Posted: 7/18/2011 10:34:01 AM EDT
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13 yrs ago I brought home a yellow lab.
5 yrs ago I brought home a chocolate lab. both female They were best friends for 4 years until the yellow passed away last August. Ever since then the chocolate has been overly protective of my wife and I and our property. Overall the chocolate has the typical lab mentality. 70lbs, healthy. House guests are fine with her, my friends and families dogs visiting are fine. She is perfectly good dog at the Vet's. BUT If we are walking and someone approaches, or another dog comes up, she wants to kill. If someone comes up and sticks their hand over the fence, she will probably bite. To date, she has never bitten anyone, or killed any animals other than rabbits and possums. My neighborhood is full of dogs that roam free. Its a brand new subdivision, in the middle of nowhere full of little kids. The kids run around and play, and the dogs run around and play with each other. All the neighbor hood dogs are great, well behaved friendly dogs, that want to play. Every one build a house 3yrs ago, they all got puppies at the same time, and they grew up with each other. The problem when walking my dog, they want to come play, and my dog thinks they are attacking. My wife and I can only take our dog out at night after everyone has gone indoors. Yesterday we took her out for a walk in the daylight. Next block over a 3 yr old yellow lab named Baxter came out to play. My wife was able to intercept, and hold onto Baxter until he owner came and got him. The next block over a 2yr old boxed ran out to play and we didnt see it until the last second. My wife was able to contain the boxer (as I said all these dogs are very friendly), but the owner of the boxed came running up from the other side towards my wife to help her. My lab saw the person running toward my wife and lunged straight for their throat. I had a good hold on the leash, but she got close enough that there was slobber on her neck. We all know each other, no broken skin or hurt feelings among friends, but I need to do something about this over protectiveness. any ideas? pic from last June. Attack Dog on right. 
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).| Just a thought...and I'm by no means a training expert but I do own a 5 year old Yellow Lab. Perhaps she see's herself as the leader and not you or your wife thus she is protecting you both from her perceived threats. Maybe you need to find a way to teach/show her that your the boss, not her? |
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Quoted:
Just a thought...and I'm by no means a training expert but I do own a 5 year old Yellow Lab. Perhaps she see's herself as the leader and not you or your wife thus she is protecting you both from her perceived threats. Maybe you need to find a way to teach/show her that your the boss, not her? My wife, not so much, but there is no doubt she(dog) sees me as the boss. My wife knows she's my boss 
I'll never get 2 dogs that far apart in age again. The younger one with all the energy is just too much for the older dog. |
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I have a very dog aggressive dog. No matter what you say about being the boss/pack leader/alpha/whatever I can guarantee you that you are NOT the boss right now when it comes to behavior with other dogs or people. My dog is a nationally ranked AKC obedience competitor and even I am NOT the boss when it comes to this behavior with dogs in a permissive, non-working environment.
My dog has been like this since Day 1. At 6 months it was cute. At 1 year I was looking for professional help. It's actually one of the reasons I got into competitive obedience. The good news is that your dog has proven in the past that it can happily co-exist with other dogs and people. It may be as easy as others say, that is to simply change her environment back to having another canine pack member. Perhaps having the other pack member gave her confidence that you don't inspire! Just because we'd like to think our dogs think we are the center of the universe doesn't mean we really are! At any rate It may not be that simple, or maybe you don't want another dog, or maybe the risk of getting a dog in her current state is too much. Formal training with an appropriate trainer is possibly your best approach. It can be difficult to find trainers who are willing to and equipped to safely work with hard case dogs. Group training where they say "OK, everyone let their dogs go play, then call them back to you" is not going to cut it! Precious few trainers even come close to the likes of Cesar Milan, for example. My dog trains and competes with other dogs regularly. This means she has learned to behave when all the other dogs around her are working and not trying to play or otherwise interact with her. We can calmly walk down the street with other dogs around and as long as those dogs don't come in contact with her we are good to go. She can do the long sit and down obedience exercises with the other dogs as well. But free play is Right Out. Even with the hard cases that Cesar works with on TV you'll notice that most of those never actually play with other dogs, they just become easier to manage. Usually, with the correct training, most aggressive dogs can achieve this level of behavior. The dogs we trained with were all hard cases. Some were "this" close to getting the needle. Sometimes people ask me how I can keep a dog like this. It is a lot of extra work. And she can never have any "doggie pals". But I made a commitment when I got her and I'm sticking to it. In the meantime she has plenty of human pals (she love people) and her outstanding obedience means she gets to go to many places where the "nice" dogs never get to go! She's even a registered therapy dog. Good luck and keep us posted. |
| Ceasar Milan the Dog Whisperer, no joke. This is what I would do. How do you handle disciplining your dog when this happens? It's going to take serious consistency but when this happens, instead of denying the event let it happen (minus your dog attacking). Let other dogs come up let your wife play with them or pet them. At the same time, get your dog under control. Put them in the submission position, laying down on the ground, preferably on their back. Plan on spending time when this happens, until your dog settles down. Quitting before that and your dog sees it as a win. A muzzle might be a good idea if your dog decides to bite you as you do this. Get neighbors to help you. Do the same thing with people. |
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Ceasar Milan the Dog Whisperer, no joke. This is what I would do. How do you handle disciplining your dog when this happens? It's going to take serious consistency but when this happens, instead of denying the event let it happen (minus your dog attacking). Let other dogs come up let your wife play with them or pet them. At the same time, get your dog under control. Put them in the submission position, laying down on the ground, preferably on their back. Plan on spending time when this happens, until your dog settles down. Quitting before that and your dog sees it as a win. A muzzle might be a good idea if your dog decides to bite you as you do this. Get neighbors to help you. Do the same thing with people. I think I'll go this route next, and hold her down next time. This should be too hard to do. Here are some of the neighbors, free to roam and play with the other dogs as seen from my back yard. 
and mine 
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Looks like doggie heaven!
