Aggressive Dog Strategy

[AllieBaba]

I have determined that Mylo, my terrier, is not territorial (she sees all territory as Mylo territory) and is pretty well socialized with HUMANS...but she is very aggressive (not timid, not afraid...actually aggressive) with a moderate prey drive (towards smaller animals, not all animals).

Here is a video that is pretty much Mylo through and through except she's bigger (heavier, with a bigger head) and more powerful than this dog):

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZD_p1trwYM&NR=1&feature=fvwp]YouTube - ‪Dog Whisperer: Chill Out!‬‏[/ame]

 

[AllieBaba]

Now, I would like to take Mylo on our 8-day coastal camping trip. We'll have family, and other dogs, it would be really wonderful to take her. However, because this is how she acts WHENEVER she sees a strange dog, I can't.

Not only that, she can't be crated effectively in a public place because she continues to behave like that in the crate. She will continue to bark, and try to attack, and bark and bark and bark.

So obviously, she's not going to work out in a campground, where there are other people with their dogs moving around, both in the campground, and when we're out and about...at the store, at the beach, etc. I made the mistake of taking Mylo on a beach vacation once, when she was our only dog. I ended up dumping her at a kennel (which turned out to be a really great kennel, but that was just luck, I didn't care by that time). Because we were staying in motels, and she barked, adn barked, and tried to attack, and barked, it was horrible.

My goal is to get Mylo over that crazy aggressive behavior, so we CAN take her on hikes and camping trips.

 

[strollingbones]

allie they got these collars at pet smart...will stop that mal pretty fast....

 

[Momanohedhunter]

Now, I would like to take Mylo on our 8-day coastal camping trip. We'll have family, and other dogs, it would be really wonderful to take her. However, because this is how she acts WHENEVER she sees a strange dog, I can't.

Not only that, she can't be crated effectively in a public place because she continues to behave like that in the crate. She will continue to bark, and try to attack, and bark and bark and bark.

So obviously, she's not going to work out in a campground, where there are other people with their dogs moving around, both in the campground, and when we're out and about...at the store, at the beach, etc. I made the mistake of taking Mylo on a beach vacation once, when she was our only dog. I ended up dumping her at a kennel (which turned out to be a really great kennel, but that was just luck, I didn't care by that time). Because we were staying in motels, and she barked, adn barked, and tried to attack, and barked, it was horrible.

My goal is to get Mylo over that crazy aggressive behavior, so we CAN take her on hikes and camping trips.

I dont know that you can tamp that down. Its the dogs nature to do what it does. My Pit was like your dog, and weighed 85 LBS. bad news potentially . I did continuous obedience training . I also had to keep him on his leash, and muzzled at the dog park. Hope It helps.

 

[AllieBaba]

I have been watching Cesar Millan vids and carefully observing how he deals with aggressive dogs, which are his bread and butter. He loves the powerful breeds, and he likes to help aggressive dogs who are dangerous.

I've had mylo for 5 years now; she came as a two year old. She had been chained up a lot, she was filthy, she had just raised a litter of beautiful pups, and the owner had gotten married to a woman who had dogs of her own as well as kids, and they couldn't deal with Mylo's behaviors. I sort of pooh-poohed that when I got her, because she did so well with the kids (and her interaction with a 3 y.o. girl is what sold me on her). Over the years, I've come to realize exactly how severe her behaviors were and are; she just happens to have fairly good HUMAN skills, and is a smaller dog, so that sort of masks the fact that she's VERY aggressive, particularly towards strange dogs, but to a lesser extent against dogs she knows and even humans as well.

When we got Mylo, there were certain things we didn't do with her... Of course we never took her for walks; but we have a good sized fenced yard that she has the run of, as well as the run of the house, when we're there and when we aren't. She goes in and out as she pleases, she seldom gets out of the yard so that's not a problem. So we didn't HAVE to take her on walks, and it was easier not to, so we didn't have to really address her dog aggression.

She does go berserck when dogs walk by our house, and they do a half dozen times a day, as different people walk their dogs. Everybody knows that mylo will bark at them for as long as it takes them to come and go out of sight (up to 15 minutes!) but they choose our street anyway, so I can only assume that the dogs on the next street over are even worse, lol.

My mother can't come to my house with her dogs, because one of her dogs is a female poodle that is just as rabid about Mylo as Mylo is about her. They hate each other. And if I crate Mylo in the back (she has a lovely big crate) she barks without cessation. If she's in the crate for 30 hours, she'll bark for 30 hours. She's never been in the crate for 30 hours, believe me. I'd rather deal with the fight.

