Aggressive Dog

The first thing I'd do is assess the situation.  I'd want to see what the dog's triggers are and how the handlers deal with it.  I can't make any comment without more information and without watching the dog to see what the aggression is based upon.

hmmm?  140 lb, dog and human aggressive Mastiff....
First things first.  Make sure you're suited with the proper gear.

Bahahahaha

ORIGINAL: Trevell

hmmm?  140 lb, dog and human aggressive Mastiff....
First things first.  Make sure you're suited with the proper gear.

Good joke [], however that would mean you are afraid of the dog which could actually cause you trouble

You're right Espencer!  Show no fear!

Now that's a true pack leader right there!

i dont think i would "approach" it, its human aggressive therefor just walking up to it would not be a good idea. as for working with the dog i have no clue on that either.i think i would start by spanking its owners for not adressing the issue before the dog reached 140 lbs., unless of course it was a rescue/adoptee, but most places will not adopt a human agressive dog so i doubt that.

i know this is pretty much a useless reply, but i figured it would be one closer to you outing what you did.

"Aggressive" is such a loose term.   What kind of aggressive? 
 
 

Before I ever arrived at the home, I would ask the owner to fill out my behavior questionnaire (it's four pages long), so that I would have some idea about the dog's type of aggression, how serious it is, and what triggers it.  I would, in advance, warn the owner to avoid all triggers if possible (example: if you have a food guarder, stop trying to move the bowl), and I would teach them how to acclimate the dog to a muzzle and/or a Gentle Leader, if I thought that might be warranted.  If the owner could, without endangering him or herself, provide video of the dog's behavior (so that I could see the normal activity, not colored in any way by my presence as a stranger) that would be a plus.  After a careful analysis of the information provided, I would then visit the home and begin to evaluate the owner and dog as to their capabilities, and start them on a behavioral modification program.  If necessary, I would make referrals to other professionals.  Example: arthritic dog - hydrotherapy, signs of hypothyroidism - vet, etc.

This is of great interest to me because once again I find this is my home situation with Drizzle my Great Dane.  I am dealing with this scenario on an on going basis and have developed my own approach.  I am a grasshopper so I defer to the masters to compare if I am doing it right.

I don't think you should approach and work with the dog.  But with the owner.

Assess the  actions of the owner in regard to the dogs behaviors then give them a working plan.

The owner, in turn, will work with the dog.

If my dog had these problems and I went to a behavorist or trainer,  that's what I would expect.

Also, I don't think you would want to put the client in a position of  liability due to biting and such. Even if that liability is perceived and not an actual reality.

That is just an added stress that they don't need.

Do you have enough responses to disclose how would you handle the situation?  I am very interested as I stated in my previous post.  By the way would this be from CM teachings or a combiation that includes some modification based your actual learned experience.  It would be great if you could state how and why you chose a different approach.  Sorry if its the same song I sing.

Trevell, I swear, when I saw that pic I blew coffee through my nose.....[]

I can give an example of what I did in one situation with a huge dog who was not full-blown human aggressive yet, but was well on his way and already venting his frustation and confusion in other destructive ways and was already highly dog aggressive. My skill level is not that of Awsomedog's and I have not handled as many huge human aggressive dogs as he has, from what I'm reading from his posts. It also probably took me longer and I did not have to work through an actual bite situation.

The dog was a 2 year old, intact, Tibetan Mastiff. Does everyone know what these dogs are and what they were bred for?

I usually break down aggression into two (basic)catagories - frustration due to lack of exercise and mental stimulation, and/or lack of proper leadership from the owner. This dog had both.

I knew this dog's history well and the owner is a friend of mine. She was going out of town for ten days so I decided to work with him while I was dog-sitting him at my own home. This gave me the advantage of working with him off his territory.

The first step was exercise, with my dog on one side and the TM on the other. While doing long walks on the beach I was able to work with him around loose dogs which he went balistic over. No hard corrections, but I did use a constant bumping with the leash to set a boundary and keep control of him without giving him something to pull on. He did redirect his aggression and bite the leash several times, but I'm good at keeping out of the way of a redirected bite...I was prepared should he have tried to bite me.

Two days later and he was doing better on leash and the reacting to other dogs. At home he back-talked with a grumble when I blocked him from getting on my bed. He didn't understand a boundary word of "eh-eh" or "hey" as he had never been told not to do anything at home. The dog had been clicker trained for basic commands. So I body blocked him when he went towards my bunny's cage and said "hey" as I was doing this. He caught on to the boundary word, but complied with backtalk. Fine, at least he was learning.

At day four he was doing great on leash, and learning to ignore other dogs, but was obeying me grudgingly. In the evening, I gave him a large knuckle bone where he was tethered on the deck and went back inside. When I went outside he went whale-eyed and snarled. I pulled him to me and away from the bone, had my bf keep him at a distance, picked up the bone and took it away, I made sure he saw me do this. Then I went back and told my bf to let him go. It did not go to the point of a bite with this dog, but he was really pissed-off and barking at me. I was standing two feet in front of him. I relaxed, put my hands on my hips and looked down my nose at him. Within 30 seconds he stopped barking, relaxed his tail, put his ears down (hard to tell with a TM's ears!) and broke his gaze. I said "That's bloody-well better!", and walked back into the house. I came back out 5 minutes later and the big goofball rolled over on his back. Everything about this dog changed in that moment. The rest of his six days with me were a dream. His owner was happy, the dog can be walked on leash, he's no longer eating her house, he is listening to her.

This was over two years ago.

Every dog and situation is different. This is just what I did with this particular dog. I handle different dogs, different ways. There is no one size fits all. IMO

Oh yeah...

"Please do not try these techniques yourself without consulting a professional...especially with a Tibetan Mastiff".

Anyone else have a case history to share?

ORIGINAL: Angelique

At day four he was doing great on leash, and learning to ignore other dogs, but was obeying me grudgingly. In the evening, I gave him a large knuckle bone where he was tethered on the deck and went back inside. When I went outside he went whale-eyed and snarled. I pulled him to me and away from the bone, had my bf keep him at a distance, picked up the bone and took it away, I made sure he saw me do this. Then I went back and told my bf to let him go. It did not go to the point of a bite with this dog, but he was really pissed-off and barking at me. I was standing two feet in front of him. I relaxed, put my hands on my hips and looked down my nose at him. Within 30 seconds he stopped barking, relaxed his tail, put his ears down (hard to tell with a TM's ears!) and broke his gaze. I said "That's bloody-well better!", and walked back into the house. I came back out 5 minutes later and the big goofball rolled over on his back. Everything about this dog changed in that moment. The rest of his six days with me were a dream. His owner was happy, the dog can be walked on leash, he's no longer eating her house, he is listening to her.

This was over two years ago.

[sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif][sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif]

Dog defeated in a psychological way, very good. Angelique, were you being a "bully" again? []