Agression towards other dogs while on the lead.

mel.b

Cooper (Alaskan Malamute) was 2yrs old in March. He has been neutered for a good while now.

He is always walked on the lead and we have about a 50% like/dislike of the other dogs in the area. Generally the small dogs he can't stand and there is one big dog (a bull mastiff that is also male and the same age) that he really can not stand. Same-sex aggression is not uncommon in Malamutes however I've never had a problem with my previous two (both females) However I've had two instances in the past two days now and I'm just wondering what I can do about it.

Both instances involved other small dogs that were off lead The first I was able to get past while shouting out to the neighbours for them to grab their dog. Cooper was growling, baring teeth, pulling at the lead trying to escape. Tonight's incident involved a female dog (but it looks very like a male dog that Cooper hates). I saw this dog coming and knew from a previous encounter that they don't like each other. I stopped walking and made sure I had good hold of Cooper. Fortunately I was walking him while he was wearing his euro short harness so I knew he wouldn't be able to twist his way out of it (unlike with the halty). I shouted out to the person that the dogs don't like each other, but she obviously didn't have a lead with her as she made no attempt to put the dog on a lead or even really call it back. This dog then went for Cooper and Cooper obviously reacted. I was really worried one or both of them was going to get hurt and I'm also afraid that Cooper will get the blame because he's the bigger dog, even though he's the one that is on a lead. When I managed to get Cooper away and the owner called away her dog I moved away to what I thought was a safe distance and then said something to her and her dog attempted to go at Cooper again which resulted in him reacting again.

I can't control other people and the fact that they walk their dogs without a leash but what can I do to help Cooper and manage this as best as I can? I know same - sex aggression can occur with Malamutes, but this was a female dog.

Apart from this I don't have any problems with him - he is a fantastic dog. He's been really well socialised - we did puppy preschool, obedience, we used to go to doggy day care, although he hasn't been since the start of the year and i can't think of any incident that would have triggered the behaviour - I think it's just typical of what you can see in Malamutes.

Currently
- If i see a dog I don't know, I walk Cooper as far away from it as I can, keeping a tight hold on his collar and leash until we are past it and/or I know how he will react.
- I'm going to make sure I always walk him in the euro short harness from now on so he can't twist out of the halti head collar. If I'd been walking him with the halti tonight I don't want to think about what might have happened.
- I always praise him when he walks past a dog without reacting.

Does anyone have any advice for me?

Thanks,
Mel

Here's my beautiful boy

aonb

Beautiful boy indeed!

muddypaws

Unfortunately, as you say, mals are known to have same gender aggression, and your lad is now mature, so its coming through. I go to a lot of sled dog events, and the malamute ones are very different to the sibe or other breed events, teams always steer clear of each other. Not all mals are like that, but it is common, and unfortunately the reaction isn't always confined to same gender.

There is a good group on FB for Reactive Dogs - https://www.facebook.com/groups/reactivedogs/?fref=ts They promote science based, positive reinforcement methods of dealing with the issues, and recommend this website www.careforreactivedogs.com

Hooked

Jaysus Mel... I could've written that post myself. And I've been putting it off for a while now.

Jack, now 18 months is unpredictable on the lead. This past weekend out in UL, a lad was with his dog off lead - and though he was trying to train him, he wasn't having much success. I saw his dog bound up to a small child - the child and parents didn't make much of it - and yer man offered no apology, not did he produce a lead. I commend his attempt to train his dog - but you have to know when its time to produce a lead (wait for people to leave) and start over.

We kept our distance - held the boys short. And waited for him to go around. He didn't. Over he bounded, first to Hugo (fairly chilled out as always) then over to Jack. Boom! Instant reaction. Pulling, barking and the rest.

Cue me trying to hold Jack (small but very strong) - and yer man, offering no apologies and no recall attempt. TWICE more he let it happen with Jack visibly upset and agressive. I think he had headphones in. Maybe he didn't realise how much it upset us/Jack.

Not all dogs like to be approached by an excited dog, off lead and not under control. Jack is one of them.

That experience aside... Just like Cooper - Jack is quite vocal and what appears agressive to many 'strange' dogs. Big, small, male and female.

He's the best dog in the world at home. Best buds with Hugo and strangers - and never misbehaves or is agressive 'in his home'. They share toys and often eat from the same bowl. Sleeps and lazes around mostly. A gem of a dog.

My own experience aside... And not wanting to hi-jack (no pun intended) your thread... I'll be keeping an eye on this thread to see what advice is offered.

