Help Needed With Growly Boy

[Murpharoo]

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Hi,

I'm new to the forum. I have 2 adorable rescue lurchers but my Seth's behaviour to other dogs is getting worse.

First a little background info. They are approx 5 years old. The first year of their life is unknown except it culminated in them being picked up by the warden running near the A1 separately. At the rescue centre they realised how alike they are (almost identical except in shade) and put them together, it would be a very odd coincidence if they aren't brothers, here they lived for the next 2 years going out to families then back to the centre as they realised what they had taken on. Needless to say we persisted with them and now have 2 usually well behaved dogs.

Now Seth is a nervous dog, he is completely attached to Murphy and hates to be separated from him, he is also very affectionate an has no qualms about asking for it.

So the problem is that when we meet other dogs on our walks he will strain to get to them and snarl and bark. Now I know this is probably down to some deep insecurity and defence mechanism to tell the other dog to back off but it is making our walks a nightmare. You know what it's like to have 2 lurchers on lead with one going one way and the other in the opposite direction.

I have tried reassurance as we walk towards other dogs which occasionally works but not consistently. The worst is when other dogs are off the lead and come up to say hello which Seth perceives as a threat and other dog owners like to make digging comments about my handful. If only they realise what my boys have been through and how far they have come.

So has anyone had similar problems and how have you cured this? Seth also likes barking at tractors, people passing our front window and bikes. The reassurance technique woeks in these situations, obviously I don't know what happened to them in the 1st year of their life which has obviously had an effect on him.

P.S Murphy is fine with other dogs and loves to say hello.

Thanks in advance and sorry to write such a long thread.

 

[webbsl]

Hi,
I'm new to the forum. I have 2 adorable rescue lurchers but my Seth's behaviour to other dogs is getting worse.

First a little background info. They are approx 5 years old. The first year of their life is unknown except it culminated in them being picked up by the warden running near the A1 separately. At the rescue centre they realised how alike they are (almost identical except in shade) and put them together, it would be a very odd coincidence if they aren't brothers, here they lived for the next 2 years going out to families then back to the centre as they realised what they had taken on. Needless to say we persisted with them and now have 2 usually well behaved dogs.

Now Seth is a nervous dog, he is completely attached to Murphy and hates to be separated from him, he is also very affectionate an has no qualms about asking for it.

So the problem is that when we meet other dogs on our walks he will strain to get to them and snarl and bark. Now I know this is probably down to some deep insecurity and defence mechanism to tell the other dog to back off but it is making our walks a nightmare. You know what it's like to have 2 lurchers on lead with one going one way and the other in the opposite direction.

I have tried reassurance as we walk towards other dogs which occasionally works but not consistently. The worst is when other dogs are off the lead and come up to say hello which Seth perceives as a threat and other dog owners like to make digging comments about my handful. If only they realise what my boys have been through and how far they have come.

So has anyone had similar problems and how have you cured this? Seth also likes barking at tractors, people passing our front window and bikes. The reassurance technique woeks in these situations, obviously I don't know what happened to them in the 1st year of their life which has obviously had an effect on him.

P.S Murphy is fine with other dogs and loves to say hello.

Thanks in advance and sorry to write such a long thread.

Hiya

I know exactly what you are going through - my dog Jack is exactly the same concerning the other dog problems....

Unfortunately I have never managed to cure the problem but I do find that he is so much better when he is off the lead or loose - it seems to give him confidence knowing that he can out run most other dogs or simply get away from them and Ive never had a problem with him getting aggressive in this situation unless the other dog is very persistant and wont leave him alone!! Even then he is not very agressive he just puts them in their place!!

He doesnt have a problem with his own kind (Lurchers/Greyhounds or Whippets) he will run & play quite happily with them - its only other breeds especially Black ones, this being due to having been bullied by one in the past.

When he is on the lead he does all the barking/growling before the other dog even gets a chance - I think that its a fear he has so he trys to make himself look brave and agressive to try to avoid conflict - which obviously isnt the case cause when one starts the others do tend to retaliate.

Sorry I couldnt be much of a help to you!!!

I do sympathise........ I also would be interested to hear any advice/info from other people who might be able to help

Good Luck

Sharon

x

 

[FeeFee]

If at all possible I'd say get some professional help with this, it's very difficult to know exactly what's going on without seeing the dogs, but the relationship between the two dogs and both of them separately with you sounds quite complex. If Seth could cope with being walked alone then I'd suggest separating them on walks for the time being and work with Seth on his own a bit.

I don't know whereabouts you are, but if you have a chance to get on one of Jim Greenwood's lead aggression workshops I'd definitely recommend it. He runs them in various places around the country, so worth contacting him to see if he has anything coming up near you, and he really knows lurchers! He also does one-to-one training.

http://amarna-letters.co.uk/dogtraining/jjservices.html