Should I now prevent him from having contact with other dogs?

Hi - I've written before about my rescue boxer/staffie cross. He is now muzzled after he attacked a small black labrador (no damage, no need for veterinary attention) it was very noisy and very scary for the other owner as well as myself. I agreed from then on I would keep him muzzled. Muzzling has been very easy i introduced him slowly and with lots of treats.

Yesterday I was out with him and strolling along our regular field when a man and his dog joined us - his dog is a very placid golden retriever 12 years, neutered female, and completely placid. Both dogs went in the water - I noticed my one postured slightly but not overly so. They came out of the water and walked along together then I noticed my dog "dancing" around the retriever in a very puppy like manner - running circles around her and diving in with a small yelp. I don't like that behaviour so was on my guard, the retriever got fed-up and barked which spurred him on more, I moved very close and noticed that my one was getting more aggressive, I grabbed him to put on the lead, he escaped and pounced on the dog in a very aggressive way, I had the plastic bottle of stones on me and threw them down at my dog which stopped him going any further and leashed him very quickly, he then sat with his back to me.

Did I miss the signs, should I have leashed him and moved away as soon as I saw the posturing when they were in the water? Do you think I should now be avoiding other dogs altogether or as much as possible. This is the first time there has been an incident since the last one and i was just beginning to regain my confidence in him.

Many thanks
Sandy

You have now posted about two incidents where your dog has attacked without provocation and a separate thread about recall issues. He should not be going off lead at all for the foreseeable future until you have done a lot of work on his recall using a long line and you are absolutely certain he will recall in ANY circumstances.

If he is aggressive and unpredictable with other dogs then it is only fair that you keep him away from them. There are things you can do long term to improve his behaviour around other dogs but for now I would keep him muzzled and on a lead and away from other dogs. Lots of people who have dogs that are aggressive towards other dogs keep them on a lead. You just have to enrich his life in other ways to compensate with training and games.

Hi Maxine - thanks for your response. And your detailed research into my posting history.

Does any dog have 100% recall in ANY circumstances? His recall is very good now but I wouldn't say 100% in ANY circumstances. Nor have I met one with that kind of recall!

I agree I am going to avoid dogs from now on - that was kind of the conclusion I had reached.

Do you have any tips for keeping them well exercised on a lead - he's a strong boy and thrives on a lot of exercise, at the moment he gets two walks a day - one very long and a second moderate walk.

many thanks
Sandy

It seems he is ok to just meet quickly, I would let him meet dogs still on lead and muzzle but just in passing so he doesn't get a chance to practice the bad habits he's formed, pass by calmly without feeling nervous or he will pick up on it and wonder what the threat is that you are telling him about, he doesn't know you are worried because of his behaviour, it sounds like you were the trigger this last time too as he was ok until you started to get anxious, you should have called him away with a tasty treat and gone on with your walk so he would have had a positive greeting with another dog, I wouldn't get too bogged down with him having friends as such as maybe he can't cope with that.

He is probably very fit because he is getting a lot of off lead exercise at the moment. Now that is stopping his fitness will drop off. Walk him in different places on lead to make it more interesting and still let him sniff the ground and potter about.

I would concentrate on exercising his brain by doing lots of training, teaching him tricks and adopting the Nothing In Life iIs Free approach. He will not suffer from having reduced exercise by being kept on a lead if you are stimulating him in other ways. A 20 minute training session will make him quite tired so he won't need a huge amount of exercise. Make the training fun so he really wants to work for you. If you work hard with him you will notice that his behaviour improves across the board.

Good luck he sounds like a lovely boy and has fallen on his feet with a very caring owner

I also meant to say that lots of dogs do not have a guaranteed recall, but if you have one that is going to get himself into trouble when he fails to recall, then he can't be let off.

i think you're right about the "friends" thing, he was fine with the retriever at first and then seemingly just couldn't help himself but cause trouble - bit like familiarity breeding contempt! I suspect he is a bit of a loner and doesnt like other dogs around him for too long.

I hadn't thought about me being the trigger, he definitely doesn't like dogs coming up to me but appears to tolerate it. The first incident was I think because the other owner was trying to hide her dog behind a gate and he got curious. Yesterday I was a fair distance away (not huge) but he was running on ahead side by side with the retriever.

I think I should have called him out of the water when he was "posturing" and leashed him and walked away calmly.

There are plenty of opportunities of walking in my area where there are no dogs so I shall stick to those areas.

I am not sure about keeping him leashed as well as muzzled when I'm in open fields with far reaching visibility and absolutely sure no other creatures are around. Certainly if I think there is a potential for other dogs to be around I shall leash him.

Incidentally does anybody have any ideas what this circling and dancing around other animals means - he tries to do it to cows as well, he's always leashed through cow fields, but he attempts to dance and yap at them - it's very puppy like.

Sandy.

Thanks Maxine -

He is very fit - rippling muscles and everything.

He is a quality lad, just wilful and seeks out opportunities to absolutely confound me!

I will do the training stuff with him - he has done some clicker training which amazed me at just how quickly he picked things up.

thanks again.
Sandy

I would keep him away from other dogs for the time being, for a bout a month or two - can you walk in places where you don't see other dogs? |Also, IMO, don't let him play with other dogs in the future. The last chapter of John Rogerson's Dog Vinci code might be of interest to you.

I would continue this for at least a Month and work on recall exercises while you are doing that.

Another exercise for you to work on might be this.

Stand with your dog at your side and have two toys. Throw the least favourite toy out with a leave command (I'm assuming here you already have a Sit, Leave, Wait/Stay). Hold the dog by the lead. If the dog does obey 'leave' immediately turn the opposite way and throw the favourite toy in the other direction and have a play.

When you have this perfect. Move on to doing it without the lead.

The next stages are to let the dog go out a step or two and gradually increase that until the dog is almost at the toy before you say leave and get it on the other more favourable toy.

What you are doing is when the dog is off lead to obey 'leave' when going to exciting moving objects and come back to you for a play.

Hope that helps.

Keep it going with the clicker training, it's amazing how quickly they pick things up when you use it. Try some free shaping and you will hear the cogs spinning in his brain!