Leashed Aggressive Dog? - Here's How To Stop It

One of the most common times your dog displays aggression towards other dogs is when you are out enjoying your daily walk. Lets have a look at some of the steps you can take to control your dog's on leash frustration.

Once again obedience training is the key. At the first sign of any anxious or aggressive behavior from your dog you can immediately call on an obedience command such as a down-stay to divert his/her attention. You are asking your dog to perform an alternate behavior which takes his focus and attention away from the other dog. It also changes your dogs body language to a passive, non threatening posture.

When you are in the process of eradicating on leash aggression be sure to use a suitable muzzle and do your best to avoid possible confrontations. This won't fix the problem but it's a worthwhile temporary measure.

Always be mindful that your dog is very sensitive to your energy, emotions, breathing and feelings. Therefore if you tense up and grab hold of the leash tightly at the first sign of an approaching dog, your dog will pick up on this and become anxious and stressed. This is a huge factor in most cases of on leash aggression.

You want your dog to believe that other dogs are no big deal rather than something to get worked up about. Another reason to not tighten up the leash is because this changes your dog's body language (makes your dog stand upright and tall). This can be seen by the other dogs as a show of dominance or at the very least threatening.

Teach your dog the obedience "look" command or "focused attention exercise". When taught correctly this exercise can be called upon anytime you require your dog to focus on you and off something else - such as an unfamiliar dog. Follow these steps:

As with teaching any new command start in a familiar environment to your dog, free from any distractions (don't start teaching this attention exercise when you are out and about on your walk).

This exercise is all about getting and holding the attention of your dog, so grab a handful of your dogs favorite treats and lets get started!

Step 1: With your dog on leash say "Fido" (your dogs name) "look", as soon as your dog looks up at you (gaining eye contact) praise him/her and then produce the treat from your pocket and give it. Remember to keep this sequence the same every time "Fido" look!, as soon as you gain eye contact immediately praise your dog "good boy!", then provide the treat.

Step 2 is the foundation of the exercise, get it right and then you just need to build on it and strengthen it. Add some variables to this basic exercise such as saying "Fido look!" then take a couple of steps to one side. When your dog follows you and looks up to make eye contact you praise and produce the yummy treat. Now you can lengthen the amount of time you have your dog's attention by repeating this exercise back to back. It goes like this, say "Fido look!" take a couple of steps to your right, your dog follows you and looks up into your eyes, you praise and then treat. Straight away you repeat this process (step to the left this time) and continue to do it 5 or 6 times.

Keep practicing this exercise over and over and take it to different locations and gradually add some distractions such as the presence of other dogs. This may take a while, take it slow!

When you've built a reliable "look" command in any environment, you can confidently call on it in many situations, including when other dogs are around. Eventually you will be able to fade out the treats and just rely on praise and maybe an occasional treat. In the end you'll find your dog will look to you whenever other dogs are around. Your dog will soon learn that there is no need to be anxious or to fear other dogs. You'll find that eventually your dog will actually learn to associate the presence of other dogs with something positive happening.

Another technique is to play the "find it" game. This redirects your dog's attention, breaks eye contact with any other dogs and produces non threatening body language from your dog. All you need to do is throw a treat on the ground and say "find it". Your dog will pick this game up very quickly and is sure to love it.

Always reward your dog for polite, calm greetings with unfamiliar dogs. Demonstrate to your dog that you are happy with him/her.

No Chocolate for Fido and Hide the Mistletoe!!!

Chocolate is toxic for doggies and can make them very sick. Another thing that can be bad for our doggies are Poinsettia, holly and mistletoe! Keep those plants high and the chocolate out of sight! Happy Holidays:-) ARF ARF!


"The amount and type of chocolate ingested is also important, as they are the determining factors for the severity of the toxicity. The three types of chocolate that you must be aware of are:


1.Milk Chocolate – Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.7 ounces per pound of body weight is ingested; severe toxicity occurs when two ounces per pound of body weight is ingested (or as little as one pound of milk chocolate for a 20-pound dog).

2.Semi-Sweet Chocolate – Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.3 ounce per pound of body weight is ingested; severe toxicity occurs when one ounce per pound of body weight is ingested (or as little as six ounces of semi-sweet chocolate for a 20-pound dog).

