leash aggression

[Corinna and Krimmi]

Hi guys,

Was really hoping you all would have some input into Krimmi's behaviour. He is now 2.5 yrs old and always been a little odd.  lol  He went to puppy classes for socialization and further obedience training classes, which for me were more to get him used to being around other dogs than anything else because his "over exuberance" with other dogs has always been an issue.

We don't have many friends with dogs that he can play with.  My sis in law has a Min Pin who Krimmi absolutely loves but Rascal does not really want to play with him. He sees my inlaws sheepdog on a semi regular basis and I think he tries to play with her but he does it in such an aggressive "bugging" way that she just ends up chasing him around. (btw, Krimmi thinks that is just great too since he is faster than her) Every once a while he also plays with Golden who is a little bit younger than him and again, they run around but Krimmi has a very aggressive way of trying to play and Charlie usually has enough after a while and lets him know it. It never escalates into a fight or anything just doesn't look like fun playing.  We had 2 dogs previously and they were the bestest of friends.  I am used to seeing roughhousing and play growling and dogs just having fun with each other but Krimmi just doesn't seem to be capable of that. Our neighbours "inherited" an older shitzu and Krimmi always playbows at the fence trying to engage the dog, who is just to old to be bothered lol

But this to me just shows that he is not innately aggressive with other dogs.

 

When I am on walks though, Krimmi lunges, growls, barks and tries to get at every dog we see (not consistently, sometimes I can deter him which makes it even harder since I never know what I am in for)

I have let him try to meet other dogs from the neighborhood but that hasn't gone too well.  He first sniffs but then becomes very aggressive. Obviously I don't want him biting any other dogs, if that is what he would even do. I don't wait to find out.  So i have decided that he will not be meeting other dogs on leashes for everyone's safety.  I know just have to figure out how I can pass by other dogs without him going balistic. He can be excited and looky, that's ok, but not crazy!!!

 I have put him on heel and tried to walk by, tried to make him sit, held him down, pinned him down, corrected him gently, corrected him hard, walked the opposite direction, tried to distract him with food, left the leash loose because i have read that with leash aggression the tight leash signals the dog to be aggressive but nothing seems to work.  Sometimes we actually manage great and I think we finally turned the corner but then next dog, back to the craziness. He can listen really well and our walks otherwise are quite pleasant. I am used to the dirty looks I get from some people thinking I can't control my dog (I guess true on the walks lol) but he has come such a long way in all aspects that I could really use some advice on this.  My 10 year old daughter would love to walk him but I am always scanning around and take the leash from her as soon as I spot another dog.  Not the way I want our walks to be for the next 15 years.

i should also mention that IF I manage to have him pass the other dog without incident when he is on heel and then give him the release command "ok" he jumps up beside me, like head level and I am 6 feet tall, growling and sometimes barking, just for a few seconds but I know it's the aggression he kept under control when we were actually passing the other dog

 

Sorry about the VERY long ramble !!!!

Thanks

Corinna

[shelly]

I'll bet my last dime it's a territorial thing.  Like Adina said, they are "aussies", but I know many 'aussies' who do just fine.  Tori goes into 'the red zone' of warning whenever anyone/thing comes within feet of our property - or better yet block!  I'm going to go into FULL training gear as soon as my work load is lighter... hopefully as this school year comes closer to an end!  I would LOVE to contact Victoria Stillwell... but I DON'T want to be ON her show.  LOL  I know a while back she had a dog similar to Tori's issues on and I would love to see if I could find that show on-line.  I had a long list of trainers before I called the last one.  I have to find it again and start making phone calls.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Can you hire a trainer to come to your environment and work 1:1 with you?  Do you have a fenced yard where you can burn some energy first before a walk? That always helps keep Rosey's excitement down.

