Saracirce
Boxer Pal
By 'true aggression', I mean, it's not fear, leash reactiveness or same-sex aggression. I'm honestly not sure how to proceed with Clementine's training when it comes to meeting other dogs other then to basically give up on her and say she's just plain aggressive.
Clemmy came to live with me when she was just turning 2 years old. The first couple months were rocky while she settled in and we were getting used to her presence. When she had finally settled in, she started become reactive towards other dogs and it escalated rather quickly. I'm talking intense staring, barking with hackles up and pulling so hard on the leash that she's standing on her back paws. She even exacerbated an injury I had from a fall (which wasn't her fault) and caused a pulled muscle/tendon in my shoulder.
The very first thing I tried with her is treating it as if she's afraid of the other dogs. I would have her sit with her back to the dog(s) a few feet off the bike trail we walk on and give her treats as the dog came closer. However, she would zone in on the dog no matter how far we went and even her favorite treats weren't nearly as rewarding as reacting to the other dog. The treats even seemed to make her worse. I tried toys next since she's also got a decent toy drive but that just upped her excitement levels and, again, reacting to the other dog is far better then her favorite toys.
Most recently, I've tried treating it as if the leash was making her frustrated and that she's just so excited to see other dogs that she can't contain herself. I ask people if I can 'borrow' them and their dog and then work with Clemmy. We walk like we normally would towards the dog until she pulls or reacts. I promptly say 'Let's go!' in a cheery voice, spin around and walk the other way. Once she calms down, we turn back around and walk towards the dog again. This has resulted in that, for the most part, the barking and pulling has gone away. However, the hackles and intense stares are still there.
The other thing is that, when she does behave enough and I trust the other dog enough that she's allowed to meet it, the initial butt sniffing goes well. After the sniffing, however, she likes to get in the other dog's face and becomes tense and frozen, followed by her 'snapping'. Even if I try to guide her away before that stage, she still 'snaps'. And I do mean guide. I NEVER pull on the leash. I simply say 'Let's go' and take a step in the direction we want to go. Meetings are always with a loose leash and with me being as calm as I can be. (I have some of my own issues which don't always allow me to be calm and which can't always be predicted.) Also, when she realizes she's not being allowed to meet the dog, it's instantly back to her old ways of barking and pulling.
This is with dogs of every shape and size that we can find. There's even one BC we've met frequently. Today we saw him and she zoned in like usual. The BC immediately slowed down so that he fell behind his owner, pointed his nose to the ground, the whites of his eyes showing and lowered his tail from his normal carriage. The owner commented that he was 'being shy' but, really, he was saying she was being aggressive and he didn't want to meet her. Even when he does meet her, he's a polite little angel and, when she 'snaps', he promptly moves away. The dog that Clemmy is the absolute worst with is a miniature, off-white male poodle. The two seem to feed off each other in a bad way and his owner has commented that she's the only dog he acts aggressively with.
All this being said, Clemmy does have a bit of a rocky past. She was born to a bad BYB where she was chained up for the first four months and had to fight her parents for food. She does have fear issues (though she practices flight instead of fight) and she used to have a 'doggy friend'. He was a big chow that she knew from four months to almost two years, though I never got to see them interact in person. We do have another dog (chi-dachshund mix) who IS fear aggressive and she's also a senior. Clemmy isn't allowed to play with the little one and we've always reinforced in Clemmy to back off whenever she's told to by her. Basically, the little dog is 'off limits' to Clementine because she just wants absolutely nothing to do with another dog. Her owners also claim that Clementine ONLY shows dog aggression with me and not with them but it's not like that walk her all that often either. And, lastly, there's no where for us to go where we can safely allow dogs off leash. My town is not dog friendly and there isn't even a pet store here, let alone a dog park. Private fencing is also a rare commodity and fencing over 4 or 5 feet is basically unheard of. While I trust Clemmy off leash when it's just us, I don't trust her off leash around other dogs.
