Dog attacking black dogs, please help?

Hi all,

Sorry I haven't been around for a few months, have had some personal stuff going on that unfortunately has meant me not being online hardly ever. I'm looking for some advice for a friend please.

She has a five year old red setter that has started attacking black dogs & is stuck with what to do about it, she's very upset & is even thinking about having him put to sleep as the most recent case was a labrador he attacked & the owner said she needs to control him & called him a dangerous dog that she cannot control. She presently has two setters & has always had setters. He is the first setter to behave this way & she's at her wits end at what to do. He's a strong dog so she cannot walk him purely on lead as he's too strong for her. She's tried the extendable leads, but he's broken them every time as he's too strong when he runs. Her other setter is seven but has a disease that makes her an old dog before her time, so walks are a struggle & she finds it hard to breathe. This is a problem due to the time it takes her to run to the dog as he doesn't listen when he has his sights set on another dog with the bitch with her on her lead.

She paid a lot of money for a lady to go to the house to help, but the lady said it was all about dominance & he needed to learn he was bottom of the pack, she told her to make sure he's fed last of all. This though did nothing to help the problem of him attacking black dogs when on walks & she felt it had been a total waste of money. She has bought him a muzzle now for when they are out so even though he will run at the dogs he cannot hurt them as he's muzzled. She's very upset as she loves her boy dearly, but doesn't know where to turn or what to do about his behaviour. Can anyone offer any advice or ideas at what else she can try as she is very worried it cannot be stopped & her only option is going to be to put her boy to sleep. Thankyou all in advance.

My advice would be fairly obvious of dont let him offlead, so in order to do that bearing in mind what you have said with regards to his strength etc, she needs to get him on some sort of head halter and get him walking by her side, once that is established, then she could start trying to walk him with a black dog and trying to desensitize him to them.

Thats my advice, he is dangerous and out of control currently if she is allowing him offlead and to be honest even if muzzled if she isnt with him and he is harassing other black dogs then its hardly fair on other dog owners.

HTH

Why is this dog still offlead?! If he came running at mine, muzzle or no muzzle she would get a mouthful. She is damaging the disposition of other dogs by being so irresponsible .

She says she can't walk him purely on lead, then she needs to train him, or at least use a headcollar type aid for now, walking him seperately from her other dog for now.

She seems like she doesn't want to train him, if her only option is to have him put down?! Can you suggest to her that she at least get him rehomed!

Maybe she could let him off in enclosed spaces and play ball? Try him at agility, or jog with him?

Thanks for the replies, I will let her know the advice so she can try all of these things. She wants to train him & stop this problem, she loves him dearly & will try anything. I told her I will post the problem on some forums & let her know the advice. As said in original post she paid a trainer person to come to the house & help, but all she said was to let him know he's bottom of the pack. This doesn't help with the problem & I said she clearly didn't know how to help & instead of being honest & saying she didn't know she went the dominance route instead. I'm trying to find out as much info as possible to help her as he's a beautiful dog & we really need to stop this behaviour.

I'm sorry she got a naff trainer in It happens a lot, and funnily enough the bad stories are always the same...they were told 'to make sure they were the leaders of the pack'. It's odd.

He does sound like he is taking her for a ride on her walks, so maybe she does need to 'assert some sort of authority' over him, but not in the way the trainer suggested. Instead maybe with treats, positive praise when he's doing well or doesn't react to a black dog and maybe a bit of general training, sit etc whilst out on his walks might help him to focus more on her.

Gobsmacked to read that you friend is considering having the dog put to sleep over this!

Two obvious replies spring to mind here! Keep the dog leashed! (no need for a muzzle in my view) and persavere with the problem! I have a feeling that maybe the setter has attacked a black dog once, and nt your friend is worried that it is going to attack all black dogs! the dog could well be picking up on her nervousness! How is the dog when walked by others!

Also#! strange but true, So dogs do show agression towards blaqck dogs, the reason they say is because they cannot read the eyes.

Remain confident, keep walking and teach us the leave command!

And as for considering pts! there is no genuine reaon to do such a thing imo!
DT

So sorry she got shuch a rubbish trainer!!
What area is she in?? Someone on here is bound to know a good trainer in the area

I agree totaly get him under control on the lead
If its a new thing attacking other dogs then a trip to the vets to make sure there is no reason is a good idea, her insurance may even cover some training.
A training class is a great idea too

Hope she gets some help soon.

Definately agree, both my dogs have black masks and others dogs are often wary initially, we often wonder if this is one of the reasons x

To start with, I would walk the dog on a Halti or similar to make it easier to control. And throw the extending lead in the bin because it gives you no control at all.
I would walk the dog separately, give a couple or three very short walks a day, concentrating on training heelwork and response. The object being that the dog at present seems to be doing what it wants, so your friend needs to go back to basics.
In the house, your friend could work on recall and manners. Every time the dog is fed or given a treat is a great opportunity to practice recall. In the house there are many opportunities to teach or practice sit, down etc. Every good response to a command should be rewarded - even if only with a pat or praise.
I would also sign up for a dog training club (phone forst to explain the problem) so your friend can practice controlling him round other dogs.
This seems like a lot of work - but it is not going to be long before your friend will see results.
Good luck, and well done for helping.

Hi Lea oh dear I can't believe payed trainers are still trotting out the old D word as a reason for every kind of behaviour.

As the others have said problems can be due to one dog being unable to read the body language of another dog . Dogs can asses the demeanour of other dogs by looking at their facial expressions/ear carriage etc. It isn't always easy to do this with black dogs, everything blends in with no clear delineation of eyes/ears /body contours/expression. Also if the dog had a bad experience with a black dog at some time in the past it may associated the bad experience with all black dogs.

I am horrified that anyone would consider getting rid of a dog for this reason. From what you have posted here I would suggest for the moment your friend manages the behaviour rather than tries to change it.
If your friend says the dog is too strong to have on a lead the last thing she needs is an extendable lead, they offer no control at all . A good harness may help give better control . I would only let the dog off the lead where I could be sure there would not be any black dog.

Surely they don't meet black dogs every time they are out for a walk. If they see one approaching I would break the dogs eye contact by turning and walking in the other direction avoiding confrontation.

A good behaviourist may be able to change the behaviour but beware of people like the trainer you mention and go for someone belonging to a well respected organisation like the APBC .

http://www.apbc.org.uk/
(a referral from a vet may be required also if the dog is insured some behavioural problems are covered by insurance).