My puppy does not like other dogs

[monicah]

I take my dogs with me to work every day. We have a family business and the workshop is at home on our property. Sometimes a friend comes to visit us at work and usually have her dog with her. Zimba is happy to see her dog and plays with her. Keira (7 months old) usually gets pissed at her and attacks her. Tara's owner has told me to just let them figure it out on their own, but Keira does not give up. She has been in two fights with this dog already. The last time they were here Keira went right up to her to bite her. I didn't want to see another dog fight since Keira never gives up. So I put her in another room while Tara was playing with Zimba. But what is the best thing to do here? Should I just let Keira fight this other dog?

[afrancis]

... Keira does not give up. She has been in two fights with this dog already. The last time they were here Keira went right up to her to bite her. I didn't want to see another dog fight since Keira never gives up. So I put her in another room while Tara was playing with Zimba. But what is the best thing to do here? Should I just let Keira fight this other dog?

 

"Fight" is a difficult word because to some people it means bloodshed, while to others it can resemble strenuous play. Has Keira been well socialized with other dogs? What is the other dog's age? Does she get along with this other dog one-on-one, i.e. are they used to eachother, did this behaviour manifest from day one? It could be that there is a bit of 'pack' behaviour going on with her 'protecting' Tara from this other dog.

She is still very much a puppy and testing her boundaries with other dogs. I think her behaviour is also probably related to the intensity you can get with 3 dogs together, rather than just two. I would probably attempt to keep them separate when Tara and Zimba are playing, and introduce her one to one with Zimba gradually, and do not introduce toys at the same time. I find my dog does not get along at all with others when there are items of value involved; without them, she is very playful.

 

It might also be valuable to do some reading on behaviour, so you can get an idea of body language and whats going on behind the scenes. I'm reading Patricia McConnell's The Other End of the Leash right now.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Other-End-Leash-What...1346&sr=1-1

 

Anymore info you could provide would be helpful,

Ailsa

[DTrain]

My youngest dog who is now I think about 14 months does not like other dogs. He does not fight with them however. His first response is to bark at other dogs, he does this when he encounters one or even in the car. However, once he gets to know a dog he is all play. I am working on his training and I am also reading The Other End of the Lease as recommended by a fellow board member some time ago. I strongly suggest the book. It has been quite valuable in helping me understand my dogs differently. I come from the country where my dogs were very seldom exposed to other dogs or even many people. I now live close to a large city and the world has changed for my dogs. I had to take a step back and re-train myself.

[monicah]

"Fight" is a difficult word because to some people it means bloodshed, while to others it can resemble strenuous play. Has Keira been well socialized with other dogs? What is the other dog's age? Does she get along with this other dog one-on-one, i.e. are they used to eachother, did this behaviour manifest from day one? It could be that there is a bit of 'pack' behaviour going on with her 'protecting' Tara from this other dog.

She is still very much a puppy and testing her boundaries with other dogs. I think her behaviour is also probably related to the intensity you can get with 3 dogs together, rather than just two. I would probably attempt to keep them separate when Tara and Zimba are playing, and introduce her one to one with Zimba gradually, and do not introduce toys at the same time. I find my dog does not get along at all with others when there are items of value involved; without them, she is very playful.

 

It might also be valuable to do some reading on behaviour, so you can get an idea of body language and whats going on behind the scenes. I'm reading Patricia McConnell's The Other End of the Leash right now.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Other-End-Leash-What...1346&sr=1-1

 

Anymore info you could provide would be helpful,

Ailsa

 

They do not bite each other that hard. No blood. The other dog is Tara and she's around 1,5 years old. Zimba is my dog and he's 2 years old.

I did let Keira meet other dogs when she was younger and she was very playful with them. But Zimba has leash aggression (he goes completely nuts if we meet other dogs and he's on a leash...) and I think maybe Keira has picked up his behavior and is afraid of other dogs. I haven't let her be with Tara alone but I am going to borrow Tara one day and take only her and Keira with me to the woods. Maybe they'll become friends? I have also recently started to walk them separately so that I can work on Zimba's leash aggression. When I took Keira with me on a walk today, she freaked out when we met another dog. I tried to get her attention by getting her to sit and giving treats, but she started to bark and freak out when the dog passed us. I got her calm again right after they had passed, so I think there's hope.

 

I will buy the book you suggested.

[afrancis]

Sorry, I got the names of the dogs confused

Sounds like more one-on-one walking and attention is a good road to take right now for managing and shaping responses to other dogs. There are several other books/dvds that are great reading/viewing:

http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB116 - Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor

and Jean Donaldson's dvd about aggression/play,

http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB1022

and this one by Karen London (haven't read it but it also looks appropriate):

http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB1021

 

There may be other links that have free downloads of some of this material, since the dvds are quite expensive. If anyone else has sources, I'd be happy to hear them.