I would NOT be holding the dog down or rolling it. Such things are way overboard. If you MAKE the dog sit-stay or down-stay that is submission to your will and quite enough (some people do "doggie push-ups"––down, sit, down, sit...) You may have to MAKE the dog sit or down 50 times, but remember that quiet consistency is the way to do this. Don't get into a wrestling match, shout or act angry. The dog will be far more impressed by how cool and quiet you are. |
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I'm sure you understand that dogs are pack animals. If someone outside of the pack comes uninvited, it is natural for the dog to be protective. It's what dogs do. If she's fine with guests, you're in good shape.
Frankly, it's inconsiderate of your neighbors to let their dogs roam. I had a similar problem in my neighborhood. Some neighbors let their dogs roam and every time I'd take my dog out, we'd get charged. My dog was big enough to take care of himself, but it was annoying, especially when I had my kids with me. One of my neighbors ended up giving their dog away because of this, which I appreciated. Letting dogs roam and crap all over the neighborhood is not cute. |
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Is your dog leashed when she flips out? My dog used to only get vicious when restrained by a leash and the other dog approached. We had some serious issues and actually stopped going to dog parks. Now he just postures as we walk by them, but for awhile it was hell. If he was free to run around, he just ran up, sniffed their butts, and generally pushed them away from us. And a plus one to buying another dog, our roommates female dog was 4ish when we brought our pup home. Even though he has way more energy then she does, he learned when to leave her alone, and now they are best friends |
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DONT put your dog on its side. This is not the time for that technique, you could cause more harm than good. Putting a dog on its side is to establish trust in YOU, not to correct behavior.
Keep your dog on a short leash in or near the Heel position, you cant control a problem dog on a 6foot leash. Keep the lead/collar close to the head on the neck not down near the shoulders. Give correction by tugging UP on the lead or to the SIDE not back, this is why you need them close by your side to have the 90`ish angle correct. You can also use your body to turn the rear of your dog so it faces away or to the side of its object of interest. Dogs bodies signal the stages of excitement/agitation. The time to give corrction is b4 the dog hits the red zone, the higher the excitement the harder the correction tug. Dont wait till the other dog is in range and your dog lunges to give correction. Start b4 the other dog gets close, your looking to PREVENT your dog from entering a red zone mental state. Over repeated time the early light tug will be enough to turn off the escalation. As stated above Cesar Milan's Dog Whisperer tv show has some great exercises to condition your dog. Another great show is "Its me or the dog" on Animal Planet. Also stated above Professional help will make this much easier. Positive reinforcement training really works wonders. Dont give up and good luck |
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Op, I am sorry for your loss.
i trained dogs for my local animal shelter for 3 years, and in my honest opinion, the issue is with your neighbors, not your dog. You need to have a neighborhood meeting about responsible pet ownership, and deal with the roaming dogs. other than that, your lab being protective is a natural instinct. She doesn't sound like she needs a lot of training, it seems like she needs responsible neighbors and minor training to not be as protective. |
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Op, I am sorry for your loss. i trained dogs for my local animal shelter for 3 years, and in my honest opinion, the issue is with your neighbors, not your dog. You need to have a neighborhood meeting about responsible pet ownership, and deal with the roaming dogs. other than that, your lab being protective is a natural instinct. She doesn't sound like she needs a lot of training, it seems like she needs responsible neighbors and minor training to not be as protective. I'm agreeing on the "other dogs". If the other dogs are leashed and walking down the street she doesn't mind. If I take her where other dogs are playing, she has no interest in playing, but isnt bothered by the other dogs, she just slinks away. A friend stopped over the other day with his little kids - 3, 9, 12yrs. This was the first time my dog has eve seen black kids, and took off and hid in a bedroom upstairs. When we weren't paying attention, the two youngest ended up cornering her in the bedroom. The dog was fine. Just sat there and let them pet her, with her ears up and tail wagging. Its hard to train her to not be protective, because she is only aggressive when other dogs approach unleashed. Her leash is shorter now on walks, and I'm quicker to correct, but the next dog that runs up to play, is still probably not going to be welcomed. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Op, I am sorry for your loss. i trained dogs for my local animal shelter for 3 years, and in my honest opinion, the issue is with your neighbors, not your dog. You need to have a neighborhood meeting about responsible pet ownership, and deal with the roaming dogs. other than that, your lab being protective is a natural instinct. She doesn't sound like she needs a lot of training, it seems like she needs responsible neighbors and minor training to not be as protective. I'm agreeing on the "other dogs". If the other dogs are leashed and walking down the street she doesn't mind. If I take her where other dogs are playing, she has no interest in playing, but isnt bothered by the other dogs, she just slinks away. A friend stopped over the other day with his little kids - 3, 9, 12yrs. This was the first time my dog has eve seen black kids, and took off and hid in a bedroom upstairs. When we weren't paying attention, the two youngest ended up cornering her in the bedroom. The dog was fine. Just sat there and let them pet her, with her ears up and tail wagging. Its hard to train her to not be protective, because she is only aggressive when other dogs approach unleashed. Her leash is shorter now on walks, and I'm quicker to correct, but the next dog that runs up to play, is still probably not going to be welcomed. from what i am hearing you should have a neighborhood meeting, and discuss the issues of the dogs that are left to roam, and the potential danger of that irresponsible act for their owner allowing that. |