Other dogs attacking

[Marlene]

I have a question, about a month ago my dog was attacked and needed surgery, he is fine now.

Since then I have noticed dogs seem to get aggressive with him.

He is playful and does not show any signs of aggression to people or animals.

The other day I was walking him and a German Shepherd was approaching, both on leash, we were not that close and I had my dog close to me , this dog lunged at mine and had it not been for mine running and the owner pulling his dog back , it would not if been pretty.

People have told me that it's because mine is not nutured yet. He will get fixed at 1 year of age, he is 7 months now.

Does any body else experience this, I am becoming more anxious of Letting him go near dogs as I don't want him to end up with issues due to dog attacks. 

 

 

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums,

I am so sorry to hear that your dog was attacked, I am glad though to hear he is fine now. 

To answer your question, it is possible that being intact may cause other dogs to not be comfortable around him and attack. Respected dog trainer colleague Karen Fazio, has more than once mentioned that it's likely because intact males give of the scent of male, which can be considered a threat to neutered males. Basically, the culprit is the hormone testosterone, which is what gives a dog his "maleness" scent. Interestingly, when dogs reach 10 months, there's a peak in this smell as testosterone levels in the adolescent male dog may be five to seven times greater than the levels of an adult.  It could be that as he is getting closer to this age, other dogs are starting to react negatively  causing tension and even aggressive displays. 

Another possibility is that after the attack, he is appearing tense or is giving off some subtle ambivalent, conflicting body language. Maybe for us, it's not evident, but to other dogs it is. Or perhaps, it was just mere coincidence that you met this reactive German shepherd and he/she would have reacted that way to any other dog approaching regardless of sex, color, size, breed. With the recent COVID19 lockdowns, there is a surge of dogs reacting negatively to other dogs (or people) due to reduced exposure. 

[JMFS]

To add to what Adrienne said, dog parks usually have a rule that intact males and females in heat cannot enter.  The reason for that is to prevent attacks for the reasons Adrienne listed.  Is there a reason you're waiting for 1 year of age?

For the being attacked part I'll share that any time an intact male entered the dog park, we left.  This is because Momo was targeted by them.  Most people don't notice, but he gives off many signals that say, "I'm insecure, which makes me a good bet for a winning fight."  Intact males always tried to mount him and they would follow him everywhere to do so.  It was not playful mounting (which some dogs do - they tend to switch who's mounting who as part of their play).  This is because Mo wants to be top dog, but he lacks the confidence to pull it off.  Other dogs sense that, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that your little guy is having a self esteem / confidence issue as a result of that attack.

One thing Mo will do is puff up to make himself bigger and that alone may be enough to make other dogs think twice.  Where he goes wrong is pushing against me and tensing up while he's doing it.  That's telling other dogs he's not entirely sure of his bravado.  Momo also lacks a tail, which is a Huge communication device amongst the canine world.  They can't tell if it's wagging, and if it is, whether it's hoisted high and proud or if it's sweeping low and defensive.  As a result there are likely a Lot of confusing signals coming from Mo. 

Think of it this way: what do humans do when we can't understand someone who's speaking a different language and giving off weird body language?  Well, we may ignore or avoid while the lesser amongst us may bully or attack.  A select few of us may be understanding and try to communicate, but I'd say the majority fall into one of the two other camps.  That could be what's happening with your pup. 

There was another post here that I'll try to find (I have to wrap up and get to work now) about another pooch who was attacked and who needed stitches.  There is good advice there on how to help rebuild confidence in a pup who's been on the losing end of an argument.

Oh, another thing to consider is whether that German Shepherd was intact.  Two intact males can spell disaster, or (and Adrienne can correct me here if I'm wrong) I think a female in heat who picks up on an intact male with a confidence issue may be inclined to have a go at him.  Dogs are so simple, yet so very complex!

[Marlene]

Hi thanks for your input.

I'm not sure if the other dog was male/female or intact.

Even though my pup was attacked he hasn't been scared of other dogs that I can see, although im not a professional.

Generally he is quite confident, I teach him alot of impulse and play lots of games. He is quite intelligent. 

