Dog Aggressive Pyr

[kanhow]

We own/foster GPs. We currently have (1) male, (1) female plus a tri-color collie (F). My daughter has an 18 month old female rescue who is extremely dog aggressive. Very good with people/kids and doing well in her obedience training.
We have to keep her dog separated from our dogs for safety reasons. We can walk the dogs together but they can not be off-leash. Her dog will lunge and attack.

Currently we are working on de-sensitization with a long leash in the backyard with her dog and my male dog. Any advice on correcting this behavior would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
Kady

[Jewel]

As you didn't provide a lot of details about how this dog reacts, it's not easy to just give suggestions in a vaccum. My male dog is reactive to other dogs. But in his case, he's not reactive to all dogs, just certain ones. Not knowing exactly your situation, what works for me may not work for you.

Is this dog aggressive to every dog that she sees? Does she just acts like she's vicious but wouldn't actually injure the other dog, or does she actually intend on killing the other dog? Does she have any doggie friends that she does not aggress against? How does she react when she's on a long line in the backyard?

The key to desensitization is to make sure the dog is kept under its tolerance thresshold so that it doesn't continue to practice the reactivity or aggression. So, if she's still acting out with the long leash in the backyard, you need to find a way to avoid her from reacting at all, and then slowly shrink her zone of reactivity.

An example. There was an akita that frequented the dog park that we used to go. This was a very dominant female akita and she had a problem of physically forcing dogs to submit to her if they didn't do so immediately as she went up to them. Her owners worked very hard at curbing that behavior. What they did was when they arrived at the dog park, they would walk the akita close the entrance gate and stop. If the akita was showing any signs of excitement, they didn't walk in. They would just stand there, for 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, whatever it took, until she calmed herself down. Once she had calmed down, which could be observed in the relaxing of her muscles and the ears and her no longer fixated on the movements inside the park, and the all important looking back to her parents to confirm that she was calm and had self-control, then they would walk in the park calmly. By implementing that exercise, the akita could then go into the park and not beat up other dogs. So the key with the akita was to put her in a calm state so that she doesn't engage in the bad behavior.

Perpahs you want to let us have a few more details so that we have a better understanding of the type of reactivity you are dealing with.

[Chicag0_Red]

Does your daughter and her Pyr live with you and how old is your daughter?
How were they introduced (neutral territory or on one of their home grounds?)
Do you know any of the history on your daughters rescue (ie was she attacked at any time by another Pyr/big white dog?)
How long have you fostered owned Pyrs (Thank you for fostering by the way there aren't enough of us to go around) and how old are "your" dogs.
Is she aggressive towards the collie as well?
Without being there to see the action it is going to be hard to tell just what the trigger is. How does she act when it is just her and the male? Many Pyrs go thru a "fear/reactive stage around 18 months and if this is what is playing out it will be of tantamount importance that you don't let this escalate to the point she becomes / stays truly dog aggressive.
Does she growl bark prance on her front paws or does she just lunge at them?

Are you fostering for a Pyr group or just a general breed rescue? If a group experienced in Pyrs maybe you can get another foster more experienced in Pyr to Pyr aggression to observe and see if they can help pick up on triggers as well. A lot of times it is not the one acting first that is actually instigating the behavior ... like in sports it is the retaliation that is seen.

Also note that you may never get the two female Pyrs to co-exist peacefully as same gender pairings can be problematic. So if they can be out in public and on leash and behave that may be the best you can hope for.

Hope to get more details on the behavior soon.

[kanhow]

Good questions. Dog is aggressive with all dogs with an intent to injure. She lives with my daughter predominantly ( who is 21.) She has issues with her any time she sees a another dog.

Dog is actually fairly well trained in the sit, stay, down, come commands but loses it when she is around another dog. I totally agree about tolerance threshold with desensitization. I actually took her to a pet supply store yesterday and I was able to keep her under control.

I wish there was a magic bullet to take aggression out of this dog. Would love to have one happy Pyr pack.

