Agressive behavior

[Bubbasdad]

We have a 4 year old male Lab/Chow/Shep/Akita mix, who has been through beginner, intermediate, advanced and some agility training. He was neutered when very young, and has been a great part of our family-3 teenage daughters who he has grown up with. Recently, he has shown some agressive behavior we want to be proactive with. We had observed that when he was alone in the car and someone approached he would barks, growls, and bare his teeth. We have seen him do that now when we are in the car with him, toward friends. We have also seen him demonstrate similar behavior toward strangers at the door and small children as well as some new neighbors. Our Vet has said he checks out ok physically and when on leash he has never shown any agression. What can and should we be doing to curb his agressive behavior?

[adunphy]

Here is a general idea of what you would do - you can contact your obedience trainer for more information.

Setup scenarios. Start with someone he knows well. Have them approach the car with the dog in the car and give him lots of treats. Repeat this until he stops reacting.

Then work on moving the car to different locations - using the same person approaching.

Then go to a familiar location and start varying the person. The dog has to learn = person approach = yummy food and fun. Take it slow if he reacts too much make it easier for him.

Amy
http://www.DogTrainerSearch.com