Defensive Pooch!

[nuttyboutdoggys]

my maltese wasn't fond of other dogs, she would often growl and snarl at them. If I ever took her to a dog park if we were staying at mum's she wouldnt' play with the other dogs, she would wander off trying to find ways out of the fully fenced area coz that was more fun for her and a challenge to her. She loved people though.

and in fact if any dogs came wandering over to her on our street walks I would have to be very careful that she didn't threaten them so they wouldnt' threaten back - it's a bit odd telling owners of great danes to take their dogs away as your maltese is about to attack it as I have had to.

having said that if friends dogs came over or my other dog she was fine with, she didn't feel threatened by them, provided they understood she was the boss.

so my suggestion is continue socialisation with friends and their dogs if he enjoys that, walks in the street, car rides with a walk at the other end in a quiet area but visits to the doggy park shouldn't happen, best to do what he enjoys doing not what you think he would enjoy doing :-)

most of all continue to be his friend :-) and when you can afford to see a behavourilist I would suggest that as well. I'm also hoping that the dog is desexed because otherwise that may account for some of the behaviour.

oh my golly gosh yes! got the snipo' very young!

well i can only suggest to mum these things.. he's hers, so she does what she can.

if he was mine, i'd love to.. got the hyster'op coming up in 3-4weeks now.. i will be out again from mum's as soon as i'm better. so it's a small window of time i have.. like i said.. bless my mothers cotton sox she wouldn't continue any training anyway.. and that's after organising professional to have a looksy, wich i doubt will happen either.

aside from this problem he is loved, he is very spoilt and loves my cat (he has temporarily come home with me) those two lpay for hours.. my cat is such a tease cause he'll jump ontop of the fence with a look of "narnie, narnie, nar-nar!"

greets everyone so very affectionatley.

Mum doesn't really take him to dog parks she's a "pavement pounder".. so it won't affect her that much.

I've just noticed he's changed alot in a 6mnth time frame.

so be it. he's a great lil'man for the lap! we can all live with this

[bloss344]

oh, sorry one more thing.

as i was saying, if he knows this "preemtive strike" behaviour.. why does he get so excited? as soon as we make the last turn he's jumping out the window practicly, i have to hold on!

Recently I had to put Bob into a situation that he found very very stressful as there were several other dogs in an enclosed area. He was so excited on the way there, pulled me into the room and immediately went on the defensive once we were in. He's fear aggressive and his behaviour I believe was quite typical. After three times I decided that this was not a good thing as I spent almost two hours settling him and repremanding him when he reacted to another dog, so I no longer took him. Why put them through it?

I find Bob is ok if he's with one or two very calm dogs, perhaps this is the way to go for your mothers dog too. Don't put him into situations that you know are going to bring on this behaviour. We can't protect our dog's from every situation, but the behaviour isn't just going to go away while he reacts the way he does. A dog can't learn to be calm in a highly aroused state.

[Erny]

Serious behaviours such as these should be dealt with by consultation with a reputable qualified trainer/behaviourist. It is not something that should be open to advice over the net. You leave yourself (and your dog) wide open for attempting the wrong thing in the wrong way and making the matter worse. You are dealing with the dog's emotional state here and IMO it deserves more than mere guesses (which is all anyone can give you on-line) at the appropriate way to manage the problem.