Thank you for the input,
Kady

[mstricer]

I have the same problem with our border collie mix, he is fine with our pit, he was their first. But all other dogs he wants to kill. We first noticed it while introducing him to Zoe, our pyr puppy. What we are doing is taking him to private dog lessons, then he will go into advanced classes with other dogs. My goal is to get him in agility to ware his butt out. Then hopefully they will all get to play together. I also want one happy pack.

[Jewel]

Originally Posted by kanhow

I wish there was a magic bullet to take aggression out of this dog. Would love to have one happy Pyr pack.

I am all for that magic bullet! But alas, I haven't found it yet...

When you say the female pyr can walk with your other dogs, can you describe that? Does she frequently look over at the other dogs as she walks? If she is, then she's not really being a part of the pack because she's in an excited state, still fixating on the other dogs. A walk like that really would not be productive.

Assuming she can indeed walk calmly with the other dogs as a pack without constantly looking over to them, then it seems there is a separate trigger that is causing her to attack when they are offleash. If she can walk together with the other dogs, what would happen if you stop and find a place to sit but keeping all the dogs on leash? Will she then immediately attack the other dogs? Have you tried tiring out the female pyr with vigorous exercise first, then take her and your male pyr on a walk together, then let them rest in the same general area but still on leash, then move to off leash?

The obedience training will help build the bond between the female pyr and her human, I would definitely continue with that. But the obedience training alone is not going to be all that effective in teaching her social skills with other dogs unless you incorporate her obedience training with socialization with other dogs. I had thought before that surely dogs that have obedience titles would be calm and well-adjusted. I've come to realize that is not always the case. It is not all that unsual to see highly trained obedience dogs to still be very dog reactive. I would keep working the obedience so that she comes as close to complying with the commands like second nature. Then work her in the presence of other dog(s) a comfortable distance way and slowly work your way closer. Anytime she reacts, move the other dog further away. It's a project of patience!

My male is insecure reactive. He reacts to dogs that stare directly at him while displaying dominance postures (head/chest high and forward, ears forward, tail upright). But he can make dog friends so long as the other dog is introduced to him properly. We have been working with him for years and he's a whole lot better now at nearly 8. To address his insecurity issue I put him in agility class to build his confidence. Agility has helped him tremendously. He's learned not all dogs are out to get him, so he needn't be so reactive. He's not perfect though, he still does not handle close quarter encounters with other dogs very well. However, he will usually give a short warning growl to announce he's not comfortable with a given situation, and I can usually either redirect or move him away to solve the issue.

[Chicag0_Red]

Originally Posted by kanhow

Good questions. Dog is aggressive with all dogs with an intent to injure. She lives with my daughter predominantly ( who is 21.) She has issues with her any time she sees a another dog.

Dog is actually fairly well trained in the sit, stay, down, come commands but loses it when she is around another dog. I totally agree about tolerance threshold with desensitization. I actually took her to a pet supply store yesterday and I was able to keep her under control.

I wish there was a magic bullet to take aggression out of this dog. Would love to have one happy Pyr pack.

Thank you for the input,
Kady

I am intrigued that you were able to keep her under control at the pet store. This indicates that the problem may not lie solely with the Pyr or at least as an aggression issue, but, may be rooted in something else ... perhaps in her trying to aggressively guard your daughter.

[mstricer]

Originally Posted by Chicag0_Red

I am intrigued that you were able to keep her under control at the pet store. This indicates that the problem may not lie solely with the Pyr or at least as an aggression issue, but, may be rooted in something else ... perhaps in her trying to aggressively guard your daughter.

I bet you are right. I think that is the problem my border collie mix, he is mainly that way around my BF. In my case my BF is not the leader, our dog barks at him when ever he enters a room that he has left. Protests being told to lay down and sit for him. For me it is Tue total opposite, I believe a dog is a dog not a human. If I look at him and snap my fingers and point to the ground, he hits the deck, even though he doesn't like me as much. Our pit mix also was growling at our pyr when BF was around, where as when I'm around them alone I can get them right next to each other and have them give kisses. I hope our doggie classes helps my BF become a leader.