I am looking for some opinions on a matter that I have noticed on the description of a dog in a rescue centre.

This dog, when settled in the home, has stranger aggression and has bitten two people. The rescue centre have stated that this aggression can not be fixed and the new owners would need to shut the dog away when people come into the house.

I have my own opinion on this matter due to my own experiences and research but wondered what others thought about this.

Do you think this type of aggression can be fixed, or do you agree that shutting the dog away when strangers enter the home is the only way to manage it?

Thanks in advance.

Nobody can make any decisions without having more details.

Just some of the info needed before any decision can be made:
-medical check & medical history
-temperament evaluation
-diet evaluation
-analysis of bite history (e.g. how many bites, to whom, where, how much damage, exact situation, signaling during incident etc.etc.
-history of dogs living conditions, training & socialisation
- lifestyle
- owners abilities and goals
-dogs responsiveness to desensitisation
-liklihood of management and associated risks (e.g. children in the house or visiting regularly etc.)
- other options for this dog e.g. rescue spot, rehoming etc.

That is just the minimum - no dog should pay with their life before we have taken at least the time to go through this.

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Anne, owned by Rufus & Tripod

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"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts." - John Steinbeck

"If you don't want your dog to bite you, don't be an a**hole to him." ~ Dr. Ian Dunbar

My dog has stranger fear - she has bitten once (which was a nip) but she has always shown warning signs when she's about to go.

She is a rescue and did not trust people when I got her. She has improved a lot but it has been a slow process.

I trust her more now around people - but not 100%.

Shutting her out when people come around only manages the problem - it doesn't make her learn anything.

I trained her by getting visitors to give her treats when they arrived. She now knows visitor = treats.

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Dog Trainer And Walker in Bolton and Bury

My 10 year old can be funny with strangers men or women. If they are noisy people he doesnt like them and if they go to stroke him before he is ready for it, he doesnt like it. We chose a long time ago not to shut him away and make the problem worse but to ask visitors to ignore him completely when they come into the house. Gradually he has improved. If he feels uncomfortable at all, he takes off to his bed in the utility room. On the other hand if he goes up to strangers on his terms, he will love them to death at times and almost get on people's nerves with his attentiveness!! Nowt so queer as a dog is there ??!!

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mel

my dog doesnt like strangers and has snapped at people who were trying to touch her when she was on her lead. also when people come to the house she sences if they are nervous arround her and it makes her more likley to bark/ snap at them. but iv had compleat strangers come in and shes taken to them straight away, staying beside them to get petted. she has, i think, nervous aggression in that if she feels unsure about something shes more likley to defend herself.

if someone comes to the house who is scared of dogs ( i live in macedonia and most people are. also its not common to have your dog inside your house, most people keep dogs on chains or cages in their gardens and they are not very 'dog wise') i put her away in another room or out in the garden to avoid any drama. but if i know someone is going to be good with her and know how to behave i will let the guest in with demi in the house/room, usually without any problems.

i did have this one guy over, a friend of my husbands who has demi's sister from another litter as well as 2 other st bernard that he breeds and shows, he said he would be fine coz hes got dogs and know what to do. anyway he came in and demi was unsure right away, she barked at him a couple of times and he stood up and shouted at her which made her jump up and snap at the air in front of him. i told him to sit down and told demi to get back and lay down. then we were eating pizza and he was throwing her bits and she was getting closer to him, smooching for food. then he grabbed her head and stared right in her face! ofcourse she scrambled back and started to bark again at him.
people over there just have no clue how to behave in front of dogs!

anyway, i think every dog can be trained and rehabilitated if you put in the time and effort. you might never be able to trust the dog compleatly but you can centainly inporve the situation through training. positive reinforcement. the dog had to learn to assosiate visitors with good things, like food and toys and fun games. it will take time but its possible.