Aggression Issues with my Dog

bmstee03

I have a lab mix who has always been very sweet and loving. He gets along with all people really well, but in the last few months he has become aggressive with our neighbors dog. They got a Great Dane who i believe is now 10 months old. They always got along and played really well (chased each other up and down the fence line and sniffed and licked a lot). A few months ago Simba decided that this dog was a threat and everytime I let him outside he runs for the fence barking with his hair standing on end. They have even started trying to bite each other (the great dane can reach over the fence). WTF? I have no idea how to correct this behavior and it is really disturbing. Any suggestions???

goldenleaves

Maybe the other dog somehow bit/hurt your dog and now your dog is afraid??

canbri

I've noticied my boy dog has become more aggressive lately too.. i'll be curious to hear everyone's opinion! good post!

rcausey

Has your dog been neutered?  Is the neighbor's dog a male?  I ask because sometimes male dogs who get along great when one/both are puppies, may sometimes develope aggression towards eachother when they start "developing".  Its a male territorial thing.  Not saying this is whats going on, but a suggestion.  Its more common in males that have not been fixed, but can occur in those who have.

PurpleK26

I wonder if it has some thing to do with him feeling protective of you?

ScissorTailedFlycatcher

When they were playing, did they ever wrestle? And if they did, did anyone show concern for either dog? Dogs can sense apprehension and if your dog thought that you felt the great dane was a threat, then he would then act on the defensive.

Just a general note, even if this isn't applicable in your case, when two dogs wrestle, they will let each other know when the other has gone too far. A simple yelp is just a dog's way of communicating that enough is enough. If either dog was removed from the litter too early, they would not have learned this behavior... So this may be the case with the great dane.

I'm just throwing stuff out there since I haven't actually seen the interaction.?

bmstee03

goldenleaves:

Maybe the other dog somehow bit/hurt your dog and now your dog is afraid?

I thought maybe this too, but he has never had any injuries. I check his ears and paws thoroughly every few days and I haven't noticed anything on the rest of his body so I don't think there was any lasting damage anyway.

bmstee03

rcausey:

Has your dog been neutered?  Is the neighbor's dog a male?

My dog is neutered and theirs is not.

SLHurst11

Something to try... start taking him out on a leash when the other dog is inside.  Walk the perimeter of your yard, and watch for your dogs reaction when he approaches the Dane's fenceline.  Immediately correct any negative behavior.  DO NOT pet your pup to try and calm him.  A stern "NO" and a tug on the leash should distract him.  Continue this for a few days or a week, and then you can start doing it when the Dane is outside, but keep a little distance until your dog learns to calm down.  Good luck!

lelt404

I have a great dane who is the SWEETEST dog in the world. when she was a puppy- everyone, every dog, every thing was her new best friend. I had her at my friends house one day and they had a gate up and someone walking by started barking (yes, a person was barking at my dog) and she got really weirded out by it. Now, she still LOVES other dogs, but has issues with them at the fence. I take her to the dog park all the time to work on it, but I can see the anxiety in her face. Once we are in the dog park she is thrilled and gets along with everyone, but if she's at the fence, you'd think she was vicious. Weird....and only happened after she got freaked out by the guy at the fence. Maybe something happened to your dog or the other dog that made them uncomfortable.

rhannan

rcausey:

Has your dog been neutered?  Is the neighbor's dog a male?  I ask because sometimes male dogs who get along great when one/both are puppies, may sometimes develope aggression towards eachother when they start "developing".  Its a male territorial thing.  Not saying this is whats going on, but a suggestion.  Its more common in males that have not been fixed, but can occur in those who have.

rcausey and shortyred have both good points.  When unneutered dogs mature, the aggression can start showing up.  Or if the great dane was taken ffrom the litter early they sometimes can not learn the social skills and clues they need for interaction.  Can you think of the first time you saw this happen or the last time they played well?  Was there anything different about how they played?

AMYfromKY

I would just keep them away from each other.  The good news is that dog vs dog aggression is totally different than dog vs human agression so you shouldn't have anything to worry about with your LO.

If you think the great dane is going to hurt your dog you may want to say something.  If he is standing over the fence reaching into your yard that is a problem.  Neutering the other dog could totally fix this problem. 

mistywhite400

that's probably why.  The great dane may be sending some kind of dominance vibe.  I'd try the tecnique that has help our German shepherd dog daisy..  I'll try to explain it, hopefully it will make sense

It's called "leave it" It teaches them to leave something alone, just ignore it. Takes some practice & u will eventually be able to apply it dogs, toys, people etc...

take 2 treats, 1 in each hand (One hand will be to leave it alone & the other one you will feed the treat to him)  Show, let nibble if necessary, the treat in one hand, when he tries to eat it out of your hand clench your fist & say "leave it"  just hold firm, he will lick at your hand & try to get the treat, repeat phrase if needed.  As soon as he backs away or leaves the treat alone give him the treat out of the other hand & pet him. Never give the treat you told him to leave alone.  practice this, then graduate to putting a treat on the ground & tell him to leave it & cover it up with your hand if necessary until he will just leave it alone without you having to cover it up.  Once they get it in their brains what leave it means you can tell him to "leave it" with just about anything.  Sorry so long & I hope I made sense

bmstee03

Thanks for all of your suggestions! We really like our neighbors but they are not neutering their dog. That is their choice. I may have them try to help get our dogs on more friendly terms through training. I think my biggest issue is if we are all outside at the same time and i walk up to the fence to talk to neighbor and their dog comes up to say hi Simba freaks out. He pushes himself between me and the fence and tries to 'pick a fight' with the other dog. I think it may be other doggies hormones and Simba being too protective/aggressive.

