Would you understand if...?

[Smokey]

Smokey is somewhat dog aggressive. If I took him to the dog park, and he was mean to your husky would you understand? How would you respond?

[Sarah]

To be honest - maybe - maybe not

If you came over to me with him on a leash and explained to me he was aggressive and would i mind him being round my boys i'd be more understanding and would attempt to help.

Have you thought about taking him when it's quiet and speaking with people there and explaining your trying to work with him - maybe take a long line and keep him on it so you have some sort of control but giving him some freedom?

If you came in and let him loose and he attacked my dogs i'd be miffed that you knew he was aggressive and put him and my dog in that situation - plus i'd step in and split them up and might get bit which yes would be my own fault for doing so but i think you need to be careful hun - not sure on the laws where you are but if he injured another dog hun they might push you to pay for the treatment

I think though - asking this question proves you're understanding of your situation and looking at ways of being responsible so +1

xx

[Sid_Wolf]

I would have a right go at you for taking him to an offleash dog park without working through the problem with a qualified behaviourist until he was no longer reactive.

If he seriously injured someones dog then you could be made to put him down.

Why are you taking a dog agressive dog to a dog park anyway??

[Sid_Wolf]

BTW sorry if I came across as harsh but Kira has been attacked in the dog park (she done nothing wrong, she is never reactive and if she can get away she will try, if she's backed into a corner is the only time she'll ever fight) the owners knew their dog was agressive but still took it

Kira has, however, helped to rehabilitate a very dog reactive dog, who eventually could go offlead around other dogs (with a muzzle as a precaution). And been offlead around an offlead agressive rottie, however the rottie was muzzled and me and its owners discussed it first and I allowed them to let her off since she couldnt do damage thru the muzzle

[Smokey]

i took him 3 maybe 4 times then stopped...

i was just wondering what everyone's reactions would be knowing that he is this way...I'm having problems right now allowing him near Zeeva but she's still small. i only let both of them interact while they are both on leash. i don't know how else to introduce them to each other...

i recently got him neutered and am hoping he calms down now that his cone is off and he is healed....he's been in training classes and did well there but only several weeks after getting to know those particular dogs.

it's ok if you're reaction is "back the eff off"...lol...

i like this muzzle idea...

[Kroush]

As long as he didn't actively try to pursue a fight and it was more of "Get out of my space" aggression, I'd be okay with it. For me, it's good for Loki to learn his boundaries and be pushed around a little so he learns to submit and isn't so full of himself. But if the quarrel continues after submitting, I would be very concerned.

[princessmom]

I'm with Kroush. The dog park has helped Milla no end learning boundaries, but she did learn the hard way that not all big dogs like puppies. A pack of three retrievers went after her one morning and their owners did absolutely nothing to stop it, even though she was crying and trying to run away and all the other dog owners were rushing over to break it up. Since then she's learned to lie down and wait for the big dog to close the distance, then go belly up immediately.

But she's also learned bad habits there. She's best friends with an 8 month old maltipoo who is constantly trying to hump her (not really a problem) and growls constantly when they're playing. She picked up his habit of growling when wrestling with smaller dogs, and the growling (her own) just drives her into a frenzy. She won't back off unless the other dog barks, and who can bark when this growling mass of teeth is constantly flipping you on your back and going for your throat? I have to give her time out (by picking her up) to give her a chance to calm down before she'll go back to playing nicely.

So I'd appreciate a warning and the opportunity to decide, "Okay let's give them a trial" or "Gee, Milla's having a bad day. Give us a couple minutes to get down the trail before you let him off leash."

[HuskyCouture]

i'd say start off maybe bringing him on a leash, possibly with a muzzle on just to be safe. let the dog sniff him, let him sniff the dog and see what happens.

[SarahNukka&Shadow]

As the others have said so long as you were up front about his problems and asked for my help then I'd be fine and wouldnt take it personally.. like Sid my two have helped to socialise a couple of dog agressive dogs with some reasonable success so if you do take him I'd do what has been surgested, the muzzel and the long line at first, approaching people and asking for their help is going to make them awear and more likely to be sympathetic to your situation.

