How to get my dog to stop aggression toward people?

Question

He's a nine month old mixed breed, 30lbs. He's neutered. Not very well socialized - got him when he was 3 months old. When I walk him on the streets, he sometimes barks and lunges at people - especially men. He gets very afraid of noises in the street, so I think it's fear based aggression. He's cute, and looks at people curiously, so many people want to pet him, but when they come close - he barks and growls. He's okay with other dogs. I won't get rid of him, but I wish he would be a little friendlier towards strangers.

Answer 1

First I would suggest obedience classes for aggresive dogs .
Then:
Socialize Your Dog
Happy dog = Happy owner. Socialization is the process by which a dog learns how to behave appropriately with others in its environment. Puppies must learn how to interact with adults, children, dogs, and other pets in a variety of social situations, from the dog park to the front yard.

Why is socialization important?
If dogs do not become socialized, they may become anxious, fearful and antisocial with people and other animals. Behavior problems are a leading cause of pet relinquishment to shelters and lead to the death of more animals per year than any infectious disease.

How do I go about introducing my puppy (or dog) to the world?
Invite family and friends (one at a time) and their pets to visit you and your puppy. Once your puppy knows how to sit, have him sit when he meets a new person and have that person give him a treat. Once adequately vaccinated, take your puppy on walks and short car outings. It is important for your puppy to meet all types of people, and especially children, even if no children live with you. If your puppy is not exposed to children, he may react poorly to them when he is older. As your puppy matures, expose it to sounds such as alarms, airplanes, sirens and other neighborhood noises so that it becomes used to them.

When should I take my puppy (or dog) to obedience class?
Ideally, between 8-16 weeks of age. Obedience class is a great way to expose your puppy to new situations, dogs, and people, and to teach him good behavior when he is most eager to learn. But taking your dog at any age is better than never taking it at all!

What are other ways to socialize my dog?
Doggy Day Care: Consider taking your dog to doggy day care (or play care) while you are at work. Regular play with other dogs in day care will build your dog’s confidence and improve your dog’s ability to communicate and interact. It will help prevent shyness, fear, and aggression. Plus, instead of coming home to a dog that has excess energy, your dog will be tuckered out—and your house will still be standing!
Dog Park: The dog park is a great place to exercise your dog and give it the chance to socialize with other dogs. Be sure to adhere to leash laws and/or off-leash rules. Some parks allow off-leash dogs, but only during certain times of day. Watch your dog closely and do not let it ingest anything. Recent dog park poisonings necessitate extra caution.
Agility: Agility is a sport for a dog and a handler. Following the handler’s directions given by voice, body and hand signals, the dog negotiates a course filled with obstacles. The emphasis is on speed and accuracy with the ultimate goal of a “clean run.” Competitions test the handler’s skills and the speed and accuracy of the dog against the clock and against other dog/handler teams. Agility training provides a way for dogs to burn off excess energy and learn to be part of a team. It builds a dog’s confidence and encourages a strong bond between handlers and their dogs.
Flyball: Flyball is a team sport for dogs that involves a relay-style race. Each dog races to a flyball box, where it must step on the flyball box pedal to release a mechanism that flips a tennis ball from the cup. The dog retrieves the ball and return over four jumps. As each dog crosses the start/finish line, another dog from their team is released. The first team to have four dogs successfully complete a run wins. Dogs like to have purpose—a task to do. Training for and competing in flyball competitions gives your dog such a purpose. Plus, it’s an activity you can do together, thereby increasing your bond.
A socialized dog is a happy dog! Before you head to the dog park or doggy day care, make sure your dog is current on its vaccinations and is spayed or neutered. And have your veterinarian examine your dog to make sure it is healthy enough for the rigors of sports such as agility or flyball.

Answer 2

Getting her spayed will not be a quick fix for your problem. It will probably take the edge off and will definitely make her easier to train though. Whatever you decide, you will NEED to do some behavioral modification with her to teach her to tolerate the other dogs (she may never like them, but she should be able to learn to live with them without constant bickering). I would recommend calling your vet and asking them for recommendations for a behaviorist to help you get this aggression under control. At three years old, your boston is certainly not a puppy. However, she is in the prime of her life and it would NOT be any more risky than if you had her spayed at 6 months. The rescue I volunteer with spays dogs that are much older all the time and other than increased pain (they are usually 50-80lbs...a smaller breed like a boston won't be quite as painful because the incision will be smaller) they do not have any issues that younger dogs don't also face. Also, three years old is about prime breeding age for bostons. Because of their large head size, many bostons need cesarean sections, and c-sections are much riskier than a simple spay. While spaying your dog may not cure her aggression issues, there are plenty of health and safety reasons to do so. As I mentioned above, many bostons require c-sections and c-sections are more risky than a spay. If your dog were to accidentally get pregnant, the chances that she would need a c-section are higher than if she were a different breed. There is a lot of bleeding and swelling with planned c-sections and even more for an emergency c-section. There are a lot of other things that can go horribly wrong with a pregnancy and cost a lot of vet bills with no guarantee that your dog will pull through. Intact females can develop a deadly uterine infection (pyometra) that can ONLY be cured by spaying. As you can probably guess, spaying with a pyometra becomes MUCH riskier than a routine spay. Not only is the surgery much more difficult (the incision has to be much larger, there is often more bleeding and swelling) but if the uterus ruptures before or during the surgery she can end up with a raging infection in her abdomen that could kill her even after she wakes up form the surgery. Also, intact females are FAR more likely to develop malignant mammary tumors.

Answer 3

Obvously he has had a bad experience previosly before you owned him. You are probably going to have to gradualy introduce him to new people. One person at a time allowing him to build trust in others. Still take him for walks but maybe get a nuzzle to teach him to not go for the bite, the more behaved he gets the less he needs to wear his nuzzle. He is only a pup and they take a good two years before they have fully matured, so don't give up you will have a good natured dog with the effort and persistance put in.

Answer 4

Carry treats with you on your walks. If anyone wants to pet him, explain your problem to them and ask if they would be willing to give him a treat. If you can talk enough people into it, then the dog would look forward to strangers approaching him.

Answer 5

Hi ! I think you should consider taking him to some training dog courses or program, there are also behavioral trainers who can help your dog overcome this problem. Ask your vet, he might now how to help you with some useful informations. :)

Answer 6

Start taking your dog to obedience classes. This should help some. It may take a little while though.

Answer 7

A .22 long rifle to the back of the head would work fine.

Answer 8

watch the dog wisper from national geographic channel, most women have problem with dog because, women don't let the dog know who is in comand.

Answer 9

Spend a lot of time with him.
Otherwise, keep in mind that he gets one bite and then you are liable in case he attacks someone.

Answer 10

give people he barks at a pork chop neclace. He should warm up to them soon enough.