
I might be having a new problem with Luna. She is usually a very relaxed and calm dog. I was always so "proud" in the fact that she doesn't have the "pit character" that people talk badly of.
But it seems as recently she is getting more aggressive and more involved in fights, and honestly, I don't like i at all! We usually go to the dog park in our neighborhood every day, so she gets to socialize with other dogs and run in the woods, so she gets a lot of exercise, and usually when there are a lot of dogs at the park that she doesn't know, she gets tense and stressed and I know that cause she sits really close to me and shakes, but recently it has been happening more often than before. Yesterday she grabbed an innocent dog that passed by and smelled her (at least he seemed innocent to me...) by the neck and throttled him around until we separated them. When she gets like that, she usually relaxes after a few minutes and things get calm again, but in the last few days she seems to take longer to relax, and even after she does- she seems more "on the edge" than before.
I will say she is still doing really good with the dogs she knows well and plays with often, still good with kids and babies, still good with cats and people. Her aggressiveness seems to be specifically towards other dogs, usually ones she doesn't know well, if she knows them at all. Sometimes she will growl at a dog standing behind her without even looking, her initial reaction would be to growl (which she didn't do before almost at all) and then she'll stop if she turns and sees she knows the dog...
Now, a few details that might be of an influence of he changing mood are: We moved to a new place 3 weeks ago; I am expecting a baby; she has been getting less exercise than usual because of the cold weather.
She seems to be doing very well with the move and likes the new place, and there aren't any physical changes in the house yet regarding the baby, so I don't know if those have an actual effect on her moods, but I don't know...
What do you think is the best way to deal with this? Should I avoid taking her to the park for a while, or is it good for her to be there?
This is a very weird time with her, because on one hand she seems to be much more attentive to me, but on the other hand, she is getting more aggressive...
Thank you for helping!
Comments
Aggression
I have to admit I am no expert on aggression, but wanted to add my two cents - have not seen any other comments here.
Do you think there is a fear factor here? You mention trembling, and dogs often attack when scared.
A vet check is always useful, so you can rule out a medical condition. Maybe she fears other dogs in case they make contact with a sore spot? Worth finding out.
Distraction might work - asking her to look at you and sit, and be rewarded, so her attention is off the other dogs.
Great advice!
I'll second that - treatment for aggression (no matter how mild or how severe) should ALWAYS begin with a thorough vet check. The reasons are too many to list.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
Thanks, we did see the vet
The only thing we came up with is that she might have Lyme again, cause sometimes it can cause aggressiveness with no apparent reason, which is the case with Luna. She is physically fine, she still plays as usual with dogs she knows well, she's just much more fiery most of the time.
She is now on Lyme antibiotics again, today's the 4th day, she seems a bit calmer though I am not yet taking her to the dog park, but we met a few dogs out on walks and she seemed fine with them.
Another suspicion that came up is that she is being over-protective of me because she senses the changes of the pregnancy. I don't know if that is the case, because I think if that was it, she would have been protecting me from dogs that she knows, right?...
Anyway, I don't think it's fear, and I know she has no injuries or pains bothering her...
Thank you for answering!
Quality socialisation
Hi Liat, I would stay well away from dog parks and other venues where you are likely to meet other dogs off-leash.
You really need to know that she is going to play nicely with the dogs she meets, and that they will play nicely with her. Socialisation must be 99% beneficial experiences, meaning experiences where she is reinforced for playing nicely and not getting frightened or overly excited. The remaining 1% is the margin for error that you won't be able to control.
I have a BIG problem with the advice most people give about socialisation. It's not quantity on it's own, it's quantity of quality. Stack the deck in your favour EVERY SINGLE TIME, especially with a pit, pit-mix or any of the breeds traditionally used for protection or working with cattle. I got away with all sorts of things with my Goldie, but when I tried to do the same with my GSD it taught me a powerful lesson! That was a shame, because it's actually not difficult to stack the deck in your favour, and you relax more when you know everything is going to end well.
Work on control, the recall in particular. Don't rush it, but work on it frequently. Work on calm behaviors - loose leashes, downing, and other simple stuff. Dogs who are calm on-leash before the play session are usually more relaxed when they do get an opportunity to play off-leash.
You've got a number of things happening right now that will exacerbate the situation, so back it off for a while and try to arrange a few training and play dates with other dogs who you know are friendly.
I've written a big article about socialisation and dog aggression which I believe will be published on www.clickertraining.com next month, I'll send a link out in my ezine as soon as it is published.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com