Fear Aggression

[corvus]

But conversely, the advantage of using drugs early is that you can prevent the dog practising the aggressive behaviour while you get a handle on it. That wasn't expressed very well. What I mean is, if the dog comes to expect or anticipate that he will be frightened and need to be aggressive, it may become a feedback loop. There's a good argument for intervening early with drugs to prevent that feedback loop being established, because once it is it's harder to treat. Of course, that is assuming there's a high chance of the feedback loop becoming established in the first place. This is why you need a good behaviourist. :D They'll be able to assess the risks and best advise you of your options.

[Prydenjoy]

I agree with Corvus, while it is a nice idea to avoid drugs, it can help a problem by reducing the anxiety associated with a situation, so that you can work on it in a relaxed state of mind. The anxiety itself is what triggers the reaction, you take reduce the anxiety, the behavior becomes more manageable. Unless, of course it has become a learned behavior, in which case learning (an alternate behavior) is more easily achieved when the dog is not under stress anyway. Of course, do see a behaviorist anyway, but just some more food for thought :D

Edited June 6, 2010 by Jeanne

[Alfie02]

It was the first link SAS, it looks like a flea collar when its out of the packet. We always had our dog on a check chain, and even though he is alot better now he is still on the check chain as we know we can curb any bad behaviour before it really begins.

Once again, Good luck with your Shepherd, I hope you have found some good advice on here! It will take time but when you see the changes it will be so worth while :rolleyes:

Edited June 6, 2010 by Alfie02