Leash aggression

champ7ac · #1 08/15/12, 01:54 PM

Howdy-

Have a problem that I'd like some help with. I was with my daughter this weekend, and went for a walk with her two Boston Terriers.
They are both nice well behaved dogs that get along with other dogs, and socialize well. They take part in play sessions from time to time with no problems.
When walking the dogs, and they encounter another dog. They begin to get jumpy, and start twirling around. Begin to act up, and get aggressive with each other. The alpha female is the instigator and the older male seems to play off of her energy.
They walk on and are back to being well behaved, until they see another dog.
This only happens when they are on their leash and out walking.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

GrannyCarol · #2 08/15/12, 02:02 PM

If you want to try clicker training, you could stop before they wind up on the other dogs and click/treat quiet behavior (all four feet on the ground to start with), then work your way up to sitting or laying down. Then move a little closer and do it again. You can click/treat for attention on you as well. Just be careful NOT to click/treat jumping, spinning, acting up, jumping on each other, etc. Does the alpha female get wound up walking by herself when she gets near other dogs? It might help to work with her and the clicker by herself first... however, it is entirely possible to train two of them at once, they figure it out pretty quickly by who gets the treat and the eye contact who you are clicking (or both get treats, if they are both behaving).

Just start far enough away so that they aren't getting crazy and work a little closer until they are calm and looking to you for the click/treat and not the other dogs for their happy frenzy. It sounds like a behavior that was accidentally encouraged at some point and they've been trained to do it by some reinforcement from their handler, since they are good about everything else. They may also feed off of the handler getting wound up in trying to correct them, the handler needs to be very calm and unworried about their antics.

If clicker training isn't comfortable for you, work on their obedience when you approach other dogs. Before they get wound up, stop and have them practice sits and downs for praise, as well as about turns, etc. They need to learn to keep their attention on their handler. If they do get crazy, stop and make them sit (starting with alpha female).

dlskidmore · #3 08/15/12, 02:10 PM

Have they done any high distraction training in their obedience work? My current pup is a bit of a challenge, but a past aggressive dog I was able to train to sit-stay when something he wanted to bite was nearby. I'd work on them both separately before trying it with the two together.

mekasmom · #4 08/15/12, 05:01 PM

Bostons tend to be aggressive dogs with lots of pry drive. I would either use a shock collar everytime they start to get upset or else walk them separately.

JasoninMN · #5 08/15/12, 05:31 PM

Shocking them would be a great way to raise their anxiety levels and compound behavioral problems down the road. Lets try teaching the dogs to behave first. There is an easy solution, the dogs should walk behind you instead of in front of you. When your dogs are at a heel or behind, you are in now control of the walk. When they are out front, they are literally taking you for a walk.

pancho · #6 08/15/12, 07:36 PM

Many times it is the human on the other end of the leash that causes much of the problem. When the person looks ahead and sees another dog their feelings of anxiety are felt by the dogs. This will cause the dogs to become more aggressive.
Take each dog seperate on a walk and don't let them do the walking. When you regain control of each dog you should be able to take both for a walk at the same time.

wendle · #7 08/16/12, 10:18 AM

Enroll your dogs in obedience class. You will get professional help, and your dogs will get socialization.

dlskidmore · #8 08/16/12, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mekasmom

Bostons tend to be aggressive dogs with lots of pry drive. I would either use a shock collar everytime they start to get upset or else walk them separately.

I'm not totally against shock collars, but if you can't teach the behavior with a leash, the shock collar won't help. Leashes are much more intuitive for both handler and dog. Shock collars are for training at a distance things they already know on lead.

dlskidmore · #9 08/16/12, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendle

Enroll your dogs in obedience class. You will get professional help, and your dogs will get socialization.

If you have an aggressive dog, talk to the trainer before bringing your dog to class. They may want to set up some different class rules or change some of the activities to keep everyone safe.

pancho · #10 08/16/12, 11:02 AM

I have taken several pit bulls through obedience class.
They did great at everything but the down stay. They wouldn't lay down.
Only problem we ever had was either other aggressive dogs, which usually didn't last long or when the teacher tried to touch one of our dogs even after he was told not to.

dlskidmore · #11 08/16/12, 11:12 AM

I took a 140 lb human aggressive Great Dane through obedience class. You just have to plan it out with the instructor in advance and be careful.