siks3

And here is the key. You have successfully trained aggressive dogs. There are some pretty strong opinions on here from people who have had nothing to do with aggression let alone successfully worked with them. I agree the measures needed to correct most aggression problems are out of reach for the average pet owner it takes a lot of experience and hands on learning to do this. If you don't have the confidence or knowledge i wouldn't even attempt it.

You go on the personality of the dog on how hard or if any correction is applied In my eyes if one of the GSD dogs i use to breed could not bounce back after a correction I WOULD NOT BREED FROM THAT DOG as it has a week temperament and is not suitable to use to breed a working line GSD. In my eyes the GSD breed as a whole has gone down hill in the last 20years a lot of breeders can breed a pretty dog but the only way to really test the temperament of a true GSD breed stock is to be involved in shutzhund

Happening in the USA already. LINK,clicky

Glad you added that qualifyer siks. If working dog folk want to get themselves bit that's one thing. Any pet that's bitten its owner seriously doesn't have much of a future. Can't see how patting a dog in a high state of arousal is is going to make it fearful though. Must be a GSD thing ;) I think Siks3 means not to coddle the dog and do the whole "oh poor dog, it's okay, it's okay" thing Yep, If you pat and cuddle the dog the or do poor dog thing. You are in theory rewarding the behavior e.g if the dog is feeling scared you are rewarding that.

Sorry I disagree. Though I don't believe the dog should be put down nor that we know the whole story of the incident, I do have to question the strength of nerve and clarity in a working dog that would see a child as a threat. Exactly you have it there. The dogs nerve is most surely in question.

I also forgot to mention if you cause them discomfort as soon as they mouth you the dog is never going to learn bite inhibition. As soon as they bite down to cause pain or discomfort I growl and then it's on the lead for 5min.

I don't like to rough handle my dogs if they do something wrong I will provide a correction is needed via a leash snap even a prong collar but that whole grabbing her mouth thing doesn't seem right you are putting your hand where you don't want the dog to have it ,sounds like it could confuse the dog. How I cured my akita from mouthing was simple. He mouthed he got put on a leash still inside the house attached to the back door. Had his freedom restricted and he hated this with a passion and he soon stopped the behavior.

'Startled' - really? I live in the same city this attack happened and I haven't read anywhere that the dog was startled. It was working! Why would you say 'fear bite'??? Come on people - we're not talking about someones backyard pet here, it's a 'working' dog. If anything, as Staranais said, the police should have had a guard posted at the door. Copied and pasted from the article. As David ran inside calling out to his mother, the startled german shepherd latched on to his leg, biting it "to the bone Still sounds like a fear bite to me the kid was not attacking the officer so it should not have reacted. Or maybe It's the handlers fault the dog should only be aggressive when the handler wants it to.

halti =

Yep, its a small dog. This is the thing siks - you've got to tailor advice to the person asking it, not dispense what you might do with your dog. As has just been proven in the aggressive GSD thread, making assumptions about dogs OR handlers is bloody dangerous. I have yet to see anyone suggest that one person can break up a dog fight using the "grab the back legs" method. All one person will do is make the dog they are grabbing a target if the other dog continues to aggress. Y Pet dog handers usually don't have the skill to do it anyway. What professional dog handlers or 'working dog" folk do is of no use if a pet dog owner can't replicate it. Please bear that in mind. cool. One thing that might work that i have used in the past. That might help a person with a little dog would be a small fire extinguisher. You can get one small enough to put into a small bag and carry with you. It is very effective at scaring away a dog.

What utter rubbish. Yet another "K9" handler dispensing dangerous advice the OP can never follow. Take it to a 'working dog' forum and leave the pet dog owners to get advice from someone who might actually be able to help them. You clearly don't know anything about the OP's dog.. its a toy breed. How the hell is OP is supposed to single handedly grab the attacking dog by the back legs and pull it off hers, especially if her dog is in its mouth. Get real. This sort of advice is a utter joke. Giraffez, block the dog with your body. You want to avoid any contact at all costs. If you can find a high place like a car roof, put your dog up there. If it all goes wrong drop your lead (giving your dog a chance to fight or flee), scream "FIRE" and try to grab the attacking dog. No 1 priority is to stop that dog shaking yours if you can - that's what kills the tiny dogs - it breaks spines and ruptures organs. Didn't know it was a toy breed throw two large dogs together with one on lead and try to pull it away the dog can sometimes unintentionally turn It's aggression back on to you. I know this because I have lived in an area that had a lot of off lead dogs and have had this happen to me. My father ran an RSPCA in Burnie Tasmania for long time so i do know what works to get a dog to stop fighting I have stopped large dogs from killing each other with this method. Oh wow type in how to stop a dog fight and look what pops up first from a guy that breeds and trains working GSD HOW TO BREAK UP A DOG FIGHT