Ailsa

[monicah]

Thanks for the replies. I've been doing some reading online and I think I have to socialize Keira with other dogs more often. We met a man with his dog and kid today and I got Keira to sit while giving her treats (asked for her paw too but she wouldn't listen to me). She stayed calm but her eyes were locked on the dog until it had passed us. I'm so surprised that she's doing so much better without Zimba with us! I still haven't let her meet Tara on her own or any other dog, but I will this weekend. I love going out for walks with only one dog at a time but it takes a very long time!

[afrancis]

Thanks for the replies. I've been doing some reading online and I think I have to socialize Keira with other dogs more often. We met a man with his dog and kid today and I got Keira to sit while giving her treats (asked for her paw too but she wouldn't listen to me). She stayed calm but her eyes were locked on the dog until it had passed us. I'm so surprised that she's doing so much better without Zimba with us! I still haven't let her meet Tara on her own or any other dog, but I will this weekend. I love going out for walks with only one dog at a time but it takes a very long time!

 

That's great that you're having success with them individually like that. Can you also take her with you into stores and along busy streets and such? Do you have any fenced areas where she can meet and play with other dogs? I would work as many of these encounters into your routine as possible to allow her to feel more relaxed with different dogs/people/scenarios.

 

And yes, two walks (one per dog) is alot more work but you won't have to do it forever!

Continued good luck,

Ailsa

[monicah]

I can take her with me to the nearest city and walk her there a few times a week. I live in a very small place. Tara's owner has also invited me to join a group of people that get together once a week with their dogs. They find a suitable place and let the dogs play. I have never gone in the past because of Keira's aggressive behavior. Maybe I can take Keira one week and Zimba the next.

[osioda]

HI Monicah

 

I would recommend also that maybe if you can take her to a neutral place with your friends Dog and not on your property and also not on her property and only take her not your other dog, a lot of it is jealousy and protecting. And most of the time you will have so much better luck socializing when not on your property or home and I am sure that she will come around soon, I know in my past I have so much better luck socializing on neutral area.

Steve

[monicah]

Thanks for the advice! I will try that. I'm so glad that there's a solution to the problems I'm having with my dogs. The last time I walked them together we met another dog and there were lots of people waiting for the bus there. My dogs went nuts and I could barely hold on the the leashes. I got a few comments from the people there, like my dogs are dangerous and should be put to sleep. It made me so sad because I know Zimba just wants to play with the dogs we meet. He's so friendly when he's off leash.

[mbc1963]

One thing that does happen with my dog is when 2 other dogs are playing rough, my dog really wants to break it up. He doesn't like commotion - it seems to worry him and stress him out. And he also doesn't like it when dogs he loves are "taken" by other dogs - he seems to view his friends as his "property," and wants to play with them by himself. That might have something to do with your dog's reactions.

 

If we're in a situation where there might be triggers that set Buddy off, I just leash him and take him away from the commotion. It's not ideal (I'd love to be able to teach him to get along with everyone), but it's practical.

 

Mary

[monicah]

How do you teach them to get along with other dogs? I've been walking Keira and Zimba separately since Monday and we're making great progress. I can get Keira's attention more easily out on walks. I have some dog treats in my pocket that I give her for walking on a loose leash. I brought some chicken meat with me yesterday and gave it only when we saw other dogs. It was a success with both dogs!

 

Today I wanted to take only Keira and Tara with me out for a walk, but they weren't home. So I took my brother's dog Terna with me instead. Keira didn't mind at all. Then suddenly this came out from a property:

 

 

It was loose and I thought we weren't ready for something like that right now. So I turned around and went in the opposite direction. The dog followed us and Keira went nuts. I told the dog to go home, but he just wagged his tail and followed us. I decided to stop and see what happens. Keira barked at him until they were close enough to sniff each other. Then Keira calmed down and got a little playful with him. Then I did something stupid. I gave Keira a treat for being a good girl with this other dog, then I gave a treat to the other dog. Big mistake. Keira went totally nuts again and tried to chase him away. He was so patient with Keira! She tried to bite his feet, face and tail, but he just looked confused and jumped away from her. I got angry after a while and told Keira to sit while grabbing her collar. She calmed down until the other dog got close to sniff her again. She curled her lip and started to bark at him again. The owner of the dog finally came to get him. He told me the dog was 6 months old (what??? Such a big puppy! ) and that he had just figured out how to open up doors. Keira was calm during our conversation and probably happy to see the other dog's owner, lol!

 

If Keira continues to behave unfriendly towards other dogs, what do I do? This puppy didn't even want to fight with her and was very friendly. Even got down on the grown while wagging his tail. She was still being mean to him.

