8 year old dog acting up, what to do? - Page 1

Hello forum.
I read the database forum everyday and some of you have some very good insight. So I would love to get your prespective on my situation.

I have a 8 year old Labrador Retriever.

He used to be a very easy going dog, castrated at 2 years old but never took nothing from no one, he never started anything but he always gave it his best if a dog attacked him. 
He constantly tries to hump my moms dog (a small bc mix), but that behaviour is never allowed when I'm around, this is also his "thing" when meeting new unthreating dogs, he will try and mount them... 

But for the past year or so, this overall nice dog has been becoming worse and worse in behaviour towards other dogs WHEN ON LEASH. 
If we see other dogs, he will go up on his hind legs and just go crazy, barking, crying, growling.
This behaviour is very annoying, if I have treats I can distract him and if I see the other dog from a distance I can give him the command to platz and he will not move. 

What is your take on this? Offcourse it's hard to help over the internet, as there are many factors that play a role in this mood change.
I have a few trainer friends and they all tell me to relax and not overthink it.. I've so far played it off as dimensia ;) He is turning 9 in August. 

(when off leash, he will do his stiff dance with the other dog, but no barking, crying nor growling takes place, expect when they play)

I also know you guys like to tear the newbies like myself a fresh one with sarcasm, but please refrain from it as I'm not a trainer by any means, he is my first dog and I wish to do right by him and myself. 

IMHO I think he is trying to dominate the other dog. Sometimes it is not always about mating. If he is seeing the other dog and he looks like he is thinking about it then don't treat him because you might be reinforcing the behavour. I can tell by my dogs body language what he is thinking. I think dogs do all of  their conversations through body language to each other. Also look and see what the other dog is saying to him by the tail and body. That might also set him off. These are just my opinions and I train my dogs using them.  Good Luck

Leashes tend to escalate aggression towards other dogs.

There are several ways of tackling this. The two I would try would be to work on his attention and focus WITHOUT distractions. Use treats, if you're okay with that, or a toy. Get him doing the sort of focused heeling you see in Schutzhund competitions, where his head is turned towards you, and his eyes glued on you at all times.

Then, start adding the distraction of another dog, first at a distance. Turn and go the other way as soon as he starts to react. Praise him for calming down, and getting his focus back on you. Gradually you should be able to get closer to the other dog without him reacting.

The other was was something i saw on Cesar this week. He had a dog that would jump up and down, and grab and bite the leash and the owner's hands when he saw another person or dog. Having him stop and sit didn't work. What DID work was to keep him moving forward at a very fast pace, then he didn't have time to react. Cesar did this first by having him heel beside his bicycle.

So, there's two suggestions. Don't make him down or sit: that obviously isn't working.

I'm sure other members can come up with more!

I really appreciate your input. Thanks a lot.
We've had trouble with focus. I did some faulty things in his upbringing, got him as a rescue at the age of 2 and before I got him, 4 previous owners sure did a hell of a job messing him up.
I was his 5th owner. 

We get along great and I love him to pieces, but this newfound behaviour is neither good for him nor me as a owner. He is a big black dog and I don't want him scaring of walkers and their dogs.
The leash is the definite trigger, I've tried ignoring the behaviour and walking ahead briskly, sometimes that works, sometimes it dosen't.

Most of the time I simply avoid situations where this is a problem, I walk off road when I see a dog, because although I can read my dog ok, most owners here don't, so I might have a loose dog coming up to me and my angry Lab wanting to cause problem, or my favorite type of owner : Oh let's let them meet, tight in their leashes with tension running high.
I usally walk away. 

After giving it some thought I think I will seek a trainer outside my group of friends to get another perspective on things :)

But keep the ideas coming.

Best of thanks 

What puzzles me Escobar is how an easy overall lab as you described above when you got him at age 2 changed to become more aggressive towards other dogs at age 7 yrs old.  He is 8 yrs old now right?  Something must have triggerred his behaviour.  Have I missed something?