By the way... Cooper is just stunning!!!

wicklow rider

Grrr. Tell me about it. I have a bichon. He looks real cuddly but if he take a dislike to a dog he goes for them. So I have him on a choker chain which works very well most of the time. Anyway we were at a show a few weeks ago in festina lenta and I didn't bring the choker because they frown on them up there. It started fine but on the agility course ( where there are multiple dogs on it a the same time) he went for a lab. This dog was twice his size and he knocked her off her feet. I had to drag him off her. OK I thought it must have been a once off but he did it several times. I talked to the dogs trainer and was told he was probably having an off day. Well that was nice to know but what was I ment to so about it? No answer. So I found a stall selling choker chains and put one on him. He was better but he went for a husky on a green area. I was trying to drag him away but the owner brought the dog closer screaming at me ' your dog is only that way because of the way you treat him'.
What did she suggest I let him go know he would go for another dog or a child?
People have no sympathy

tk123

wicklow rider wrote: »

I'm happy to say the chain had the desired affect and my cuddly pet was back. Seeming to have lost the need to kill anything that moved.

If you take a step back what does the chain do - your dog wants to attack another dog, he gets choked and feels pain and stops...so you're teaching the dog that other dogs = pain. How will your dog ever get on with other dogs if they always have a bad experience with them? You're just firefighting with the chain - fixing the symptoms but not getting the root of the problem? If your dog hates other dogs though taking to days out like that is probably not a good idea.

This is probably why the other owner gave out to you although maybe explaining to you why they didn't think the chain was the best approach would have been more helpful.


mel.b Cooper is stunning!!

maggiepip

wicklow rider wrote: »

Grrr. Tell me about it. I have a bichon. He looks real cuddly but if he take a dislike to a dog he goes for them. So I have him on a choker chain which works very well most of the time. Anyway we were at a show a few weeks ago in festina lenta and I didn't bring the choker because they frown on them up there. It started fine but on the agility course ( where there are multiple dogs on it a the same time) he went for a lab. This dog was twice his size and he knocked her off her feet. I had to drag him off her. OK I thought it must have been a once off but he did it several times. I talked to the dogs trainer and was told he was probably having an off day. Well that was nice to know but what was I ment to so about it? No answer. So I found a stall selling choker chains and put one on him. He was better but he went for a husky on a green area. I was trying to drag him away but the owner brought the dog closer screaming at me ' your dog is only that way because of the way you treat him'.
What did she suggest I let him go know he would go for another dog or a child?
People have no sympathy

Aside from the fact that using a choke chain is not very ethical, you could easily end up causing your dog to develop a collapsed trachea, which is bad news. Too much pressure from even a normal collar, especially on little dogs, is bad never mind a choke chain. Why don't you try a harness, a good well fitting harness will give you plenty of control with your bichon.

Dubl07

wicklow rider wrote: »

Grrr. Tell me about it. I have a bichon. He looks real cuddly but if he take a dislike to a dog he goes for them. So I have him on a choker chain which works very well most of the time. Anyway we were at a show a few weeks ago in festina lenta and I didn't bring the choker because they frown on them up there. It started fine but on the agility course ( where there are multiple dogs on it a the same time) he went for a lab. This dog was twice his size and he knocked her off her feet. I had to drag him off her. OK I thought it must have been a once off but he did it several times. I talked to the dogs trainer and was told he was probably having an off day. Well that was nice to know but what was I ment to so about it? No answer. So I found a stall selling choker chains and put one on him. He was better but he went for a husky on a green area. I was trying to drag him away but the owner brought the dog closer screaming at me ' your dog is only that way because of the way you treat him'.
What did she suggest I let him go know he would go for another dog or a child?
People have no sympathy

Positive reinforcement. First train "Look at me" at home and with distractions. When you have that nailed, take it to a doggy environment. No breakfast, so your dog is hungry. Go somewhere with lots of dogs, sit quietly near to where they're passing and feed him high-value treats like chicken or steak every time a dog walks past. Praise him rather than punishing. Invest in a decent harness and training lead and bin the choke-chains. Since Festina Lente is close to you, you should be aware that it has excellent dog-training courses and trainers who would be glad to help you rehabilitate your dog. It's not a battle, it's a relationship.

Iancar29

Hi guys , i often come in here to read up on any Mal related threads.

This one caught my eye.

Mel.b I have a now 6yr old Mally and he acts similar... any other large male dogs that he doesn't id have to have him on the lead. Luckily my local park has mostly smaller type dogs that he loves playing with. But the other 2 mals in the area, if they saw him and start barking he wouldn't back down. ( even though as a pup he used to play with them )

Thankfully though I've had him socialising with my friends sheperds since he was a pup so he does have some large breed doggy friends. He loves wrestling with them ha.

The only advice i can give is to be sure you have the sit command 100%. A dog sitting decreases their aggressive stance by a huge factor. Doing this and being stern with him to stay quiet if another large male dog goes by usually works for me.

Funny you mention about the small yappy dogs too... the ones on leads shadow would bark at , but any small yappy dogs off a lead he just walks by them not caring about them what so ever haha.


Hope that helps and any other questions feel free to message us.

Heres Shadow..