How do I get my dog to stop being aggressive to all other animals?

Question

From rabbits, dogs, horses, to cows etc., he wants to get in a fight.
He is neutered and has basic obedience training (3 trainers,one behaviorist), but can't be loose around any other animal. I know if I could get him to the dog whisperer he could help him, but that's not possible since I live in central Pa.. He is 21/2 yrs old ,79lbs, and is living on borrowed time. HELP,HELP, HELP.

The dog is 2 and 1/2 yrs old not 21.
He is 3/4 golden retriever and 1/4 german shepherd. He obeys basic commands in the house and is not food aggressive.

Answer 1

there are ways you could stop him using cesars techiniques try by reading his book ceasers way and try to find a confrence near your area you could go to his website

Answer 2

I was going to suggest an animal behaviorist....but I see you've been there-done that. If that didn't work, they simply may not have been very good at what they do and you may need to seek a better behaviorist with better credentials and more knowledge & expertise. I work with a behaviorist in Florida and her clients come in from all over the country to recieve her services. I'll leave a link to her website at the bottom of the page. No behavorist is 100% guaranteed, but I believe she offers a full refund if she cannot fix the problem. Her percentage rate for aggression correction is around 98%. If even the BEST behavorists can't correct the problem...chances are your dog is simply uncorrectable as far as the aggression towards other animals goes.

Just curious. What do you mean by "...and is living on borrowed time". I hope you don't plan on having him destroyed if he doesn't curb his aggression towards other animals. If he behaves well around people, there is no need to do anything drastic.

As a responsible pet owner, you just need to keep him away from other animals at all costs. If there are occassions when he does have to be exposed to other animals...(like at the park or at the vet) just make sure he stays leashed and muzzled. Never allow your dog to run free outside of his own yard.

Answer 3

I know you want to do what is right by your dog, but it seems to me that you have done all you can do. There is nothing anyone call tell you here, that you have not been told by the professionals you have already seen. Some dogs just have such a high prey drive, that basically anything is fair game. I am willing to bet that he has killed at least one animal in the past. What I have always been taught, is once they kill, there is no taking that behavior back. I don't know if you have had your dog since he was a young pup or if you aquired him after he was an adult, but either way, the dog is a danger to anything around him, which makes him a liability to you. I know it's not what you want to hear, but my suggestion regarding this dog, in this instance is to have it humanly euthanized. My sister had a dog, with very similar behavoiral problems, and went from animals, to stalking small children - including her own son. She saw many, many trainers also, even sent the dog away for a month to a specialist - to no avail. There are instances, that after you have exhausted all your avenues, the only road left to take is clear. I know you how difficult this will be for you, as if you didn't honestly care about the dog, you would not have worked so hard to make behavioral changes. I w ish I did have wonderful words of wisdom to offer you, but in this case, I don't. And I don't believe it would be fair to give you false hope, so I hope you don't mind my honesty. Good Luck

Answer 4

I agree with some of the others that it would help to know the breed of your dog. There are a few breeds in which aggression cannot be trained out. It's the nature of the breed, as in most Terriers types, for example.

You might try this: Equip him with the heavy duty chain correction collar. It's got "spikes". Grab a bag of treats and head for the outdoors. Don't allow slack on the lead so that you can feel immediately when he about to go after something. When he does, give him sharp tugs on the lead. The correction collar will help to stop him. Repeat "NO" in a strong voice at the same time. Do not use any other word. Every time he responds as you want, give him a treat and praise him lavishly. Make your first outing brief, no more than 10 min. They can get longer depending on his progress. If you are consistent, soon you can stop the treats and use praise alone. Don't hit or cuff him. Use the correction collar. He must associate the discomfort he feels from the collar with his bad behavior and not with you. When he does behave as you wish, he must associate treats and praise (then praise alone) with his new behavior. Got it? Try it.

If this fails, you will either have to keep him locked up or put him down.

Answer 5

You do not say what breed of dog you have. That would help.
You need to work with a behavioral trainer in your area. They can teach you how to teach the dog.
There are many things you can do.
First off never let the dog loose around other animals. Keep him on a leash and correct him for the unwanted aggression at the time he starts to get like that.
Depends in what is going on would depend on the solutions.
It is going to take time and effort on your part and your dog needs more than basic obedience. If you have worked with a behaviorist what did they say and why did that not work out?
Depending on breed your dog may not ever to be loose around other animals. Some are like that. It is just part of that type of breed. If they have a strong prey drive small animals would be out of the question. Some are bred to herd or chase large animals and those would not be good loose around large animals.

Answer 6

I've had an aggressive dog too. She was part pitbull, and the other part, I don't know. She never got over her aggression and it evenutally became worse and she was aggressive toward humans. If I knew then what I know now, I don't think her fate would have been the same. I did try to smack her when she was aggressive, but this only encourages bad behavior.
I don't believe that certain breeds are more aggressive than others. I think that all animals must be socialized with other animals and humans when they are very young so that the aggression does not develop. I'm not an expert, but I've had several dogs that have been aggressive from mutts to labradors to pit bulls. I've never socialized them, they had their own yard to run around so they never played with other dogs. I now have a new puppy 4 mos, and I am socializing her and taking her to obedience training, What a difference! Clicker training, no hitting... it works!
Here's a link to my obedience trainer's website page on aggression.

