Lab is fine in all settings until he goes in kennel, then becomes aggressive What can I do?

Answer 1

You need to establish dominance there. If you want him in that kennel, he goes in that kennel. Show your dog affection, but when he does wrong put your foot down. They're like children - they learn what they can get away with, and they push it.

Answer 2

Can you be more specific? We really need more info before addressing this.

Are you referring to a boarding kennel, his/her crate, a chain link kennel in the back yard?

How old is the dog, any history of kennel (or whichever it is) problems, etc.

What is the actual behavior you perceive as aggressive.

Thanks.
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Rec'd your response, but it wouldn't let me send my reply, so here it is (for now):

hmmmm, interesting. I don't see any relation to his accident unless he was in his crate when the snow plow hit him, so it probably is something else.

My first thought is might you borrow an 'open air' (wire) crate and see if he behaves the same way? Sometimes it's easier just to delete the source of the problem if it's one small thing.

I'm seeing a particular, specific territorial aggression with this.

Another option, if he is only crated for night-time sleep, would a baby-gated doorway serve the purpose effectively?

Does he not want to come out of the crate once he's in, or does he not want people or other animals near it when he's in it?

e-mail me back and I'll get with you tomorrow.

Thanks...hopefully we can fix this for you and him :])

M

Answer 3

Labs are very intelligent! He/she knows whether or not you mean it when you tell him/her something. Is he a dominant dog? Some are more dominant than others. His aggression comes from some bad memory apparently from when he was younger, and if not, he is just being the alpha dominant and telling you he isn't staying and for you to get him out of there. Aggression is his form of saying he's had it and is demanding his way. If you have let him out when he first started complaining, he learned you would listen. Then he's trained. Now you are retraining him. Labs are really docile sweet dogs and seldom aggressive unless something bad happens to them. Here's a really good site for you to read that I liked what was said on it.

http://www.seefido.com/dog-discussion-forum/viewtopic.php?p=4432&sid=dc95a305a213874c1be5772011be159d

Answer 4

if your lab is aggressive around other dogs, you need to socialize him more. yeah you might take him for walks, but how often is he around other canines? if hes getting aggressive at the kennel, its because hes not accustomed to being in the presence of many dogs at one time. and to an extent, every dog will be this way, at least the first few times. dogs are usually on alert in those types of environments because they are surrounded by other dogs theyre not accustomed to, and their instinct is to protect themselves, not necessarily make friends. so if you find hes bein snappy toward the other animals, make sure that your getting him out around other dogs to avoid it in the future. good luck