Misha attacked another dog (aDork)

I would work on getting a super strong leave it and instant rewards

aDorkable

I reached out to scratch the husky's nose and Misha lit into him.

 Just wondering, if you knew Misha was aggravated at the husky, why did you pet the other dog?

tiffy

Michelle, I would contact Becca.  She has experience with LGDs and I feel very confident that she will have very good, practical advice for you.  I truly hope that you get this worked out. 

aDorkable

I reached out to scratch the husky's nose and Misha lit into him.

 

 Just wondering, if you knew Misha was aggravated at the husky, why did you pet the other dog?

Do you have actual suggestions and/or thoughts, or are you just in this thread to make Michelle feel worse than she already does?  I suspect that she reached out & scratched the husky, because she does it all the time.  The dog plays with Misha very regularly, & obviously, this was not a response that was expected or anticipated.  Hindsight is always 20/20, & playing Monday morning quarterback isn't helpful at all.  Real ideas, thoughts, & possible solutions would be MUCH more helpful.

tiffy

aDorkable

I reached out to scratch the husky's nose and Misha lit into him.

 

 Just wondering, if you knew Misha was aggravated at the husky, why did you pet the other dog?

Honestly, its my habit to turn attention to Onyx when Crusher is being a dork to her. I'll turn my back on him and ignore him when he's just being a jerk. I never knew it could potentially escalate things. It just seemed natural. Onyx is being nice and sweet, give her some lovin since her brother is being mean.

BEVOLASVEGAS

Hindsight is always 20/20, & playing Monday morning quarterback isn't helpful at all.  Real ideas, thoughts, & possible solutions would be MUCH more helpful.

Agreed.

Michelle, I think it is very good that you are going have him checked out to see if this uncharacteristic aggression is medically-related.  If it is not, then perhaps there was an incident that occurred earlier that may have triggered it, that you did not see?  Harry was attacked over a year ago and we are still working on getting him comfortable and confident around new dogs.  You just never know what might trigger a reaction, all you can do is try and manage & help from this point forward.  You may have to be super aware of things for a while, until you and he both get your confidence back up. 

Please keep us posted, and (((hugs))) I know how scary something like this can be.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I have gotten in touch with Becca and she outlined a program that I am going to start following. She is doing it with one of her LGDs right now, actually. I will also be getting a copy of "Click to Calm" in a few weeks (thanks Heather and Amber!). Ultimately a lot more long walks and a lot less social time for a little bit. Then start from training day 1.

Julie, I think that if I had a thought process, it was if I showed Misha I was okay with the husky, he'd realize it wasn't an issue. Humanizing his thought process. I was only in the yard because the only door that was unlocked was off the back deck. It was, indeed, habit to reach out towards Yuri, though he hadn't actually allowed me to pet him before today.

 Again, thanks for the advice. We will be working on destressing a lot of Misha's life.

Has Misha ever been around you interacting with other dogs before?  How was he then?  I'm just wondering because I've observed Willow really escalate her aggression toward other dogs when I interact with them.  It goes to a bite now ask questions later type response versus the usual posturing that would go on while on leash with me at a distance.  She also has done the same thing with people where she will be fine with them and as soon as I enter the room will get aggressive. 

Working first with dakota, and especially with abbie, I've learned how tough it is to control my own natural instincts. Like you say, you often act before and without even thinking about it. But once you start really breaking down the training (both the dogs and your own) you become hyper alert on your dogs body language and your own reactions.

I hope you did not take my posts as critizism btw.

To give you an example. Lily and abbie often go at it when they get over excited or over resources (including me). Because I've worked so much with abbie, I've learned how to difuse her nearly instantly. She has a strong leave it and as soon as she disengages (meaning she so much as looks away from lily) I mark it with a yes, good girl! And sometimes a pet, depending on the situation. This makes her respond to me even more and more committed to not fight. Because I haven't worked with lily enough yet (I'm just starting), when abbie disengages, lily will focus even more and take advantage of the opportunity often getting cheap shots in while abbie gives her calming signals (looking away, lip licking). So I have started to strengthen lilys leave its and instant markers followed by rewards. Now when I say leave it, as soon as she looks at me, even if she is still riled up and obsessed with abbie, I will mark her look to me with a yes and praise. She is learning that this is good and will eventually leave off all together and sit and give me her full attention.

All dogs and situations are different and modifying behavior like this is not a one step process. It involves modifying a lot of things and building a solid foundation that the dog will respond to in tense situations.

Also, I wanted to add that chows can give extremely subtle body language signals. 

I know hes a mix, but still.

Lori, Misha lived with other dogs that I interacted with, and has vacationed with, and been with me when I dog sat other dogs (family dogs). We've been to the dog park before too. In all previous situations he's been fine with other dogs, and me giving other dogs attention. Usually Misha has a very expressive tail, but he's started trash talking and I couldn't quite pick out the serious and the talk.

Julie, While him actually attacking Yuri has only been a today thing, I have seen other escalations that have concerned me, but they have been inside only, not within the fence. I've been marking deferring to me in situations, but I haven't been honing his leave it. It's a very good point of things I need to work on. (It's also in what Becca suggested). I know that you've been there, so I know that you're not just being critical, but can speak from experience to help me understand what might help Misha. I appreciate it. This is an issue that while it may be a one time thing (like biting the cat) I'd rather not allow it to escalate, but face it head on with remedial training and working on attention and leave it.

You also have to consider that some dogs, as they reach social maturity, are more prone to guard their human and their property, and less prone to want to play with other dogs any more.  My own Aussie is not inclined to play with dogs outside her own household much any more, and yet she did play rather well with others as a puppy and through adolescence.  She still has one or two really good "old" friends, but casual acquaintances would probably be sent packing if they came here expecting a good romp;-) 

The good thing in this is that your dog has good bite inhibition - only grabbed a mouthful of hair and not skin:-)  Of course, if you are seeing escalation, you do want to take that into account and not take chances. 

Just wanted to update and tell everyone that Misha's bloodwork came back normal, and the vet said he was in good physical condition. Not going to start him on any medicines to see if classes and training will help him.

Training will help you have better control over him.  For example, when Sequoyah looks like she's headed for trouble, a quick "leave it - come" from me gets her back to me in a flash.  But, to change a dog's emotional perspective about other dogs requires more in the way of classical conditioning behavior modification exercises, rather than training. 

 Glad to hear Misha's bloodwork came back good!