Random Agressiveness?

[nowwown]

Hi, my DH and I took Cody this past weekend to the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway area of NC. We were walking on a trail that was relatively busy with people also walking to see the Linville Falls.

 

For the most part Cody was great on the leash. But one guy walking toward us, doing nothing out of the ordinary, set Cody off, with furious barking and lunging at him (he didn't have a dog or anything with him). Then, a few minutes later, Cody did the same thing at an oncoming Rottweiler that was calm as he was approaching us.

 

The rest of the day Cody was a great dog, passing by dogs and people beautifully.

 

So why just this one guy, and this one dog? We reprimanded him on the spot each time, and luckily nothing bad happened.

 

What else can I be doing to 1. "foresee" this bad, seemingly random behavior and 2. stop this behavior?

 

Any suggestions are very welcome!

[vickim]

Have you always had Cody? I adopted my sneior BC from a shelter and she has a thing against Pit Bulls--maybe Cody has a thing against Rotties, for some reason that you may not be aware of?

 

Or maybe he doesn't like black dogs?

[Lenajo]

Say "thank you, I've got it", with you body language and firmly put him back to heel.

 

Never disregard when a socialized, otherwise sensible dog "goes off" about a certain person or dog. They aren't stupid, and they are usually seeing something you aren't.

 

You just have to retake charge again when it occurs and he will start toning down his warning. Soon he will learn that you are listening to him, and he needed charge ahead and shout about what he needs to tell you.

[nowwown]

Hi,

 

We've had Cody since he was 8 weeks old -- part of a litter of 5 BCs. I don't think he was around any other dogs than his parents and his littermates, and I believe the puppies were shown a lot of love and attention by the breeder. And we have well-socialized Cody from the get-go, taking him just about everywhere with us, with a lot of human and other dog contact. We go twice a week to a dog park where he plays beautifully with other dogs there, and he also has several good dog buddies in the neighborhood where we walk about 4 miles a day.

[stockdogranch]

Never disregard when a socialized, otherwise sensible dog "goes off" about a certain person or dog. They aren't stupid, and they are usually seeing something you aren't.

 

Absolutely! I always figure the dog knows something I don't, and believe the dog. So, I, too, thank the dog for his/her alert, and then go back to business,

Anna

[Lenajo]

My late Gwennie was as cheery and friendly a girl with people as you've ever met. However I was packing up at a hotel one mroing when she suddenly leaped up from beside me, landing behind me with a roar and an ivory smile The guy, who had come up behind us fast protested that he "only wanted to pet the dog". Yeah, right. I blasted him one for coming up behind a lone women with a dog. He blustered, but left quickly, and Gwen never took her eyes of him. If a dog could express pure hate I saw it them. She meant business!!!

 

I don't think now that that man had good intentions anymore than Gwen did. Bless that dog!

 

moral: always trust a good dog, 'cause they've got your back!

[sweet_ceana]

My late Gwennie was as cheery and friendly a girl with people as you've ever met. However I was packing up at a hotel one mroing when she suddenly leaped up from beside me, landing behind me with a roar and an ivory smile The guy, who had come up behind us fast protested that he "only wanted to pet the dog". Yeah, right. I blasted him one for coming up behind a lone women with a dog. He blustered, but left quickly, and Gwen never took her eyes of him. If a dog could express pure hate I saw it them. She meant business!!!

 

I don't think now that that man had good intentions anymore than Gwen did. Bless that dog!

 

moral: always trust a good dog, 'cause they've got your back!

 

I second that

 

Before we moved to Arizona we were searching for tenants for our house. One woman came in and filled out an app, but Ceana did not like her at all! She would growl and place herself between us and the woman until I took her out of the room. When we took all the information to run backgrounds on the people who applied the woman Ceana did not like gave us a false identity (probably with someone elses stolen information I am sure).

[Joe Anne]

I agree with what Lenajo said, and would add...

It very well could have been the people that were setting your dog up unknowingly and innocently. By that I mean... the lone man, could very well either be afraid of dogs, or not like them... in which case Cody sensed that. When a dog senses fear, or any strong emotion from a human, they do not stop to figure out why. Their survival instinct tells them to act or re-act NOW. Having said that, it is very much up to you to immediately take hold of the situation... and I mean immediately, as you said you did. Let Cody know that YOU, have it under control. Never, never use the word or phrase..."it's ok" to calm your dog or soothe them, when you are getting unwanted behavior (of any kind). A strong verbal Aah, aah... or NO! without using their name and your body language, should suffice.

The same could have been said of the people with the Rotti. Could be that their dog, has had some aggressive, or dominating issues and has had some "problems" with other dogs, thereby setting her/his people up to be tense, on guard etc, even though the dog was seemingly calm. The people know that, and in turn, THEY (not the dogs) tense up, and create a domino effect of emotions. Cody, just picked up on it perhaps.

Keep in mind also, that walking a trail, and or being in an unfamiliar setting, as opposed to your play days at the dog park, or walks with buddies, can exacerbate Cody's vigilance and "protectiveness" toward you.

We walk a really thin line when it comes to our dog "reacting", to certain situations, because I too was "saved" from and unsavory, up to no good scum bag, who followed me around a library for over a 1/2 hr. then out to my car, where I had my German Shepherd dog, in the back.... Bruno, must have sensed really quick that this man was a threat to me, even being inside the car, because he stood up and barked and lunged at the window, hitting his teeth on the glass! like never before. I actually thought he was gonna come through the glass!!!! and apparently so did this guy... because as I was putting my key in the door, he said...excuse me mam, could you tell me the time?? PLEASE... I said yeah, time to let my dog out of the car.. needless to say this creep spent no time waiting around..

