# Reactive 10 Month Old.



## sirius (Dec 15, 2010)

I'm assuming Rocket's about 10 months now, he was dumped off at a local gym, so it's unknown. He's a GSD mix, we think, and at the time was probably around 10-12 weeks. (The vet told us.) However, the vet told us he was also fixed. Wasn't clear at the time, but it's obvious Rocket has *Not* been fixed. 

Anyways, I thought we'd socialized him pretty well. I guess it wasn't enough because as a of a month ago he's showed signs of aggression. Probably out of fear. The first time was at a school 5k, which I shouldn't have taken him too. Overwhelming and he was terrified... It got to the point where he was snapping at dogs and even growling at people, so I took him home. (He's fine in places such as petsmart, petco, and the outdoor parts of Lowes or Home Depot.) 

The other day we went to the East Atlanta Farmers Market, which wasn't very crowded, in my opinion. He was scared of people that would come into the yard, even if they were several feet away and went off at a dog.

I thought maybe leash reactivity. Wow, once I think about it I feel really stupid, but we went for a long bike ride, so I stopped at our small dog park. There were only 3 dogs in there. (My dad had one of my other dogs, a friends dog who he loves, and Pepper a small dog.) He was fine, a Chihuahua came, fine. Then a guy who lives a few houses down brought his two. He totally took off after one of his dogs Shiloh, didn't even sniff her, just totally went off on her... Shiloh's slightly smaller, maybe 30 pounds and Rocket's like 51-55 pounds. 

I managed to get him and then he started trying to go after all of the other dogs, so we just ended of riding home again. All except Hamilton, he's fine with our dogs. The third wasn't there, he's not a "dog park dog."

Does anyone have any experience with this, if so, how did you solve it?
I'm looking into trainers that could maybe help with this, but I'm not sure.
I've asked about getting him fixed, we don't have a whole lot of money at the moment, but I'm willing to pay for it.
I was going to start agility classes between now and when he's a year, but I'll put that on hold or maybe not at all now...

My last thing is that, could he be afraid?
He wasn't afraid or overwhelmed when Shiloh came in... He basically took after he the minute she came in.
She seems really sweet and just ran away from him the entire time.
I'd like to try and stop this before it turns into a bigger problem though.
For those in Atlanta, do you know anyone/ behaviorists?

Sorry if there were any typos or careless errors.


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## sirius (Dec 15, 2010)

Rocket with Sirius next to him.









Roo, the friends dog I mentioned and was at the Dog Park today.









Sirius, one of my other dogs.

These aren't the most recent. Personally, I don't think he has gotten any bigger, at all. (Except in the second picture.)


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Excellent behaviorist - Chris Redenbach

Woolf and I have been training with her since fall. The progress he has made is huge.

It sounds like fear aggression from what you describe, plus his age as well. Step up on his obedience training, especially recall, watch and stay.


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## lorihd (Nov 30, 2011)

im no expert, but looking at your dog im seeing perhaps pitbull in him. Some of them can be very dog aggressive and i dont know whether you can train that out of him. Im sure the others will chime in with good advice.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

He's got the cutest ears I don't think he's part pit but you never know--I'm thinking part rhodesian ridgeback maybe. You say he's not fixed, is Shiloh fixed?


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## kam214 (Mar 3, 2012)

I think it sounds fear based as well...def check out a behaviorist to evaluate him. With fearful dogs, having 100% trust coupled with solid obedience is a must. Having solid Ob will save you and your dog in a lot of possibly sketchy situations.

I think he looks very much like a PitBull/GSD mix. His head, muzzle and upper eye area all have a distinctive Pit quality/features. Gorgeous boy


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## Falkosmom (Jul 27, 2011)

Pit possibly, but maybe Chow or Sharpei?


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## sirius (Dec 15, 2010)

I was think Rhodesian ridgeback, but his tail is starting to curl over somewhat. Kind of like an "inu" breed at times, but I doubt he has any in him. This's the first time I've heard possibly pit, but now that I look at the pictures more closely, I can see how. It's a mystery and thank ou for the compliments.  

Thank you Twyla, since it's late ATM, I'll check them out and talk to my parents about it tomorrow.

He does have his basics however, but self taught. He's never been to puppy school before. I wasn't sure if that was a requirement though for future agility classes. I know basics normally are, but actual proof from a trainer. He knows: Sit, Down, Wait, Come, Heel, Meerkat (Beg,) Bow, and we're still Working on "Stand" for fun. Maybe even weaving through my legs and saying his prayers once I get out for the summer, which will be this Tuesday. 

