one time dog aggression?

Question

My dog has been well socialized since he was a puppy, was neutered young and trained in basic behaviors.... I've taken him to dog parks since I got him and he always loves it and behaves well with other dogs. One night, however, a dog ?owner let their dog loose at night and it ran over toward us and my dog bit it. Ever since that night, my dog goes crazy growling and barking at this dog whenever he sees it. I no longer really trust my dog around strange dogs, but i was wondering if you all think this was a one time thing ...or if he may act like this again...? and is there anything I can do about this considering he only acts like that around this one dog

Answer 1

It's hard to say.. He was likely either startled with this dog racing towards him, or for whatever reason, you make him feel like he needs to protect you.

Because he only does it with the one dog, it's likely he is just bugged by him, remembering that episode at the dog park.. Just make sure things like that don't happen, always be alert and aware of everyone else around you... He'll maybe never like that dog, but you should correct him if you see him staring down other dogs or any sort of aggressive / dominant behaviours at the park.

If the other owner is willing and you are experienced around dogs, maybe you two could reintroduce your dogs and let them meet on good terms, start fresh so to speak.

Answer 2

It sounds to me just like he's afraid of this dog. You say the new dog ran over to you. Your dog may have been threatened by a possible show of aggression from the strange dog. You may not have even known it, but maybe the strane dog was giving off aggressive vibes. I would try taking him to the dog park again, on a short, nylon leash (so you have better control of him), and just watch him. Keep him close when a new dog comes around, but act normal. If you seem apprehensive, your dog will pick up on it, and it will translate into his behavior towards the new dog approaching, and therefore possibly initiating another show of aggression. I'd bet you $50 (if I had it) that it was a one time show of aggression cause by the strange dog intimidating your dog.

Answer 3

even though this seems like a one time event, you have to look at the whole picture... what did the other dog do? was the dog growling? running in a play mode? was your dog protecting you? all of these things make a difference, but you need to look into a professional to hopefully prevent further issues as this is dog aggression one time or a hundred times and needs to be stopped now before it gets out of hand and something serious happens

Answer 4

This is probably not a one time ordeal. Your dog was threatened by this dog for some reason. Probably Territorial. Your dog could easily develop dog aggression because of this. Talk to your trainer and keep up the socializing. Maybe you and the owners of the other dog can schedule a play day away from your dog's territory.

Answer 5

NOTE: i am not telling you this to scare you!!

I can tell you - from experience, that it may not be a one time thing. My dog was "attacked" (note that no attack lead to bloodshed, it was just an ugly sounding tiff) by an off-leash dog. At first he was just baffled. The little dog was off his leash, came running up to my dog and was rrarh rrrrah rarrrrrhing at him and then bit him on his neck (not bad) but at that point, my dog snapped and growled and snarled back. he was ok after that but a little wary of other dogs. Then another off leash dog came flying out of its yard towards us and my dog freaked out (it kinda startled us both). Then my dog was almost eaten by an off-leash German Shephard. Then late last week a dog came barreling down the street at us and my dog went nutso, I was able to chase the dog away and all was ok. Then yesterday, the same dog was out and came running at us and they got into a fight (I posted a question yesterday asking people if there was an injury, would it have been my fault).

Needless to say. YOU are the one that will determine your dogs behaviour. If you anticipate a bad reaction, you are going to send that fear and uncertainty straight down the leash to your dog who will then tense up and expect that he needs to take action. Because of all the off leash dogs, my dog has on-leash aggression - and most of that stems from me - being scared (and possible rightly so) of off-leash dogs charging at us from half-way down the block!!

Some people have recommended that if your dog continues to experience problems, and you encounter this situation again, that it might be best to drop the leash. On a leash, dogs are restricted, they "feel" what you are feeling - and if you are nervous, upset, agitated, fearful, they are going to either feel the same way or step up and take control. So dropping the leash allows dogs to meet the way that they need to -and if something bad happens - you can still pick the leash up and get control of your dog.

I conducted an experiment with my SEVERELY leash aggressive dog. I walked into the dog park and had him on the leash (it was baaaadddd, don't recommend this) I dropped the leash and all of the "fighting" snarling stopped immediately. So I knew that it was partly me that was sending him the signal to act that way and also, dogs can't meet the right way when they are on a leash. A lot of dogs suffer from this.

Read Suzanne CLothier's articles (search for her online - she has some great stuff).

You can also try Cesar Millan's (The Dog Whisperer) techniques of teaching him to ignore it, but that may not work if you are amped up/tense yourself!

So, it could be a one time thing, or it could turn into something worse - you will need to pay VERY close attention to your behaviour. If he continues to act that way and then does it with another dog, what are you doing? Are you gripping the leash tighter? Are you nervous? Are you embarrassed? Are you anticipating a negative response? Is your heart beating faster? Are you tense? If yes, then you are now propogating the problem and you need to calm yourself first before you can "train" your dog to ignore those distractions.

Take it from me - I am more than half of my dog's behavioural problem. Not proud of it, but we are working on it!