4 yr. old dog that's aggressive towards strangers

[dsheedy73]

Hi, we adopted a 3 yr. old Dogue De Bordeaux spayed female from another family a little over 1 yr. ago. She is great with all family members and children (she was raised with 3 kids) Her 1 and only problem, which happens to be a big one, is that she usually doesn't do well with strange adults in a 1 on 1 situation. (When we are in a crowd, or at the vet, etc. she is fine) about 4 mo. ago she actually bit my neighbor on the rear when he walked by our house on the sidewalk when she was outside with me on a leash. I immediately called my vet., and she recommended a trainer. She went to an 8 day course, with 3 follow ups. She's improved quite a bit, and I still keep in touch with the trainer. The problem is that when we walk by someone on the sidewalk, if we are too close she will literally touch them with her nose, and then sometimes try to nip them in the butt. I don't know if the only solution is to not walk that close to people, or can this be helped without someone actually getting bit? My trainer said that this is a tricky situation, and he has offered to come walk her sometime. Your help is appreciated.

[adunphy]

My advice would be that you are too close. If she is nipping, back up to a place where she is comfortable. You can even setup scenarios where people walk by and you just reward her for being calm. Stay about 8 feet away and keep the lead short. Work on a solid attention behavior. A dog who can heel with perfect attention wont be tempted to sniff / nip a stranger. The two behaviors are completely incompatible.

As you work on her being more confident and comfortable at that distance you can work on having familiar people walk by who then approach and perhaps greet her with a treat. Then you can maybe start making them look more like strangers - baseball caps, glasses, etc.

The goal is to keep her attention, teach her to relax and desensitize her to whatever she is nervous about.

There is a book called cautious canines that you can order from our books page
http://www.dogtrainersearch.com/books/books.php

[dsheedy73]

Any suggestions on what type of behavior to focus on while passing a stranger? Should I carry treats with me, or do you think something else would work better? We walk down a long straight road, so as soon as someone is in sight, she watches them the whole time until they are right up next to us. This is when she'll do the sniff and/or nip. Previous to training she would even growl when the person got to be about 6 feet away. She had pretty much lost the growling/barking with consistant correction. Once in a great while she will start to grumble, and I'll correct her, then she'll stop immediately.

[adunphy]

I would work on the attention, walk fast, keep your energy high, shove treats in her mouth while you are within 6 feet and use something really great - chicken, liver, something she only gets during this time. Also, try using a head collar - this will give you control over her face.

http://www.dogtrainersearch.com/articles/amydunphy/gentle-leader.htm

Amy

[dsheedy73]

Thanks for all of your help Amy. I think I am going to look into that book, and try the treat thing. I'm really not sure if that lead would work well with her. I've tried harnesses, and all different kinds of leashes and collars, but the prong training collar is what seems to work best when walking her......she weighs about the same as myself, and she is sssssooooooo strong. We've had lots of ups and downs with her, as far as progress with fear agression, but I think we're almost there.

Thanks Again!
Dawn


http://www.mtco.com/~dsheedy/pictures/img_0296.jpg

[adunphy]

The issue with using a prong collar in situations like this is, you are correcting her for being scared. That is going to make her more anxious. The gentle leader, though requires a little getting used to, doesn't use pain and gives you control over the head. If you are using corrections, then the behavior will get worse in this situation.

Amy

[dsheedy73]

ok, I understand. My only reservation is that she will still be able to get up to someone if I don't use the prong collar. I don't use it so much as with the typical correction, but more or less to hold her back when she really wants to get at something at the last second. The neighbor that she bit in the butt she really does not like, and he walks back and forth in front of our house frequently because his father lives on the other side of us. ( I walk her out back to do her business now) Also, he is extremely afraid of her, and doesn't like her in general, so I doubt they will ever become buddies or anything like that. Unfortunately I did not know that she was probably completely unsocialized when I got her. The old owners just said that they didn't have time for her. They didn't say that she had fear aggression towards strangers. We found that out a few days after we got her when she growled at someone walking into our yard when she was out there with me.
Sorry for taking up so much of your time, but she has quite a history. I think I will look into the collar, see how she does in the yard first. Thanks!
_________________
Dawn Sheedy
dsheedy@mtco.com

[adunphy]

I totally understand. That's why I recommended the head collar. Back up as much as you can as well. You'll get through this It just takes time, practice and committment!

Amy

[dsheedy73]

Ok, Amy I have one last question (hopefully).....today when I took Roxie for a walk someone was walking towards us, and as they reached about 4 ft. away Roxie pulled toward them and growled. Is this behavior the type that should be corrected with the prong collar? I was hoping that she would have acted pretty good so I could give her a treat as we walked by, but that unfortunately didn't happen. I'm really kind of obsessed with correcting this type of behavior. I have had animals all of my life, and worked at a vet clinic for four years, but have never owned a dog with this type of problem. Oh, I guess I have 2 questions. Is it likely that she is worse with me because I am the one that spends like 20 hrs. a day with her? She seems to have more of an edge when it's just her and I.

Thank you so much.....again!
_________________
Dawn Sheedy
dsheedy@mtco.com

[adunphy]

OK, this is what I am talking about. First you dont want to correct her growl. Second, you need to move off the path to 6 feet away with a short lead. Thirdly, you need to face her away from the person and shove the treats in her face. If she isn't interested in the treats, get something better. Get raw bacon or something...something she will do anything for.

The biggest key here is keeping the distance and not correcting her. By correcting her you can actually trigger more aggression. Prevent, manage and retrain.

Stay within her comfort range... You might also look to see if there is a feisty fido program near you or try pat mcconnells book on the subject.

Amy