After reading the previous thread on aggressive dogs I thought it was time to post my problem. 5 months ago we adopted Jaxson, who is 6 years old, through a rescue in south Florida. He was living in a home with 7 other dogs. When he came to us it was apparent by his chopped up coat that he had multiple clumps of mats recently cut out. His teeth were worn down from chewing on tennis balls. I had visions of him being put in the back yard for days at a time with his tennis balls for entertainment. Of course we don't really know what his life was like. He is very mellow and loves attention. He is pretty obedient with most commands.

It took him about a month to settle in here. Riley was about 10 months old when Jaxson came to live with us. There was some growling and guarding on his part but nothing serious. Now they are the best of friends and play together constantly. He even gets along with my grouchy 14 year old weimaraner.

The problem: every time Jasxon sees another dog he lunges and growls aggressively. Obviously it scares the owners and the dogs. Once he actually meets and sniffs the dog he is fine. In some cases they even end up playing together. We have been working on this for months now with no improvement. There are many families with dogs in our neighborhood and they all like to meet and greet. Riley is very friendly and social so we play with lots of the other dogs. We often end up letting the dogs play in friends' front yards. But I always have the issue of Jaxson acting like he is going to attack. It's gotten so that when I am walking him I avoid other people and dogs on walks.

He's had basic obedience and obeys fairly well. But it all seems to go out the window when he sees another dog. The leave it command works sometimes. What to do?

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Debbie

It sounds like he has leash aggression/frustration. I would suggest meeting with a trainer and having them work with you on the way to approach or avoid other dogs when you have him on leash.

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I have seen this same technique on Victoria Stilwell Its Me or the Dog on Animal Planet
Tackling leash aggression | Dog Time

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As said, set up a lesson with a professional. If his 'classroom to real world' transition isn't going well, you'll need to work in a different environment.

Avoid encounters with other dogs. If you're doing playtime...be there first (or very last) or whatever combination has no stressy barky dog.

Get a book or DVD on dog body language. Study it. Your dog is giving signals before he gives his display...and we need to know what those are.

Use food on walks. And more food. See another dog far off? Feed your dog a stream of little tiny treats until you are turned around and have gone the other way. Repeat every time you see a dog. If he won't eat? You're too close. He's too stressed.

If you need help finding an appropriate professional, let us know.