My dog has changed. I feel devastated, really need advice

My dog has changed. I feel devastated, really need advice

Author
Discussion

johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

163 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
quotequote all
Autopilot said:
She's not being aggressive, she's just smiling smile

Rather than 'protecting' her, why haven't you addressed the problem?
Because she was 4 years old when we got her and had 3 previous owners and had bitten twice.
What we give our Dogs is a quiet enviroment and consistency. She has never been agressive with us and she is know happy to meet other people but not Dogs.
The problem with getting a Dog like Roxi is you may never find out what has happend to her.
What we did learn (and I would say this may be useful to any dog owner ) was that if we kept her energy levels sorted it made such a difference to her.

hackett

Original Poster:

493 posts

210 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
quotequote all
Evening folks. Thanks for all the replies it really means a lot to hear from other owners.

Autopilot a sincere thanks for the long post. I read it with interest and tbh it made me feel a lot better. I've chatted with mates at work and it was hopeless. As he's such a big part of our squadron (RAF) they all feel very protective of him and basically said the guy was clearly a knob lol. I took him out at lunch today and we had a bit of a moment where I needed to love him again as I felt a little betrayed. But I've learnt that he was only really protecting the space is given him and although it's not acceptable behaviour it's natural and potentially justified (if you think like a dog).

So after doing an hour of training, lots of tricks and stays etc to reaffirm obedience I think I know the way forward. I'm very much going to continue taking him to work functions where he is part of the team, he runs around freely and is in his element. But when it comes to a time he needs to be on a lead I will either keep him at my side or I'll leave him at home.

I genuinely appreciate the advice given here and have arranged to have a chat with his agility trainer. I'm going to do the things you mentioned autopilot too.

Thanks again

Ben and Harley :-)


hackett

Original Poster:

493 posts

210 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
quotequote all



johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

163 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
quotequote all
hackett said:
Evening folks. Thanks for all the replies it really means a lot to hear from other owners.

Autopilot a sincere thanks for the long post. I read it with interest and tbh it made me feel a lot better. I've chatted with mates at work and it was hopeless. As he's such a big part of our squadron (RAF) they all feel very protective of him and basically said the guy was clearly a knob lol. I took him out at lunch today and we had a bit of a moment where I needed to love him again as I felt a little betrayed. But I've learnt that he was only really protecting the space is given him and although it's not acceptable behaviour it's natural and potentially justified (if you think like a dog).

So after doing an hour of training, lots of tricks and stays etc to reaffirm obedience I think I know the way forward. I'm very much going to continue taking him to work functions where he is part of the team, he runs around freely and is in his element. But when it comes to a time he needs to be on a lead I will either keep him at my side or I'll leave him at home.

I genuinely appreciate the advice given here and have arranged to have a chat with his agility trainer. I'm going to do the things you mentioned autopilot too.

Thanks again

Ben and Harley :-)

what a great looking chap.

bexVN

14,682 posts

210 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
quotequote all
Good too hear you sounding more positive. Hope it all continues well.

Whilst I can understand how your mates feel, you are right to be aware, had it been a child it'd have been a very different issue. I look at what I expect of my dog (past and present) I am glad to say I have never had to worry with my whippets, the family collie however...! (she was not to be trusted with people she didn't know!)

All the best to you and your (very handsome) boy.

Mexican cuties

686 posts

121 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
This sounds exactly what our dog has been doing, near death dog attack couple of years ago, massive excellent surgery but ever since does not tolerate dogs who come over even when we tell the owners that he is not good with other dogs, he is a chihuahua so at least we can get him out of harms way by picking him up and always on his lead, is it too late for behavioural training? we do distract with treats and some times if the other dog is on a lead he is fine, its just the loose ones that want to come and say hello that get quite a rude reaction from him

Many thanks

johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

163 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
Mexican cuties said:
This sounds exactly what our dog has been doing, near death dog attack couple of years ago, massive excellent surgery but ever since does not tolerate dogs who come over even when we tell the owners that he is not good with other dogs, he is a chihuahua so at least we can get him out of harms way by picking him up and always on his lead, is it too late for behavioural training? we do distract with treats and some times if the other dog is on a lead he is fine, its just the loose ones that want to come and say hello that get quite a rude reaction from him

Many thanks
the problem is so many owners let their Dogs off the lead and have no control over them and they dont understand how an approaching Dog can be seen as threatening.If they come with their head held high then that isnt a sign that they come to say hello its a sign they are not sure .
If they apporach your Dog with appropriate conduct he would welcome them he is being defensive having had a bad experience you cant blame him.

