My dog is homicidal, HELP!!!

[Soushi]

I recently adopted a young dog (1.75 years) named Storm. He is a great dog for the most part, with one VERY large exception, when he gets around other dogs he goes banana loopy. He is ferocious towards other dogs, instantly trying to fight and bit, and this applies to any size or breed of dog and any size pack (today he went after a collie, two labs, a greyhound/German Sheppard, a Dachshund and a big Sheep dog all at the same time).

Thankfully he is small enough that i can easily pull him along or even pick him up if necessary (he is a small-medium dog, a Spitz Pappilion mix we think). However, i am worried that one day he will pick a fight with a dog that will hurt or kill him, or that he will seriously hurt or kill someone else's dog. He is my first dog and I am in the process of looking up literature to help me correct his behavior, but so far all i have gotten is a couple of useless tricks that so far haven't worked (the whole using my hand to mimic a correcting bite, getting him to sit or lay down, covering his eyes, having one word that is his 'bad dog' word, nothing has worked). He listens to me 99 percent of the time, but when it comes to other dogs its like he changes into a totally different animal.

He is a rescue, so that may explain some of his behavior, but it still isn't acceptable. the weird thing is that he gentle around almost every other kind of animal. Cats, people, mice, birds, he will play with them for a while but he will never hurt them.

Either way, i need to figure out how to change his behavior around other dogs. He is going to hurt himself or someone else eventually. I have even overheard some of the people in my neighborhood saying that they think i abuse him because of his behavior and people now avoid our house. Things simply can't stay the way they are and i need all the help i can get. Any advice would be fantastic and much appreciated.

Thanks again

Ready.... GO!!!

 

[gigastrike]

He sees himself as an alpha-male, and is asserting his dominance over other dogs. Some dogs are just like that. I'd assume that if you could make him see you as the alpha male, he'd follow your lead and be less aggresive.

 

[Ossifer]

Try getting him really tired and then exposing him to another dog? My dog had a problem sort of like this, and exhausting him helped. You could go somewhere isolated for a super long walk, then come back through a more populated area when the dog is tired.

Good luck.

 

[Trent Kama]

You may want to get him a muzzle for when he's out in public, as well. Not a dog expert, but that'd prevent him from biting other dogs, or people.

Good luck!

 

[Soushi]

Try getting him really tired and then exposing him to another dog? My dog had a problem sort of like this, and exhausting him helped. You could go somewhere isolated for a super long walk, then come back through a more populated area when the dog is tired.

Good luck.

I haven't tried that yet, might be a good idea. Thanks you, i will try that tomorrow.

 

[Soushi]

Kidding. I've never experienced the problem, although everybody freaks the fuck out because my dog's a pitbull. I've had a girl I'd been dating for a year or so refuse to step into my house because she asked what breed my dog was as she walked up to the house. My pup is at least 16 now, and still has the mentality of a puppy. I had to drag my girlfriend up to my house, open the door and hold her there while I called Spot out to meet her. The whole "pitbulls are THE FUCKING DEVIL AND WILL MURDERRAPE YOU" assumption gets old.

Yeah, I'm from fuck mothering Ontario, so Pit-bulls are actually illegal now. To be fair, they do get used by the lower end of society quiet a lot because of their potentially ferocious nature and ability to fight. However, if that was really the concern, rather than just a knee jerk reaction by totally twits, you would think that there would be a lot more stuff banned. I've known a few pit bulls and they are great dogs.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Honestly i'd suggest asking a professional like a veternarian or the people at the local rescue for advice on how to control the situation. There are also publications you could seek out and Google is always a friend.

I'm certainly not going to mock you for asking for help, because hey! Asking for help is a good thing! This is kind of an odd place to do it though. Still, because it's a dog and not a human (which I could care less about) i'm actually interested in how this turns out so i'll let you know if I come across anything. Keep us posted.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

My dog used to do that, I'm not sure how we stopped him from doing that.

Considering he's tame against you, here's what I think we did:

1. Pull him back sharply and unexpectedly while he's doing the act
2. Force his head on the ground while clamping his mouth shut with your hand and shouting at him not to do it
3. Keep him on the ground until he stops acting hostile (meaning growls, bearing teeth, etc), then release him.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

I had a corgi who did that. I got rid of him. Gave him to a sheep hoarder.

 

[emeraldrafael]

my dad always told me that you should hold a dog's snout and put your teeth on it like you'll bite it to show dominance on a dog. that or its forhead. I dont know how wellt hat works though.

the only hting I can say is, I had a former dog fighting dog when I was younger. a big ass fucking lab mix who had scars all over him. thing was a beast, cause it just fought anyhting it saw. like, it would murder us in our sleep. So to teach it dominance, we let it charge us and then we gave it a knee tot he chest. brought the dog down, and showed we were the alpha males. never had a problem with him after. he'd still look agressive, though eventually he mellowed out unless he felt threatened, but any time he looked like he would get agressive, either I, or my unlce, or grandfather would shout at him to quiet and he would sit and stop growing.

