Tag Archives: dog aggression

My Dog Is Aggressive Towards Other Dogs! Dog Aggression Training in Northern Virginia

dog aggressive dog northern virginia

Dog aggression is something that we literally deal with on a daily basis at our facility in Northern Virginia. If you go to our YouTube channel, you can see countless dog aggression before and after videos.

Just like with our blog on people aggression, we do not base your dog’s severity based off of the number of incidents, but we based it off of the severity of the incidents.

If your dog has been in “a lot of dog fights” or “attacked a lot of other dogs” (as we hear on a daily basis), we always ask about the SEVERITY. Severity of the “attack” is all that really matters, in our opinion.

If your dog has been in “a lot of fights” or “attacked a lot of dogs,” I would ask:
-Did at least two of the dogs have to go to the vet due to damage?
-Did the vet bills of 1 or more dogs total over $1000.00 in damage done by your dog?

If your answer is “no” to both, I would generally say that you do not have a “dog aggressive” dog. Your dog may be a dick, but I wouldn’t say that he or she is necessarily aggressive. What people do not realize is that is VERY easy for your dog to do damage (punctures) to another person or a dog; therefore, if they are “getting into fights,” but they are NOT doing damage, this is generally by the CHOICE of your dog. They could have easily done damage if that was their intention. So, your dog is showing great restraint and bite inhibition.

Also, it may not necessarily have been YOUR dog’s fault. Maybe another dog challenged him, postured up on him (etc) and you just didn’t notice this, and your dog reacted.

So, I would say that your dog is generally safe with other dogs, he just may not get a long with all dogs he meets. Here’s a big secret that many people do not realize, “YOUR DOG MAY NOT LOVE OR GET ALONG WITH EVERY DOG THEY MEET!”

Let me say that again, “Your dog will probably not like every dog it meets.” Shocking, right? Why is that true? You socialized them a lot when they were young, you do on-going socialization with them, etc. Let me put it to you differently, were you raised well, did you have a lot of friends growing up aka were you well socialized growing up? If you answered, “Yes,” then should it be safe to assume that YOU like every single person you meet? Ah hah! There you have it! It’s really that simple.

So, to get back to the main point, your dog’s dog aggression. From a training perspective, if your dog has not: 1) put two dogs in the vet or 2) given vet bills over $1000.00, we would say that your dog is definitely workable and can be taught to be better behaved and proper interaction.

If your dog HAS met two of these standards, I would generally say that your dog would not be safe around other dogs, regardless of training. We can still give you CONTROL over your dog with other dogs in their presence. Meaning, we can generally take your highly reactive dog who is going out of his way to attack another, and give you a dog that will stay in a heel, sit, down, place (etc) while another dog walks by without reacting. With that said, I still wouldn’t ever TRUST them with another dog, you just have control over them with other dogs around.

So, this is a good measuring tool to see if your dog’s dog aggression is fixable or just manageable. I would also strong encourage reading my blog, “Dog Aggressive Dog Training.”

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-Nick White
Owner/Founder
Off Leash K9 Training

Introducing 2 Dogs On A Leash: Dog Leash Training, Northern Virginia

dogs on a leash northern virginia

At our dog training facility in Northern Virginia, one of the situations we have to address on a daily basis is dogs properly greeting another dog.

In order to do a proper introduction, there are some key elements that should be adhered to:

First: Before you let the dogs approach, do NOT assume the other dog is friendly with dogs (or people).  This sounds like common sense, right? You would be surprised.  We train over 65 dogs per week at our facility, many of the dogs are coming to us because of dog aggression, people aggression, etc  We always warn the people leaving, “Do not go up to this dog coming in or let your dog go up to him.”  People see a Golden Retriever, Lab, etc and just automatically “assume” that it’s friendly.  Always ask!

Second: If the owner does give the approval, both of you should do a controlled approach to the each other’s dog. Do NOT just the dogs drag you to each other, remember, you need to show your dog that “you” are in control of the situation.  Put them in a heel and stop them (and make them sit) just a couple feet from each other.  If you are not able to do this drill, then first you must address your dog’s obedience training.

Third: “Break” (release) your dogs and let them start to sniff each other, you should try to keep minimal to zero tension on the leash.  If they feel tension on the leash, this could actually add tension and stress to the dog and make the situation worse.

Fourth: Watch BOTH dogs’ body language!  You should be looking for any aggressive signs from either dog.  You can read about this in detail in my blog on “Dog’s Body Language.”

Fifth: Try to keep the dogs moving a little and slowly around each other. Again, stiffness in dogs can be because of tension or stress.  So, try to keep them moving a little bit, also, this ensures that there is no tension on the leash.

