How do I deal w/ aggressive behaviors in my rotty puppy?

Question

I have a 7month old rotty, and a 5 month old german shephard puppy. The rotty is showing aggressive behaviors towards the other dog, especially w/ toys and food. And now the rotty has started showing aggressive behaviors to me.

Answer 1

Put em in check with strong voice and firm hands. You dont have to hit your dogs, just a really firm grip around the throat with a slight squeeze. Dogs naturally submit to this position as it is instinctive that they have been defeated. Dont forget a loud voice with a firm "NO".

You must show them, specially since they are puppies, that YOU are the leader, they can do nothing without YOUR approval. This is their social behavior in dog packs. There is always the Alpha male who is in charge. The leader will be challenged from time to time...so always be quick to put them in check.

Answer 2

You need to get to obedience school, and fast. These are two breeds that can get extremely aggressive if not handled correctly. Not to mention their physical abilities to do some damage. These are working breeds that were bred with a job to do. The same energy, strength, and determination will quickly turn destructive if they have no where to go with it.
If you want to have breeds like this, get motivated, spend a little money, and be responsible. Ignorant people that think its cool to have an aggressive dog and don't want to spend the time to train and socialize their animals, is what makes people cross the street when they see my Rottweiler.
A good trainer will teach you successful ways to establish yourself as the pack leader. This should be done not by causing the dogs to be terrified of you, only to respect you. A trainer that knows what he's doing will also teach you to respect the hierarchy that your dogs establish amongst themselves, in order to avoid conflict for second-in-command.
Bottom line, you are going to be in huge trouble if you let this go any further and wait until your dogs are both 100 lbs.
Get off your computer and find a trainer, now!

Answer 3

Visit: www.k9aggression.com - they also have a support group on Yahoo Groups.

Seek professional help. www.iaabc.org
www.ccpdt.com
www.apdt.com
www.sfspca.org


Your Rotty is displaying a normal canine behavior which can be very dangerous if not properly modified. Manage the environment so that you don't have "two sharks swimming around a tank full of chum".

Raising Canine offers teleclasses that might help you.
www.raisingcanine.com

DO NOT use physical corrections or force. That will only escalate his aggressive behavior.

Answer 4

Both rottweilers and German Shepherds are assertive breeds. I use the term assertive because this personality trait does not necessarily manifest as aggression. However, they have a very ingrained awareness of social hierarchy and a strong desire to fulfill their role in the pack. However, if there is not a clearly established hierarchy they are more than happy to step up to the plate and fulfill the leadership role. Basically they are like good solders.

I suspect that since they are both puppies they are simply establishing the pecking order. If they are being aggressive towards you I suspect that they might not be clearly seeing you as the "alpha dog".

Basically you need to let them know who's boss. This does not mean hitting, kicking, or otherwise abusing them. However, it does mean that you need to establish that you are the boss. One technique that has worked for me with my rotty mix is to simply hold their head to the ground for a couple of seconds any time they act overly aggressive towards you (i.e. questioning who is the boss). This is similar to what they do to each other in their "pecking order" games. Watch your two play fighting and you'll see what I mean.

Answer 5

The best thing I would do is.... When you are holding the puppy and playing with it on the ground put him/her on its back and hold it there... DONT let go, he is going to fight you on it, but dont back off and look him in the eye... never break eye contact first, that gives him the impression he is the alpha dog... He will try biting and growling, but you have to let that puppy know that he isnt the boss... That might take a while, but if you do it on a regular basis, he will start to learn what his role is... Also about the food thing, put on a thick glove and when your pup is eating, keep your hand down there, when he tries to bite or whatever keep your hand flat and stick your hand side ways in his mouth all the way to the corners of his mouth (hope that makes sense.) that will make him uncomfortable and eventually will stop with that also... Keep me posted on how things go

Answer 6

You have two challenging dogs to work with. I would suggest that you join the yahoo group called agbeh. It is the best run group I've seen and they will find you the help you need. You have to be a member to access the group. There are some very good trainers on there. Here's a link to one of the people who posts there: http://www.shirleychong.com/

