[Lauri & The Gang]

Ever since Mauser was attacked by another Shepherd he has had issues with large dogs. I have been working with him and I can get him to focus on me and ignore another dog but if a dog surprises both of us he instantly goes off on them.

A few weekends ago we hosted a lure coursing/picnic event for the Chicago Shiba Inu Meetup group and the Shiba rescue group. They start the day with the dogs being able to run off-leash and play in our field (2 acres, fully fenced). I brought out all the Cresteds and Winnie first, got them integrated into the pack of 20-some Shibas and then went in for Mauser.

When I brought him in the field I had his tennis ball and he just gave a cursory glance at all the strange dogs running around then waited for me to throw his ball. He spent 15 - 20 minutes roaming around the Shibas without a problem.

That's the first Good Dog part.

The Bad Dog part comes in when a couple entered the field with their Shiba and their large Black Lab. I didn't see them come in, nor did I see the dog approach us.

One second everything is fine and I am chatting with some people about flirt poles, the next I hear Mauser attacking a dog. I whirl around and he's got the poor Lab down on the ground and is grabbing at her.

VERY Bad Dog.

The owner of the Lab was closer to them than I was and he grabbed Mauser by the skin on his back and pulled him off the Lab. I saw Mauser whip his head around to confront whatever 'had' him and then I saw him realize it was a person and stop.

The final Good Dog part - not reacting and biting the man.

I went all WOM (Wrath of Mom) on him and dragged his ass back into the house then came out to check on the Lab. Poor girl was shaken but ok and the party went on as planned.

I checked on her several times during the day and she was fine. I explained Mauser's behavior to her owners and they were understanding.

Now I just have to figure out how to deal with the 'surprise' greetings from large dogs and work him through those.

 

[RocketDog]

Lauri, I'm sorry you had to have the 'bad dog' moment, but I had to laugh at the WOM. I'm so remembering that one.

 

[Shade]

I'm glad the lab wasn't hurt, unfortunately we can only train and plan until we're exhausted then hold our breath slightly when it comes time for testing. Sometimes they fail and sometimes they succeed, at least it wasn't a total failure

I did have to chuckle at the WOM comment, I've used it a few times and oh boy did they tuck tail immediately! Never thought to give it a name though, I like it

 

[David Taggart]

There should be something about a black Lab! My dog, and my previous dog was reacting so agressively only on them, not any other dogs!
Your mistake was to leave him unattended, you could give him command to back up if you saw the beginning of attack. You can teach him out only by making him obedient to you. Start training him with dogs he doesn't like, take him to them wherever they can be intentionally. He must lie down as long as he shows his readiness to attack, make position "Down!" somewhat of his "jail". He growls - back into jail, ask him to lie down again and not to get up. From now on my Lucy trembles with uproar coming out of her throat whilst that one sniffs her all over, but she keeps still. Of course, I achieved it through repetition and I used a muzzle before she became more confident.

 

[Debbieg]

There should be something about a black Lab! .

I don't think there is anything about black labs or any particular breed!
Benny is occasionally reactive to large dogs who approach him in an agressive manner. I ususally see it coming as Laurie does and get him to focus on me and we pass the dog without incident. He is normally very tolerant of little dogs, who lunge and bark at him.

Our next door neighbor has a little white terrier mix that fence fights with Benny everytime he is out in the yard. Because of this Benny is only in the yard with me and not allowed to fence fight. Last week we were walking off leash on a trail and a person with a little white dog approached. Benny ran aggressively toward the dog and nipped him. I was able to call him off. The dog was not hurt, except for a superficial bite, but I paid $150 for a vet bill where he was checked over and given anto biotics. ( the little dog was very aggressive to the vet who told the people to get him trained). I am just happy the people didn't report Benny. I think Benny took out his pent of aggression toward the fence fighting neighbor dog on this one, but lesson learned. I went WOM on him too!

Mauser, like Benny is reacting to a bad experience he he had and when Laurie didn't see him getting over his threshold he reacted. These things happen very fast. It is very good that the dog had the instinct not to bite the person. And that Benny was called off the little dog before he did serious harm.

I will work him around little white dogs until he can ignore them or associate them with a reward, but it takes time