Sixth: I always recommend “one-on-one” approaches with other dogs.  I would never let 3, 4, or 5 dogs meet all at once.  It would almost be impossible for you to control this situation.  You would almost have a “dog park” scenario with multiple dogs, and you can read the blog to see why I think dog parks are a horrible idea.

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Got Bit While Breaking Up A Dog Fight

dogattack

At our dog training facility in Northern Virginia, we hear stories of owners getting bit while breaking up a dog fight on a daily basis.

Once this happens, the owner usually calls us for two reasons:
1) Because their dog got into a fight with another dog and they want to help ensure it doesn’t happen again.
2) Their dog has never bitten them before, and now they are afraid that this will become a problem. They are completely shocked that their loving and friendly dog has caused them to get stitches.

First, your dog being dog aggressive could be a legitimate concern and training could definitely help with that, you can read our blog post training fixing your dog aggressive dog.

Second, chances are that you never have to worry about your dog biting you or someone else again, assuming that this was an isolated incident and the only time he/she has ever done this was while engaged in a dog fight. So, do not let that be a fear of yours.

As I always say at our dog training facility in Northern Virginia, “If you have broken up a dog fight and you did NOT get bit, I am far more surprised than if you broke up a dog fight and you DID get bit.”

What I’m saying is that if you break up a dog fight; improperly, by yourself, and without knowledge of “how” to break one up, there is a very good chance you will get bit.

Keep in mind, your dog (or the other dog), has no malice intent towards you; however, it’s the “heat of the moment” type-of-situation. Your dog is engaged in a high intensity fight, and all they do is “react” to something grabbing them from a different direction.

Here’s the analogy I use on a daily basis with at my private dog training sessions in Northern Virginia, in order to help make this thought process easy to understand. I was a US Marine, everyone know’s Marines for: being awesome, drinking, and fighting, right? 🙂

So, imagine you are in the middle of a bar and you get into a knock down, drag out, very heated fight. In the middle of this, someone comes up and grabs you on your arm or back, most people’s instant reflex is to swing around, elbow back, throw a punch that way, etc. Welcome to the world of “Why You Got Bit While Breaking Up A Dog Fight.”

Now, this could have been your best friend, your brother, or your father reaching in to grab you and get you out of there; however, you were in the heat of the moment and just reacted. Your dog simply did the same exact thing, they just reacted without thought.

How Should You Break Up A Dog Fight Properly?

In order to properly break up a dog fight, you really should have two people. If your dog and another dog gets engaged into a dog fight, generally, both owners are present. So, you may have to be calm to instruct the owner of the other dog to do this drill, as well.

First, you both reach in and grab your dog by their hind legs! This is important, do not grab their collar, do not grab their chest, and do not grab their mouth, all of these will probably result in you getting bit. So, grab their hind legs and lift them up as if you are holding your dog in a wheelbarrow position (front legs on the ground, hind legs around your waist to chest level). Each owner does this with their dogs and start pulling apart.

Second, as soon as the dogs release their hold, now you start slowly turning in circles while still holding your dog’s hind legs off of the ground. What this does is it prevents them from redirecting and biting you. Since their legs are off the ground and you are turning, you are forcing them to continuously move their front paws side-to-side in order to prevent from falling on their face.

Do this as you each move your dogs further and further apart. Do not release them, or chances are they will go right back into fight mode. You should continue this wheelbarrow and circular motion while moving the dogs apart until you each have full control over the dogs, or until you are able to put one of the dogs in a safe spot (kennel, car, different room, etc).

Now, it is possible that you could be the only person present and nobody is around. You could be a kennel worker, it was a lone dog that came out after yours, etc.

How To Break Up A Dog Fight Alone:

Loop a leash around the first dog’s hind quarters (stomach area), make a loop with the leash; meaning, thread the end that attaches to the dogs collar through the handle of the leash creating a loop. Put thread this around the dog’s stomach and start pulling him back with it. Pull him back until you can attach the connector (that is in your hand) to something to secure the dog in place (kennel, fence, etc). Now, that first dog is essentially anchored to whatever you attached him to.

Then, go behind the second dog and do the drill described above when two owners are present.

Doing this drill, may take a few more seconds; however, it will help ensure that you do not get bit which is well worth it.

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Dealing With Leash Aggression in Dogs – Northern Virginia

We deal with leash aggression in dogs weekly at our dog training facility in Northern Virginia.