[Andy]

Maybe try this. . . .

Do you have any friends with dogs ?

All of you get together to take your dogs for a nice rambling walk.

As almost everyone here knows Echo (our White GSD) is dog aggressive.

However we have taken her to loads of meets and walked her with up to 40 other dogs.

She walks with, mingles, sniffs and generally gets on.

It is a great socialising tool.

Because they are all walking in the same direction there is no "face to face" confrontation.

Then after the walk, go to the dog park and you should find that Smokey gets on a lot better.

At first I would use a muzzle just to be safe.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

i agree with the others if u just came in n let him attack then i would be really annoyed but if you brought him in on a leash with a muzzle and explained that he is a little be agressive around dogs but you would love to help socialise him so he isnt agressive and would any body mind lettin their dogs come up to say hello - the i would help as much as i can

Blaze is slightly dog agressive, if its offlead and will bite/nip if one runs at him - we took him to the husky meet up a couple of months back and every1 was rly good as they know he can be abit funny with dogs, there were a few he didnt like., he really doesnt seem to like kimba n kaiser which im gutted about cuz i wanna steal them but he got on great with myshka n even played with her! he was ok with big D but a little weary but thats cuz big D told him off lol

[Cathy]

Good luck on continuing to work with Smokey. I don't have much advice, but I can sympathize because a have a friend with a slightly aggressive dog she's trying to socialize, and there have been several scenes and apologies, but the dog, Ginger, is making progress. She has it easier than you do, though, because hers is a small-ish dog who is not all that intimidating to look at and who loves people. My friend started socializing Ginger by getting her used to my Dakota, then we'd take the dogs out together on walks where other dogs are encountered. Ginger is not always an angel, but she is able to enjoy the off-leash dog park with no problems now.

The muzzle idea sounds logical, but I personally have no experience with them. I'm not really experienced in general but I have noticed that dogs that come into our off-leash dog park on leashes generally get ganged up on immediately, it's like the other dogs know that they're restrained. In the case of my friend's asocial dog, Ginger is now only snarly and aggressive toward other dogs when they approach her when she is on her leash.

Not sure how much that helps, just wanted to offer some encouragement and some observations from what my friend went through/is going through. It can't be easy socializing an aggressive dog.

[lauraxxx29]

My Willow somtimes will snap at certain dogs she does not get on with puppys she can be a little nervers too. So I have narrowed it down to what energy the other dogs have that makes her act out. Very exciited dogs do make her nervous.And if a dog jumps up me she will tell it off I so dont want her to be like this and doing so much research on female behavior. Narrowed it down to possible hormones and gurding me.

So what i am saying is if you where to let me now that your dog acts out can you walk with me then I would be honnerd to help as i know how you feel when you do everything poss to socilaize and worked hard then they still do this it is so upsetting to us. But yes if you gave me no warning and just let him get on with it hopping it will be ok I would very much be pissed off due to me trying to train my dog that other dogs are ok as i will then be back to squre one with Willow. Gosh does all that make sence.

[magical Merlin]

Smokey is somewhat dog aggressive. If I took him to the dog park, and he was mean to your husky would you understand? How would you respond?

Other peoples aggressive dogs don't bother me personnaly because merlin is dog aggressive, however I can understand how other people can get annoyed.

I'm a firm believer that if your dog is aggressive you need to keep it on the lead at all times. I would not take merlin to a dog park because he doens't like dogs. Its not fair on him or the other dogs.

Merlin and summer were recently attacked by a mastiff type that was off the lead. I was furious because Merlin is on lead around other dogs and a short lead at that. His dog was running around and he had no control of it. I gave him a toatl bollo*king because its un acceptable to have an aggressive dog off lead.