[afrancis]

Monicah,

I think you shouldn't be distracted by this one episode. You say earlier that you are beginning to have great success with both of them, distracting them with treats and focussing on you instead of the other dogs. This is really good. I think a LARGE dog, esp an exhuberant puppy, coming upon you off-leash suddenly is exactly the kind of trigger that would set off many dogs and you handled it as well as you could, considering how unpredictable the episode was.

 

But if you're having a problem with being discouraged then is there a trainer in your area that you can contact to help you work with Keira? I know that Mary (with Buddy) would tell you that reactivity while on leash is a long-term committment in terms of getting it under control and then managing it over time. But it is also very hard to counsel over the internet. Maybe others have some concrete advice and direction for you.

Ailsa

[monicah]

I have thought about getting help from a dog trainer. But I think Keira and Zimba are getting better and I want to try working on their problems on my own first. I just noticed that a norwegian website sells Feisty fido and I ordered it. I already have Don't shoot the dog by Karen Pryor. I'm just happy that we meet other dogs on our walks and we get to practice every day. The puppy I wrote about earlier approached Zimba on our walk tonight. Zimba didn't even bark and greeted the puppy very polite. The puppy wouldn't leave us alone and kept jumping up on Zimba. Zimba handled it very well, and he was on-leash! Thumbs up! I clicker trained them tonight and taught them to look into my eyes for a treat. I will practice this from now on and try to use it on our walks. If they can sit and lay down when I tell them to and a dog is near, I bet they'll look at my face too. Probably much better than just sitting down while a dog is walking past us. I think Keira is the one I have to work a little harder with. She's so mean to other dogs even if they just want to play. I will borrow Tara tomorrow if my friend is home and also my aunt's dog Molly. Keira has never met Molly before. I just wish there was a way to actually get Keira to like these dogs and maybe play with them.

[monicah]

I just want to share what happened when Tara came with us on a walk. Keira looked surprised when she realized Tara was coming with us and she kept walking behind me and jumping up on me. I decided to drive to the woods instead and let them play. Keira actually ran around and was playful with Tara, but she was careful not to get too close to Tara. I threw sticks in the water and Tara swam to get them. Keira wouldn't join her and just watched her from a distance. After a while Keira felt brave enough to steal Tara's stick while Tara was rolling in the grass. Tara immediately ran to get it back and Keira dropped it as fast as she could. Tara still jumped on her and they had a little "fight". Keira came to me with her head low and tail under her belly. It was like she was embarrassed and ashamed of herself. On the way up to the car Tara was playful with Keira but Keira avoided her and walked behind me.

 

Today on our walk Keira got to meet another female dog. The dog was friendly and wagging her tail while they were sniffing. But then Keira suddenly tried to bite her and I had to separate them and walk away with Keira. She was very obedient though and came with me when I told her to. Had this happened a week ago I wouldn't been able to get her with me by just saying come. I would've had to drag her with me while she was barking.

 

I was a little annoyed though and decided to call my aunt and ask if I could come to her and let Keira meet Molly, her very dominant dog. When we got into her fenced yard I let Keira walk around off-leash. She just sniffed the grass and avoided Molly. Molly just went over to her, sniffed a little and went back to the bread she was eating (didn't even say hi to me, lol!). After a while Molly walked over to Keira and Keira walked around her and back to me. I talked a little to Keira and when Molly came towards us, Keira went straight to her like she was about to chase her away. Within a second she had dropped to the ground in front of Molly and was wagging her tail and rolling around on her back like a 8 weeks old puppy. It was too dark to see what Molly had done but I guess it was all dog language. Molly just stood there and sniffed her while she was rolling around very playful on the ground. Then she started running around Molly very fast and very playful. Molly just looked at her and then walked away. Keira calmed down and started to sniff the ground again and explored the yard. I have never seen Keira like that. I asked my aunt if I could borrow Molly tomorrow and walk her with Keira. I look forward to it! I wonder if Keira is being mean to other dogs because Zimba has never disciplined her? She gets away with everything!

[hsnrs]

We also have a reactive girl. She has done better since attending stock training as the instructor has a pack of ten dogs. She doesn't get away with anything there. N

[monicah]

hsnrs, is your dog better at passing other dogs after spending time with that pack? My goal is to have Keira calm when we meet other dogs and be able to walk past them without barking and pulling on the leash. And also be able to greet other dogs without trying to bite them. I'm happy with the result so far. Keira is paying more attention to me when we see other dogs. I also see a change in her behavior after meeting Molly yesterday. She has been so obedient. Two weeks ago she would just give me an annoyed look if I asked her to be quiet or to come to me. She wags her tail when we talk to her and wants to play and cuddle more than before. It's like Molly told her that she's a puppy and should behave as one, lol! I have never seen Keira wag her tail while meeting another dog. She did it for the first time with Molly.