An important study to first reference is one which was recently done on 2000 dogs at Mendel University in the Czech Republic. In 2000 dogs of varying breed, age, and size; researchers noted that dogs who were ON a leash were twice as likely to become aggressive with dogs as dogs who were off leash were.

Now, we must decipher the burning question, “WHY?

-The on leash dogs were restricted by the confines of the leash, which inhibited their ability to circle around the other dog, get a “feel for them,” and give them a proper greeting in order to determine if they were friendly or not. When the dog is not able to determine this, they often times gave a defensive posture since they could not establish the other dog’s intentions.

-Flight or fight. When a dog isn’t sure how to react in a certain situation (just like with people), flight or fight kicks in. By being on a leash, you are restricting your dog’s ability to flight, so he immediately kicks in fight mode with an aggressive response.

It’s also important to note that the 2000 dogs were FOUR times as likely to be aggressive on a leash when a male was walking them as opposed to a female walking them. Many would assume the opposite because many would see the male as more the pack leader and in-charge, but they believe the reasoning is far more simplistic than that.

Women are often more friendly and inviting to passerby’s and their dogs. Meaning, often times when will smile, say hello, and exchange pleasantries with the oncoming person and their dog. They believe the dog picks up on this nice, calm, friendly demeanor from the owner, so they too feel more relaxed and at-ease with the situation. Whereas men are more macho, not as socially friendly, and not as warm greeting with strangers as women; therefore, when someone is approaching, the men often times will just not pay attention to the oncoming person and their dog, avoid eye contact, no smiling (etc) and the dogs can interpret this “avoidance” as a problem and go on the defensive with the oncoming dog.

What Can You Do To Help With Your Dog’s Leash Aggression?

Obedience Training: This is essential, having control over your dog, pack leadership, confidence building, and correction for negative behavior. All of these are things that will undoubtedly help with your dog’s leash aggression.

-Be aware of your surroundings. When you see a stranger and their dog approaching, be friendly, polite, warm, and welcoming. This can help you translate your warm and relaxed demeanor onto your dog.

-Do not tense up on the leash when you see another dog. This tension travels down the leash straight to your dog and tells them, “I need to be on edge for something coming up.”

Pack Leadership. Letting your dog know that you are in control of the situation and them controlling the situation is not necessary nor needed.

-Try to give your dog proper space for interaction with the other dog so they do not feel confined and do a proper introduction.

-Watch the other dog’s body language. You may be able to avoid a bad situation just by YOU being observant and see if the other dog appears to have good or bad intentions.

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Dog Aggressive Dog Training – Northern Virginia

Literally every day owners contact us and ask, “Can your dog training program in Northern Virginia fix our dog aggressive dog?”

I always respond with the same answer, “It’s impossible to guarantee that our training will make your dog love other dogs. What we can guarantee you is that you full CONTROL of your dogs when other dogs are present.

I always give the analogy to people that aggression in dogs is a psychological issue, just like issues with certain people. No psychiatrist in the world will tell you that he can take a serial killer, pedophile, etc and guarantee he can fix their issue. So, the analogy I like to use is, “If you cannot guarantee it with a highly intelligent adult human being, there is no way you can guarantee it with a domesticated animal.”

With that said, I like to give a 70/30 rule dog aggression at our training facility in Northern Virginia. The equation I generally find is that 30% of the dog aggressive dogs you can completely fix and rehabilitate and 70% of the dogs you can make much more manageable and controllable. Meaning, 70% of the dogs we train who used to see another dog and bark, lunge, and growl, will NOW walk by that same dog without any reaction. Also, he/she will listen and perform flawless obedience with other dogs being present. Below, is a good example of this. See this 1.5 year old Golden Retriever “Guinness” who could not be around other dogs or would react violently like you see 1:40 portion of the video, then, you will see the same two dogs at the 2:00 minute mark of the video:

To point out my 70/30 rule, those Golden Retrievers still could not be left alone in a kennel together overnight; however, this is just after 14 days of training and you can clearly see the difference in their behaviors.

So, this is an example of what 70% of the dog-on-dog aggression cases will look like at our dog training in Northern Virginia. They still won’t love each other and sleep on the same bed together; however, they are clearly much better and more manageable than they were prior.

To clarify, of the 70% of cases like this, some of them “could” shift over to the 30% with more time, patience, training, and consistency.

The key to getting your dog over his/her dog aggression is confidence building drills, obedience, pack leadership, and getting him/her around other positive dogs (muzzled if needed). You will never get a dog over their dog aggression by keeping them isolated from other dogs, generally this will only make the problem worse.

You can click here to see the importance of socialization and confidence building drills such as object desensitization and noise desensitization you can start doing with your dog.

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