Starting to see signs of dog aggression :(

[Super Boo]

And in regards to the mention of Prozac by Super Boo above. The drug can sometimes help with separation anxieties, ocd, and a few other things but it usually has very little effect on dog aggression. And its not recommended to use Prozac unless you are also working with a professional on an intensive behavioral modification program. It sounds like Super Boo is doing all the right things but I dont want others to think there is a "magic pill". The training & behavior modification is the most important part.[/QUOTE]

I agree and my vet made sure that we comply with the training along with the medication. We have to keep her posted with weekly emails and 2 90 minute training sessions. So many of these issues are actually training issues and not medical ones. The medication is only for a short time and allows for us to make the training actually work. We are only using it as a last resort.

 

[Tairourou]

Thank you all for the help. If my financial situation allows, I'll get help from a behaviorist.

It's been about 3 months now, and Sasha's improving. She's put on weight and gained energy; she can now go on short walks without flopping on the ground from exhaustion halfway through. She shows no signs of anxiety and seems completely at ease with dogs we walk by in our neighborhood, even when they bark and growl at her. She pays no attention to them and keeps walking without any body language cues of anxiety that I can see. Something about them being on the other side of the fence seems to make her feel better.

I did take her to the park, and we walked all the way around the outside of the dog park on the leash. She did so well I took her into the dog park. I kept her on leash and kept distance between her and the other dogs. A few did come up and smell her. She stood very still and allowed this, even sniffed a few back. One dog did try to jump up on her and she growled; when that happened we went home. Before that, though, she saw a young boxer puppy, and it must have triggered that maternal instinct, because she loved that dog. She let it play and jump on her, licked its face, and tried to follow it around. We haven't been back to the dog park yet. That growl at another dog made me think she's not ready and it may make things worse, as you guys have said.

Just today we took a baby step with another anxiety issue: she went outside in the rain of her own will for the first time. I lured her and my chihuahua, who hates rain too, out with some boiled chicken. We made a game in the backyard of me throwing chicken pieces and the two of them running to get it. She seemed much more at ease; she finally did her business outside in the rain.

She and my chihuahua continue to get on perfectly. Sometimes I'll catch them lying really near one another when they think no one's looking.