Answer 7

Your dog was not socialized properly as a pup. The only thing I can think of to do is get him around other animals as much as possible. When he is calm, give him a treat. When he becomes aggesssive, a firm "NO!!"then quickly tell him down (you said he knows basic commands)
It is hard to teach socialization at this age. Most of their experiences should come as pups. Good luck though, and do not give up. You have a good dog. It is nothis fault he was not taught correctly. I don't mean that in a nasty way. I am just speaking the facts.
Don't give him away. An animal shelter will put him down if he shows aggression. Take some time with him and he should come around.

Answer 8

My dog isn't as large as yours but he does the same thing with many other animals. (especially horses, racoons and bigger dogs.) I think it is less of an agression problem and more that your dog is trying to show that he is the alpha dog: he has to be dominant over other creatures. You probably won't ever be able to get him to the point where he can be loose. My dog always has to be on a leash (except in our backyard,) so that I can pull him away if necessary. Your dog may also be aggressive to animals that he is afraid of. My dog rushes out into the back yard at night growling and barking and chases the raccoons up the tree. Also, weird as it may sound, some dogs actually greet other dogs by growling and barking. (My 15 pound dog is best buddies with a 135 pound golden retriever and they always greet each other with a growl and then start playing.) Keep a tight hold on your dog's leash when he growls at another dog. Pet the other dog and say, "see, he's a nice dog." Then let the dogs sniff each other. If they like each other, they will start playing, if they snarl, it is time to take your dog and move on. Reward your dog when he is nice to other dogs. If he stops growling and starts playing, give him a treat. Rewards usually work better than punishment. When I am out running and dogs bark at me, I always stop and to say hi and let them sniff my hand. I tell them that they are a good watch dog and then pet them if they will let me. You need to let your dog know that you understand that he is trying to protect you, but that you are okay and he can calm down. If you remain calm, this will help him.
As for the agressive behavior towards rabbits - this is normal dog behavior. Dogs hunt rabbits. We have one in a cage and my dog tries to bite it through the bars, but he understands that by the tone of my voice, he has to stop. (Your tone must be firm and authoratative, not desparate and whiny - as in please stop- you have to be the boss.) When my dog barks at a horse, I pick him up and let him see the horse up close and let the horse sniff him, then the dog leaves the horse alone. If you are strong enough to pick up your dog, you could try that.
Good Luck, and remember - your dog is just acting like a dog!

Answer 9

Probably your dog lacks tolerance. Therefore, his intolerable personality needs to be dealt with seriousness by you, the owner. Your dog needs to be put into proper training so that he doesn't become so much aggressive that he starts attacking people in the house or guests.

The same thing happened with my dalmatian male. He also bit one of my friends and snapped another friend some months back. So, we had to muzzle him for a few days. But, we learnt from our experience that muzzling is torturous and that dogs become even more ferocious once the muzzle comes off. To tackle the dalmatian's ferocity, we got a professional trainer to be with the dog even though it is expensive to have one. Nevertheless, it is important that you or another relative be with the dog and trainer so that he gets used to you more often than being left alone with the trainer.

Try your level best to introduce him to other animals, preferably to other dogs and that too with females. With females, he'll be quite patient and tolerant. Make sure the dog's trainer also comes along in your presence. And try your level best to introduce him to other animals especially horses, cows and rabbits, but keep him away from cats! Cats, will make him aggressive and same goes for dogs larger in size than he is.

So, be careful and try these advices. Work with your dog on a daily basis until he becomes calm and peaceful with all the people in the house. Ensure proper measures to tackle the dog if at all he attacks any other bigger farm animal or anybody in the house and even your friends.

Just be careful and keep a professional trainer for this dog. All the best in your efforts and give a lot of motivation to your dogs once the improved changes in him become visible.

Answer 10

Friend - your dog is only responding to what he has been given. The breeds and the trans-breeds have equipped our pets to another level of viciousness that, as humans, we seem to act as though we are not aware. Your dog is only doing what is was made to do -THE HUNT!!! no matter the amount of training, breeding - dogs are going to be territorial and tempermental around other animals. It's in their nature. Just like man is equipped to "provide and care for his woman". women are "equipped and nuture driven to care for their husbands and children - so be the same with dogs. You might consider some additional training...with another trainer - sometimes animals respond to different trainers. (It's the smell, the authority, the resistance - all those ingrediants that equip a dog and trainer to work together to produce the best effect.). Good luck with your dog.

Answer 11

Believe it or not the part of the dog that is golden retriever is more likely causing the problem.The age of the dog is a hurdle that will limit your ability to break the "attack" attitude.I suspect the trainers may have been overzealous in their training methods.I suggest you obtain medication from the Vet. to reduce
tension and anxiety [in the dog] and then obtain another dog to meet your dog [don't go to a dog park].Using a restraint on each dog to keep them separated gradually allow your dog to approach the newcomer in steps. Reward your dog for good behavior with a favorite goody.Repeat this activity with another dog or two to confirm he no longer is aggressive.Good luck.