Advice on lunging at people

I have an English Mastiff who is nearly 2 years old. He went to training classes for basic training and socialisation and passed with flying colours. He was a real gentle giant with people and other dogs BUT in the past couple of months he has become extremely protective of us when he is outside. He has started lunging at people when they pass, we have taken to muzzling him when we take him for walks because we do not want to risk him being classed as a dangerous dog.His behaviour is not consistant, sometimes he walks along quite nicely but it is like someone 'flicks a switch' and if he decides he doesn't like someone he lunges and growls. As you can appreciate this is a very large animal that takes some holding when trying to restrain him. If anyone can offer me some advice I would be extremely grateful.

Why do you think this behaviour = being protective? A confident dog would not behave in this way, your dog is demonstrating its anxiety. Have you approached a reputable trainer to help you?

Where do you live, perhaps we can recommend someone.

Is he neutered or entire?

He`s not protecting you, he`s protecting himself because he`s anxious.
How about a Halti to help you control him? When he looks unhappy about someone, I would turn round and walk him away from them. When he`s calm, praise / reward.
Dogs who are a little unsure tend to pick up on people who look different - it could be their hat changing their head shape or the fact they have a heavy bag making them walk oddly (to a dog). He needs to learn that these people are not a threat, and that you will take charge and help him.
This re-education will be easier (and safer) with the help of a good trainer - see if there`s an APDT one near you.
Be very careful not to enlist the help of anyone who uses harsh methods as this will make it worse.

Agree with the other posts - this is not a confident dog. Confident dogs dont need to lunge out. This is an insecure dog who is uncertain of himself - and his behaviour is an exaggerated form of self defence.

A dogs natural survival stratergy is freeze / flight / fight
If he performed a "freeze" and it was unsuccessful - he is unable to "flight" as he is on leash - so his only option when under pressure is defensive "fight" - it also does not matter if the threat is real or perceived - the survival instinct is the same.

He is also getting to the age where if intact - his testosterone will peak at about 30 months - and there could also be conncection there.

Also sugget that you consult with a good behaviourist who uses positive methods to help you physically handle him and also to put him on a programe of confidence building.

Good Luck

I suppose it suited me to think he was being protective, as we have always been 'big dog' owners and never experienced this before. But on reflection you and the other people who have taken the time to reply to me are absolutely right, I'm just at a loss to explain why he's gone from being a 'gentle giant' to a dog I'm afraid to walk on my own. The trainer we went to for puppy classes has now passed away, if you could recommend a reputable trainer in north Birmingham or surrounding area I would be more than happy to consult them. He has been neutered - again this is something we've never done to our previous dogs but did on recommendation from the vet. He was neutered before his change in behaviour not after. I look forward to receiving your recommendations. Thank you for your help.

Thank you for your advice Claire. We did look at Halti's but there wasn't one big enough for him. We had to locate the muzzle in USA. I hate putting it on him and I am going to do my utmost to find a trainer and hopefully reverse this behaviour so I get my 'gentle giant' back.

Thank you for your response. My dog was neutered before the change in his behaviour. We are at a loss to understand why he does feel threatened. I will follow your and the other respondants advice and hopefully find a trainer/behaviourist who can help us.

I had a very similar problem when I first adopted Dexter. He would lunge at any dog nearby, and leap and jump at every single person who walked past. As he's 35kg of pure muscle, walks became a nightmare.

There are two things which helped me. The first was to find an experienced trainer, as has already been recommended. One tip that might help you, but it's easier said than done: try and relax!

The problem is it's a vicious circle. Because you know he's going to lunge, you get tense - and when you tense, your dog picks up on this and it increases his anxiety.

The second thing which has worked for me, is finding a well fitting headcollar.

This made a HUGE difference because:

1 - you feel more in control, thus you feel calmer, thus your dog is a bit calmer

2 - it takes the force out of the lunge

3 - it helps you pre empt the lunging so your dog can't keep practising the behaviour and it breaks the habit/pattern

4 - you can then reward the dog for calmer behaviour.


If size is an issue, check out the GenCon All-In-One - you just adjust this to whichever size you need.

Also really good are the Dogmatic, & the Black Dog Halter

You should find that after several weeks of wearing a headcollar, your dog gradually starts walking more calmly as he learns that he simply cannot lunge as energetically.

Do note that when your dog has a headcollar on you must NOT ever jerk the lead and the dog must NEVER also be on an extending lead/flexi lead.

A list of some of the options available:

Black Dog Head Halter

http://www.agilitywarehouse.com/prod...ail.cfm?id=960

The Canny Collar

http://www.cannyco.co.uk/index.php


The Dogalter

http://www.kumfi.com/index.php?page=...hk=1&Itemid=26

The DogMatic

http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/

Gentle Controller

http://www.gencon-allin1.co.uk/

The Gentle Leader

http://canineconcepts.co.uk/item--Th...er--gentlelead

The Halti

http://www.companyofanimals.co.uk/halti.php

The K9 Bridle

http://k9bridle.com/

The Newtrix Easy Way

http://www.dogpartnership.co.uk/equipment.htm

You have a large guarding breed in the mastiff.He has now reached an age where if he has strong guarding instincts they could surface regardless of nuetering and he will raise his status to guard and possess not to be confused with protect as there does not appear to be a reason to protect.He may have become powerful mentally and be keeping others at a distance from his family(pack) especially if they come to close because they belong to him. If this is the case rather than a fearful or an insecure dog a professional advicer will know the difference.Large powerful guarding dogs as opposed to large dogs in general are best suited to experienced guard dog handlers as they need an assertive confident leader.It is good advice to get professional help sooner rather than later. Good luck.