Hi All,

I have a 3 year old Staf who is a lovely dog. Good tempered with children and other dogs, until recently...

Sunday I was taking her for her usual run over in a woodland area when two German Sheperds came out of nowhere and just pounced. I had to literally prise their jaws off her and fight them off for nearly a minute before their owner arrived only to be too scared to put one on the leash because it also attacks people when its "in this mood".

Luckily she was ok no major injuries apart from psychological really. Now when she is out and sees a dog bigger than her she snarls and bears her teeth. I can see its fear rather than aggression because she is shaking as well.

I know its early days and fear is to be expected but I know I need to nip this in the bud now rather than later. What should I be doing when she is showing this fear aggression? Do I tell her off before it escalates or wait? I don't want to have to avoid dogs all together.

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Luke

No try to do counter-conditioning keeping her distant from dogs she's scared of and rewarding her for calm passes (treat/praise/play). This BC thread explains how Training Social (Humans & Dogs)

It works basically by having your dog anticipate some fun, rather than an attack, when seeing other dogs. Telling her off for being afraid would be perverse and make it worse!

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For eager & reliable recall, be fun for the dog to come back to! Then often send them off right away to do what they wanted!
DT&B - Glossary of acronyms & jargon terms.
Encouraging good behaviours, whilst consistently avoiding practise of bad alternatives leads to extinction of the bad. So if dog sits 6/10 times it doesn't sit 4/10 times, encouraging with the right rewards (positively-reinforcing) enough for 9/10 times means it now fails to sit only 1/10 times, sit 10/10 means...

Definitely do not tell her off. I know many old-style trainers recommend this, showing the dog that we 'disagree' with this behaviour and they must not do it, but this is really no fixing the fear your dog has of other dogs.

So, as Rob said, counter-conditioning tactics are the best. Gradually and incrementally building a positive relationships between your dog and other dogs again. What does your dog like most in the world? His food, toys? Most dogs work best for food, so from now on, you can bring her daily meal food along with you on walks (as well as some super tasty treats such as cheese or hot dogs) and whenever another dog appears, say 'Good girl' or 'Yes!' and give a treat immediately, as soon as your dog looks at the other dog. If she begins to snarl, it means that she is too close to the other dog and you need to move away- you don't need to say anything other than 'Let's go!', turn the other way and give her praise for moving away from you.

What you want to achieve is that, in your dog's mind, whenever she sees other dogs, she gets lots of great things- food, toys, praise. In time, your dog will naturally begin to look at you whenever other dogs appear, and will generally be much happier around them. You can decrease the distance you go towards other dogs and allow interactions, praising for all calm interactions.

Since this can be a bit of a technical exercise, I would look to find a behaviourist to help you, at least for one session to show you the technique. Any behaviourist that tells you to punish the bad behaviour should be ignored and fired immediately!

Oh jeez your poor dog and you -it can be very shaking to have this happen to you

I hope you have reported these Shepherds - they are not safe to be off leash, especially with owners like those

Has your dog been vet checked? Attacks although they may not leave superficial or obvious wounds can damage internally and certainly cause bruising.
The pain associated with this is likely to also affect your dog's behaviour and attitude.

Along with the vet visit I think its important to get a behaviour professional to help you here. This sounds like this may take a bit of rehab - your dog is a mature bullbreed and has gone through a pretty scary incident that can have massive impact on her future behaviour.

Best of luck

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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

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies. Yeah I took her to the Vets to get checked over as she bit through her tongue and they also checked the cuts and said she should be fine.

I will try what you suggest with her. Do you think it is wise to keep her on the lead while im running with her for now?

Luke

I would get her straight out there and socialising. If this is just a one off - the GSD's startled her and she defended herself, then she isn't aggressive, but your actions now will determine her future aggression levels.

My 1 year old lab x was attacked by a patterdale at 6 months - I got him straight out after the attack with a friends group of terriers - that I could trust. Now I don't have any issues with him and terriers.

He also was chased (it was play but he wasn't enjoying it) by a GSD - so I got him straight out with some other GSD's I knew.

Now he is, I hope, a well rounded socialised dog.

If she's never attacked or shown any signs of aggression towards any other dogs then you have no problem, if it is fear aggression and she shows this practice a lot, I would suggest a positive training class - not only will it help you with your basics, but it will help her. My friends pointer x is fear aggressive - luckily he only makes noise... but she brings him along and he has a collar that says "NO DOGS" in order to help him get over it but it warns other people that this dog isn't the friendly one they want their pups socialising with...of course it doesn't stop numpties on the park. But it has helped her dog loads - he doesn't make nearly as much noise as he used too..

Good luck and I would keep her on lead until you trust her completely... Although in the summer - you always get the numpties who let their dogs do whatever and their the fair weather walkers - the dogs who never see a walk unless the sun is shining.

Hi, I dont see how punishing her would help, wouldn't it be possible to divert her attention elsewhere when this starts happening?, you should report this attack to your Dog Warden, Local Council or even the Police as clearly these GSD's were out of control and should not have been off-lead, they may attack a child next time. wayne.

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665 Friend of the beast

Who said anything about punishing her? I'm confused by your post...

SLB, s'OK the OP did ask about it.

__________________
For eager & reliable recall, be fun for the dog to come back to! Then often send them off right away to do what they wanted!
DT&B - Glossary of acronyms & jargon terms.
Encouraging good behaviours, whilst consistently avoiding practise of bad alternatives leads to extinction of the bad. So if dog sits 6/10 times it doesn't sit 4/10 times, encouraging with the right rewards (positively-reinforcing) enough for 9/10 times means it now fails to sit only 1/10 times, sit 10/10 means...

Ahh - must have just skim read that bit...