CKLee1107

Neutering the other dog may fix the issue but since that is not your choice to make this doesn't truly help (hows your relationship with the neighbors?).

I would ask your vet or the assistants there what might be causing this change in behavior.

On another note--if the dane can reach over your fence, that is a bad thing.  Is the fence yours or the neighbors?  They may have to pay for extending the fence otherwise they may need to leash their puppy even in the fenced in area for safety reasons as much as I hate to leash dogs in yards....Has the dane every reached over the fence towards you??

Oct08bridge

rhannan:

rcausey:

Has your dog been neutered?  Is the neighbor's dog a male?  I ask because sometimes male dogs who get along great when one/both are puppies, may sometimes develope aggression towards eachother when they start "developing".  Its a male territorial thing.  Not saying this is whats going on, but a suggestion.  Its more common in males that have not been fixed, but can occur in those who have.

rcausey and shortyred have both good points.  When unneutered dogs mature, the aggression can start showing up.  Or if the great dane was taken ffrom the litter early they sometimes can not learn the social skills and clues they need for interaction.  Can you think of the first time you saw this happen or the last time they played well?  Was there anything different about how they played?

I didn't even think of this but the dane is probably now or just recently going through "puberty" and your dog can sense it. Now they have to establish who is the dominant dog at the fence. If your dog is fine around other dogs I wouldnt worry that much. Maybe talk to your neighbor about it? Also some dogs fence fight even if they wouldn't normally fight.

CKLee1107

mistywhite400:

that's probably why.  The great dane may be sending some kind of dominance vibe.  I'd try the tecnique that has help our German shepherd dog daisy..  I'll try to explain it, hopefully it will make sense

It's called "leave it" It teaches them to leave something alone, just ignore it. Takes some practice & u will eventually be able to apply it dogs, toys, people etc...

take 2 treats, 1 in each hand (One hand will be to leave it alone & the other one you will feed the treat to him)  Show, let nibble if necessary, the treat in one hand, when he tries to eat it out of your hand clench your fist & say "leave it"  just hold firm, he will lick at your hand & try to get the treat, repeat phrase if needed.  As soon as he backs away or leaves the treat alone give him the treat out of the other hand & pet him. Never give the treat you told him to leave alone.  practice this, then graduate to putting a treat on the ground & tell him to leave it & cover it up with your hand if necessary until he will just leave it alone without you having to cover it up.  Once they get it in their brains what leave it means you can tell him to "leave it" with just about anything.  Sorry so long & I hope I made sense

This is a GREAT thing to teach any dog!  This can prevent alot of things such as dropped meds from getting eaten even.  If you need more detailed instructions goto PetSmart or PetCo and ask their trainers about it....My dogs are still working on it but they do very well with it mostly and it does certainly apply to non-treats.  It does help (in our experience) to do this with objects that aren't treats also once they get the treat thing down...maybe an inexpensive baby toy like a teething ring (not one of the toys that they get to play with themselves).

bmstee03

When we chose to get a large dog we knew we would get him all of the training he needed to be a well behaved animal. He does well with every command, including "leave it". He just does not feel like it applies in this situation only to objects. He is incredibly well behaved so i guess that's why I am so freaked out by this. The one good thing is that his recall is 100% so if i say his name as he goes charging at the fence he turns around and comes right back to me. I don't always catch him in time (he is fast) and he is really determined to get to that fence. lol

k8e_girl

Sounds like fence fighting. It's common in dogs.

This is a decent article about it: https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1453 There's also a whole talk about it on the boxer world forum that you can find if you google it.

It can be really dangerous b/c dogs (and paws, ears, collars, faces) can get caught up in the fence and do some serious damage.

Best thing to do is train your dogs to leave the fence line when you tell them too. Teach "leave it" and a "come when called" to bring them in. And a "leave it" plus  "go play" for when you want to chat over the fence with your neighbor.

It takes work.. lots of work.. b/c fence fighting can be oh so much doggie fun... but the time and effort put in will be worth the reward.

GL!!

mistywhite400

bmstee03:

When we chose to get a large dog we knew we would get him all of the training he needed to be a well behaved animal. He does well with every command, including "leave it". He just does not feel like it applies in this situation only to objects. He is incredibly well behaved so i guess that's why I am so freaked out by this. The one good thing is that his recall is 100% so if i say his name as he goes charging at the fence he turns around and comes right back to me. I don't always catch him in time (he is fast) and he is really determined to get to that fence. lol

that's great he's well trained.  Daisy's new thing is to run out in the back yard barking, all the while looking around for soemthing to actually bark at.  She is a turd lately (I love it), she has been sick with ear aches for over a year now, having 2 different surgeries on her ears & finally we have it under control & she is back to her sassy self!! GL with your pup!