 

[StBishop]

I recently adopted a young dog (1.75 years) named Storm. He is a great dog for the most part, with one VERY large exception, when he gets around other dogs he goes banana loopy. He is ferocious towards other dogs, instantly trying to fight and bit, and this applies to any size or breed of dog and any size pack (today he went after a collie, two labs, a greyhound/German Sheppard, a Dachshund and a big Sheep dog all at the same time).

Thankfully he is small enough that i can easily pull him along or even pick him up if necessary (he is a small-medium dog, a Spitz Pappilion mix we think). However, i am worried that one day he will pick a fight with a dog that will hurt or kill him, or that he will seriously hurt or kill someone else's dog. He is my first dog and I am in the process of looking up literature to help me correct his behavior, but so far all i have gotten is a couple of useless tricks that so far haven't worked (the whole using my hand to mimic a correcting bite, getting him to sit or lay down, covering his eyes, having one word that is his 'bad dog' word, nothing has worked). He listens to me 99 percent of the time, but when it comes to other dogs its like he changes into a totally different animal.

He is a rescue, so that may explain some of his behavior, but it still isn't acceptable. the weird thing is that he gentle around almost every other kind of animal. Cats, people, mice, birds, he will play with them for a while but he will never hurt them.

Either way, i need to figure out how to change his behavior around other dogs. He is going to hurt himself or someone else eventually. I have even overheard some of the people in my neighborhood saying that they think i abuse him because of his behavior and people now avoid our house. Things simply can't stay the way they are and i need all the help i can get. Any advice would be fantastic and much appreciated.

Thanks again

Ready.... GO!!!

Contact a vet. If you have a "problem pets" show in your country like "Bondi Vet" or "Harry's Practice" in Australia, contact them.

I suggest trying to ease him into the idea of other dogs, maybe put him in a room, with a dog who won't bark at him or anything on the other side of a closed door.

He will smell it and know it's there but won't be able to do anything about it.

Maybe try going to a mates place and playing with their dog and come home smelling like both you (who he loves) and a different dog. Perhaps if he understands that you are fine with other dogs it'll help him get over it.

On the other hand, he's a dog. Dog's don't give a shit about fuck. They love you and they'll protect you, but if they really want to do something, they'll do it.

 

[bruggs]

Good advice given so far. All I can add is that he's technically not homicidal, since that would mean he kills humans.

Yes, it makes me a twat to point that out, but hey, I'm sure somebody will find it interesting maybe.

 

[Raggedstar]

This sounds like dog aggression and/or perhaps some socialization issues. I'm surprised no one warned you of this. If you want to correct it, best thing to do is to go to a trainer (not a vet unless he has something to show for it. Vets aren't usually trained in that area of behaviour unless they go for extra schooling. I'm a vet tech student and we perhaps got more than most typical vets do). Even though you're not dealing with a large dog with the capacity to be a big threat (like a Rottie or Shepherd), you don't want to be hurt and you don't want to put any other dogs or people at risk. Not to mention a book won't cater to you and your dog's special needs. Not every dog is a textbook case of such-and-such. I'm not a trainer and even though I know (in theory) a few methods that could "fix" some forms of aggression, I don't trust my own observations above a professional.

Some of these suggestions are kind of scaring me. Dominance =/= aggression (there are many other types of aggression, like human, dog, fear, leash, redirected, territory/possession, etc, and mixing and matching of the types) and many of the whole "alpha dog/wolf" theories have been busted. Holding down or grabbing the head or muzzle is a move that could get you bitten with redirection if you're not careful (and if you're bitten, that could mean trouble for your dog as well as you). Dealing with aggressive animals can be serious if the right situation happens.

 

[jumjalalabash]

Watch Dog Whisperer then repeat on your dog

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I had a corgi who did that. I got rid of him. Gave him to a sheep hoarder.

It's pronounced herder.

 

[Raggedstar]

Watch Dog Whisperer then repeat on your dog

*siren goes off*

Regardless of my opinions on that guy, there is a warning that says "Don't do this at home". They say that for good reason judging by how many times he gets bitten even on camera.

 

[Lilani]

Sounds like he's undersocialized. Take him to a trainer or doggy camp or whatever so they can get him used to being around other dogs.

 

[cameron196789]

My father had a dog like that when he was young, he said it would pick fights even though the dog was smaller then the others and would even try to take on two dogs at once. I do not think they ever did anything to stop that habit, eventually the dog got beaten a couple times and learned it could not win and just stopped.