I'm desperate for help! aggressive dog..

[jager]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Hey guys!

In September 2016 me and my partner adopted our dog Jager, she is a 3 year old Rottweiler/Golden Retriever cross. Noone in our family had ever owned a dog so we did lots of research beforehand and we decided a puppy would be difficult for us beginners and decided to adopt.

At the rescue we visited her and walked her a few times before making a decision. On these walks she was the perfect dog and we fell in love with her.

The rescue had limited information on her. She was found as a stray and the microchip information wasn't up to date and she was never claimed. They said she didn't like other dogs and she may have a problem with men as she growled at one of the male workers once.

After adopting her we noticed she just wouldn't use our garden to toilet we had to physically take her for a walk each time, which wasn't a problem in itself its other dogs that is a problem. It's not just dogs its cats,birds, leaves, litter, tractors, buses, lorries. We decided to invest in a muzzle which we got professionally fitted and she can get out of them, thats fabric and basket muzzles. Even with the limited time with the muzzle on its the physical aspect of her thats really hard to handle, she lunges, jumps up on her hind legs, doesnt listen if theres any of the above in her sights. she weighs 30kg and its really difficult to get her away from something if shes locked on to it.

I've tried a range of different collars, head collars, leads and harnesses. Even ones that say 'no dogs' to pre warn people of what she is like. I've struggled on for months and we havent had one nice walk.

I have also hired a couple of trainers to come around the house but they never came back and I also tried taking her to a class but as there was other dogs it wasn't successful.

The aggression is definitely towards men too. In my house shes gone for my brother in law and has bit my dad (on christmas day) and when I had a boiler fitted she went for the man twice, that situation I decided to keep her well away from him but as he had to go in every room it was very difficult. The last straw was today on a walk a man walked past her.. A complete stranger. He showed no interaction but she jumped up at him and locked her teeth around his arm strong enough to hurt him but not pierce the skin, as shes never done that before I had no way of avoiding it, luckily the man accepted my apologies but this is far too dangerous now, One wrong move and someones going to get seriously hurt and my dog is going to be ordered to be put down.

It's mentally draining me and I guess this is my last hope for advice!

Thank you for reading my novel.

 

[gypsysmum2]

I am afraid that you are in a very difficult situation. You, an inexperienced dog owner, are trying to manage a dog that has complex problems. At the moment she is too dangerous to have around anyone other than yourselves. She obviously trust you but does not trust anyone else.

Aggression is an instinctive reaction, not a conscious decision.

She is not planning to bite anyone she just finds herself in a position where she sees it as her only option. Dogs have a very strong "Fight/Flight instinct and when they are trapped, either on lead or in a room/house/garden, they cannot flee so they fight.

The above instinct is overcome in the early stages of a puppy's life by socialisation. During the first weeks of life they should be handled by lots of different people and go out and about seeing the world with all its myriad of different dogs, people characters, dressed in all sorts of clothes and behaving in all different ways. If the puppy has that experience, and it is positive, it will be set up for a life living in our world.

If the puppy misses out or has negative experiences then often the result is aggression. This aggression drives the "threat" away and the dog feels better and so uses that strategy again. They will continue to use it until persuaded that people and other dogs are not to be feared.

Why did the trainers not come back? Did they ask you to put a behaviour modification plan in place? Were you able to implement it? If you were not then there is no point in them returning. Trainers can not work miracles, they have to teach us owners how to modify our dog's behaviour and it takes months and months and months of hard work.

Given that your dog is behaving in a dangerous way you only have limited choices. You can ask the rescue centre to take the dog back and to try to find a more experienced home for her.

You can contact an expert behaviourist (not a trainer) who will diagnose exactly the cause of the behaviour and give you a long term plan to work on with their continued support. The two best organisations are COAPE and APBC. You may be insured* for their services or the rescue centre may give you a donation?

If your dog bites someone who is not as tolerant as people have been then it will be considered a "dangerous dog" and fall foul of the law. This may result in your dog being put to sleep.

While you are deciding what to do you must not allow your dog near anybody that she may bite. Find a safe room in the house or garden or car when people visit. Muzzle her when you take her out or only take her to deserted places.

Please do not punish her for this behaviour.

Aggression is an instinctive reaction not a conscious decision.

*If any of the behaviour has been reported then your insurance may be at risk. There is usually a clause about aggression.

 

[jager]

I have never punished her for anything, I know there's a reason she's like that and she's a completely different dog with us. So I would never..

As for the trainers/behaviourist two were referred from my vet and said she can't be helped at this stage and one was a dog trainer I found online who said they had experience with aggressive dogs but hadn't.

I was just looking to see if anyone had suggestions I hadn't tried.

 

[arealhuman]

Hi Jager, I feel sorry for you as I have similar problems as you with my rescue dog, However, mine is smaller at around 15kg so a bit more manageable. He does the same as you in jumping, pulling and barking and when he's in the zone, anything will set him off. That said, he shows no aggression towards people, in fact the opposite - he's a very affectionate dog with me and my family and all visitors to the house, no matter what sex/age. I've had a behaviourist visits and had two sessions, but the advice on here is that the training was old school - look at my posts and the many helpful replies. I've had limited success with it, but I think that;s down to me, as when my dog walked with the bahviourist his behaviour (the dogs!) was much improved. I'm going to investigate the options recommended to me on here about other training, although cost is a factor as we've spent a small fortune on training already. I completely understand your dread when going for a walk, I get the same too unless there's no other dogs/cats around and he's a pleasure to take out. I did ask for help from the rescue centre but was ignored, so I've learnt a lesson there.

I hope you can work this out, please let us know how it goes. I'm sorry I just can;t add anything more helpful.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Sorry if you thought I was implying that you might punish your dog. We hear all sorts of things on here and there are trainers out there who still advocate using punitive methods on dogs behaving like yours.

What reason did the behaviourist give for your dog not being able to be helped "at this stage"? It does help if we have as much information as possible. Did any of the trainers/behaviourists come to any conclusions about the cause of her behaviour?

I notice you have tried muzzles and different leads etc. What sort of behaviour modification techniques have your tried?

(So nice to see arealhuman giving support to a fellow sufferer ).

 

[jager]

I didn't think you implied it. Just wanted you to know I'd never punish her.

They said that their techniques would not benefit her.

They don't know a cause but personally I think she was beaten up by a man. As she is very scared of feet, if you walk near her she shoots across the room in fear. I could be wrong.

And how do I view your posts? Thanks x

 

[gypsysmum2]

No behaviourist from either COAPE or APBC would say things like their techniques would not benefit her. They are highly trained (degree standard) people and will have a whole host of techniques that would be tailored directly to your dog and take your circumstances into account.

You would get a home visit to take a detailed history. While there, they assess the dog from the minute they arrive until the minute they leave. You will be given a comprehensive programme of behaviour modification techniques and they will be at the end of the phone for any questions and progress reports. There is usually a written report to help you once they have gone home. The best bit is that you will know why your dog is behaving the way it is. That is very comforting and reassuring and worth every penny you pay

 

[arealhuman]

And how do I view your posts? Thanks x

Hi, if you mean my posts you can find them here. Hope it helps.