Sudden dog Aggressiveness

[Calvino]

Hi,

 

Wondering if someone might have had the same experience or may have a solution to the following problem.

 

My 13 month old male Border Collie - neutered when he was 7 months old - was always outgoing and friendly - extremely so to people, children, and dogs.

 

He is still excited when he sees adults and children.

 

But, now - last month or so, instead of greeting strange dogs with a playful bow and a wag of his tail, he will bark at them and sometimes he will become aggressive. He is accepting of all the dogs in the neighborhood he has known since he was a puppy.

 

When he does bark or become aggressive, I have him sit and calmly tell him no.

 

I've had other male Border Collies - one that was never neutered - and have not witnessed such a dramatic change before. He has not had any traumas. Is it, as some of my friends have suggested, part of his growing up or perhaps the last vestige of his testosterone surging through him? Again, never witnessed it before.

 

Any suggestions?

[Stuporman]

Sometimes this happens as a rite of passage , even late in a dog's adolescence. Usually aggression like this begins on leash and I would work on it on leash for control and to alleviate the problem. Usually it doesn't take much to guide the dog in the right direction as opposed to letting the aggressiveness become a habit. Taking something a dog is attracted to, whether it be a ball or toy for fetch or a rope for tug of war with you and getting the dog really into it just before you encounter other dogs can help. Sometimes you have to develop the dog's attraction to the toy beforehand. Don't let it become a contest between dogs for the toy; at first you want to have dogs pass with your dog more interested in you and the toy than the other dog. If necessary you can use a longer line/leash at first if leash aggression is the biggest problem and shorten it gradually around dogs, but still channel the dog's oevrabundance of emotion into you and the toy, not the other dog. It normally passes, but of course if the problem is more serious, you may need a trainer because real aggression is a real problem.

 

Hi,

 

Wondering if someone might have had the same experience or may have a solution to the following problem.

 

My 13 month old male Border Collie - neutered when he was 7 months old - was always outgoing and friendly - extremely so to people, children, and dogs.

 

He is still excited when he sees adults and children.

 

But, now - last month or so, instead of greeting strange dogs with a playful bow and a wag of his tail, he will bark at them and sometimes he will become aggressive. He is accepting of all the dogs in the neighborhood he has known since he was a puppy.

 

When he does bark or become aggressive, I have him sit and calmly tell him no.

 

I've had other male Border Collies - one that was never neutered - and have not witnessed such a dramatic change before. He has not had any traumas. Is it, as some of my friends have suggested, part of his growing up or perhaps the last vestige of his testosterone surging through him? Again, never witnessed it before.

 

Any suggestions?

[MaryP]

^^ I'm surprised that you didn't just suggest to wack the dog on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.

 

Anywho, this in not an uncommon problem. I am currently dealing with something similar with my nearly 12 month-old bc(?) mix. He sounds a lot like your dog. He, too, was always absurdly friendly with other dogs and people and then began to show some aggression on leash (he is still friendly with other dogs off leash). It was a type of learned behavior that went awry, I believe. It began a few months ago when I had a couple of foster dogs that would bark excitedly when we approached other dogs or people on our walk. Skittles fed off of their energy and became, I believe, anxious when dogs/people approached. His reaction, though, turned to one of aggression towards approaching dogs/people. It was born of anxiety/fear, but has become a self-rewarding behavior. This is where I come in. I've heard many people suggest that behaviors such as these are just adolescent phases that will pass. I don't buy that. I believe, as I said, that these behaviors are self-rewarding and will continue to get worse without some intervention.

 

With the help of a trainer, I have been working very hard to redirect my dog and desensitize him to the many triggers that will set him off. We have been working with a gentle leader head harness, a clicker, and treats. I know some people believe that clickers are for sissy's, but I have been making real progress with my dog using this technique. We work a lot on keeping his focus on me when we walk - we do a lot of sits and "watch" exercises during the walk. We have set him up to approach strange dogs where I reward him for remaining calm, but more importantly, reward him when he looks at the dog, then turns to look at me. It's a way of teaching him that it's OK to look, but it's not OK to react. We are to the point, where we can pass other dogs or people without a reaction. But, if there are other dogs along on the walk and they react (not necessarily aggressively; just with some excited energy) that will trigger a reaction in Skittles. But, we've only been at this for a short while and I'm confident that he will eventually be able to learn to be calm in almost all circumstances.

 

I would highly recommend getting a trainer (positive methods-based) to work with you and to set up a training program for you to follow. The sooner you do this, the better. The longer this behavior goes on, the harder it will be to change it. Good luck.

[Stuporman]

Thanks for that valuable input, MaryP. At least you didn't resort to name calling or personal insults.

 

^^ I'm surprised that you didn't just suggest to wack the dog on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.

 

Anywho, this in not an uncommon problem. I am currently dealing with something similar with my nearly 12 month-old bc(?) mix. He sounds a lot like your dog. He, too, was always absurdly friendly with other dogs and people and then began to show some aggression on leash (he is still friendly with other dogs off leash). It was a type of learned behavior that went awry, I believe. It began a few months ago when I had a couple of foster dogs that would bark excitedly when we approached other dogs or people on our walk. Skittles fed off of their energy and became, I believe, anxious when dogs/people approached. His reaction, though, turned to one of aggression towards approaching dogs/people. It was born of anxiety/fear, but has become a self-rewarding behavior. This is where I come in. I've heard many people suggest that behaviors such as these are just adolescent phases that will pass. I don't buy that. I believe, as I said, that these behaviors are self-rewarding and will continue to get worse without some intervention.

 

With the help of a trainer, I have been working very hard to redirect my dog and desensitize him to the many triggers that will set him off. We have been working with a gentle leader head harness, a clicker, and treats. I know some people believe that clickers are for sissy's, but I have been making real progress with my dog using this technique. We work a lot on keeping his focus on me when we walk - we do a lot of sits and "watch" exercises during the walk. We have set him up to approach strange dogs where I reward him for remaining calm, but more importantly, reward him when he looks at the dog, then turns to look at me. It's a way of teaching him that it's OK to look, but it's not OK to react. We are to the point, where we can pass other dogs or people without a reaction. But, if there are other dogs along on the walk and they react (not necessarily aggressively; just with some excited energy) that will trigger a reaction in Skittles. But, we've only been at this for a short while and I'm confident that he will eventually be able to learn to be calm in almost all circumstances.

 

I would highly recommend getting a trainer (positive methods-based) to work with you and to set up a training program for you to follow. The sooner you do this, the better. The longer this behavior goes on, the harder it will be to change it. Good luck.