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I had an episode with my 16 month old neutered male yesterday that has left me really rethinking what I have been doing with him.
He has been dog aggressive with other males for a while now. He is not the type of reactive dog that throws a fit when he sees another dog. Nor does he have a problem with my 4 year old neutered male GSD, although I have stopped playing any kind of game with them together since I saw that as just asking for a problem and it set them up to compete with each other.
Anyway, he has been dog aggressive in that if he is approached by another male dog (intact or neutered) he will get very stiff and still and then launch himself at the other dog regardless of what posture the other dog is taking. It took some work to get him to the point where he will ignore other dogs unless approached, but he responded well to the focus work and I thought he was managed well.
So, yesterday we were out sheep herding (which is our sport of choice). We left the pasture after our run and I leashed him at the gate. I was standing with a few other people, talking about the run, and a unleashed dog approached us. This is a female that my dog has played well with both on and off leash in every other interaction they have had over the past year (maybe 11 interactions in total). Never a problem. They sniffed each other, did a meet and greet on both ends. I saw my dog get really stiff, and tall. I took a step back, and called his name. He launched himself at the other dog. Lots of noise. The other dog rolled backwards out of my dog's reach and my dog launched forward after her. He hit the end of the leash and in a flash turned back and bit me twice, on the middle part of my inner thigh.
It was redirected aggression. He hit the end of the leash and was reacting to the frustration of that. It was over in a second. He made no appeasing gestures, just wanted to stare down the female. I had no broken skin, but within a couple of minutes the whole area was swollen and very sore. I have a very black and purple bruise from just above my knee to halfway up my inner thigh. Each bite mark bruise blossomed into one big one.
My husband is upset and wants me to send this dog back to the breeder I purchased him from last year. I have to say that he hasn't been the easiest dog to raise, and there have been a couple of times where I felt like it wasn't working with this dog and my home. But I have stuck with it and I thought we were doing well.
I have contacted the professional trainer I did formal obedience with and he is open to working with me. He said a couple of times on the phone that it could have been worse, although there are some very sobering concerns. He is familiar with the dog, with me and he owns and loves the breed. He is experienced with aggression as well. It will take almost two weeks before we can get together, though.
I just don't want to be one of those owners that have an excuse and a justification for everything the dog does, no matter how dangerous the behavior becomes. But I don't want to be someone who quits a dog, either. And to be honest, I have very little desire to work with him right now. I'm doing because I have to, there isn't anyone else to do it. But I don't look forward to interacting with him.
Anyway, this is my sad story. I hope it ends well.
Sheilah
He has been dog aggressive with other males for a while now. He is not the type of reactive dog that throws a fit when he sees another dog. Nor does he have a problem with my 4 year old neutered male GSD, although I have stopped playing any kind of game with them together since I saw that as just asking for a problem and it set them up to compete with each other.
Anyway, he has been dog aggressive in that if he is approached by another male dog (intact or neutered) he will get very stiff and still and then launch himself at the other dog regardless of what posture the other dog is taking. It took some work to get him to the point where he will ignore other dogs unless approached, but he responded well to the focus work and I thought he was managed well.
So, yesterday we were out sheep herding (which is our sport of choice). We left the pasture after our run and I leashed him at the gate. I was standing with a few other people, talking about the run, and a unleashed dog approached us. This is a female that my dog has played well with both on and off leash in every other interaction they have had over the past year (maybe 11 interactions in total). Never a problem. They sniffed each other, did a meet and greet on both ends. I saw my dog get really stiff, and tall. I took a step back, and called his name. He launched himself at the other dog. Lots of noise. The other dog rolled backwards out of my dog's reach and my dog launched forward after her. He hit the end of the leash and in a flash turned back and bit me twice, on the middle part of my inner thigh.
It was redirected aggression. He hit the end of the leash and was reacting to the frustration of that. It was over in a second. He made no appeasing gestures, just wanted to stare down the female. I had no broken skin, but within a couple of minutes the whole area was swollen and very sore. I have a very black and purple bruise from just above my knee to halfway up my inner thigh. Each bite mark bruise blossomed into one big one.
My husband is upset and wants me to send this dog back to the breeder I purchased him from last year. I have to say that he hasn't been the easiest dog to raise, and there have been a couple of times where I felt like it wasn't working with this dog and my home. But I have stuck with it and I thought we were doing well.
I have contacted the professional trainer I did formal obedience with and he is open to working with me. He said a couple of times on the phone that it could have been worse, although there are some very sobering concerns. He is familiar with the dog, with me and he owns and loves the breed. He is experienced with aggression as well. It will take almost two weeks before we can get together, though.
I just don't want to be one of those owners that have an excuse and a justification for everything the dog does, no matter how dangerous the behavior becomes. But I don't want to be someone who quits a dog, either. And to be honest, I have very little desire to work with him right now. I'm doing because I have to, there isn't anyone else to do it. But I don't look forward to interacting with him.
Anyway, this is my sad story. I hope it ends well.
Sheilah