Agressive Pup

[LELLO]

I took my neo pup aprox 4 months old 2 the beach 2day. all was going fine, we had met a few small dogs and i had him on the lead because he has some selective hearing at times and hed never been to the beach before.

we eventually came across 2 wolfhouds i think so they were much bigger than him. one bounded over and befor i knew it my neo was growning and had a bit of a go at the other dog.

he is much stronger than me but the minuite i grabbed his haltie he sat down but he kept growling. i dragged him away but he was quite spooked. tail between his legs and looking around constantly. on the way back 2 the car he barked at another male mastiff.

i was wondering if anyone had any ideas why he did it. all of the other dogs who he argued with were male, so i thought that was a possibility as he is not desexed (im not sure if the others were), but he has been around my mothers cockerspaniel (not desexed male).

my other thought was that prehaps he just got scared as im fairly sure this is the first large dog thats ever bounded over to meet him and maybe he was defendin himself and me.

any other thoughts.

btw he hasnt been to puppy pree school, so if anyone can recoment a good one that will take him at his age id love the advice

[Toohey]

Hi Lello,

he needs lots and lots of socialisation. Every day, in as many different ways as possible.

He needs to meet other dogs (vaccinated dogs) EVERY day. Probably best to keep him on a lead and introduce him gently to one dog at a time... the training people will give you good advice on this I am sure.

Intensive socialisation while he is young is hugely important. Get yourself into puppy school tomorrow if possible... don't wait any longer. And, add to that obedience training where he can meet other dogs also.

If you use the forum search button and type in the word "socialisation", you will find lots of previous discussions.

[mita]

...what Toohey said

[neos4life]

I cannot stress enough the importance of socialistion with pups of any breed.

I have 3 Neos 1 male and 2 females. I take them with me everywhere where possible.

You need to be firm with him but never agressive - loud No etc don't be afraid to chastise him

with your voice.

I agree with Toohey - get into either puppy preschool or to an obedience school asap.

If he's not normally like that it could of been just a bit overwhelming with the new experience

of the beach coupled with many new dogs - but this def needs to be addressedor you will end up

with a 80kg odd wildchild lol

[Andoria1]

my dog is like that.

He knows the next neighbours dog and i introduced my dog to his dog. And a month later i showed my dog to the niegbours dog at the front yard and my dog when phsyco at him. Now my dog goes crazy when he sees other people walking their dogs past our house and he howls at them as well.

I would like to socialize him with other dogs, but this experience with the neighbour's dog makes me think twice about letting him near other dogs as i cant control him when hes on lead. I fly with him when he lunges forward to the other dog when he goes crazy.

[Pit Man]

my dog is like that.

He knows the next neighbours dog and i introduced my dog to his dog. And a month later i showed my dog to the niegbours dog at the front yard and my dog when phsyco at him. Now my dog goes crazy when he sees other people walking their dogs past our house and he howls at them as well.

I would like to socialize him with other dogs, but this experience with the neighbour's dog makes me think twice about letting him near other dogs as i cant control him when hes on lead. I fly with him when he lunges forward to the other dog when he goes crazy.

There are two ways to overcome this, flooding and desensitisation. I have no experience with flooding but have read when it works it is brilliant. Problem is if it doesn't work, you've ruined the dog. It involves putting them in the stressful situation until they eventually calm down. I wouldn't recommend it unless you do a lot of research and can control the dog. Flooding refers to the rush of the body's chemicals as they flood throughout the body. In people we call it confronting your fear. If you hate snakes, stay in a room with snakes.

Desensitisation involves standing by your dog who is tied up so they can't get away and have someone circle at a distance moving in all the time. Never approach head on and avoid eye contact. Keep feeding your dog until they become too focused on the other dog then stop. Do this daily. Took about three months doing it once or twice a day until her circle of aggression got so small they could sit next to each other without fighting.

If your lunging with the dog it feels your joining in as well. Have you tried a check chain or haltie? Halties are good but our dog realised if she turned and faced us she could pull away and we lost control.

Hope this helps.

[poodlefan]

Given the size this pup will grow and your need to learn to effectively control him, I think long term obedience training with a good trainer/school, rather than puppy preschool, it what he needs.

What you are describing sounds like fear aggression but you need a professional behaviouralist to look at behavior problems, not the internet.

I sincerely doubt he was protecting you.

Where do you live - DOLers may be able to recommend a good obedience trainer/club.