We have a 5-month-old black lab who has been very easy to train (sit, stay, down, come) and heel on the leash. We like to take her into the woods, where we can let her off the leash to run with our older dog. However, as soon as she sees other people or dogs, even a quarter-mile away, she sprints toward them, and there’s nothing we’ve tried that will even slow her down. Most people and dogs are happy to see her and she’s very friendly with them, but we anticipate problems with aggressive dogs and/or frightened children. Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Filed under Puppies Problems by on Feb 7th, 2012. 6 Comments. 
While your puppy is growing, he needs to gain valuable feedback from the world around him. One way he does this, is through biting. Sometimes though, you may not be as enthusiastic as he is. However, don’t panic if he seems to be getting aggressive, nine times out of ten, it is part of his education.
You should not over excite him by wrestling or jiggling him around and certainly do not engage in a tug of war with him. Not until a certain degree of adulthood has been instilled in him. Up until then, he’ll see it as a message to carry on tugging and biting at whatever.
Do not scream or hit your puppy if his biting is becoming aggressive. This will more than likely, scare him and cause him to become suspicious of people and quite possibly make him aggressive towards others. Time and time again we see brutally aggressive dogs who have been severely mistreated by their owners.
Using tried and tested consistent methods are the best way to stop your puppy’s biting from becoming a real problem. If he does bite too hard, give him a stern low commanding voice, this will sound out of place to him and stop him in his tracks.
Keep an object nearby that he can transfer his aggression onto. A chewy toy or bone are two of the best options, this will let him take out his energy upon them and hopefully over time direct his interests in sinking his teeth, into other things.
By: Dave Nevard
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Puppy biting problems are easy to solve. Learn how to correct stop puppy biting quickly and painlessly.
Filed under Puppies Problems by on Feb 5th, 2012. Comment.
Dogs are pack animals, so there is always the chance of confrontation between them. While you can’t always stop aggressive behaviour, you can look out for the signs and prevent a situation escalating by taking the right actions.
One of the big mistakes dog owners make when they think their dog is becoming aggressive it to get anxious and panicky. The dog will be looking to the owner for a lead, and will only feel it more necessary to defend itself if the owner seems scared. Stay calm in these situations and it may help to relax your dog and stop a potentially dangerous situation.
Another mistake is to try and comfort your dog through petting or even giving a treat. While with humans this might seem a reasonable thing to do, it may be accidentally reinforcing the aggressive behaviour by leading the dog to think it is being rewarded. Act normally when your dog becomes aggressive and don’t give it any encouragement.
If a fight does occur, never try to break it up yourself by coming between the dogs. You may end up getting hurt as the dogs are in an aggressive state of mind. Instead, the best way is to try and distract the dogs. A well trained dog should respond to the come command, but in a fight situation training may be forgotten or temporarily ignored, which is why you may need to distract the dogs before using a return command. Don’t risk your own health to break up a dog fight in any situation.
By: Richard Cross Terris
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Filed under Aggressive Puppy by on Jan 27th, 2012. Comment.
Will my aggressive dog hurt a puppy?
Watch this Video to stop your aggressive dog.
Filed under Aggressive Puppy by on Jan 23rd, 2012. 8 Comments.
Many people assume that just because a dog toy was purchased from a pet store, it is automatically safe for their dog. But this is not the case, as several toys are made for dogs of certain sizes and with certain play/chewing styles, and some toys can be dangerous for dogs if they are not properly supervised.
Large dogs or dogs that chew aggressively both have very specific needs when it comes to dog toys. Large dogs should always be given toys that are made for large dogs, because the smaller toys could become choking hazards.
Similarly, aggressive chewers (especially large aggressive chewers) can suffer from a whole host of issues with improperly selected toys. Any plastic, hollow squeaker toy is automatically out without proper supervision, because these toys can cause choking and vomiting if swallowed, and aggressive chewers tend to easily rip pieces of plastic from these toys apart. Also, furry toys, like stuffed animals, are also at risk of being ripped and eaten, and so should be purchased with extreme caution.
Still, for these two types of dogs, there are still several toy options. First, all of these toys are still made for dogs, and so if you do have time to properly supervise your dog, each is a nice gift. But for those that like to leave toys with their dogs, large ropes make great chew toys. They also clean teeth, and are less likely to be ripped apart, making them ideal for the aggressive chewing dogs.
Large dogs can still enjoy most any toy, as most dog toy makers do have “large breed” versions of all of their toys, you simply have to find them.
Also, brands like Kong use thick rubber which is more durable than traditional thin plastic dog toys, so these toys can stand up to even the roughest chewers. Hard rubber toys are ideal for any dog that seems to be destroying its toys faster than you can purchase them.
Finally, any toy that a dog needs to “solve” – for example, a large plastic dome with treats inside that a dog needs to paw around with in order to receive the treats – is a great toy for active dogs (but not for dogs that are easily frustrated). Any large plastic dome toy should still be watched at first, however, because dogs that like to “kill” their toys (shake their toys violently back and forth) may try to do so with their heavy plastic toy, causing untold amount of damage.
Dog toy manufacturers have done a much better job of creating toys for larger dogs and aggressive chewers. Still, it is a good idea to consider each toy carefully before handing it over to your dog, and supervising your dog for a while to ensure it is using the toy correctly.
By: Eric Gehler
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Filed under Aggressive Puppy by on Jan 22nd, 2012. Comment.