Lastly, I agree with those that think it's fear. I'm a little iffy about the agression being related towards the possibilities of pit bull in him. I don't know though and I'm taking all the advice I can get at this point, unless it's clearly something you shouldn't do with a dog. Everyone here's pretty knowledgable though, so thank you guys.


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## sirius (Dec 15, 2010)

llombardo said:


> He's got the cutest ears I don't think he's part pit but you never know--I'm thinking part rhodesian ridgeback maybe. You say he's not fixed, is Shiloh fixed?


Sorry, I accidentally left your question unanswered. Yes, I'm actually 110% certain shiloh's fixed, if not, more. She's a former rescue of some sort, I believe, along with their other female, Peanut (I don't think they changed her name...)

Btw, thank you and Ive been question Rhodesian Ridgeback as well now, for quite some time. Whatever he is, I absolutely adore this dog.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Twyla said:


> Excellent behaviorist - Chris Redenbach
> 
> Woolf and I have been training with her since fall. The progress he has made is huge.
> 
> It sounds like fear aggression from what you describe, plus his age as well. Step up on his obedience training, especially recall, watch and stay.


 
Thanks for the reference. This Behaviorist certainly has an interesting approach (similar to some that I have talked to around my area).

Two things that she recommended on her web site that were interesting and gave some insight into her approach to dogs behavior:

*First* was "never take anything away from a dog, even your own" (advice to kids to prevent dog bites) She didn't indicate if she also recommends this to adult owners?

*Second* was "never leave a child alone with a dog" (Didn't specify any age for the child in this bit of advice though - little bitty kids I would never leave alone in the first place with or without a dog, older kids - I wouldn't have a dog that I couldn't leave with my kids (kids were taught how to treat a dog as well!)


I guess that I didn't follow either of these two pieces of advice so would not be a good client for this behaviorist.


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## sirius (Dec 15, 2010)

codmaster said:


> Thanks for the reference. This Behaviorist certainly has an interesting approach (similar to some that I have talked to around my area).
> 
> Two things that she recommended on her web site that were interesting and gave some insight into her approach to dogs behavior:
> 
> ...


I'm 15, so I hope they're referring to younger kids. I've been bitten by a dog that wasn't exactly kid friendly with adults around, but never my own. That probably didn't make a lot of sense...


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

codmaster said:


> Thanks for the reference. This Behaviorist certainly has an interesting approach (similar to some that I have talked to around my area). Welcome
> 
> Two things that she recommended on her web site that were interesting and gave some insight into her approach to dogs behavior:
> 
> ...


Enjoy the wonderful weather we are having today


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Good thoughts! And all too sadly true about average people and the way the dog is dominant i.e. with food or toys. The old "Don't go near the dog, he is eating!" attitude!

A big pity!

And the weather is again just beautiful!


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## Neo93 (Apr 25, 2011)

We use Meredith Minkin at Canine PhD in Inman Park. Frieda has made amazing progress with Meredith. She is not perfect, but I don't think she will ever be perfect. It's hard to trump genetics. I have also heard good things about the trainer that Twyla and Woolf are using.

If you are looking for low cost neutering, you could try Lifeline Animal Project.

I would avoid the dog park for right now. You don't want her practicing those dog reactive behaviors.


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## sirius (Dec 15, 2010)

Neo93 said:


> We use Meredith Minkin at Canine PhD in Inman Park. Frieda has made amazing progress with Meredith. She is not perfect, but I don't think she will ever be perfect. It's hard to trump genetics. I have also heard good things about the trainer that Twyla and Woolf are using.
> 
> If you are looking for low cost neutering, you could try Lifeline Animal Project.
> 
> I would avoid the dog park for right now. You don't want her practicing those dog reactive behaviors.


I'll look into them as well. I'll try and send them an email, but I'll also have to check out the price. As I'll be paying for that. My parents support me, but yeah...

THANK YOU. That's actually where we got one of our previous dogs neutered, completely forgot about Lifeline. My dad said we'll take him there at some point, well, call and make an appointment.

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of dog parks, in general. This's the only one we would really go to, since it's in the neighborhood. (Less than 5 minutes to walk to.) If this doesn't work, maybe he's just not cut out to be a dog park dog. I'm okay with that though. Btw, him.*


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## sirius (Dec 15, 2010)

Just adding pictures, since I feel like sharing today. 









Rocket when he was 10-12 weeks (When we had first gotten him, but hadn't planned on keeping him.)









Sirius and Hamilton, my other two dogs.









Rocket, when he was just learning "Bow." He has it 100% down now.


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