Although I don’t have many of the problems with my wonderful dog that you talk about — I do have the problem that he has not been socialized with other dogs and thus shows dog aggression towards other dogs that come into our yard. Not quite sure where to start.
I want to be able to take him anywhere with me and not be afraid that he will invade some other dog’s space. He listens to me quite well — except when very excited, this we are working on now.
Thanks again so very much,
– Diane.
Adam replies:
Diane, I would recommend that you do not allow your dog to interact with strange dogs that you do not know because of the risk of dog aggression. Nor would I allow other dogs to approach my dog. Especially by wandering into my yard. This is your dog’s territory and it is not unusual for an owner to see dog aggression when another dog is wandering into the territory.
This is viewed by the dog as an invasion. Now, assuming that you’re at this point, the sigue now becomes: Is your dog showing aggresion towards other dogs, even when the other dogs are off in the distance? If the answer is yes, then I can almost guarantee that you’re not giving your dog a meaningful correction.
Make sure the pinch collar is fitted correctly and that you’re getting snack in your leash when you’re tugging on it. If your correction isn’t firm enough to even break your dog’s focus on the other dog, then you’ll know that your corrections are meaningless.