Aggresive Biting

[db_sampson]

i have a 6 month old amstaff who is becoming more and more aggressive towards other dogs, she has been around other dogs alot since i got her at 8 weeks, she is especially bad with my sisters maltese x shitzu, this is a big problem because they live together. i need some help its getting out of control i need ideas on how to stop her biting and being so agressive towards other dogs, she is normally fine when its just me and her.. thanks..

[Nekhbet]

more discipline and a trainer to come in and give you some tips

discipline shouldnt be harsh or cruel. You dont have to terrorise a dog into respect. My dogs live by Nothing In Life Is Free - if you want it you have to work hard for it!

She may be a rough player, most bully breeds are, and can be mistaken for aggressive behavior. But a profeesional is the way to go first.

[db_sampson]

more discipline and a trainer to come in and give you some tips

discipline shouldnt be harsh or cruel. You dont have to terrorise a dog into respect. My dogs live by Nothing In Life Is Free - if you want it you have to work hard for it!

She may be a rough player, most bully breeds are, and can be mistaken for aggressive behavior. But a profeesional is the way to go first.

i do think she is a rough player, she does similar behaviour with my dads american x english staffy is only a few months older and similar in size to her handles it well although she still needs to settle with the biting a bit, rusty (the maltese x shitzu) is alot smaller than she is and she does hurt him abit. The training is a good suggestion and something i was planning looking into more, can anyone suggest good places around the west brisbane area that would be good with this kind of thing? im strongly against hitting dogs for any reason..

[Nekhbet]

A few brisbane DOLers will have ideas about who is good and realistic up there. Firm but fair you dont have to hit but at the first sign of roughness grab the dog by the collar and let it settle. I would probably have it on a lead when with the malt/shih so if too rough you can walk it away.

remember ... always mark/praise whenever the dog is doing well. If it starts playing nicely or quietly just softly say 'good dog, gooooood dog' to reinforce what is the right thing to do

praising is what 90% of owners forget

[Dogsfevr]

Yep training.Young Am staffs just dont now there boundries & to be honest i would never leave the combo together simply due to size & the Am staffs age.

Also be make sure the other dog also isnt encouraging the behaviour in which case both dogs needs to learn right from wrong .Also ensuring the Am Staff gets time out from the little one.

Make sure your Am Staff is getting daily walks,lots of mental stimulation.

As already said dont mix up aggression & playing roughly.You could be disciplining the dog incorrectly presuming its aggression when its simply an Am Staff playing like they should amongst there own size.

[fainty_girl]

I need some advice with aggression too , hope you don't mind me posting here too.

I had a bad day today with my 8 month old puppy Tilly (Kelpie X Coolie).

Tilly attacked my other dog Jessie in the afternoon...now I am furious about this , my older brother was here today and he started playing a game of tug-of-war with Jessie, and this hyped up Jessie and Tilly. Then my brother threw the toy towards Jessie & Tilly, and then Tilly attacked Jessie for the toy . I am SO angry at my brother, because we are working hard to settle Tilly.

Later on in the evening I took Tilly to the dog park and my mum took Jessie and we met there to let the dogs have a play. On several occasions I have taken Tilly & Jessie to the same dog park and they have been great together. Normally Tilly will focus on playing fetch, and Jessie will normally stroll around the park, and then on the sand Jessie will sometimes run with Tilly, kind of trying to round her up to stop her getting the ball.

Now this sounds confusing, but Jessie will only focus more on playing fetch when my mum is there (long story), so at the park today Jessie was more involved in playing fetch than she normally is with Tilly.

When we were just about ready to leave the dog park, Tilly attacked Jessie over the ball, after they both ran for the ball. Jessie has a little bite mark on her back now.

Tilly has not shown aggression towards any other dog, apart from my Jessie. Tilly has also happily played fetch with other dogs at the park, letting them take her ball with absolutely no aggression towards them.

Tilly is getting plenty of exercise, so she can't be bored! (We've been visiting this park twice a day, spending about 2-3 hours there , with Tilly running and swimming the whole time). Jessie is a submissive girl and is not aggressive at all. When Tilly attacked her, she did not fight back.

What can I do about aggression over toys/balls? Why is Tilly only aggressive with Jessie?

Edited December 5, 2008 by fainty_girl

[Nekhbet]

prey drive, focus, control, training ... yadda yadda

again a proper trainer needs to assess whats going on high drive can cause snappings (Malinois owner here) and you not being the true 'owner' of the prey item hence the fight.

ETA - biting, snapping, rolling etc are not always aggression. Dogs have limited communication and hence use signals we see as 'aggression'. True aggression towards other dogs is blatantly obvious (ie literally tearing another to pieces) and hence rough play is usually misconstrued.

Edited December 5, 2008 by Nekhbet

[Kavik]

Also - 2 dogs, 1 toy can cause problems if they both want the same thing.

[Zhou Xuanyao]

No one can say without seeing the situation but you cant go wrong with consulting a behavourist, even on 1 occasion. A 6 month old amstaff can kill a shitzu easily, if the nipping, chasing, muzzle thrusting, ect and general harrasment is increasing then id be pretty urgent about seperating them. At this age your pup isnt as predictable as you might think. She is going through many changes and she will try new things to test her capabilities as her confidence increases.