Dog To Dog Aggression – The Road To Recovery

by Carolyn Read, posted from DIY Dog Grooming on 26-4-08 at 20:37

Ok, so if you have read my blog titled “What I Did With My Aggressive Golden Retriever” then you will understand that if you have a similar problem with your dog and his/her aggression towards other dogs it is going to take time and effort and is going to be an ongoing process – there is no quick fix! But I am going to give you some tips to help you along the way. I know what it’s like to have a dog aggressive dog and sometimes the embarrassment that goes with it, especially when it’s a breed not generally associated with dog aggression. You expect this type of behaviour more from the so-called ‘aggressive’ breeds. The truth of the matter is that any breed or type of dog has the potential to be aggressive. A dog is a dog and therefore has those inherent aggression characteristics regardless of breed.

So, where to start? I can only give you information about my experience and what worked for me and Elliott. What worked for us may not necessarily work for you. Over time you will need to listen to what people say and take on the information that helps you the best. We went to see a dog behaviourist who gave me a bunch of notes which I did my best to adhere to. They included actions I could take so my dog would be clear about where his place was in the pack. A couple of examples were when out walking to allow Elliott to walk slightly in front of Sophie; when feeding them both giving Elliott his dinner first; making him sit and wait at the door – I was the first one to enter in the house and exit the house. I might add here that having two dogs is a completely different ball game than just having one. If you are having problems of any sort, including aggression, then get some professional one-on-one help. They will be able to make a qualified assessment of what is going on in the whole relationship.

After that, down the track when Elliott showed that aggression to the other dog at the agility training, the President of the Club offered me some help on a one-to-one basis. One exercise we did was I stood with Elliott sitting at my side. I will digress here just for a minute. A very important thing for you to keep in mind is to – STAY CALM! There are now some natural herbal remedies available to help calm your dog also (and you also, if you need them!). Your dog will pick up your vibes and if you are uptight and stressed then he will pick up on that. When you speak to your dog use a firm calm low voice and speak as though you are in control. Screaming and shouting will get you nowhere.

Anyway, Barry walked around us in a fairly wide circle with his dog and my job was to keep Elliott focussed on me. Now, most trainers will tell you to use food, toys, ball or whatever. If that works for you – great! None of those things had any distraction value for Elliott. If your dog is so worked up that he is not interested in any yummies you might have in your hand then you might like to try what I did. With my hands on either side of his face I had to steer his face to look at me. Now, I noticed that even though his face was pointing at me his eyes were darting from side to side – so I used my hands also to blinker his eyes and try to prevent him from looking at what was happening and focus on me. At the same time I was doing this I kept repeating the word “watch”. As I got more proficient if I saw his eyes dart outwards I would say “ah-ah” and when his eyes were looking at me “good boy” (he wasn’t interested in any treats). We swapped over so that I was walking Elliott around and once again trying to keep his focus on me. We did the same exercise in a line both walking past each other. When you do these types of exercises make sure that both owners are between the dogs, eg walking up and down have the dog on your left and make sure that the dogs are on the outside so that you both can prevent any aggression incidents.

Every weekend in summer was an outing to the beach and when Elliott was off lead swimming or running he actually wasn’t so much of a problem as when he was on lead. If a dog came too close he would growl as warning but was really focussed on swimming and fetching his ball so all I would have to do would be to throw his ball into the ocean and he would be after it. On our walks along the path back to the car park he would be back on lead. Well, we had the same old problem if anyone was approaching. I found that by stopping before the oncoming person and dog got to me, sitting Elliott beside me and repeating the exercise of steering his head and blinkering his eyes as best I could as well as talking to him in a calm firm voice we would avoid any sort of aggression. I would also let people know that he was not sociable. I later read a book on Dog Calming Signals and found that sitting, for a dog, is one of the communication calming signals they use in the pack.

As I said this was definitely not a quick fix. As I got training with him, three nights per week at one stage and with different dog clubs and as many breeds of dogs as possible, after a period of time I actually learnt to read him down to a tee. When there were other dogs around I could never have a chat to someone face to face – I always had to chat with my eyes on Elliott. Having said all of this, Elliott has never shown any aggression to people, it has always been dogs only. For him, missing out on socialisation during the critical period between 8-16 weeks (as that was when we did start our training) really made the contribution towards his dog aggression, I believe. Every dog is different – my Sophie had exactly the same upbringing and she was fine. Every dog is an individual and you have to treat them as such – that is why I say to try different things and whatever works best for you and your dog to prevent any type of dog aggression then use it.