LINK. clicky clicky

Thanks all, next time i wont attempt to pick it up. Any tips for what to do if the other dog is aggresive. I want to avoid any force if possible as it could hurt the dog and aggravate him further. Some of u mentioned u would yell at it... That didn't cross my mind at all as i know if i yell at my one in the spur of the moment, he probably wont think anything of it let alone yelling at another dog. Also, the fact my dog thought it was a threat, is this normal reaction? If the other dog is about to attack the worst thing you can do is keep your dog on lead and try to pull your dog away it will only make the situation worse the tension on the lead will make your dog want to fight or protect let your dog off lead and let them suss each other out normally this will stop them being aggressive if they do start to fight grab the other dog by the back legs and pull him away and keep walking in a circle and eventually the front legs will tire out and the dog will collapse.

That is good advice. But make sure you are not constantly scolding the puppy make sure you reward the puppy as soon as it is doing the right thing. A lot of dog owners are over keen on scolding the puppy but hold off on the treats and praise which can have consequences on your dogs temperament like making him shy or fearful of you. Getting the balance right is the key to having a balanced dog with a good happy loving nature. It sounds like your puppy is chasing anything that moves which is triggering your puppies prey drive. Dogs in that frame of mind learn well so getting him to do obedience when he's lively and focused on you this will help your training process go along a lot quicker. I also believe in a small correction when the word "no" is used such as giving a small flick by his collar which will stop him in his tracks until the pup understands the meaning of the command "no". when he stops the behavior you don't want and is doing something you do want make sure you praise and treat your puppy. Giving the small correction enforces the command otherwise just growling will stop having an effect after awhile.

good stuff here on feeding an akita a natral diet

Feed it cats, My old one use to sit a prize on the rear step once and a while might as well get him use to the taste.

I'm afraid I can't answer your question siks3 but I would be more concerned that a dog is getting bathed every 2 weeks. I thought that with the shampoos today not being detergent based it's not as bad as it was years ago and it was ok to bath more frequently. I may be wrong though.

Hi there. Just a few quick questions. Any body have any info on what is in the flea rinse used in the commercial hydro baths? On it's own is it an effective flea treatment if the dog is washed every 2 weeks? Has any body had any bad experiences with it?

Oh :D. That's really really sad. On more than one level. I feel very much for those animals, just as your Dad would have. But I feel also for your Dad, who lives with those memories. It would be bad enough having to live with memories of any of what the RSPCA and other shelter workers must do when the animals in their care aren't homed. But to live with those memories knowing there was a better way but it wasn't permitted for financial reasons must be awful and I hope they don't plague your Dad too much as this would not have been his fault. My dad still gets a bit chocked up when he talks about it. He worked with a lot of animals and use to train with a prong collar years ago and he trained a lot unruly dogs with it and a lot of those dogs got re homed. Go figure that the person that helped outlaw there use in Victoria has no real insight on there effectiveness and being more politicly correct has more importance then the dogs welfare. They are a tool to get the dogs focus they are not a punishment. When they are used with positive training they are a great tool on some dogs

Pffft RSPCA. My father use to run the local pound for the RSPCA in Burnie Tasmania about 20 years ago and he left because he no longer had the heart to give unwanted dogs and cats a bowl of food and a .22 bullet in the back of the head. He made the change over from the chloroform he use to knock the animals out with to the bowl of food so they had the luxury of a bowl of food in there belly and he didn't have to stress them out holding the rag over there face. All because they didn't want to spend the money on the injection and they get there knickers in a twist over a prong collar. The RSPCA does great work but they aren't perfect.

Lets see startled dog kid got injured sounds like the dog needs to retire. Sounds like a fear bite and working dogs should not bite out of fear no questions about that. After years of work sounds like his temperament has been flawed in some way. The dog should not have acted in that way just because a child came into the room no matter how much noise it was making. But in saying that we have only been given one side of the story.

I herd that you have been line breeding dogs with small arse holes and you have finally had great success in getting them to fully close up. Now i would like 2 of these dogs that can't poop a male and a female. when I get puppies do you think I can get the breed recognised by the AKC? I think these dogs would sell really well as they won't poop on the customers lawn and no more doggy farts.

I don't like to rough handle my dogs if they do something wrong I will provide a correction is needed via a leash snap even a prong collar but that whole grabbing her mouth thing doesn't seem right you are putting your hand where you don't want the dog to have it ,sounds like it could confuse the dog. How I cured my akita from mouthing was simple. He mouthed he got put on a leash still inside the house and had his freedom restricted and he hated this with a passion and he soon stopped the behaviour. As for sitting in the car i would hold the dog and treat once and a while to distract the dog from mouthing if you cause the dog discomfort in the car the dog is going to see the car as a negative thing and it will only get worse.

The fact that they are breeding from a dog they consider to have a week temperament is the worst part. No wonder people get bit when people are letting these type of dogs breed. Thats why there are so many fear biters out there.