Koda attacked neighbor, 2nd incident!!

[Bers]

I have read The Dog Listener, Culture Clash, The Other End of the Leash, How to Speak Dog, and others. I use techniques from each of these books, including ignoring him when I come home, NILF (nothing in life is free), body posture communication, benevolant leadership, etc. We went to puppy kindergarten when he was 12 wk. old, but dropped out because the instructor was a dope. I've trained him myself since the day he came home using gentle positive training in all environments that we frequent. I do short frequent training sessions all the time no matter where we are. We just graduated from Beginner Clicker Obedience, he did very well but many of the other people didn't show up so we were alone for three of the six classes, which defeated the purpose of working on his attention and focus skills. He has been socialized to every kind of person and situation I could think of since he was 8 weeks old. He plays with dogs of all ages, sizes, colors, breeds. He went to work with me in a busy office with lots of traffic until 12 weeks old, he's been to Tennessee with us, he goes to birthday parties and all family occassions, he's met cows, horses, goats, kittens, delivery men, construction workers, black people, white people, big people, small people, people in big coats and funny hats, children, babies. He gets exercise by going for walks, hiking and swimming in the summer, playing fetch, playing with children and other dogs, and at daycare before they dismissed him for his bad behavior. If we can't get out due to weather, we play tug and fetch in the house, and we play a keep-away game where he gets the toy and I chase him through the house, then he gives me the toy and chases me back through the house the other way. I get tired of this game WAY before he does! He's seen three different conventional vets for his allergies, we've changed his diet about 5 times and he's currently on Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato. I've spent countless hours researching his health problems looking for better solutions. We're seeing a holistic vet now, and hope to see improvement soon. I've got an appointment with a behavior mod trainer who ONLY does positive reinforcement techniques. I appreciate all the thoughts and advice and considerate it all carefully in making decisions. I will give an update when there is anything to report. Thanks!

 

[cybie]

well...
I did the same
and also things are not the greatest...
the last thing which suddenly Cybe started is that whenever he hears keys he barks and twice it was when I was opening the door to take him out
Cybe ran barking towards the unsuspected neighbours
His hair above his tail was up and the poor men TERRIFIED... and veeery upset!
And me... trying to explain that Cybe is a very friendly dog! (which is absolutely true)

Remember the case of the dog who was aggressive when he smell pizza! (Once one visitor who until then was his best buddy, just because he had pizza before... he was attacked!)

the last thing I may suggest... have you thought that you may pass him your stress?
my holistic vet thought of this as a major possibility... I thought of this because you also sound as a perfectionist... trying the best for your dog and demanding the best results from yourself and your dog...

Well… what’s more important is that Koda is a very lucky dog to have you!
GOOD WORK BERS!

 

[Bers]

Thanks Cybie. I think you've got a point - he may very well be picking up on my stress. My mom has said that since the very beginning. She said "Don't expect him to be perfect. Expect him to embarass you from time to time, but don't expect perfection." You are SO right, I am a perfectionist. I see it as a reflection of myself when he misbehaves. I'm working on trying to loosen up and relax when we go into stressful situations. One thing we've noticed is that when my BF is around, Koda is much more relaxed. And when he takes him somewhere on his own, Koda is the perfect doggy! He happily wags his tail and is excited to meet everyone. His stress level is way down. Two theories on this: He is protective of me and he is stressed because I'm stressed. How horrible to think I could really be the problem!! :( If this is the case, I will become a Ninja and a Zen master, relaxed and confident in all situations and ready and able to kick butt if need be. Then Koda can relax and stop feeling like he needs to protect me!! Perfect, I have found the solution!

 

[cybie]

Believe it or not
As time went by and allergies/unidentified sicknesses were insisting
I was thinking more and more it could be me
...the thing is that this is only the beginning

Changing me isn't the easiest thing
And it needs lots of effort

But it's something I should have done way before
And now I have to do it not only for me but for whoever is near me

And reading all these books, trying to avoid damaging my boy
And reading how to desensitise things that led to a bad behaviour
Is helping a lot with understanding me
These conclusions were not always pleasant to me

I felt for a long time I should have a dog
Now I know why...

 

[TomH]

Aggression Issues:

Hi, My 22 month old fawn male boxer is like this also. I got him from a friend of a friend who decided one day she could not handle him anymore. I know that this girl had alot of strange people over her house all the time. I also know that he was abused at this house by different boyfriends of her. Since then, he has destroyed many things in my house, carpet, woodwork, couch, pillow, a bedroom door, and 2 dog crates. We have been working on his behavior, now all he does if I'm not home, is use the bathroom in the house. But he is still aggressive towards ALL other dogs, elderly people, and females. He has bitten the neighbor a few doors down. This happened last year, when I first got him. The neighbor came out of his driveway, and approached my ex-girlfriend while we were walking him, and immediately reached out to pet Tyson, without letting the dog smell him first. He also approached on her side, not mine. Tyson did not really try to rip him apart, just grabbed his hand hard enough to make him bleed. I felt the dog was trying to be protective, but he is still showing aggression towards other people, especially the mailman. Im not sure what I should do except take him to behavioral classes. Also he used to fight with my ex girlfriends dog when we would put them together. At first they were great together. He is an 8 year old Dalmation, but lately we cannot bring them together. It doesnt matter who starts the fights now, if they see each other they go at it. Any suggestions for this behavior?