A lot of things have happened over these past years and this behaviour started after he was in a kennel for 4 weeks.
To my knowledge he did not socialise with any other dogs at that time, but afterwards he became a bit more stressed.

It dosen't have any affect on him in my home, he still is very cool and off leash no problem, but on leash is the trigger.

He stayed with my mother for 2 months prior to the kenneling and my mother is anything but a strong leader to him and I'm afraid he might have taken up this behaviour to, I dunno, protect her? Or maybe just got nervous for the both of them and that was his move.

He is a lovely dog, really and this is my only issue, or my only issue that I think needs a bit of work on, rest are just fun characteristcs like yesterday I had my sisters over and he was overly excited to see them all, so he knocked over a lit candle, blew it out with his tail and put candle wax all over my walls and owens, goofy guy

Can you spot the dog? 

 "this behaviour started after he was in a kennel for 4 weeks.
To my knowledge he did not socialise with any other dogs at that time, but afterwards he became a bit more stressed."


Ding-ding-ding!  I believe we have a winner, Alex.  Odds are that the was at least one dog kenneled alongside him that put on aggressive displays through the fencing, and possibly even one or more dogs that took a lunge at him while they were being walked past his kennel as they were being checked in or picked up by their owners...  Your dog probably found it very frustrating to have a barrier between himself and the dog that was being rude, as nothing got settled.  Now he's on the defensive--he's making HIS statement before the other dog gets a chance to start posturing to him. 

Sunsilver's suggestion is dead-on--start working on teaching him to give you full focus, first WITHOUT any distractions, using something he'd rob a bank to get (that will vary according to each dog. For some, it's thumbnail-sized bits of string cheese or boiled chicken; for others, it's a tug-toy. You'll find his through trial and error if you don't already know what it is).  Restrict his access to that something he'd rob a bank for to ONLY when you're training, and reward him when he gives you full focus--if you think you have good enough timing, you can pair the 'loot' with a clicker, which may help you wean away from always using the loot (it will be a while before you get there, though).  Once you consistently have his focus, you can start adding the distractions--go places where you know dogs will eventually start showing up, get there before the other dogs would be arriving (places like the parking lot of a Petco or PetSmart are a good spot) so you'll be ready before the first dog appears...  If you know somebody with a dog that's rock-solid non-reactive to other dogs, no matter what, that would be a good dog to work with, too--but it has to be a dog that is just like STONE when another dog acts out toward or around them, or else it won't be of any help.

It took him 4 weeks to learn this, so it's going to take at least that long to extinguish the behavior, but you'll probably be able to get him to at least ignore other dogs if they aren't being rude to him.

[Edited to add--

PS--he's quite the master of camouflage! 

Hexe, I agree 100% with what you said! As a matter of fact, I was planning to post and say I thought it was his experience in the kennel that caused him to act this way, but you beat me to it!

A friend's dog had a similar thing happen to it when he was in a training class with another dog that constantly kept lunging at him. He became very reactive to other large dogs.

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate your help :)
I own a clicker, but have been reluctant to use it, because the timeing is so cruicial, and I don't know the correct timeing.

I really hadn't realised that part about a dog being rude towards him, he was in quarintine so I know he did not meet any other dogs.

He is the happiest when he is working, and we did a seminar in avalance rescue a few years back and he did great, now we are on a waiting list for a tracking class, can't wait, as soon as I start training him, we do a lot better together.

I thank you again for your views on this trouble, I will let you guys know how we get on.

And who dosen't love photos? Here he is playing with his former room mates.

I would get a pinch collar, teach him the heel, if you are walking and you see another dog ignore it, if he starts to act up, check him say leave it and keep walking.  Make sure you aren't tightening up on the leash in anticipation of him acting out, that will compound the problem.  When he walks past the dog and dosen't acknowledge it tell him his a good boy and keep walking.