need help in San Diego for aggression issue - Page 1

Does anyone  know of someone in the San Diego area who is qualified to help with a dog aggression problem? Since my son moved to SD his Shepherd has turned dog aggressive. This dog was raised with 6-8 dogs and was exposed to several foster dogs and litters and he never showed aggression before. Until this situation, I would have said he was one of the best behaved dogs that have ever passed through my doors.He used to go everywhere with my son but now he hesitates to take him with because his behavior is increasing.At this point I think they are feeding off each others energy and I need someone to give him a hand in correcting the problem. Any recommendations for local trainers/behaviorists?

true aggression can only be controlled through obedience. 

pjp

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I've had the same problem with Drake since moving, but I can pin it down to two different possibilities.  It could have been triggered by one or a combination of both.  He  never showed any signs of dog aggession before we moved.

First of all, he had a large, private, fenced yard before we moved and also three other dogs in the household.  Not only did he suddenly become the only dog in the house, but I moved to an urban area and I don't think he understands the territorial boundaries of his new environment.  His old territory was pretty much as far as he could see and here, the houses are close and there is a lot of activity going on, dogs being walked past, etc.  It could be that he saw all of this as an  invasion of his territory.

The second that I believe could have triggered the behavior was an aggessive attack by another dog and he won the fight!  Winning gave him confidence and any time a dog shows any outward sign of aggression, he's willing to go!  This is where I've had the most problems.  In particular, there's a Corgi mix, Eddie, that lives across the street and he initiates the aggression, so I'm on alert any time I take him out.   If I see Eddie being walked, I'm ready to correct him as soon as I see his ears prick and experssion change.  I can get him under control before he's in all-out "I want to kill him!" mode.  The first time it happend I wasn't prepared and it took all of my strenght to hold him back.  I had to grab the railing on the porch, because he's a lot stronger than I am and I'm not much bigger, LOL.  I might be laughing now, but it certainly wasn't funny at the time!

There have also been times that I've watched his body language and have noticed he's whining more than acting aggressive and I believe it's due to frustration because he wants to meet some other dogs, but you can't explain that to a stranger on the street, so I still do not allow it.

No matter what the cause, I've worked with him quite a bit using many different techniques and I still wouldn't trust him 100%.  But, it's my job to keep him out of trouble and that includes correction when the behavior presents itself.  He's walked on a prong collar and given the level of correction in response to his level of aggression.  He's gotten much better, but I'm always watching for the first signs and respond appropriately.  There are other techniques that I've used after getting advice, but I wouldn't begin to explain the proper way to use them.  The dog needs to be under control by some means at all times in order to ensure others' safety as well as his own.   It's a good thing you're looking for a trainer and I wish your son luck in stemming the behavior, I can feel his pain.  Let us know how it goes.

I sent you a pm,  Nan

Thanks for the pm's, I'm checking into all of them. This sounds like what GSDtravels dog went through. They moved from a large fenced yard to the city.From 6 dogs to only 1. I would like to add that this dog is impeccably obedience trained. They used to hike, canoe,camp,go frisbee golfing with friends and their dogs before they moved and now that doesn't seem possible anymore. What really sucks is that my son couldn't wait to take him to OB(dog beach)but now it's almost impossible.He dotes on my son and has always been 100% attentive and obedient to him.....until this.