We couldn't really love on Mylo for the first couple of years we had her. She nipped my daughter in the face on multiple occasions, when my daughter would get her face too close. I didn't even pet her much because I really wasn't sure how she was going to react.

Over the last five years, I've very slowly worked to make her more relaxed...we can pick her up now. There was a time when that was risky. I did it anyway, but she didn't like it and she would nip. I can hold her muzzle now...that's the way dominant dogs show dominance with pups, they hold their muzzles in their mouths, and Mylo wasn't keen on it. I can hold her against me and kiss her face and so can the kids..these are things we couldn't do before, and though they sound like small things, they really weren't.

I'm used to dogs, I'm not intimidated by them, and i do assume a dominant role with them. But I don't antagonize aggressive dogs, either, and though I hadn't really labeled her as such officially, I recognized the aggression in Mylo and wanted to give her enough space that we weren't feeding into it. At the same time, giving them too much space also feeds into it, so we approached it slowly and we got our nips over time.

Now we have Klaus the saint pup, and it's time to move to the next level. I want Mylo to go camping and hiking with us. I want her to behave in a manner that I don't MIND if Klaus emulates it. He looks to her, and yet we have to make it so what he sees isn't complete crazy out of control behavior.

And that's a big change for poor old Mylo. I think she probably thought her learning days were over. NOPE!

 

[AllieBaba]

Starting last night, we're on to the next stage....addressing the actual aggression when it happens. And finding situations where it DOES happen just so we can practice. Last night I was glad to have all the kids coming and going, because she was barking and acting out of control, jumping, panting, and she would have bitten someone...I took the opportunity to put her on her back and hold her there. We were fairly safe; she was exhibiting the problem behavior in spades, but we were able to do it (and without a collar) because we were in the yard, and there were no DOGS coming and going so I didn't have to worry about that aspect of it (yet).

Klaus was there, however, and he was getting agitated as well. So I put Mylo on her back (she did fight. Not good natured fighting, either. She was trying to get up, get away, and was mad. She didn't bite me, but she came really close). Kids were milling around, Klaus was barking and bouncing at her, it was loud and frenetic...perfect.

I got her on her back, made her be still (not easy, took a few minutes) and quiet. Then I picked her up and took her to her crate.

Mylo doesn't spend much time in her crate, I haven't used it because though she's good about going in, the continual barking is a pain. But I have started to use it when she is barking inappropriately or exhibiting that aggressive behavior towards other dogs that i can't re-direct. I haven't used it consistently, though, and didn't have a particular plan surrounding it.

I do now, though.

Anyway, I put her in her crate, and told the kids that because she barks continually, there's a limit to how long I can stand having her in there, so probably they would have to go home after a short period of time.

Usually, she would bark the entire time. However, I went to my room, and when the friends left and my daughter let mylo out of her crate, i noticed...she didn't bark the whole time. She wasn't barking at all when she was let out. Weird, huh?

 

[Ravi]

I just cannot understand why you'd keep a dog that bit your daughter in the face.



Sounds like you need doggie xanax.

 

[Momanohedhunter]

I have been watching Cesar Millan vids and carefully observing how he deals with aggressive dogs, which are his bread and butter. He loves the powerful breeds, and he likes to help aggressive dogs who are dangerous.

I've had mylo for 5 years now; she came as a two year old. She had been chained up a lot, she was filthy, she had just raised a litter of beautiful pups, and the owner had gotten married to a woman who had dogs of her own as well as kids, and they couldn't deal with Mylo's behaviors. I sort of pooh-poohed that when I got her, because she did so well with the kids (and her interaction with a 3 y.o. girl is what sold me on her). Over the years, I've come to realize exactly how severe her behaviors were and are; she just happens to have fairly good HUMAN skills, and is a smaller dog, so that sort of masks the fact that she's VERY aggressive, particularly towards strange dogs, but to a lesser extent against dogs she knows and even humans as well.

When we got Mylo, there were certain things we didn't do with her... Of course we never took her for walks; but we have a good sized fenced yard that she has the run of, as well as the run of the house, when we're there and when we aren't. She goes in and out as she pleases, she seldom gets out of the yard so that's not a problem. So we didn't HAVE to take her on walks, and it was easier not to, so we didn't have to really address her dog aggression.