What I Did With My Dog Aggressive Golden Retriever

I could write a book about my wonderful (despite his aggressive nature) dog Elliott, – bless his dear cotton socks – who is now closer to 14 years of age and still going strong! Wow, what a journey we have both been on and he has taught me more than I could have ever taught him.

Elliott came into my life because I wanted a companion for my Sophie (Golden Retriever also). She was on her own all day as I was out at work and the best thing I could do for her was get her a companion.

Well, at the Golden Retriever club training classes, I had befriended one of the breeders, and mentioned that I would like a companion for Sophie. This breeder had a litter due and wanted to keep pick boy as a stud dog. We agreed to go joint ownership and the dog lived with me. The deal was that I would show him and get his eyes and hips done at 12 months of age. All was going to be perfect, but little did I know!!

Please bear in mind that this was 1994 and there was no such thing as puppy pre-school – it was more important about the vaccinations than socialisation!

So, after picking Elliott up at 8 weeks of age, we had to wait until he was fully vaccinated before we were able to attend the Golden Retriever training classes. He started growling and being a little bit aggressive at the other dogs at that early age. I didn't think much of it. He was absolutely fine with Sophie – they were like chalk and cheese in temperament but best buddies! As he got older he became a real handful, as well as full on dog aggressive. Can you relate to this situation? We even went to a doggie psychologist!! We got a list of instructions which needed to teach him his place in our ‘pack’. He needed to be dominant over Sophie, even though he was the youngest. I got very involved in dog training and I realised that because he was hyperactive plus dog aggressive his energy would need to be channelled into positive activities. We did obedience training and were ready to start trialling at about 18 months of age. That's another story.

We started to get into Agility and gave that up after he took on a female German Shepherd. I was told to take him off the lead and very reluctantly I did so. No damage was done to either dog but was not nice. Because of this aggressive incident toward this other dog someone wanted us banned from the grounds for a few months but the President of the club was very kind and said he would work with us. Really, how can one correct a problem if one is banned from being involved in the training groups? These are the types of dogs (and owners!) who need this kind of help! And we needed major help!

The next week we did some exercises and that was really the start of us getting very serious about dog training. Elliott really was quite uncontrollable when he was around strange dogs. And when he was in this state food treats, toys, or a ball just did not have any affect on his behaviour. Over time, though, we got to be able to read each other like a book.

We eventually got training three nights a week at different dog clubs after an Alaskan Malamute stood over Elliott in his first ever obedience trial during the drop stay exercise. There was no fight – and that in itself was a major breakthrough. However, it created a problem which is the other story I mentioned above. I'll talk about that in another blog.

We finally got our Novice Obedience Title. I wanted to do Retrieving which is what Gundogs are bred to do and once again, I thought this would channel his energies into positive activities. There was one trial in the early days where he ripped the lead out of my hands and ran over to fight with two Labradors – yes, he took on two of them! And he was 5 by this stage – so he wasn't a real spring chicken. I was trying very hard to keep him well away from the others. I was devastated. I drove all the way home in tears and rang my mentors, Jean and Dave. It was after that I decided to get him sterilised. I hadn't done it because I thought I would get him back in the show ring eventually.

Well, it took 6-12 months and he started to settle down. He was still aggressive and I had to be careful when he was around other dogs. We continued our retrieving and competitions until he was 10. By this time he had started to mellow down. I was so proud when he finally achieved his Novice Retrieving Dog title three days after he turned 11. And nowadays he doesn’t really socialise at all and his aggressive nature has pretty much subsided even when he does come into contact with other dogs – he’s very much into retirement years.

I should mention that I don't hold the breeder at all responsible. This person is a responsible breeder and sometimes I think it is the luck of the draw. Personally, I believe that the animals choose us and in our case, I have Elliott to thank for the position in which I now find myself - he changed the path of my life and I owe that to him. He has taught me far more than what I have taught him!

Do you have a dog who is aggressive? Do you want some hints on how to cope? I dread to think what would have happened to Elliott if he had gone to a family situation or to someone who wasn't prepared to put the time and effort into him. An aggressive dog is not easy to manage and will take time and effort. Please post if you would like to make comments or ask questions if you have an aggressive dog. Keep your eye on this site for further ideas on the things I did to actually manage and control this dog aggressive nature over a period of time.