I have a desert dog...rescued at 7 to 10 days old, not too sure,there were 5 pups and I found homes for 4 and kept one, he is now 2 years old and we are now living in Germany...my problem started when I shipped him to Germany 8 months ago from Bahrain the Middle east where we lived before, Cody is his name is now 2 years old. You see I couldnt keep him as my husband had to come back to Germany, so we kept him at my brother in laws house for the past 8 months. He is very aggressive and its a nightmare walking him. He hates everyone, men women, people on cycles and the worse other dogs...goes ballistic when he sees another dog...literally in a frenzy...tonite on his walk on the lead he saw a little dog and went crazy as he does and my husband tried to distract him and he bit my husband.

We have sent him to a trainer he had like 8 to 12 classes in the last 8 months. The trainer says he has behaviour problems because he was taken away from his mother.too soon..which maybe be true...he seems fine for days and then gets carzy again....He is fine with family but not so much with strangers its come to a point that my husband wants to put him down...I think he is all weird because he was sent away for the past 8 months and we need him to get used to living with us again. WE have him back with us for the last 4 weeks.

Any ideas whats up and any tips would be really helpful. Germany has tough laws on dogs who bite and they may even take him away from us if some nosey neighbour complains...or worse gets bitten. I shall try the muzzle timebeing and see how that goes...

Thanks
Chelle

Chelle

If you copy and paste this into the Dog Training and Behaviour section you may get a better response

Unfortunately, with most dog training its the handler(s) that actually needs more training than the dog, at least with your first few dogs. Its very easy to undo any training that has been put into a dog by someone else, and I've seen dogs where this has happened, in fact it happens all the time with gundogs.

I think you did a wonderful thing rescuing the litter, but rather than have him pts, if you really don't have the time or resources to put into owning him, I'd consider rehoming him through a rescue organisation.

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Your dog needs strong, consistant leadership. All the problems you are mentioning stem from, dare I say it, weak leadership. He seems to have been moved from pillar to post with no consistancy.

You need to set up a structured routine for him which includes exercise, discipline and affection - in that order.

Below is text I have copied and pasted from a previous post who had similar behavioural problems.

Hi. This sounds a bit harsh but usually a dogs behaviour is (a) because they have been poorly socialised (b) because the human is not stepping up to the plate as pack leader.

Without meaning to sound overly critical, I would say that your dog is behaving like this because it is lacking a leader, hence there are so many problems you describe. There always has to be a pack leader, if the human does not fulfil this role then a dog in the pack will take this position. The survival of the pack is paramount to a dog and therefore will always have a leader.

When a dog is put in this position, most dogs being followers cannot handle this responsibility. This, I believe manifests itself in many ways, namely, seperation anxiety, dog and people aggression issues (feel it is their job to protect), incesent barking and to be honest most negative behaviours.

Do you do any of the following?

* When you return home allow your dog to either jump or demand attention and then give him affection straight away?
* Does your dog jump on the furniture without being asked?
* Does your dog walk in front of you on a walk?
* Does your dog walk through a door way before you?

These are all examples of a dog (in his eyes) being the pack leader. You need to ask yourself, are you pack leader or dog lover?

I made all of these mistakes for many months when I got my first 2 rescue's, so please don't think I am being to critical.

Vicky

Hey Vicky....thanks for your response but my dog changed to this aggressive thing after he was sent to Germany...I wasnt around with him those 8 months..

Anyhow I do not want to rehouse him as someone suggested I have spent alot of money, time and effort to give up this easily...

To your points
1. Yes, but I dont overally give him attention
2. No he isnt allowed to sit on any furniture as he has his own bed and blankie
3. Yes he does walk in front of me and sometimes by my side when the leash is short.
4. To be honest I haven't noticed if he does walk in a room before me..

Now since my husband is the primary handler and is 98% in charge and he will listen to him, expect that one off incident that happened yesterday, my husband does the 7 am and 11 pm walk and I the 3 pm walk.I may have 70% control. I am learning to be a leader and not a dog lover who talked to him in this baby voice which I did usually.

So we have booked another session with the trainer and hopefully stick to the plan.

Any suggestions are helpful and its my husband, my daughter she is 18 and me who handle the dog, we may not all be on the same wave length tho

Thanks
Chelle

I think your trainer is talking rubbish, sometimes it is easier to find something to blame the behaviour on.

I have 2 street dogs from Greece, who when I first got them would have tried to kill a smaller dog because of their street instincts for survival. Now 15 months on and they are both off lead over the park. I bet if I had gone to your trainer, they would have said my guys couldn't be rehabilitated.

Firstly, you need to get an understanding of dog psychology. Without sounding critical, humans create this in-stability. If a dog behaved like this in the wild it would be killed.

Check out Cesar Milan, Dog Whisperer show or his book or books by Jan Fennell, The Dog Listener.

In a dogs mind, whoever walks out the door first is the leader. So if, as going out on a walk the dog walks out the door first, the dog (in his mind) is leading the walk. This may seem silly to us humans, and that is why it is essential to understand their psychology. By allowing the dog to walk in front of you, you are sending a very clear message to him. He believes it is his job to protect you, hence why he behaves as he does with all the things you describe.

Most dogs are naturally followers, but if the humans are not fulfilling the pack leader role then the dog will try to take over. The survival of the pack, to a dog, is paramount and must have a leader. It is a huge burdon for a dog.

In the wild when the pack leaders/alpha pair return to the pack, the pack does not approach the leaders until they want to be approached. If they charged up to them and began jumping or demanding attention, they would be bitten. Humans think it is really cute and it must be because the dog has missed them. It prob is that the dog has missed us, but in the dog world it is down right disrespectful to behave like this. It is little things like this that allow our dogs to become dominant because they see themselves as the pack leader. By not having an understanding, we inadvertandly make it worse.

What do you do when your dog see's another dog?
Do you always do the same walks and is it near to where you live?
How do you correct his behaviour?

Your first task has to be removing him from his role as pack leader and ensure all family members apply consistancy. When you have done this, it will be easier to remove the un wanted behaviour.

I also had this happen to me when I got my first 2 rescue's. I knew nothing about dog psychology and allowed my male dog to take over as pack leader. It resulted in him attacking people, other dogs, being territorial in the house and barking at people. In order to remove his status. we did the following (and still do)
1. Before they eat their dinner, but after it is prepared, we eat a biscuit. This imitates the pack leader eating before the pack. It sends a very clear, strong message to the dogs.
2. Practiced ringing the door bell and getting control when people came over. They used to bark. Now they know they have to go to their beds and are only allowed out when we call him.
3. Walks are structured with us ALWAYS leading. No sniffing the ground unless we instigate it.
4. Brought muzzles and allowed them to socialise (on their own) with other dogs, so that they were not segregated.
5. Daily training exercises, sit, down stay etc to reinforce - we are the pack leader.
6. Walking them around the garden and house on a lead with us going through the doorways first.

My dogs are now changed dogs from when I got them, however it has taken me a long time because I made so many mistakes at first. Even now, we cannot walk the dogs together in the streets where we live because they are territorial and behave terribly. I am working on this, but quite honestly I think through ignorance and kindness I bred this behaviour.

Cannot advise enough, go to amazon and buy a book.

Mail me back with any questions
Vicky

Vicky,

Ive tried to post a pic of Cody so you can see how cute he is...bless..anyways Im going to get those books you recommended and work harder on him and will email you if I need any more tips...

Thanks for all your help
Chelle

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