Mexican cuties

686 posts

121 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
That's true just wondered if its too late to make things easier for him and less stressful

johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

163 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
Mexican cuties said:
That's true just wondered if its too late to make things easier for him and less stressful
you could always get him a friend two Dogs aregreat fun three is even better

pinchmeimdreamin

9,837 posts

217 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
hackett said:
I think the problem is the Hitler Tash wink

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
Mexican cuties said:
That's true just wondered if its too late to make things easier for him and less stressful
Goodness me no it is never too late. It does however take a LOT Of time and effort.

For example, it took us a year to get our puppy used to new dogs thanks to the many aggressive dogs in this village. So, every other day she was taken somewhere else (20-30 mins drive each way!) where the dogs were friendly. Eventually she learnt that not every dog is aggressive and now she is keen to meet and sometimes try to play with other dogs.

elephantstone

2,176 posts

156 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
Jasandjules said:
Mexican cuties said:
That's true just wondered if its too late to make things easier for him and less stressful
Goodness me no it is never too late. It does however take a LOT Of time and effort.

For example, it took us a year to get our puppy used to new dogs thanks to the many aggressive dogs in this village. So, every other day she was taken somewhere else (20-30 mins drive each way!) where the dogs were friendly. Eventually she learnt that not every dog is aggressive and now she is keen to meet and sometimes try to play with other dogs.
Not too late but do expect to have a few hurdles along the way. One of our pups is VERY skittish around big dogs and will run in the opposite direct if you don't shout her before she starts off. She got chased by a big lurcher last year and if any big dog comes near her now she still get scared but she rolls on her back instead of running away.. we do try to just avoid big dogs while of the lead. She is getting better and i do keep a look out for calm big dogs that she might like but it shows how sensitive they are and how long they seem to remember things!

Autopilot

1,298 posts

183 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
You're more than welcome!

While I'm not a professional, I like to think I can offer advice and ease concerns ...even if it is based off the back of the far more experienced people I train with smile

Your squadron are right, it was a bit of a knobish thing to do to be honest. You have to feel a bit sorry for dogs sometimes. Us humans invite them in to our homes and put them in environments and situations they don't understand and they sometimes have to guess what the rules are. You shouldn't approach a dog square on, stare as it etc, these all mean different things in the dog world so it's understandable he was confused as to how to react to the situation.

Our dogs undergo a very tough training regime, they don't get anything for free and we don't allow visitors to give the dogs instructions as we don't want there to be any confusion as to what is expected of them or what is acceptable.

Our dogs are great out in the field but have a number of behavioural, environmental in fact, issues that we still need to deal with. The more intelligent the dog, the more complex the training gets!

Keep us updated and let us know how you're getting on!

Cheers

David

hackett said:
Evening folks. Thanks for all the replies it really means a lot to hear from other owners.

Autopilot a sincere thanks for the long post. I read it with interest and tbh it made me feel a lot better. I've chatted with mates at work and it was hopeless. As he's such a big part of our squadron (RAF) they all feel very protective of him and basically said the guy was clearly a knob lol. I took him out at lunch today and we had a bit of a moment where I needed to love him again as I felt a little betrayed. But I've learnt that he was only really protecting the space is given him and although it's not acceptable behaviour it's natural and potentially justified (if you think like a dog).

So after doing an hour of training, lots of tricks and stays etc to reaffirm obedience I think I know the way forward. I'm very much going to continue taking him to work functions where he is part of the team, he runs around freely and is in his element. But when it comes to a time he needs to be on a lead I will either keep him at my side or I'll leave him at home.

I genuinely appreciate the advice given here and have arranged to have a chat with his agility trainer. I'm going to do the things you mentioned autopilot too.

Thanks again

Ben and Harley :-)

maxjeff

26 posts

105 months

Friday 3rd July 2015
quotequote all
I had a similar problem in that my dog was attacked by a stray and then turned on the other dog ( always assumed it was to protect my sister who was walking him, as he walked away as soon as the other dog was pulled away). He has never gotten over it and went from being fine to attacking any dog that came up to him (luckily it onlu happened when a dog came into his space). We didn't know whether this was fear aggression or protective, he also suffered an injury in his paw which whilst mild caused early arthritis.

We have had to have him muzzled as he is a big strong dog however with alot of time and many walks where he can see other dogs he has improved enough that he doesn't need muzzling when with myself or my dad (we seem to have the most authority in that he will do as we say, around my sister we still don;t trust him)

I had a bit of a breakthrough when I took him to a park that he had not been to before which was full of dogs, whilst muzzled to begin with I was able to have a coffee with him un-muzzled with many dogs around, both on the lead and off the lead and after a few glances at dogs off the lead he completely relaxed.

In my mind there is no one approach either asserting domainance or socialing and it comes down to you dog, talking to a behaviourist would be a good start, but just watch your dog and understand what it is that sets him off, there will never be a quick fix, but with patience and understanding you may find he begins to become the dog he was before the GSD incident.