# Help! Aggression with other dogs?



## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Hello! I'm new, so please bear with me!

Our female GSD, Ellie, is absolutely fantastic. She is sweet, playful, intelligent (sometimes eerily so), and an incredibly fast learner. She just turned 1, so she's still a bit of a land shark, but we're working on that! Ellie absolutely adores people- she is very friendly and loves meeting new human friends. However, every one of her fantastic qualities goes completely out the window when there are other dogs around. She barks uncontrollably (high-pitched and ear-splitting), the hair stands up on her back, she bares her teeth every so often, and all sense of listening is totally abandoned. I've never seen her snap or lunge at another dog, but her behavior is still completely unacceptable to me.

We are currently working with a trainer, although it's more to give her a "job" and more challenging mental exercise than anything else. We train with a prong collar- we have tried other methods, but this is the one that works best for us. Our training sessions are private, so the only other dogs present are the three that belong to our trainer (Malinois, Golden Retriever, and Yorkie). The two larger dogs are both about Ellie's age, and while she used to bark and act that way around them, we have corrected that behavior by using her prong collar to make sure that she is focusing on me, rather than on them. She now ignores them almost completely when we are there. 

The problem occurs when she's in public (not at the training facility we attend). Even with her prong collar on, I would go as far as to call her spastic or inconsolable if there are any other dogs around at all. We have been applying the same method that we learned in training, but at some point I would like Ellie to be able to actually meet other dogs, rather than masking the issue by turning around and leaving the area whenever another dog enters. 

I realize that this issue is probably my fault, which absolutely kills me. I should have socialized her more with other dogs than I did, but at the time I thought that the work we did was enough, as she was completely happy with all of the dogs that my parents owned, as well as with all of our extended family's pets. Lesson learned  I'm so sorry for the novel, I just wanted to paint the best possible picture of our situation! Is Ellie just inherently aggressive? Or maybe just incredibly fearful of other dogs? Any suggestions or words of advice for us would be so appreciated.


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

This dog is still young you know. How long have you been working with the trainer? My thought is you have more work to do and perhaps you have to get used to working for a longer period of time. Are you happy with the trainer. Does she work well with him/her? That is, does the trainer get the results from the dog that you want? If so, you have more work to do. If not... hummmm perhaps a different trainer. Can the trainer go with you out into public for training? Sounds like you have had successes... are you pushing too hard too fast. Also, your dog needs to be neutral with other dogs not friendly.


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## sarcroth (Feb 23, 2017)

I agree with DutchKarin; and definitely don't force her to interact if she's not comfortable. She may never be comfortable enough with other dogs to actually be friendly with them but you should be able to get her to the point to at least not react to them. Also check out group classes with a reputable trainer who can work with you and your dog and this type of behavior. I know the training facility in my area offers a reactive dog workshop where the dogs and owners then transition into the regular group classes. There may be something similar in your area.


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## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

Is she on leash or off? Is she ever allowed off leash around other dogs?


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Thanks for the replies everyone! I feel like I need to clear things up a little: I'm certainly not expecting Ellie to love being around other dogs, and I would never force her to interact with them when she is clearly uncomfortable. The term "meet," in my original post was intended more as "being in the general vicinity of another dog." The goal for us isn't for her to be friendly with other dogs, we just want to reach a point where she can ignore them without being so reactive. Our trainer is fantastic, both with us and with Ellie. We have spoken with her about the issue, and she did a great job of helping us correct it when Ellie reacted aggressively to her dogs. Like I said, the issue is much more intense when we are not at the actual facility with her to help us right away. I understand that she's still young! Ellie loves training (and her trainer), and truly enjoys "working" when we ask her to- I don't want to make it seem like we are being too demanding of her. I hope this helps! Thank you for those who have replied so far, we truly appreciate it!


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Our first real experience with her reactivity occurred when we brought her to a dog park, before we were aware of her sensitivity to other dogs. She was off leash at the time, and was doing a great job until she was approached for the first time by another dog. After she reacted aggressively, we quickly understood that she had reactivity issues that needed to be corrected before we brought her back (if we ever did). Obviously if we would have known, we wouldn't have taken her in the first place, but we've found that she does react the same way when she's on leash.


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## Chewy (Aug 5, 2016)

When I adopted my 8 month old intact male GSD he had moderate leash reactivity towards other dogs, maybe a 6 out of 10 on a 1 to 10 scale. He would whine and fuss if he saw another dog from a distance. If another dog got within his 5ft comfort zone his hair would stand on end, lung, and bark. I'm pretty sure all of his behaviors were fear based. I started exercising him heavily and then gradually introducing him to social situations in the city that I live in. It was a slow progression but eventually he has developed more confidence and less fear of other dogs. I think the heavy exercise before his interactions really took the edge off of his reactivity while we were training. He just turned 15 months old and just about all of his reactivity has subsided, maybe a 1 out of 10 on a 1 to 10 scale. I have no doubt that maturing another 7 months has helped his reactivity too. Good luck with your pup!


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Chewy said:


> When I adopted my 8 month old intact male GSD he had moderate leash reactivity towards other dogs, maybe a 6 out of 10 on a 1 to 10 scale. He would whine and fuss if he saw another dog from a distance. If another dog got within his 5ft comfort zone his hair would stand on end, lung, and bark. I'm pretty sure all of his behaviors were fear based. I started exercising him heavily and then gradually introducing him to social situations in the city that I live in. It was a slow progression but eventually he has developed more confidence and less fear of other dogs. I think the heavy exercise before his interactions really took the edge off of his reactivity while we were training. He just turned 15 months old and just about all of his reactivity has subsided, maybe a 1 out of 10 on a 1 to 10 scale. I have no doubt that maturing another 7 months has helped his reactivity too. Good luck with your pup!


This is comforting! She has much more than a leash reactivity- she's at the point where dogs she sees out the window, across the street, are enough to make her hair stand on end and bark like crazy. I'm hopeful that the issue will get a little better as she grows. We will definitely start exercising her beforehand as well. How did you go about things when you first started working with him in public? Thanks so much for your help!


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