Author Topic: dog agression.....  (Read 5655 times)

Offline newf_owner

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dog agression.....
« on: July 23, 2009, 07:14:20 pm »
im new to owing a newf but not to dogs, i have a 3 year old aussie, and i just got rota, my 3 month old newf, if things dont change and soon im going to have to get rid of him for his own good,

my australian shephard is showing him so much agression, he has attacked him and bitten his ear, rota wasnt seriously hurt but it scared the crap out of both of us, i dont know how to handle this, hes gone after him 3 times and he stares him down i have to have my hands constantly on cosby (my aussie) to be sure he wont dart after him, hes very quick when it happens, any advice?

rota is a puppy and shows cosby no manners in the dog world i fear maybe he wasnt kept with his parents, he aproaches straight up to cosbys face (which most of you would know to an adult male dog thats cause for a fight) and he wants to play and he bounces at him this is when cosby attacks, ive even had to grab rota off cosbys back, rota trys to mount cosby which is like a huge NO NO, thats a sign of dominance, is there any hope for then to get along?

please help

Offline patrick

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Re: dog agression.....
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2009, 08:03:58 pm »
First of all it is OK for the adult to discipline a rude puppy- that is how they learn their doggy manners.  Whenever I have a litter they start spending time with different adults specifically for this training from the time they are about 7 weeks old.  They get rolled, pinned, snapped at and generally terrorized (at least in their minds) when they get out of line- and quickly learn to be more polite around other dogs.  My adults have had some training from me to not be too rough with the babies and no-one ever gets hurt. But there are a lot of hurt puppy feelings in the process- they will survive!

Your aussie is also not having good manners and is establishing his dominance as well.  First off I would get a spray bottle and the dogs would be taught OFF and NO immediately.  The aussie should be reprimanded for his stare downs first- you missed the boat if he springs- dogs give plenty of warning before they pounce and that is where you need to correct at the warning not after the altercation!  You also need to lavishly praise when he is gentle with the puppy or does not attack whereas he used to.  The puppy needs to have lots of distractions as well so he is not always bugging the aussie.  It can certainly work out but you need to set the ground rules.

Offline newf_owner

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Re: dog agression.....
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2009, 08:50:46 pm »
the dog trainer at my work says im not firm enough with cosby and that he sees me as a posession, hes very protective of me and even bites people that touch me, ive been correcting the things i use to let him do, i dont let him lay on my lap any more, or lean against my legs when i stand, and ive been controlling him when we go on walks and its helping a bit, i dont know if the agressive behavior towards the puppy is becuse he sees him as a threat, but i deff. am firm with him when he starts to stare at him,(its the same stare a border collie gives to sheep, you know the one) i say "NO" VERY LOUDLY i grab is head and have his face lookin at me or i turn him around or put him on his side,

and mean while when all this is going on rota doesnt even notice that cosby means business rota just prances towards him hapily and i have to push him back, i will try the spray bottle thing,

when cosby bit rota it drew blood, it mad a few scabs on his ear, and hes goin to the vet tomorrow il ask about infection and all that to be safe,

thanks for your advice, i have to make this work, i cant have either dog getting hurt, this really sucks

Offline patrick

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Re: dog agression.....
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2009, 07:17:40 am »
Yes you definitely need to be more firm and consistent Since he continues to have stare downs and attacks then obviously your NO doesn't really mean NO to him.  Aussies are possessive and nippy as a breed anyways but certainly are manageable.  Before I had Pyrenees I had several aussies and love the breed.  Currently I have 10 Pyrs and although all together I have no fights- not even at meal or treat times.  But in my house NO  absolutely positively means NO  I have been known to dump an entire bucket of water on their head in order to get the point across before  VBG!  Also if just plain water in the spray bottle doesn't seem to make an impression add a little vinegar or lemon juice.  Keep working at it and good luck!  Oh and the puppy is oblivious to Cosby's warnings cause he hasn't learned his doggy manners- it really won't hurt him to be reprimanded by Cosby  Dogs often work things out better than we do!

Offline newf_owner

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Re: dog agression.....
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2009, 02:15:06 pm »
holly crap! YOU HAVE 10??? omg!!! i cant even emagine 2 dogs of that size, well your deff. the right person for me to be talking to, yeah, i know cosby doesnt see me as the dominent one and im trying to change that, i was never firm with him, i was worried about hurting his feelings (lol) and when he was lay on me i thought it was his way of showing affection, but now that im a little smarter, things will change, i took rota to the vet today, she said he was perfect in every way, she listened to his heart and felt around his hips, and i got him heart worm preventitive and all that good stuff, il keep you up dated with there training,  most of the squabling seems to involve things cosby wants to guard, such as his sleepin stop, or a toy or treat,  even a sock on the floor,

thanks alot

Offline newf_owner

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Re: dog agression.....
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2009, 07:22:47 pm »
just incase any one is intrested, or if it helps any one else, durring rotas obedience class rota is learning "look" its where you encourage the dog to make eye contact with you, i guess so he is focused on you instead of other things in the world, im teaching it to cosby, and its cutting back on his agression, when he starts to growl i say cosby look and when hes looking up at me i praise him and give him treats, and he hasnt tryed to bite rota in id say a week, which is awesome,