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Aggressive to dogs

1K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  nolefan 
#1 ·
Cody just turned 2 years old and has been neutered.
He went through Puppy socialization school just fine.
He loves everyone and is a great companion. He was bred to be a show dog like his parents but only one testicle dropped so we were able to adopt him at 10 weeks. Sweetest dog ever.
But he is very aggressive with dogs that enter his private space. He doesn't bark or go after dogs that are simply passing by. He just ignores them. An example happened today. We were out hiking and he was on his leash. An off leash dog came up to Him to meet and greet and Cody went after the other dog. This type of behavior has gotten progressively worse. We don't go to the dog park anymore and are afraid to let him off leash if other dogs are present.
Any thoughts?
 
#2 ·
Don't let loose dogs run up in his face. It's the equivalent of someone putting their nose right in your face, you wouldn't like it either. He's not out of line tell of a dog that is being rude or pushy.

It's your job to protect him from dogs that are not behaving. The dog that ran up to him off leash is the one that is in the wrong.
 
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#3 ·
I'm not a fan of dog parks for this reason. Chance is uncomfotable when dogs, especially male dogs, run up into his personal space. This happens often at the dog parks.
I agree with mylissyk - try to avoid these situations. Also, work on additional training with Cody. Have you done Rally-O? The great thing about Agility and Rally-O is that you are with people who typically supervise their dogs and respect the personal spaces of others.
 
#4 ·
Our Jess is much the same way. He is basically friendly but has issues with dogs who come running up too quickly and get in his space . I've just had to adapt our life to his comfort level.
We've also done Rally and it is great because all the dogs are under control.
We also work on it all the time. We have a set protocol for meeting new dogs. And there are some that I know he just would not be comfortable with and we avoid them.
 
#5 ·
This is upsetting behavior, I know. Do some research and find a trainer who specializes in behavior issues (get referrals, maybe even from your vet) and invest in some private consults to help you have a plan in place to work with him and to deal with this when you have a dog run up to you.

This will be a life long issue and you will be happier in the long run if you spend some time and money now trying to figure out how to best deal with it and possibly improve it. And absolutely no more dog parks. My parents had a lab who was very reactive after being attacked. They were able to work long and consistently with her to get her to a point that if she saw a dog on a walk she would automatically sit and wait for them to give her a treat. She was very food motivated and they were able to condition her to expect food when she saw a strange dog.
 
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