So, like someone else said, they sometimes see, sense, and KNOW.. more than we do, so it does make it sometimes difficult to discipline them, but with all my dogtraining experience, I truly believe that a well socialized, other wise "good" doggy, will bounce right back if we discipline when maybe we shouldn't have. Maybe simply and only because they are after all....Dogs!

and that is what they do... God Bless Them Always

[Macks mum]

I agree with above posts if 1 of my dogs have ever gone off at someone i have always taken it on board that there must be a reason. I think that dogs are far better judges of character that we humans are. Mack barks at any men that come into my house apart from my husband and brother who is lodging with us at the moment he seems to think that the only people who should be in the house are the ones who live here however when he is barking at my dad fatherinlaw dh's friends etc he's allways wagging his tail and is fine after about 5 mins or if i crate him for 5 then let him out then it starts over the nxt time any1 comes . The only time i have seen him bark aggressivley is when i was walking him and we went passed a group of lets say undessirables and he went nuts.

So if your dog doesn't like someone i'd say theres usually a good reason behind it i always trust my dog.

[berocca]

Didnt you post recently that Cody was starting to show aggression issues? I just remember thinking that it sounded like my Cody... when he hit about 10mnths he suddenly didnt like every dog anymore and got very protective of me if there was someone without a dog (if they had a dog they were trustworthy... although he then wanted to protect me from the dog). For some reason the best socialised dogs in the world can suddenly develop issues at that age that need to be worked on or they escalate. Is he neutered?

 

After saying that... I tend to trust the instincts of my dogs. They seem to read people much better than I do. They also back down if I start talking to the other person and they sense that I am calm. A friend came up to see me one day after splitting from her hubby... the dogs sensed her anger and got a little funny until I acknowledged their concern and thanked them, then spoke to her normally. After that they were fine. Perhaps the people you walked past were angry about something and were walking it off... who knows. Like the others said you need to acknowledge the concern and perhaps try to tone it down a little... but dont discourage it completely as it may just save your life one day and you dont want him scared to warn you.

[Shetlander]

Gee, I pay attention to my dogs' reactions, but I've never thought they had any special insight into people or other dogs as a general rule. I've had a couple of dogs who never met a person they didn't adore. They would have gleefully jumped into Osama Bin Laden's lap. I've had a couple of dogs who almost always viewed strangers with great suspicion. The BC mix we had when I was a kid was a wonderful protector, once keeping an intruder out of the house, but even he enjoyed "messing" with guests and loved to frighten them with cold stares and low growls. Quinn tends to be very social, but he spooks at certain people, some of whom I know are perfectly trustworthy. It might be a hat they're wearing or something they're carrying or something that pops up on Quinn's BC radar that I'm missing.

 

I guess I've seen way too many reactive dogs to put that much faith in the kind of reactions Cody displayed that he was picking up on something wrong about the man or Rott. As I said, I pay attention to my dogs' reactions but as part of the big picture. And with my super friendly and super suspicious dogs, I paid very little attention to be honest. I don't think protectiveness needs to be encouraged. And I don't want my dog thinking that he gets to call the shots as far as who can approach me and who can't. I feel this is especially crucial the more you go out in public with your dog.

[nowwown]

I don't think protectiveness needs to be encouraged. And I don't want my dog thinking that he gets to call the shots as far as who can approach me and who can't. I feel this is especially crucial the more you go out in public with your dog.

 

I agree with Shetlander here, that although Cody may be "warning" me or "protecting" me, we still need him to have good manners in public, with our houseguests, wherever. And good manners to us means no lunging, no snarling, no agressive behavior unless he is attacked first.

 

It's like a child-- my daughter does NOT like her cheek-pinching aunt very much, but she is expected to be polite, respectful and nice to her aunt. It's the behavior we expect and need from her.

 

I expect and want Cody to be mannerly, reasonably friendly and not aggressive. I don't want to be in a situation where I'm nervous about him being around anyone or any dog because I'm afraid of him attacking. I want to continue to bring Cody with us almost anywhere we go, as we have from when he was a little puppy. What I want, and need, a relatively bomb-proof dog. Is that a reasonable expectation?

[Shetlander]

I expect and want Cody to be mannerly, reasonably friendly and not aggressive. I don't want to be in a situation where I'm nervous about him being around anyone or any dog because I'm afraid of him attacking. I want to continue to bring Cody with us almost anywhere we go, as we have from when he was a little puppy. What I want, and need, a relatively bomb-proof dog. Is that a reasonable expectation?

 

That's certainly my ideal! A lot depends on temperament, with training and experience as big influences. I think it's important to understand your dog's abilities, strengths and weaknesses and move from there. I think training can do a lot to improve on a poor temperament, but that might not result in a truly bomb-proof dog. However, I think you can get a very well behaved dog despite less than stellar temperament. My sheltie is very fearful of those she does not know, especially children and dogs. She used to bark and lunge anytime we passed a person or animal on our walks, but I taught her to instead to look at me which she now almost always does on her own as we near formerly upsetting sights. When she doesn't look at me, she is quick to do so when I cue her. We did this through a clicker approach (she worked for her dinner kibble) and it was very successful, very quickly. I also need to do some management, such as discouraging children who want to pet the "little Lassie."

 

Obedience training can also be very helpful for the dog to learn to pay attention to you and not the oncoming dog/hiker/bike/etc. Basically I want my dogs to know that I'll handle things as their leader so there is no need for them to worry or make executive decisions.

 

Some of this could be Cody's age and with training, experience and maturity will work itself out. Quinn is almost two and I can see a difference in his confidence as well as what I'd call his sense of what his duties are. He has become more protective of the house, but once he sees me welcoming someone, he stops his deep, impressive barks and either joins in the greetings or watches from a few feet away. This is as much protection as I want in my dog. I think he'd jump in if things went bad, but otherwise I want him to take his lead from my reaction.