Now, with merlin he is on lead when we are out due to his aggressiveness escilating. When off lead dogs run over to him it does bug me because I do have to restrain him. I dont make him wear a muzzle because if another dog attacks him I want him to be able to defend himself, however I do hold him so he can't bite the other dog. Most owners will appoligise and move their off lead dog away from merlin, however you do always get some that say "that dog should be wearing a muzzle" or thats a dangerous dog, That dog isn't safe etc. They are generally the exception rather than the rule...most people appoligise.

I have my two girls so they are always off lead. They are very social and love meeting other dogs. My greyhound was born to play! If they ran up to a dog on a lead then it wouldn't bother me if the other dog attacked them. It has happened once where summer ran up to a sbt and it gave her what for, but they shouldn't go up to dogs without permission and both now always check with me that its okay to "go meet" before they do it. I fully understand that if a dog is on the lead, there is a reason for that and if my dogs run up to it then thats my fault because they are not under control.

If an agressive dog is off lead its another matter because that dog is not under control and people out walking their dogs have no idea of what that dog is like. IMHO its the owners responsibility to keep their dog on the lead if it shows aggression towards other animals or people.

I will soon be taking merlin to soclilisation lessions so he can learn how to manage himself around other dogs. Its a great class and its about dogs teaching dogs. Merls is extreemly reactive to dogs. Its due t a combination of things - couldn't be socilised due to legs, had some very bad innsidents at a young age before i got him and then a few times after that. Hes just had a bad run with other dogs and his nurological issues don't help either. However, he safley lives with my two girls, BUT it took a lot og hard work to get him there and even now I have to watch them all the time. I can now leave them together when I go out as long as merlin is haveing a good day (no signs of nurological issues) but if hes having a bad day then I have to stay with them and keep him under contol or make sure they are seperated if i go out.

It would be a good idea to work out what smokeys triggers are. Is he scared or guarding? If he is intrested in food like hotdog or chicken then take those with you on walks. When you see another dog start giving him all the treats you can. It doens't matter what reaction he gives towards the other dog because your not rewarding the behaviour your rewarding that hes seen another dog. Every time he sees a dog hes given this best treat and loads off it. Its a type of conditioning where the animal lears sight of other dog = really good, bestist treat. The unwanted behaviour starts to subside because the animals sees the other dog and looks to the handler for the treats that keep flowing all the time the dog is in sight.

It does take a long time to do it this way but it works really well and i've rehabed several dog aggerssive dogs this way so that they can be safley handled aound other dogs. Managing dog aggression is the first step in curing it.

Sadly I couldn't do this wth merlin because he dosne't like food

[Kroush]

Loki plays very rough and- like that police officer in Baltimore- a lot of people will mistake it for aggression. So I make sure to tell people whose dogs he is playing with that he is very rough and if they're uncomfortable I'll pull him out.

[Andy]

Ginger is now only snarly and aggressive toward other dogs when they approach her when she is on her leash.

Yeah, this normal with Dog scared or Dog aggressive dogs.

It's the Fight or Flight reaction.

When another dog approaches, if the sniffing isn't nice. They get ready to either run away or fight.

However. . . .

When a dog is on the lead THEY CANNOT RUN AWAY. So they instinctively go on the aggressive.

The same dog off lead will at least sniff first before playing, moving away or getting dominant / aggressive.

[Kroush]

Also, I do not recommend bringing an aggressive dog on a leash into an offleash park. muzzled, yes. But not on a leash. Yes, you may be able to pull him away from something, but you are more than likely going to start unnecessary fights as well because you're controlling their body language. When greeting on leash, dogs tend to get into more fights because their range of language is limited by the slack in the leash and their position. For example- Your dog lunges in to do a play-bow, but you read his actions wrong and see it as a tug on the leash, the leash loses slack, you pull him back, raising him up above the other dog's level. That dog takes his heightened posture as a threat and decides he needs to defend himself or show his own dominance.

Loki has, when greeting on the leash barked and growled at other dogs as a puppy because of the people at the end of the leash (including myself) controling what they say. So I would not recommend taking him in on a leash if the dog park is an off-leash one. If he has an issue with biting, muzzle him when in the park.