't like the way you looked at me'.
You don't say what body language Mojo was displaying prior to the chase off and also what you were doing and what the other dogs were doing, all this needs to be taken into consideration.
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