She does go berserck when dogs walk by our house, and they do a half dozen times a day, as different people walk their dogs. Everybody knows that mylo will bark at them for as long as it takes them to come and go out of sight (up to 15 minutes!) but they choose our street anyway, so I can only assume that the dogs on the next street over are even worse, lol.

My mother can't come to my house with her dogs, because one of her dogs is a female poodle that is just as rabid about Mylo as Mylo is about her. They hate each other. And if I crate Mylo in the back (she has a lovely big crate) she barks without cessation. If she's in the crate for 30 hours, she'll bark for 30 hours. She's never been in the crate for 30 hours, believe me. I'd rather deal with the fight.

We couldn't really love on Mylo for the first couple of years we had her. She nipped my daughter in the face on multiple occasions, when my daughter would get her face too close. I didn't even pet her much because I really wasn't sure how she was going to react.

Over the last five years, I've very slowly worked to make her more relaxed...we can pick her up now. There was a time when that was risky. I did it anyway, but she didn't like it and she would nip. I can hold her muzzle now...that's the way dominant dogs show dominance with pups, they hold their muzzles in their mouths, and Mylo wasn't keen on it. I can hold her against me and kiss her face and so can the kids..these are things we couldn't do before, and though they sound like small things, they really weren't.

I'm used to dogs, I'm not intimidated by them, and i do assume a dominant role with them. But I don't antagonize aggressive dogs, either, and though I hadn't really labeled her as such officially, I recognized the aggression in Mylo and wanted to give her enough space that we weren't feeding into it. At the same time, giving them too much space also feeds into it, so we approached it slowly and we got our nips over time.

Now we have Klaus the saint pup, and it's time to move to the next level. I want Mylo to go camping and hiking with us. I want her to behave in a manner that I don't MIND if Klaus emulates it. He looks to her, and yet we have to make it so what he sees isn't complete crazy out of control behavior.

And that's a big change for poor old Mylo. I think she probably thought her learning days were over. NOPE!

What CM does is amazing.

 

[strollingbones]

I just cannot understand why you'd keep a dog that bit your daughter in the face.



Sounds like you need doggie xanax.

say what? your dog bite a child? in the face?

 

[AllieBaba]

The kids came back over after dinner, and at that time, I kept both Klaus and Mylo in the house to allow the children some time to quit running through the gate, to get their snacks.

And while we were in the house, I worked with them. We went to the door, and they had to sit in the living room while I opened and shut the door, and eventually opened the door and stood there in the open door. Klaus of course wasn't the problem...he plopped down and just watched.

The kids were playing in the yard on the other side, eating cake...5 kids, 2 of whom are not well known to Mylo. The other three are well known and she's bitten them all, lol.

Anyway, after a while when it was obvious the dogs were being good and submissive and focused on me instead of the kids (Klaus is almost always focused on me)..whoops, be back in a flash.

 

[AllieBaba]

I just cannot understand why you'd keep a dog that bit your daughter in the face.



Sounds like you need doggie xanax.

She never hurt anything but her feelings.

I actually liked Mylo because she was able to teach my girl lessons about dogs that she wasn't picking up from me..without causing real damage.

 

[AllieBaba]

Mylo bit the girl about 3 times in the face. She didn't break the skin, and it was always because my girl did something inappropriate.

I have always had dogs..but because of my living situation before I moved to my current abode did not allow me to have dogs when the kids were babies. So my daughter didn't get that training really young. My daughter is also fairly aggressive and is VERY terrier-like. She stares dogs right in the eye, she approaches them quickly, she holds their feet, she makes silly noises, she moves abruptly, she tries to pick them up, she grabs their heads and sticks her face up to them. It is absolutely her personality. My dog is not the only dog that has bitten my girl, she's been bitten by at least one other dog that was also a terrier, but had never, ever bitten a kid before (and he was around them a LOT). It's not because I didn't tell her not to do that...it's the type of girl she is. I decided to go with a terrier for that specific reason...i knew that Mylo wasn't likely to do any real damage to the kids, but that she was tough enough and strong willed enough to teach them manners. And she has.

But never fear ladies, I wouldn't have kept her if I was in any way fearful she'd do any true damage to them.

my girl hasn't been nipped in the face in more than a year...and the last time, again, she had plopped down essentially on top of Mylo, with her face right on top of her face, suddenly. Mylo nipped her lip. Again, she didn't draw blood, didn't make a mark.

