aggressive

hey guys, i have a problem with indie. I have brought this up previously and its still happening.

when out on walks she jumps up and bites me and growls. It seems she thinks its fun. What i do is i fold my arms and turn my back on her and then after a few more attempts to bite me and hang off my sleeve she stops. I then carry on. She will either repeat this a bit further down the walk or will do it again on the next walk without fail. This doesnt coincide with going home or any particular route.
I have tried bringing toys with us which either dont interest her at all or dont interest her for long. I have tried treats and changing my walking routes.
The main reason i am worried is that she is now marking me by grabbing my skin and soon she will have a stronger bite and will pierce my skin.

I have also tried goin home when she does it, but it doesnt stop. She never gets particuarly excited about going for walks but she seems happy when out.

I have spoken to her trainer and she suggested the ignoring her, which does work, but it doesnt stop her completely.


Also, another problem, she is very aggressive towards some dogs. Like, we met these 2 staffies the other day, one was a 14wk old pup and the other an adult. I held indie back at first to see wot they were like. The owner was holding back the adult for whatever reason so i let indie play with the littlen. She was running around jumping on her and wagging her tail. Then all of a sudden she went mad at the adult so i had to pull her away and this massive growling fight broke out, including the puppy growling too.

At puppy classes too, i have tried just letting her go straight to a dog, and sometimes shes ok, sometimes she jus goes mental. and sometimes i hold her back and she jus goes mental.
I want her to be good with dogs, and ive tried my hardest to socialise her as much as possible.
Even with dogs shes played with b4 she can be funny with.
i mean, obv me holding her back is probably giving her the signal that theres somethin wrong. But even when i dont hold her back she does it. perhaps the other dog is giving her signals. but she makes such a racket.

Hi Jenny... this sounds like a tricky one.... I would suggest a professional trainer for this one.... I can give you some advice on here.... but for a problem like that I'd really like to see the dog in action to see the problem.....

Donna T

well it costs like £30 an hour for the trainer we have at moment and just cant afford that. hopefully someone will be able to come up with somethin

aw jen i really dont know i have the opposite problem of max just lies on the floor on his back whenever he sees another dog and wont blinking get up. i hope somebody has some good advice for you

Hi Jenny I Persistance is the key... Whenever she bites you you must say NO or AOW, Rocky used to 'nip' at your hands (it's a dominence thing) and althoug it didnt hurt cos he was small at the time, we put our foot down and made sure he knew it was unacceptable behaviour.

The key to this tho is making sure you are consistant in the correction - if she continues to do it make the AOW or NO sounds louder, until she realises that shes done something wrong, also lok her in the eyes afterwards with (if looks could kill eyes!). SHe must learn what she is doing is wrong and I think the only way is by way of the loud noise at the time it happens as decribed above. jmo.

Also, her behaviour sounds like she doesn't recoginse you as the alpha or is challenging you, go to the Dogwebbers ownership exam and look at the QnAs there, they will help in asserting u as the pack leader.

Once you have done this she will pay more attention to your wishes - for eg you can then let her know its not nice to bark at other dogs (by saying NO when she does) remb the key is to be FIRM (in your voice) and persistant.

Does she do this as soon as you start your walk? If so, I would be inclined to march her back inside, take off her collar & lead, and give her five minutes for reflection. Then, try again. Same behaviour gets the same result.

If you are not close enough to home for her to associate the end of her walk with her behaviour take a tin can containing a few pebbles with you. When she starts growl at her and shake the can. Make sure, in all situations, that she is never, ever, allowed to touch your skin, or anyone else's, with her teeth without receiving a strong correction.

If she is being unpredictably aggressive with other dogs then you should not allow free interaction until she has learned that her behaviour is totally unacceptable. How did the fight break out if the adult Staff was restrained & you had pulled Indie away from him/her at the first sign of trouble? Do you mean they were just growling at each other or were they actually fighting?

I agree that you seem to be having some significant leadership problems. You really do need to consult a professional who can actually observe the dog and your interactions with her

Ok Jenny....... well here goes my advice...... firstly, this behaviour is not acceptable.... biting people at anytime is not acceptable.... so lets work on this one first.....

When you are walking you, you need to be prepared, be ready ahead of time.. when she jumps up and bites at you.. you will have in your hand a shaker bottle, this is like a drink bottle with stones in it...... as she jumps... shake the bottle at her, at the same time saying ahhhh... in the maddest voice you can... so that it sounds like a deep growl...... once she's back on the ground tell her to sit then when she's sitting praise her..... verbally ..... then tell her to heel and continue to walk.... if she try's to jump again repeat the process.... I would expect most dogs to stop attempting the behaviour in about 4 or 5 shakes of the bottle.....

Let me know how you get on....

Donna T

oops just realised shadowboxer offered similar advice... sorry bout that.....

Some things that you can do to reinstate leadership roles are.....

control feeding habits, never feed the dog when she demands it, even for treats.... feed from your hand a little at a time.....

make your dog sit at the door and wait for you to enter the room while they come in behind you.....

be aware of how often your dog demands things from you... how often do you just pet on the head, cuz the dog has walked up and stuck her head on your lap......and make sure you dont do it....

make the dog move when they are sleeping, or sitting on your lap....

test... tell you dog to sit and count ..... how long does it take her to sit.... it should be automatic... all the time....... their is no excuse... you are the boss you need to be in control......

hope this helps a little...
I could go on for hours, but as I said most of my advice is usually given one on one... I like to assess the situation.....

Donna T

kimbAstaff and shadowboxer i find your knowledge of dog handling facinating and your wAnt to help others is fantastic ,keep up the good work.

Thank you Pete. I have had several years of handling & training: I have seen and/or made many of the mistakes &, I hope, have found a few of the answers. I know how disheartening it can be when you just can't seem to get it right no matter what you do or how hard you try. I am therefore very willing and happy to share any of the knowledge/tips/advice that I have picked up along the way.

Regards
SB