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 Dog Aggression

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acrespin12
Newborn
Newborn


Female Join date : 2018-06-20

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PostSubject: Dog Aggression    Dog Aggression  EmptyTue Aug 07, 2018 3:25 am

Crying or Very sad

Hi all. I apologize in advance for the long post, but wanted to give enough information to get advice and tips. For those who don't know me, I am April, and I have:

a 1 year 8 month old husky named Bandit

a 11 year old cocker Spaniel named Emma

and have recently added a pup to my family who is 12 weeks old, and I am unsure if he is pure husky or not, but he is half, his name is Hunter.

I thought Bandit had decent socialization when he was a pup, but I guess I was wrong, because he is aggressive towards other dogs. The behaviors I think are signs of aggression include:

He won't take no as an answer from other dogs that don't want to play, and will bother them until they get angry and then attack once the other dogs issue a warning.

He will attack another dog for food or toys, or anything he wants

He doesn't stop play when the other dog wants to stop

I realize now, much too late, that I did a lot of things wrong with Bandit as he was growing up. I spoiled him, and must have not socialized him enough. I've failed him, and am truly sad, because I know he can be a good dog. I've been working dilligently to undo my mistakes and I have very slowly made some progress with him. For example:

I taught him how to sit and wait for his food when he used to just knock the bowl out of my hands before

I've taught him the drop it command (it's not perfect yet, but we are working on it)

I've taught him to stop mouthing me and my parents and ripping our clothes

I've taught him to stop jumping on me and my mom, but I still am trying to get him to stop jumping on strangers (he is a sweet dog with people and gets overly excited when he meets someone new)

The biggest issue for me right now is the aggression (even though I still need to teach him to walk on the leash with out the prong collar, and need to work on better recall). I know the best thing would be to get a professional to help me, and I am not against that, but the problems I am presented with are:

I live in a small town that does not have access to a trainer.

I would have to drive 3 hours to a trainer.

Bandit is bad with being in cars. He has ripped my backseat apart before and my small car won't fit a kennel.

I'm not sure if taking him to session out of town could help with his behavior with my other dogs at home, or if a trainer would have to see all of my dogs together, and I couldn't take all 3 on a 3 hour drive

If a trainer would come to me, I am pretty sure I couldn't afford their rate for accommodating me by traveling, at least not at this time in my life.

I am a graduate student and have a tight budget. My parents help with the dogs, but won't be willing to do the work with a trainer, or pay for a trainer, so any hope for that won't be possible until a year or two, and definitely wouldn't be an option financially until I have a more stable job than teaching a few classes at my University.

Until then, I was hoping I could get help from others who have dealt with similar problems. Right now Bandit is:

Kept separate from Hunter and Emma which has made life tough. It means that the dogs have to be kept in separate rooms inside

Outside they have to be tied.

My dream is that someday they can all enjoy our acre of land freely, but for now Bandit is extremely untrustworthy.

It's strange, but when Bandit and the puppy are tied they play nicely. Bandit will even lay down on his back while the puppy climbs all over him, but off leash Bandit is too aggressive with any dog, and the puppy will smartly stay far away from him. When they are tied, the puppy gets to choose when play gets too intense, and Bandit has no choice but to end play, because he is tied and can't reach the puppy outside of a certain area. If Bandit wasn't tied he'd just keep trying to force play by blocking the puppy's path and knocking him over. I always supervise them during tied play and when I am not supervising, they have no access to one another.

Right now, for exercise I take Bandit on long bike rides every afternoon, and then when we return I've been walking Bandit on the leash while Hunter and Emma get yard time loose. The leash walking was going decent. Bandit at times would try to lunge at the puppy or Emma, but I've been able to maintain control, and have praised him when he acts more calm. I even made all three dogs do a sit and wait for a treat at the same time.

Unfortunately, Bandit attacked Hunter the other day over the spoon I use to give the dogs peanut butter. I am usually diligent about not leaving anything out for them to fight over, but somehow Hunter got the spoon, and before I realized it Bandit jumped him, but I pulled him away quickly, and thankfully no skin was broken or there was no major injury, and the puppy doesn't seem too traumatized as he still plays with Bandit when they are tied.

Things I've noticed when Bandit was on leash with the other dogs is that when Hunter drinks water from the bowl Bandit will push his way to drink water too, and vice versa, or if Hunter smells a spot Bandit will smell the same spot, or if Hunter plays with a weed Bandit will also get the same weed.

Would anyone know if this is normal, or is Bandit being dominant?

Are they competing?

Since the day Bandit attacked Hunter over the spoon, so yesterday and today, I've been afraid to have Bandit on leash, so I tie him after we go biking when the other dogs have loose time, but I can't bear it, because he just cries bloody murder, and I don't want him to be upset or to contribute to his aggression. Tomorrow, I will resume walking him on the leash and just keep more alert and more distance.