 

[AllieBaba]

I also put Mylo on her back this morning, when she was barking and racing the fence at a couple of ladies walking their dogs.

Tonight I'm taking the kids and Mylo (Klaus is staying home this time, lol, otherwise I don't have enough hands to do what i need to) and we're going hiking on a trail where I know there will be other dogs. And when she starts that behavior (and she will) i'm laying her down. I don't care if we have to do it over and over and over, or if we have to hold her on her back continuously for an hour...we're doing it, and we'll do it again and again and see how it works.

If it doesn't work, we'll try the next thing. I think it will work. Every person I've talked to that has a docile and well behaved aggressive breed (think pit) has told me this is exactly what they do, and that's what I see Cesar doing with the aggressive dogs he rehabs.

Here's the skinny..Mylo is a high energy, aggressive small dog with an intense prey drive. My kids are active enough to keep her occupied, so she doesn't just tweak off the scale, but now we have this other dog, the goal is to take her to the next level, as we take Klaus to the next level. I'm not going to have a well trained and submissive 150 lb dog but then have a little dog that has to be left behind all the time, and that we have no control of when there are other creatures around. It's time for her to move up to the next level of being, so she can be an example to klaus, and get to do the things she hasn't been able to do up until now.

She's not dangerous to the kids, in and of herself. But she is dangerous to the kids in that she's out of control, and a little out of control dog can cause a lot of problems if there happens to be a loose dog around, or a strange dog, or whatever.

If I have to muzzle her, I will..but the danger never really has been from Mylo's bites. She nips..but she's never nipped anyone when she's fighting with another dog (strange, huh). When we've gotten our nips is when we've approached her the wrong way one on one. My fear is that her behavior is going to trigger behavior in ANOTHER dog, a strange dog that I have no control over, and then have either mylo hurt, or a person hurt, in teh ensuing melee.

And my desire is for her to be able to travel with us, and to be a calm and QUIET participant on our camping and hiking adventures.

So that's what we're doing here. The kids are helping, and learning lots.

 

[Ravi]

My kids used to jump on my Rotty, pull her ears, snatch food out of her mouth. She never "bit" either of them. Nor growled, snarled or barked.

That's messed up, Babble.

 

[Mr Natural]

Have you considered boarding her and going on vaction with some peace of mind?

 

[tinydancer]

You have a terrier. It's really simple. They are awesome and aggresive. I love terriers to death. My parents had a Boston. I'd be sent out to run "Cinnamon Saints Ben Beau" aka "Benny" and I'd be out there in the cul de sac screaming "no benny no...its a german shepherd".

And then telling my mom and my dad that I didn't give a rats shit if they upped my allowance, I wasn't going to run Benny ever freaking again.

You have a terrier. Now you can undo a lot of bad behaviour, but still it's no big smurf once you understand the mindset of what you have.

 

[Momanohedhunter]

I forgot to mention this, My dog Buster was easy to figure out. If he saw another dog the ears would go up and the tail would point to the ground. Muzzle or not, a dog fight was seconds away. the lady who did our obedience training told me that is when you interrupt the dogs thought by tugging the leash and moving away. thats all we could do. He was fine around other people, but just would not put up with other dogs.

 

[tinydancer]

Terriers are just this way. The classic is pit bulls. It's not that they are a pit bull, it's that they are a terrier.

Just waaaaaaaaaaaay larger than a yorkie. I love them. If I could ever get hold of one of these, I think I'd died and gone to heaven.

There's this terrier in the UK that when sent down in a hole for a badger I think it is, this terrier must not make a sound, kill the badger in the hole and bring it to the surface without a sound.

Glenn of Immals. Oh boy before I die, I'd love to meet one.

 

[Momanohedhunter]

Terriers are just this way. The classic is pit bulls. It's not that they are a pit bull, it's that they are a terrier.

Just waaaaaaaaaaaay larger than a yorkie. I love them. If I could ever get hold of one of these, I think I'd died and gone to heaven.

There's this terrier in the UK that when sent down in a hole for a badger I think it is, this terrier must not make a sound, kill the badger in the hole and bring it to the surface without a sound.

Glenn of Immals. Oh boy before I die, I'd love to meet one.

I can get you connected. I love "terror" attitude. Alli, how is your St. B. doing ?

 

[Tank]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny5gx41mEz8]YouTube - ‪Dog Care & Behavior : How to Measure a Dog for a Muzzle‬‏[/ame]