Why does my pup loathe pugs?

Question

My puppy, Gaby, truly has it in for Pugs, so to speak. I acquired Gaby from a deplorable animal shelter nearly two months ago. Gaby is a handsome 40 lb. tricolor (black, tan and white) mutt. Her most dominant characteristics in behavior and demeanor are that of a Terrier mix. In fact, I would venture to say that Gaby is a Jack Russell Terrier/Pit Bull mix. Gaby is circa 9 to 11 months-old. She has already been spade, and she is rather obedient, for the most part. Gaby is maturing into a docile, fun-loving pup with an impressive amount of energy (i.e. she visits the dog run twice daily). Lately, however, Gaby has had multiple altercations with Pugs. Today, for example, Gaby got disturbingly aggressive with a 10-15 lb. Pug in a local dog run. Is it possible that Gaby systematically dislikes a particular breed of canines? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing or noticed similar behavior with their own pet? How do i address this issue of anti-Pug Aggression?

Answer 1

The breeds that you think make up Gaby's genetics are terriers and terriers are for the most part game dogs (when they put their mind to something, nothing stops them) and they are also prey driven.

One of the difficulties of mixed breeding is that performance and behavioral genetics that were specialized and controlled, get shuffled into new combinations, and despecialized, so that traits that were not 'liveable' in the purebreds are reformulated in a sort of de-evolution. So the behavior can be unpredictable.

And one of the problems in getting a dog from a shelter is that they sometimes come with strange baggage.

So all that is to say all we can do is speculate about the cause. Since you are apparently a fairly knowledgeable dog person, Gaby sounds like she's in good hands.

The real problem as you noted, is what to do about the behavior. For the most part, I think that at some age range, many breeds are not really intended to be dog park dogs. Some breeds were intended to work well in packs, others tend to be more territorial, or prey driven. Dog parks are an urban solution for dogs that do fit the scenario.

My suggestion is that it might be time to consider that your dog is not really a dog park dog. Many are fine as puppies but as they come into adolescence, their genetic programming or disprogramming starts to kick in. This is also the time that many dogs are discarded, because the owner was unprepared.

My approach to this would be working on self-control issues with your dog. When pugs are around, give her a job to do, keep her on leash. Do some heeling, about turns and figure eights. Try sideways heeling and walking backwards to get her to heel. You see all of this doesn't address pugs, but it addresses leadership and who is in charge. If she is paying attention to you and gets rewarded for this, she may be less interested in the pugs. Dog obedience classes if you can afford them would also be good for distraction training, self control and developing your mutual partnership.

I recommend training with NILIF, which is "nothing in life is free". Or essentially "no free lunch". http://www.k9deb.com/nilif.htm

If she is used to walking up to you and you absently petting her and rewarding her just for breathing, then she is used to just having things her way. With NILIF, she will come to pay attention to you more, have more self control. This will carry over into other elements of her behavior.

So when you see small dogs that she might go after, put a leash on her and work on attention training. When she finds she is rewarded for being loyal and sticking to you, she will eventually view the pugs as little bugs that she can ignore.

Another exercise you can add to your toolbox:
http://www.pedigree.com/dogsandpuppies/adult+dogs/behavior/training+tips/The+Look.asp?CSID=475

I have huge dogs that are territorial and I am not a strong person. Manhandling animals to get them to behave is less successful than giving them the option to see the light. :)

The way to train a dog is to work on trust and respect, mutually between the partners in the team. Have fun. I think you both sound like you're on the right track. :)

Answer 2

I don't know that Gaby knows a dog is a Pug. I think they do everything by smell. Gaby doesn't like the way that Pug smells. I don't know what you can do about it. When Gaby smells a Pug maybe take her mind off of the Pug by giving her a treat. Then when she smells a Pug she will be nice because a Pug smell means she gets a treat.

Answer 3

The early spay (prior to 5 months) is mostly used by shelters so they can place puppies without worrying about the new owners not bothering to alter the dog. There are some side affects, but overall it is generally accepted that the risks out weigh the problems. It is generally not done on non-shelter dogs. I would discuss this with your vet. If your dog needs the eye operation soon, and will be having anesthesia anyway, the vet may say let's go ahead and spay her while she is under. Or the vet may say both operations would take too long and put her in danger. Really needs to be up to you vet. Sounds like the eye should be treated before they cause permanent damage to it.

Answer 4

My brother had a lab who hated ALL poodles. The only reason we can figure is because when he was a puppy, there was a poodle in the yard next to him that was simply mean. It would bark, growl, bite his paws if they went through the fence, etc. For him, it was a previous bad experience.

Answer 5

My dog hates Pugs! Don't exactly know why. Maybe just something about them naturally.

Answer 6

maybe cause he likes um did you ever think of that.