Fear/ Aggression towards other dogs

Greetings Autumn,

First of all, I don't want to offer any "answers" to this right now, there are several very experienced people posting on this Forum, and I certainly hope that I won't be the only one responding to your dilemma.  So, there may be several points of view, and you should consider which may be the best approach for your situation.

Next, I'll say HOW WONDERFUL it is, that Max loves you SO much, that he'll go up against anything he feels that is a threat to you.  But, I wonder if you have evaluated "his point of view" as well as you could.

I wonder if he really "hates" other dogs ?  Is he aggressive toward other people too ?

Could your evaluation of him being "terrified and threatened", actually be the intensity of his act to defend and protect you ?  Does he hide behind you and just alarm on occasion, or is he "out front" and confronting regularly ?

Does he consider anywhere you go as "his Territory", and most times, any invasion into it, is threatening ?  Or is it limited to a given area ?

Have a good Day !

S.W.

I second this advice from one of our trainers on the forum.

http://community.dog.com/forums/t/99766.aspx

Some behaviors with dogs are best dealt with by taking advantage of a trainer.  Good luck with Max.

 If you have no trainer nearby who has dealt with reactive dogs, you can order this book:

"Feisty Fido" by Patricia McConnell

You are unlikely to be able to make your dog feel completely comfortable in the company of other dogs, but it is possible, through training and behavior modification, to teach your dog to focus on you more and the environment less.  Hard work, but the protocol is in that book.  Often, if you haven't done a lot of training, you may need help from a trainer with learning good timing, and learning the exercises, but at least there is hope of a slightly better outcome if you really practice. 

 In this case I think your best bet will to find a trainer that deals in positive methods that can work one on one with Max and you.  Make sure they have experience with this specific issue.  You might also be able to find a class that deals specifically with dog on dog reactivity, but I think initially Max is probably going to need one on one attention.

 In my opinion fear aggression such as this is one of the hardest problems to deal with.  It is by no means impossible, but the hard part often comes in the timing of working with a dog and the fact that so often our surrounding environment is uncontrollable and unpredictable.  The big trick to desensitizing a fear aggressive dog is to catch them before they shut down.  This means you will want to redirect and back off of a situation before the dog resorts to to lunging and snarling at the end of its lead because every time your dog reaches a state where he reacts, the behavior is being reinforced.  In his mind lashing out is being successful because every time he sees another dog and does it it appears to him he is successfully keeping the other dogs away.  In your case it sounds as if not only does Max react, but once he does he stays in a very heightened state for a long period of time afterward. 

Fixated stares, tense, rigid body, inability to refocus, lack of interest in treats are all the initial warning signs that your dog is on the verge of its threshold and needs to pulled back till he is at a distance where you can regain his attention and he can regain his composure.  What makes this even harder when out in public is you can't control when you see another dog or what that person will do as far as moving in your direction and such.

The great thing about a good trainer is not only will they have the skills to read your dog, but they can set up a controlled environment to practice in.  Often they will have stable non reactive dogs they can have brought in that can be used as a stress-or in a controlled fashion.  This takes out the element of unpredictability and lets everyone pool all their focus on Max and help set him up for success.  A trainer can also give you the confidence and skills to work on the problem.

As a person who has also dealt with fear aggression, most importantly I would tell you not to despair or give up.  You are not alone in this problem.  Even though Max may not ultimately be suitable for dog parks you can get him to a point where he can ignore other dogs and walk confidently on leash.  If you need a good cry, its okay, let the emotions out and give yourself some time to vent so you can brush and pick yourself back up.

My youngest German shepherd went through a period of pretty severe dog reactivity and dog aggression.  I was also very upset over his reactions, especially with the breed's bad rap and him being considerably stronger and more menacing than most dogs, simply based on size and looks. What really helped us was focusing on our bond and training him to defer to me in any situation and taking other dogs out of the equation until I had better control.  This worked a lot better than trying to desensitize him to the other dogs (which usually resulted in him still throwing a fit and me losing control over the situation).  I started with this at home and in situations with minimal distraction.  I think the biggest mistake people make (and I made at first) is trying to progress too fast.  You might have to stop walking your dog for a few months while you focus on training, attention work, and simply building your bond with the dog and your dog's confidence before s-l-o-w-l-y adding in the distraction of another dog far off in the distance.  It is probably not something you can work on by going out for another walk tomorrow, if that makes sense. 

Also, do not be surprised if your dog never likes other dogs.  I think the main issue is you getting back control of the dog and being able to do normal things without the fits, but don't sweat it if you cannot take your dog to the dog park.  You should be able to ask your dog for a sit or down like 5 feet from another dog so you can stop and talk to the owner (as long as their dog is respectful of your dog's space).