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Clemmy came to live with me when she was just turning 2 years old. The first couple months were rocky while she settled in and we were getting used to her presence. When she had finally settled in, she started become reactive towards other dogs and it escalated rather quickly. I'm talking intense staring, barking with hackles up and pulling so hard on the leash that she's standing on her back paws. She even exacerbated an injury I had from a fall (which wasn't her fault) and caused a pulled muscle/tendon in my shoulder.
The very first thing I tried with her is treating it as if she's afraid of the other dogs. I would have her sit with her back to the dog(s) a few feet off the bike trail we walk on and give her treats as the dog came closer. However, she would zone in on the dog no matter how far we went and even her favorite treats weren't nearly as rewarding as reacting to the other dog. The treats even seemed to make her worse. I tried toys next since she's also got a decent toy drive but that just upped her excitement levels and, again, reacting to the other dog is far better then her favorite toys.
Most recently, I've tried treating it as if the leash was making her frustrated and that she's just so excited to see other dogs that she can't contain herself. I ask people if I can 'borrow' them and their dog and then work with Clemmy. We walk like we normally would towards the dog until she pulls or reacts. I promptly say 'Let's go!' in a cheery voice, spin around and walk the other way. Once she calms down, we turn back around and walk towards the dog again. This has resulted in that, for the most part, the barking and pulling has gone away. However, the hackles and intense stares are still there.
The other thing is that, when she does behave enough and I trust the other dog enough that she's allowed to meet it, the initial butt sniffing goes well. After the sniffing, however, she likes to get in the other dog's face and becomes tense and frozen, followed by her 'snapping'. Even if I try to guide her away before that stage, she still 'snaps'. And I do mean guide. I NEVER pull on the leash. I simply say 'Let's go' and take a step in the direction we want to go. Meetings are always with a loose leash and with me being as calm as I can be. (I have some of my own issues which don't always allow me to be calm and which can't always be predicted.) Also, when she realizes she's not being allowed to meet the dog, it's instantly back to her old ways of barking and pulling.
This is with dogs of every shape and size that we can find. There's even one BC we've met frequently. Today we saw him and she zoned in like usual. The BC immediately slowed down so that he fell behind his owner, pointed his nose to the ground, the whites of his eyes showing and lowered his tail from his normal carriage. The owner commented that he was 'being shy' but, really, he was saying she was being aggressive and he didn't want to meet her. Even when he does meet her, he's a polite little angel and, when she 'snaps', he promptly moves away. The dog that Clemmy is the absolute worst with is a miniature, off-white male poodle. The two seem to feed off each other in a bad way and his owner has commented that she's the only dog he acts aggressively with.
All this being said, Clemmy does have a bit of a rocky past. She was born to a bad BYB where she was chained up for the first four months and had to fight her parents for food. She does have fear issues (though she practices flight instead of fight) and she used to have a 'doggy friend'. He was a big chow that she knew from four months to almost two years, though I never got to see them interact in person. We do have another dog (chi-dachshund mix) who IS fear aggressive and she's also a senior. Clemmy isn't allowed to play with the little one and we've always reinforced in Clemmy to back off whenever she's told to by her. Basically, the little dog is 'off limits' to Clementine because she just wants absolutely nothing to do with another dog. Her owners also claim that Clementine ONLY shows dog aggression with me and not with them but it's not like that walk her all that often either. And, lastly, there's no where for us to go where we can safely allow dogs off leash. My town is not dog friendly and there isn't even a pet store here, let alone a dog park. Private fencing is also a rare commodity and fencing over 4 or 5 feet is basically unheard of. While I trust Clemmy off leash when it's just us, I don't trust her off leash around other dogs.
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He was like that from day 1. what a pleasure little puppy, bullying everyone.. except our other boxer. He respect Snatch and adoooores him! Snatch decides when to play, when play is over, when to eat.. etc... 