# Aggression getting worse!



## Amurphy26 (Jul 22, 2012)

I've been on here on and off for the last 6 months about my young GSD. She's reactive with dogs and we've been making good progress but over the last month or so she's got 100 times worse and I can't work out why. Her aggression is now being directed towards people. 

If someone walks towards us she barks and lunges. As soon as she smells a person or dog she stiffens up, ears forward and hackles go up. I've been getting her to 'down stay' at the side as people approach and she's usual really good but if there is anything that lifts her excitement such as our other dog being present she is uncontrollable. And as for somebody stopping to speak to me......all **** breaks loose. Barking, lunging and frothing at the mouth. Today I was pulled over twice in one walk as she lunged at people. I've a massive cut on my neck where a lead and whistle got caught around my neck and I nearly choked. The whole walk ended with me incredibly embarrassed and in tears.
She has been very well socialised with people and up until recently has been great but I'm not sure how much more I can cope with because I can't work out how to deal with this or where it's come from.
She's been stuck in the house a lot recently and I wondered if that could be part of the problem. We live next door to a hotel and don't have a fenced garden so people keep appearing in the garden and round the house. We're moving in 10 days to somewhere quieter with a big fenced garden and I'm hoping that will help.

Any advice? I can't do e collars or prong collars, they're practically banned here and there are no trainers or behaviourist within a few hundred miles. 




Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

where would you be living that prong collars are banned? That would be my first 
question. The trainer who taught me how to use that correctly made all the difference in the world for Roxy and me taking walks. 
We have been walking every night too which I think is helping. We have a routine. She will pretty much ignore everything around us UNLESS people approach us..that's where we still need to work. Not quite as vocal as what you have going on...but Roxy does let people know she doesn't want them that close to us. In some ways that's not bad...but I want to be in control of that decision..not her. 
I wish you could find somebody to work with. I do think moving may help. Geez I'd go bat s*it crazy if I had people in my garden too. But remember she's probably going to act up even more for awhile after a move. I wish you the best!!!


ps. ( edit) I see now where you live. They ban prong collars there?


----------



## Amurphy26 (Jul 22, 2012)

Practically banned. They're very frowned upon and if I were to use something like that I would need help from a trainer which I can't get so it's just not an option. 
My other dog is a therapy dog and I love working with him but this is a really small community and all people are seeing is me out with a dangerous dog. It's putting his therapy work in jeopardy and I just really can't work out why she's turning on people.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

I guess what I would try ( and I am by far no expert).....get some people who aren't intimidated by her....sit outside with her on a short leash and have people walk past and work with her on ignoring them. I think I would try to get her to not be reactive before I worked on anything else...but that's just ME. 
My Roxy is a GREAT dog...responds well to commands ...but really isn't a people person ( kind of like me)  So we've worked really hard on just doing our walking and ignoring what is going on around us.


----------



## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

I have to say again though I am 100% sure the the prong collar is what helped us move along faster. And I thank my trainer for teaching me how to use it correctly -- I was scared 
to death of them. Now I have moved onto a harness and I have little to no pulling issues. (when we walk with our friends and their dogs..the meet and greet time is pulling and jumping)...that's always going to be a work in progress ...I think Roxy has a little bit of blonde in her and thinks it's been months instead of 24 hours that she has seen her friends. It's like a reunion and hugging and kissing must commence.


----------



## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

Google secret power, it's a prong collar securely stitched inside of a nylon collar. I have one for the double security, and how nice it looks. No one can tell that you have a prong, if you are still worried about others..


----------



## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

Think of the evil eye you'd get if your dog actually got to someone. 

I know what you're saying but in my mind, people should be thankful I'm controlling my dog. The prong is a life saver, I am calm because I know I got him (I use a backup collar too, prongs can come apart). 
It's a diff experience. You'd love it. 


If your dog ever got to close to anyone or god forbid bit someone - they'd run to the lawyers. You do what you have to do. If someone is uneducated - that's their problem. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I would not use a prong collar on a reactive dog. I did this with Jax and it only ramped her up and made it much worse. I have used a nylon choke on my puppy when he was being a punk (not reactive, jsut being a punk with other dogs)


----------



## Amurphy26 (Jul 22, 2012)

Anyone any ideas on why it's getting worse? I posted not that long ago wondering if our other dog was part of the problem. He can bark when he gets excited but recently I've noticed he's not doing a thing when she goes mad.
Do you think being stuck in the house could be having a big impact?