3.Baking Chocolate – This type of chocolate has the highest concentration of caffeine and theobromine. Therefore, as little as two small one-ounce squares of baking chocolate can be toxic to a 20-pound dog (or 0.3 ounce per pound of body weight)."

More on chocolate for dogs
 
Poisonous Holiday Plants

"We all like making our homes more festive for the holidays. We enjoy the green foliage and colorful flowers of plants. Unfortunately, many of the plants we have in our homes during the holidays can be poisonous to pets. If ingested, holly (leaves and berries) causes stomach upset and can be potentially fatal to both dogs and cats. Mistletoe upsets stomachs and can cause heart collapse, while hibiscus may cause diarrhea. Poinsettias have an irritating sap that can cause blistering in the mouth and stomach upset. So when you brighten up your home, place these plants well out of your dog's reach, or use imitation holiday plants."

More Holiday Safety Tips for Out Pets

How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

What a great gift to give on Christmas! Locate your animal shelter and adopt a pet for this holiday season. Bring smiles to those little ones with a furry friend;-)

Travelling with an Old Dog..Peeeeeuuuuu!!

Ever smell the breath of an old dog with rotten teeth? How about those uncontrollable releases out of the basement? If you are going on a trip, be prepared! I pack treats, bones, water and LOTS of air freshener. Old dogs seem to pant more too so the whole truck smells like rotten sewage carnage! YUCK! Don't get me wrong, I love my old boy but that doesn't mean I have to smell him:-p

"Board" er Collies Can Entertain Themselves

I swear I just love the Border Collie breed. They suit me because I too am a big goofball. Buster is 11 now and Daisy is over a year old. "Gramps" which is what we call Buster now, tolerates Daisy. Anyway, I've noticed how creative they can get when not given attention. When Buster was young, he would chase his tail, bring it to me and run around my leg with his tail in his mouth. It's hard to picture but I have video somewhere. He was on The Planet's Funniest Animals doing it.

The other thing Buster used to do is put his head in the couch. At first I thought he was looking for crumbs or something but after a few minutes of stillness, I realized me enjoyed the laughter and did it for fun. What a retarded dog right? They say Border Collies want to please their masters so in his own way, I guess he was.

Oh, I just remembered the racket ball! Buster would put the ball in his mouth and squeeze it so it would pop out real fast and hit the cabinet. Then he would try to catch it. Over and over again, he would do this and it was hilarious!

Daisy entertains herself with toys. When she goes outside, we see a flash of white run by the door and she is holding the Frisbee, teasing Buster. Too funny.

Daisy's other entertainment is the shower curtain. She bites it and barks at it. Don't ask me..she's just goofy.

My Dog is A Raging Lunatic!

Poor Buster has been afraid of thunderstorms for years. I have tried everything from comforting him to ignoring him and the only solution is to place him in his kennel. If I leave him out, he will scramble for safety and sometimes that means going behind entertainment centers and behind furniture where he can get hurt. His favorite place is the tub but that is not an option. He digs as if he is reaching out to China so he spends the time in the kennel. Many a sleepless night because of it. Since we started ignoring him altogether when he is frantic, we have noticed a difference. I guess the idea of negative attention creates the frantic dog even more. He used to run away when he heard loud noises but we stopped that too. I used to get scared and freak out, which was causing him to freak out more I guess. Now we just call him to our side softly and give him a short petting, then inside to the kennel as usual. I don't medicate him since it is hard to know when storms come but occasionally I will give him 1/2 a Benadryl which really helps.

When he was a pup I made the mistake of taking him to the fireworks. I believe this is what started the whole nightmare for him. I didn't know nearly as much about dogs then as I do now. I guess that is one of the reasons for all of my research. Daisy is one year old and she thinks it is playtime when it thunders. Again, we did that. I did not want her to end up like Buster. It is so important when they are puppies to know as much as we can in order to have an awesome dog. Dogs can live almost 20 years sometimes so it would be nice to enjoy those years with them.

Dog in Heat???

What to do what to do! Doggie panties are so expensive but nobody wants little spots all over the house. Go to the local thrift store and buy baby clothes! It is cheap and you can throw them away when your dog is done with her heat:-)