Dog aggression- what has worked for you? - Page 1

My son and daughter-in-law have a Border Collie named Jet that they adopted a year and a half ago. The dog is great with adults, kids and babies. He is a very happy, playful, outgoing, confident dog with humans. Unfortunately he has dog aggression issues- he is very defensive. He feels very threatened by almost any dog that approaches him, usually for reasons we can't determine- even a very gentle submissive small dog. If a dog approaches him that he feels threatened by, at first he will freeze, then bare his teeth and if the dog doesn't walk away he will lash out to try and bite. If he sees another dog from a distance he will not go after it or seek to fight with it and actually he'll avoid it. My son and his wife have worked with a trainer and it didn't seem to help even though my son and his wife followed the directions and advice. Giving very harsh corrections with the prong collar seemed to make him worse. They also tried the Leerburg dominate dog collar. The trainer gave up. My son and his wife have stopped taking Jet out where there may be other dogs.

Some more info: We pet sit for Jet quite a bit and at first he would snarl at our Shiloh Shepherd, Josey, if he just came near Jet. Our Shiloh is not dominate at all and he's very laid back, so he'll just walk away.  Things have greatly improved, but I NEVER leave them in the same room without supervision and am always on guard, so we've never had a real problem.  One time Jet even tried to play with our Shiloh and when Josey reciprocated, Jet bared his teeth and growled, which of course surprised Josey. We now avoid a situation where Jet might try to insight play- he can't be trusted. Strangely, Jet is not threatened by my spayed GSD female, Shelby, who is dog dominate (no aggression at all). Shelby and my sister's Border Collie (very submissive with humans and dogs) are the only dogs Jet seems to consistently get along with.  Even though Jet seems ok with Shelby and my sister's dog we never let him  play with them because he is too unpredictable. I also want to mention that I take all the dogs for long walks together a lot and I have no problem. It's usually the face to face that triggers Jet's fear and aggression. I always thought the socialization with our well-balanced dogs would help Jet with his fear overall, but it hasn't. Yes, he is much better with our dogs, but he is still very much afraid of other dogs. I should mention also I've seen dog dominate behavior in Jet. Example: The other day I was brushing our female while she was lying on the floor and Jet came over and sat down on her- literally.  He displays other dog dominate behavior as well. Of course, I never let him get away with his inappropriate behaviors and neither does my son or his wife. I am sorry this is so long and detailed, but I thought the more info I provided the better.  

The reason my son and his wife want to try and work with Jet is they want to to get him certified as a therapy dog because he is awesome with people, but he won't pass the test as long as he is aggressive towards other dogs. For the certification process another dog and handler team must walk up to the handler and dog team being tested and the dog can't show any aggression toward the other dog. For Jet this is the most threatening situation possible- for another dog to approach him.  

Does anyone have any constructive thoughts or suggestions? What has worked for you?

Star,
I'm going to PM you with an effective alternative technique for this dog.

Jim

Hey Jim, Thank you SO much! I am very encouraged that there is something we can try that has been proven successful with others!
Char

Starrchar,
Your welcome! 
Keep in mind that this has to be coupled with serious OB training.  Since it is a Border Collie I would concentrate on high energy, focused Ob with a toy for a reward.  When they get closer to the temperament test let me know and I have a few other suggestions.

Jim

Slamdunc,
I would love to hear what your technique is. I had a sheltie/hound mix with this same issue. He had to go to another home without other dogs as he was unreliable and could not be trusted. PM me with your solution. in case I ever have this sitution again.

Lorelei

Itsgsd,
PM sent.

Jim

Jim I would love to hear any tips too, please send me info too!!
Thanks!
Amy