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

Amurphy26 said:


> Anyone any ideas on why it's getting worse? I posted not that long ago wondering if our other dog was part of the problem. He can bark when he gets excited but recently I've noticed he's not doing a thing when she goes mad.
> Do you think being stuck in the house could be having a big impact?
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App



As far as I know, it's always going to get worse unless something is done about it. Otherwise, it just escalates with every episode. That's what I was told and that's what I saw with a few dogs. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

I recommend BAT training. You want to start with her below threshold, this is before she even reacts to the dog, so you will have to determine how close you can be in order to train. Work on rewarding calm behavior when she sees other dogs (or ppl). Which may mean, the reactant (dog or person) is 30ft away, she is looking (but not hard staring or lunging towards said dog and is def not barking)..then reward. Rinse and repeat. If you do this correctly you will find that if she sees a dog in the distance she will look to you for guidance. On days you don't want to train, do not allow her to rehearse this behavior! Take her for walks when you know there will be no other dogs around, or if you see another dog duck behind a car or turn around and go the other way. Every rehearsal will make the behavior stronger.

Another idea is to create a look at that cue. Do this at home, with little distractions. Say "Look at that", point if you want. She can turn and look at whatever it is you are pointing at (and at this point it could be the grill in the back yard it doesn't matter) and when she turns back to you, reward her. Keep working on a solid "look at that" at home with any object, then work up to people or the other dog in the home. Then use it on walks.


----------



## Amurphy26 (Jul 22, 2012)

Sorry, I should of explained. We do BAT2 which is largely how she she has been improving with other dogs. It's different with people, her threshold is about 5 metres which is much less than with dogs. I'm just at a complete loss as to where it's come from.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

There's no way to know where it came from. And sadly knowing will not help fix the problem.

If you are already familiar with BAT training, just apply the same methods to people. It sounds to me that you will have to start pretty far away. 

I would also give her a couple of days to cool down after a big reaction. I've heard the adrenaline and hormones are so amped up after a reaction like you described, it takes days for the dog to go back to normal, which means that she'll be quicker to react at an even shorter threshold than normal. I know there is a relaxation protocol out there, perhaps look for something like that.


----------



## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

Can you drive the dog somewhere quiet for a good low stress workout, then do a very short training session on tbe smell of person or dog, which maybe she could learn to work around for starters?

Leerburg used to have an online course by Tyler Muto on reactivity. Boring but some good info. Very similar to BAT except Muto isn't reward only. Worth a watch.


----------



## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Amurphy26 said:


> I've been on here on and off for the last 6 months about my young GSD. She's reactive with dogs and we've been making good progress but over the last month or so she's got 100 times worse and I can't work out why. Her aggression is now being directed towards people.
> 
> If someone walks towards us she barks and lunges. As soon as she smells a person or dog she stiffens up, ears forward and hackles go up. I've been getting her to 'down stay' at the side as people approach and she's usual really good but if there is anything that lifts her excitement such as our other dog being present she is uncontrollable. And as for somebody stopping to speak to me......all **** breaks loose. Barking, lunging and frothing at the mouth. Today I was pulled over twice in one walk as she lunged at people. I've a massive cut on my neck where a lead and whistle got caught around my neck and I nearly choked. The whole walk ended with me incredibly embarrassed and in tears.
> She has been very well socialised with people and up until recently has been great but I'm not sure how much more I can cope with because I can't work out how to deal with this or where it's come from.
> ...


You need a trainer. But since you cannot get to one just a few thoughts. Get a traffic lead so she has less leverage to pull you over. I found a muzzle helpful because I knew my dog couldn't actually bite so I relaxed. Get a basket muzzle so she can still pant. The down may be working against you, it is giving her time to focus on what she is wanting to go after. Keep her moving. 
Read up on stress. It can take days for the stress hormones to dissipate, I did not know that and spent two years torturing my dog as a result. 
As to the why this is happening, how old is she and is she spayed?


----------



## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> Can you drive the dog somewhere quiet for a good low stress workout, then do a very short training session on tbe smell of person or dog, which maybe she could learn to work around for starters?
> 
> Leerburg used to have an online course by Tyler Muto on reactivity. Boring but some good info. Very similar to BAT except Muto isn't reward only. Worth a watch.





Sabis mom said:


> You need a trainer. But since you cannot get to one just a few thoughts. Get a traffic lead so she has less leverage to pull you over. I found a muzzle helpful because I knew my dog couldn't actually bite so I relaxed. Get a basket muzzle so she can still pant. The down may be working against you, it is giving her time to focus on what she is wanting to go after. Keep her moving.
> Read up on stress. It can take days for the stress hormones to dissipate, I did not know that and spent two years torturing my dog as a result.
> As to the why this is happening, how old is she and is she spayed?


Hey, guys, this thread is from 2014.


----------



## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Pytheis said:


> Hey, guys, this thread is from 2014.


Oops! Not enough coffee yet, lol.


----------

