New aggression towards dogs

[cbass]

Hello all - we are new here! I've found all the information on these boards very useful but this is my first post.

We adopted Betty, a 3 year-old girl, about 4 and a half months ago. At first she was not reactive to other dogs - she mainly ignored them and would tolerate some sniffing, occasionally showing some interest. Probably around 3 months in she started becoming a bit aggressive towards other dogs at random - most often small bouncy off lead dogs would wind her up and she might growl or bark. About a month ago we visited a friend with a staffie. Betty bullied the staffie, following her aggressively, standing over her barking. We were there the whole day and by the end Betty was allowing the other dog to share her mat and they relaxed together. I felt hopeful!

However, she has now graduated to full blown growling, snapping and lunging at any dog including greyhounds (not always but when she is in a 'frisky' mood which I can usually tell from the beginning of the walk). They do not have to approach her in any way. Earlier this week she was walking well and I happened to look in the other direction for a second and miss a small dog walking on the other side of a woman walking towards us. She lunged across the woman towards the dog, nearly knocking her over. This morning we walked past a calm, still greyhound gently wagging his tail and she went for him. Next up a spaniel off lead was trying to say hello from the other side of some railings (luckily for him). I can just about control her but she is a big dog and I felt at that point it was better to come home.

Betty is my first dog and I'm feeling a bit out of my depth! From what I've read this could be fear aggression and she is becoming more comfortable so is acting on it now. Does this fit with her pattern of behaviour? I have been trying to distract her with treats which seems to work quite well most of the time (forgotten this morning). Will this calm things down in the long run? At the moment I feel quite anxious about going on a hound walk and ruining it for everyone else! At home she is a laid back dream and has settled well. We are struggling with separation anxiety but working hard on this. Sorry for big long post! Any advice welcome. Thanks!

[lurcherlot]

Welcome to the forum
I have a lurcher who behaved in a very similar manner, now she just shouts at other dogs, and only goes off-lead in secure fields! One thing, if you don't already do so, you must muzzle Betty, so that both her and any other dog that she lunges at are safe. She may be trying to protect you, but whatever her reason, it's unacceptable behaviour, so I would keep on with distracting her with treats and teach her to 'watch' you.
Hopefully somebody may have better suggestions that would help - all dogs respond differently.

[cbass]

Thanks lurcherlot! We have reluctantly gone back to the muzzle to keep everyone safe and she is never off lead. My partner feels she is trying to protect us/is jealous as she doesn't appear afraid, more like she's enjoying it to be honest! I'm not sure if understanding the behaviour will help us to treat it but I would like to. Hopefully she will get to be like your lurcher - I can cope with shouting

[gvgeam]

Contact a good behaviourist who will be able to work with you in a reward based way.

Her behaviour could be due to her feeling unsure of the world around her and so her 'aggression' is how she deals with it. It has only recently started because she is relaxing into her home. I'm assuming she's a rescued racing dog, so her experiences of anything are very limited. She will only have seen other greyhounds and the kennels.

In the meantime, make sure she is muzzled, use a harness or headcollar with a double ended lead attached to her collar. This will give you more control. Initially stop walking her for a few days to stop her senses being flooded. Then walk her on one route for at least 2-3 weeks and keep monitoring her reactions. Try and avoid walking where there are lots of other dogs, especially off lead loonies. Keep the lead short and put yourself between her and the other dog and keep walking. Use squeezy cheese, through the muzzle, to keep her attention on you.

[cbass]

Hi gvgeam, thanks for your advice (I did respond earlier but I think I must not have been logged in so it hasn't posted!). You are right - she is a rescued racing dog. We are now a week in to walking one route on the pavement and avoiding the park and any dogs coming our way. Things seem to be going well. It's hard to know if it's helping yet as we haven't been close enough to other dogs yet but fingers crossed. She loves the squeezy cheese

[gvgeam]

Good to hear!

Persistence is key and it's not a quick 'fix'. The more confident you are with her though, the more confidence she'll have in you.