 

[courtney323]

Hi TomH -

Please post your Introduction in the "Introductions Forum" before you continue to post.

A copy of the Boxerworld Rules can be found here: www.boxerworld.com/rules

 

[JulieM]

A bit late on this, but I did want to comment that I think Koda certainly is picking up on your stress. In the incident with your neighbor, you said he was barking at the guy until you came over, and *then* he grabbed the guy's sleeve. I would not describe this as an "attack for no reason", but as a warning and then response to your panic. In PetsMart, he was growling - warning the guy - and then you got nervous which made him think the guy was really a threat.

Following is an excerpt from Suzanne Clothier's article, "He Just Wants to Say Hi", which is more about dog aggression, but Koda's behavior reminded me of this section of it.

A few years ago, I was invited to be part of a fund-raising dog walk. One of my duties was to lead the entire group on the first lap of the walk. I had chosen my oldest bitch, Vali, to accompany me. As we waited, hundreds of dogs and handlers assembled in the park. Many of the dogs were quite excited. Some dogs were only under borderline control. Vali laid quietly at my side, watching it all with great tolerance.

One particular dog caught my eye - a huge yellow Labrador who was dragging a small child behind him as he plowed through the crowd. I watched as this dog marked not only every tree or bush he passed, but also several pants legs of unsuspecting people. More aware handlers quietly gathered up their dogs and moved out of Mr. Rude's path, thus avoiding potential altercations.

As he moved closer to us, I saw Vali's head turn toward him and become quite still. Her eyes began to harden as she assessed - quite accurately - just how rude a dog this was. I could see her contemplating possible responses should the Lab be so rude as to invade her space (which in such public settings is perhaps 2-3 feet from her body). The only intervention necessary was to gently touch her on the head and say, "Yes. I see him. And you're right - he is rude. I'll handle it." Then I stepped slightly in front of her so that if he approached, he would have to first come through me. Immediately, Vali relaxed and went back to watching the crowd in general though she did keep an eye on Mr. Rude. Fortunately for us, Mr. Rude veered off to hassle another dog and the moment passed.

There were other ways I could have responded. I could have seen Vali's very appropriate response as potential aggression, and told her harshly, "Leave it!" To my way of thinking, that does not acknowledge or respect her feelings; it merely demonstrates my own fears about losing control of my dog's behavior.

I could have ignored the subtle signs that she had some concerns about Mr. Rude, and waited until he invaded her space then punished her for defending herself against rudeness. To my way of thinking, that would violate my promise to protect those I love, and then add insult to injury by punishing her for protecting herself. Keeping that promise to my dogs means that I am obligated to watch for any sign that they are beginning to feel concerned about a situation, and to act quickly to eliminate or minimize their concerns.

The full text is here:
http://www.flyingdogpress.com/sayhi.html

 

[shaffeja]

dog listener

Someone a few posts up just mentioned the dog listener. I was going to post about that book because the situations you describe made me think that your dog sees itself as the alpha and is just trying to protect you (its pack). I suggest reading the book again and trying out the different methods. My thoughts are that you should work on training more in the home before you take your dog to such an unfamiliar place such as petsmart which is just causing it undo stress.

My two cents,
-Josh

 

[hugomom1]

I have one piece of advice. Leash your dog...problem solved!

Sorry if that sounds harsh but after being charged by her neighbor's chow twice, I am at a very low tolerance level for people who aren't following leash laws. Unless that dog is CGC certified, no way would I want it wondering at will.

I'd remember that neighbor come x-mas time. If my neighbor's chow had done that to me, I'd be filing a lawsuit.

 

[Bers]

Gee, thanks a lot for your "advice". First of all, my dog does NOT wander at will. He was allowed to walk off leash from the car to the house in a very rural area because he had never given me a reason not to allow him to. Maybe irresponsible on my part, but certainly not grounds to be sued. And what do you think he could sue me for? He was not injured in anyway, I immediately controlled my dog and confined him, I apologized profusely because I really meant it, and my dog has not been outside without his leash since the incident and won't be ever again until he DOES have his CGC certificate. I did learn a very important lesson and I take full responsibility for his actions. My FIRST priority is to protect other people from being harmed by my dog. However, it certainly doesn't solve anything else from a training stand point. How offensive to think that all I have to do is leash him for the rest of his life and "problem solved". I hope I can find it in my heart to do more for him than that. For the record, I sincerely appreciate my neighbor's understanding and I wouldn't have blamed him for being upset. However, he seems to be a rational human being, and clearly sees that it was a mistake that I WILL NOT allow to happen again. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but after coming into contact with one too many humans who jump to conclusions I have a very low tolerance for this kind of advice.