[Corinna and Krimmi]

I will have to look into a trainer and yes, we do have a fenced yard where he can whip around for a while before we go for a walk, good idea!!!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Roo used to be a lot like Kimmi.  Very agressive on leash. He also only really plays with Tigger, although he has consistent opportunities to play with other dogs.  The dogs he seems to emjoy most are my sons huskies whose main form of play is chase. Here are a few suggestions that used consistently over a loooonnggg period of time has made him at 3and 1/2 pretty consistently passive on our leash walks.

Walk only with very high value treats - smelly, yummy, etc.  As soon as you see the dog coming toward you put the treat right on her nose and feed, repeat until well past other dog.  Yes you are going to use a lot of treats.  But it did work, the first sign of it working was Roo looking at me when he saw another dog.

 

Put Kimmi in a down stay when dog appears with the treat on her nose. Stand with two feet on the leash and the leash very loosely in your hand.  Then keep her attention with treats while she is in down stay.  Yes, you will use a lot of treats at first, but for Roo, he was much less agressive in a down stay.  If she breaks the down stay drop the leash and let her really hit the end of the leash hard as she breaks.  Do not say anything, just swallow your pride, embarassment, and pick up the leash with your hands and pull her back to the down stay with no speech.  Treat when she spends even a few seconds in the down stay and keep treating until dog is far away.

 

Practice as much as you can at first away from home territory, the more crowded the area the better for Roo as he seemed to pay much better attention to me in crowded situations.  

 

For me it was very intense to do this, but really only required about 10-15 minutes of work once a day, twice if I could manage it.  The crowded situations seem to really help walking at home.  In other words I would take him to the art fair and then for a week or more he was much better on our neighborhood walks.  Then I could tell he was starting to feel a little sassy again and would take him "out" again.  I spent a lot of time sitting, nursing a Coke outside on the patio at a nearby small town that is very dog friendly.  At first I was so embarassed, but after a couple of weeks Roo was beginning to make major progress and now I can take both Roo and Tigger at the same time and they will lay down, while I eat!

Don't give up, just keep helping Kimmi "grow up".

[Corinna and Krimmi]

Thank you for the great advice, I will definitely try it.  I have started using treats since Krimmi loves his food but will up the quantity to get him to stay focused on me and the goodies and the down stay is also a great idea.

 

Roo is giving me hope!  I know Krimmi is a super smart dog so I know he can do this.  It's me that has to figure out what tools I need to give him to cope with his excitement.  I won't give up, he has come such a long way.  He was very aggressive even as a pup to us and my 10 year old daughter and we have worked really hard to get him to be a great pet (in the house at least lol)  Our daughter used to not be able to play with him because he would get very aggressive with nipping when she would run around the house but now they can play together and he is just great with her and her friends. 

 

Thanks again :)

 

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Thanks that helps us with Chloe also!!

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

We have the same issues on leash with Chloe so I'll b watching your post. We sucked it up and took her to the doodle romp and once she was off leash she was fine. DH holds her leash tight on walks which doesn't help either. Treats a must for backup but LOOSE LEASH!!!

[Corinna and Krimmi]

I try really hard not to tense up when I spot a dog on our walks and grab the leash tighter but it is so hard!!!!!

[shelly]

Do you use any kind of special leash/lead when yo walk?  I have to pay closer attention to how I hold the leash... Does holding the leash tense effect the dog's reaction?  We use a long leash and drape  it across her chest area for more control.  I have yet to try a gentle lead or any other yet

[Corinna and Krimmi]

I actually use a prong collar and Krimmi does really well with it, doesn't pull etc and generally the leash is not tight.  However, when I see another dog, I grab the leash tighter, ie. bringing him to a heel.  He right away starts looking around for "the dog" but I am afraid if I leave it totally loose I won't have any control when he goes beserk.  I have just purchased a gentle lead which I was hoping would work. but he absolutely HATES it !!!! I put it on in the house every day for 5 min, try to get him to walk a couple of steps, lots of treats but he just attempts to get it off his face with his paw and starts chewing on whatever he can reach.  I was very careful to fit it correctly but this has been going on for over a week and we have not been able to go for an actual walk with it yet.  I do want him to enjoy his walk so..... not sure