does anyone know how to get a dog to not be aggressive to strangers?

Question

My Rott/Shepard mix is aggressive to strangers and men in ball caps. I have recieved a ticket for him and have to go to court. An officer had to mace him to get onto my porch and he backed off a little, but not much. They say I have to get him out of the "aggressive zone" or put him down. I don't want to put him down because he is just a BIG BABY. He just don't like strangers. Please help me he is a good dog but I don't know how to fix this problem. Thank you Teresa

My male Rott/shepard mix is one year old. He was about 8 weeks when I got him.I have a female (his sister) and a full blooded german shepard (male). They get along together, but my male rott mix has a problem with strangers. He got out a couple of weeks ago and my neighbor called 911 because Mufasa wouldn't let him out of his house, because his kids tease them and I have asked them to stop but they won't. My yard is not fenced in and neither is my porch. I was at home when the officer came, but Mufasa wouldn't let him in the yard so he maced him. I didn't know they were out of their huge pin. He was teased on a camping trip by a kid in a ball cap we can go up to him with one on but anyone else he acts like he will tear their throat out. This all started reacently so I haven't let it escalate. I take all three of them for walks all the time. I just don't know what is going on with Mufasa.

Answer 1

How old is your dog? How old was he when you got him? Why would a man in a ball cap trigger his aggression? Dogs are taught socialization and they are taught trust. Sounds like he has bad history with someone in a ball cap but that only covers that one thing.
He definately needs more socialization and training. He is naturally protective of his home and territory, so I wouldn't suggest trying to get him used to strangers on his own turf. At home, a dog is automatically defensive. In a strange or neutral place, dogs become more passive. Walk him on a leash, and let others pet him. Classes for that sort of problem sound like a great idea. Other than that, I don't know. I deal more with abused/rescue dogs or stubborn minor problems. Logically, there is a reason for him doing these things, especially is he is a big baby otherwise. It just takes figuring out why he sees it necessary to react the way he does, which is tough sometimes, and then the harder job of showing him another way and him understanding it. Getting frustrated with him is the wrong thing to do, like spatting a toddlers hand and telling them it is wrong to hit. You aren't proving your point with your actions.
On the mace incident, now, that really makes me mad. Did the officer give you a chance to control your animal before escalating the incident? I mean, would it calm him down if a stranger maced him in his own yard when he thought he had to defend his family? He was following instinct and example. For one, anytime a dog gets aggresive, you should get out of his zone or what he perceives is "his". Forcing him to back up onto the porch is the exact opposite and the officer made the situation much worse by provoking him. If he doesn't know much about dogs, he shouldn't be handing out citations for how they react to him.
I hope this helps some, and I just had to vent and offer my point of view. I apologize if it isn't a thorough answer but it is the best advice that comes to mind. It won't take a simple or easy solution and it will have to be thought about. Maybe I offered a starting point for you.

Answer 2

Hi,
This can be a scary problem. I would suggest consulting an animal behaviorist. You can condition your dog to accept strangers although I hesistate to give advice because you have not provided enough detail about the situation . Here are a few question for you:
1) Is your porch inside a fenced yard?
2) were you at home when the officer came to your porch?
3) Why was the officer coming to your house?

Answer 3

Socialize your dog more. The more interaction hes gets with people the less aggressive he will be with anyone who is not a treat to him. Ball caps are a totally different story. My dog will attack me when I wear anything on my head. If a dog cannot see your eyes clearly then the dog cannot "judge" your intentions.

Try a canine education class. This will not only teach your dog basic commands, but it will also give you dog more experience with people and other dogs.

Either way the biggest baby at home can be the biggest aggressor outside. That's all the court will see. Good Luck.

Answer 4

You need to take him to an experienced trainer/behaviorist. Also, do not ever let him be around strangers when you're not there to supervise. This will lead to a situation where someone gets hurt and you are forced to have him put down. Only let him outside in areas where people can't approach him on their own.

Separate him from whatever situations put him at risk. Someone here said not to cage him but I would recommend separating him into another room when strangers come in the house. Otherwise you're compromising his safety, and the person's, until you can get a professional to help you help your dog.

Answer 5

Obedience Classess don't stop aggression they just teach the dog to obey your commands. When your dog shows aggression he wont listen to your commands becuase his mind is unstable at that time. So obedience classess are not a solution to aggression. (fact)
I suggest you minimise the chance for your dog to be in a guarding mode. Don't keep him outside. Keep him away from windows were he can look out and see strangers approaching. I suggest you get a tred mill for your dog - If a dog has vigourous exercise and then eats food it calms down - The reason for this is it's tired from the running on tred mill and the food satisy's it.
You need to show the dog you are Alpha and not him.
I strongly suggest you get professional help and then when you go to court you can show the judge that you are doing everything you can to help your dog. *****IF you believe in your heart that the dog will attack a person or child, then maybe you should think about having it put down - YOU KNOW YOUR DOG ********

Answer 6

My inlaws have a dog that use to be very active (to put it nicely). He used a shock collar.. Its similar to the collar used by invisible fences. When the dog is doing something not desired (jumping on people, becoming aggressive), you press a button on hte remote to which makes a beep for the dog... a lot of times when they are use to it and hear that beep they stop, if the dog continues, press the shock and it sends a small shock (same as the invisible fence) to the dog, and the behavior most of the time stops..... My inlaws dog has since calmed down, a bit.

If you have the means, There are also training schools you can put your dog into. I know the dog shelter near where i live puts aggressive dogs into a prision training program nad the dogs are completely different (for the most part) and calmer when they leave camp. I have also heard of people putting their dogs into the camps that are commonly used to train seeing eye dogs, when the dogs complete their training, they rarely ever act up.

Answer 7

My first reaction was, why have you allowed the problem to escalate to this stage? You need an animal behavourist (not a trainer) who can work with you and the dog to teach him acceptable behaviour. Once he has learned not to be aggressive, he needs to be properly socialized with people, lots of walks, take him everywhere you can in the car, and take him to the dog park so he gets as wide a variety of experiences as possible.

Answer 8

Yeah he might get worse but i have 4 dogs and one of them just loves people even strangers he'll let anyone pet him and play with him but my other 2 dogs don't like strangers and they hate it when anyone is at our front gate but then again both of them are mothers and the 4th one is a puppy she's really playful like her dad but sometimes she does bark when she sees the other one barking but its just natural for some to be aggressive what u should do is have him near strangers more and tell him no if he starts growling just have a leash on him so he can't bite them but just try to get him more used to people.

Answer 9

All he needs is proper training and more socialization. He needs to be on a leash, of course, when around other people (especially new people) and needs obedience training ASAP. Socializing him (taking him on walks, to PetsMart or Pet Co or to dog parks) will also help, but that should come after his training is finished so that you will have better control of him. Remember, dogs LOVE structure and routine and will actually be happier once he knows exactly what you want from him.

Answer 10

He obviously needs to be taken to obedience classes taught by a qualified instructor (NO Pet Smart classes, you need someone with more in-depth knowledge of problem dogs). Find classes ASAP and follow instructions because this dog's behaviour will get worse.