I know I have to be brave and keep trying to move forward, but I truthfully am terrified. Before the incident I was able to stay calm and make sure the leash was never tense when Bandit was walking around with the other dogs, and I know I have to keep on trying to do the same, or they will sense my fear, so I am really hoping for some advice and tips.

Should I try a head Halti?

I once tried a gentle leader with Bandit, but it must have been cheaply made, because I didn't tighten it enough, and before I could adjust it Bandit bit it in half. I'm constantly doing research and from what I understand a gentle leader and the Halti differ, but none of the articles gives advice on what kinds are best to use.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a durable brand of halti and tips on use?

Or does anyone just have advice for anything I need to do different or add to the routines and training I am trying to implement?



Thank you to everyone who replies and to everyone who took the time to read this very long post whether they had advice or not.
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MiyasMomma
Senior
Senior
MiyasMomma

Female Join date : 2014-06-26
Location : west Texas

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PostSubject: Re: Dog Aggression    Dog Aggression  EmptyTue Aug 07, 2018 4:02 am

Hi April, you got some work to do and it's late for me, I'll try and post some articles after my reply. Bandit is a bully, I have one too, and it does take management, and some stuff can be corrected. So a few questions, where do you live, I know you said small town, but shoot I live in the middle of nowhere and I do have access to trainers, albeit about an hour and a half away, perhaps you are over looking places? If not, I would start working on him focusing on you and calmness, and ignoring. Any chance you got him under 8 weeks of age? The younger they are the more difficult they sometimes can be. Let me find some links for you and I will look at what a friend of mine uses, he has a mid content wolf dog, and has had great success using a goat head halter. Be back in a few. Smile
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MiyasMomma
Senior
Senior
MiyasMomma

Female Join date : 2014-06-26
Location : west Texas

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PostSubject: Re: Dog Aggression    Dog Aggression  EmptyTue Aug 07, 2018 4:23 am

https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Is-Your-Dog-Bullying-Other-Dogs

https://www.petcha.com/what-to-do-with-a-bully-dog/
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acrespin12
Newborn
Newborn


Female Join date : 2018-06-20

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PostSubject: Re: Dog Aggression    Dog Aggression  EmptyTue Aug 07, 2018 4:47 am

Hi Renee. I appreciate your response, and so late too. Any tips will be welcome. I live in Mosquero, NM, and as far as my search has shown me, I would have to travel to Santa Fe, Albuquerque, or Clovis to find a trainer and all these places involve approximately a 3 hour drive. I got Bandit when he was 7 weeks, so I am sure that is a part of my problem. I forgot to add that he is fixed, but that hasn't seemed to make a difference in his behavior, and I knew from my research that it probably wouldn't. I 100% agree with you that Bandit is a bully. I am so sad that he is aggressive, and fear that after I finish my graduate program that I will have to leave Hunter with my parents and move to a different home with Bandit and keep him as a single dog forever.
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TwisterII
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Senior
TwisterII

Female Join date : 2013-06-14
Location : Missouri

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PostSubject: Re: Dog Aggression    Dog Aggression  EmptyTue Aug 07, 2018 10:24 pm

In time they can learn manners. Having a trainer makes it much easier to do so though. It can take a long time with some. My big male came in with no manners. If he wanted it, he took it. He wasn't mean, just wanted what he wanted and didn't understand why he couldn't and would get mad. Then one day my female gave him a run for his life and he re-evaluated what was worth fighting for. He waits for things now. He has much better manners. That's a pretty extreme way to go about it but it worked for him. Just gotta set your boundaries and make him work for everything. It won't happen over night and aspects may never happen. My female is stupid dog aggressive on leash. I've spent thousands to work on it and all we accomplished was tolerance to pass a little closer but we will never be able to meet a dog on leash without a fight. I have been able to add two more dogs to her pack though by figuring out what works for her to not trigger that red zone. You just have to find that ah ha moment.

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Dog Aggression  Huskyf10
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ZiMan
Newborn
Newborn


Join date : 2018-05-18

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PostSubject: Re: Dog Aggression    Dog Aggression  EmptyWed Aug 08, 2018 12:00 am

Hi. I’m still newer to my husky, but he came to me at 18 months with a few bad habits. He was aggressive to start, with us and other dogs (not at play, but over water and things he deemed his). I can’t talk much about expanding the pack, because he’s my only pup, but I will say that the philosophy of Nothing in life is free has done wonders for us over the last six weeks. Not perfect yet, heck he just tore up an entire bathroom garbage so now we’re watching for that mess, but he did know it was wrong, responded to my command to stop when I caught him, and actually showed guilt. Check it out. the training is constant which can be exhausting. I’ll admit I’m good about it 85% of the time, but the results have been there. Hang in there!

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