Answer 7

you need to establish your dominance. watch the dog whisperer guy -- he does it all the time. it has to do with the way you transmit your energy and body language. its basically tapping into their primal pack mentality. your rotty is trying to be alpha but you are bigger and need to let him know that. NEVER hit or abuse an animal. they don't understand human concepts of dominance, just dog concepts of dominance. try feeding your dogs on opposite sides of the house. it worked well for a friend with a dominate shepherd. its really hard to teach dogs to share food and toys. you can claim the toy though (once again see the dog whisperer -- all you have to do is put a closed fist down on it firmly -- like making a paw -- once you claim it you can give it back to the shepherd.

Answer 8

AHHHH! Stop the aggression and establish yourself as the PACK LEADER. Correct the bad behavior. Always feed the dogs separately, this is so the rotty does not need to FIGHT for his food, likewise with other puppy, YOU need to be the boss.
NO EXCUSES, this is a must for their place in the pack. YOU are the Leader. Period.

Answer 9

This information should help you. You really need to have a professional help you in your home as well.

Good Luck to you and your dogs.


Dogs differ in their likelihood to show aggressive behavior in any particular situation. Some dogs tend to respond aggressively with very little stimulation. Others may be subjected to all kinds of threatening stimuli and events, and never attempt to bite. The difference in this threshold at which a dog displays aggressive behavior is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. If this threshold is low, a dog will be more likely to bite. Raising the threshold makes a dog less likely to respond aggressively. This threshold can be raised using behavior modification techniques. How easily the threshold can be changed is influenced by the dog's gender, age, breed, general temperament, and by whether the appropriate behavior modification techniques are chosen and correctly implemented. Working with aggressive dogs can be potentially dangerous, and should be done only by, or under the guidance of, an experienced animal behavior professional who understands animal learning theory and behavior.

What You Can Do
First check with your veterinarian to rule out medical causes for the aggressive behavior.
Seek professional help. An aggression problem will not go away by itself. Working with aggression problems requires in-home help from an animal behavior specialist.
Take precautions. Your first priority is to keep everyone safe. Supervise, confine and/or restrict your dog's activities until you can obtain professional help. You're liable for your dog's behavior. If you must take your dog out in public, consider a cage-type muzzle as a temporary precaution, and keep in mind that some dogs can get a muzzle off.
Avoid exposing your dog to situations where he is more likely to show aggression. You may need to keep him confined to a safe room and limit his people-contact.
If your dog is possessive of food, treats or a certain place, don't allow him access to those items. In an emergency, bribe him with something better than what he has. For example, if he steals your shoe, trade him the shoe for a piece of chicken.
Spay or neuter your dog. Intact dogs are more likely to display dominance, territorial and protective aggressive behavior.
What Not To Do
Punishment won't help and, in fact, will make the problem worse. If the aggression is motivated by fear, punishment will make your dog more fearful, and therefore more aggressive. Attempting to punish or dominate a dominantly aggressive dog is likely to cause him to escalate his behavior in order to retain his dominant position. This is likely to result in a bite or a severe attack. Punishing territorial, possessive or protective aggression is likely to elicit additional defensive aggression.
Don't encourage aggressive behavior. Playing tug-of-war or wrestling games encourages your dog to attempt to "best" you or "win" over you, which can result in the beginning of a dominance aggression problem. When dogs are encouraged to "go get 'em" or to bark and dash about in response to outside noises or at the approach of a person, territorial and protective aggressive behavior may be the result.

Answer 10

When I have a foster or even one of my own that wants to get snotty over toys or food I take the toy or food away and let them watch me give it to the other and make them wait. I have squirt bottles of water everywhere and I will pick one up and squirt them if someone is growling.

They are both old enough to learn to sit for a biscuit so make sure they will sit next to each other without taking the others. I can get my five to all sit and wait for me to hand them theirs.