That might be a proud mum speaking.

I'm told a dog that is mentally stimulated has more confidence. 

Also the vet suggested I wait 10 -.12 months before desexing as it helps with issues with hips, cancer later in life

[Marlene]

On 8/16/2020 at 6:47 PM, Adrienne said:

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums,

I am so sorry to hear that your dog was attacked, I am glad though to hear he is fine now. 

To answer your question, it is possible that being intact may cause other dogs to not be comfortable around him and attack. Respected dog trainer colleague Karen Fazio, has more than once mentioned that it's likely because intact males give of the scent of male, which can be considered a threat to neutered males. Basically, the culprit is the hormone testosterone, which is what gives a dog his "maleness" scent. Interestingly, when dogs reach 10 months, there's a peak in this smell as testosterone levels in the adolescent male dog may be five to seven times greater than the levels of an adult.  It could be that as he is getting closer to this age, other dogs are starting to react negatively  causing tension and even aggressive displays. 

Another possibility is that after the attack, he is appearing tense or is giving off some subtle ambivalent, conflicting body language. Maybe for us, it's not evident, but to other dogs it is. Or perhaps, it was just mere coincidence that you met this reactive German shepherd and he/she would have reacted that way to any other dog approaching regardless of sex, color, size, breed. With the recent COVID19 lockdowns, there is a surge of dogs reacting negatively to other dogs (or people) due to reduced exposure. 

What do you suggest I do in the mean time, whilst waiting to have him fixed.

 

[JMFS]

Thank you for the explanation about the neutering - that's interesting information!  In the States any dog adopted from a shelter will be fixed before they're sent home, and most breeders will do the same. 

Here's one for helping overcome fear after being attacked.  Not exactly applicable in your situation because you're reporting he's not showing any signs of trauma, but something in here may help:

And another post that may have tidbits of info for you:

The thing I would find most useful is the emergency turn around.  That's where you suddenly change direction and walk the other way.  Useful for if your dog is about to approach something you don't want him to get to (maybe someone dropped their sandwich on the ground, for example) or if you notice something that may be an issue (an aggressive acting dog perhaps).  I use this when we're approaching something that gets Momo excited.  I use the turn around several times as we inch our way closer.  Each time he starts pulling on the leash I turn him around.  Eventually (ever-so-frustratingly-eventually!) he'll get to a calm enough state of mind for us to progress.

Another suggestion is hyper vigilance in reading other dogs' body language.  You don't want to be tense and distrusting of every dog because yours will pick up on that, but instead aware and confident.  When it's thundering our senior dog comes to me instead of her favorite person (my husband) because I'm calm and confident and that's what she needs in that moment.  My husband isn't what you'd call a quivering mass of fear, but he gets anxious about her being anxious and they feed off one another.

Management would be a good tool - walking him at times when there are less dogs out and about.  Or, if you know certain dogs are going to be on your route, go 15 minutes earlier or later than the time you usually see them.  Failing that you could walk on the opposite side of the road from them - distance from triggers (whether your dog's or another dog's) is a great tool.

[Adrienne]

Jennifer provided you with great management suggestions! The guide to train the emergency exit can be found here: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/

I would suggest adding a twist and making it a fun and rewarding activity so that you dog comes to form positive associations upon spotting dogs. Sort of like "oh, a dog! Now we turn around quick and I get fed some tasty treats as we walk away!." This can also help you stay focused on the task rather than tensing up and thinking "Oh-uh!" Practice this a lot at home before moving on to walks and and on walks practice with  dogs in *safe* situations first at a far distance.

Another option is training your dog to stay behind you when a dog approaches fast leaving you a bit unprepared. Simply drop treats behind you and stand up tall in front of the approaching dog and tell the owner to please give space and get control over his/her dog. To make this behavior fluent you can practice in *safe* situations at a far distance. 

I always like to have a back--up plan (or several) if worse comes to worse, and a dog ends up coming fast your way and you are caught unprepared. You can carry a pop-up umbrella to block any lunging dogs. I personally like to carry with me a can of Spray Shield, which is a citronella spray designed by a dog trainer that is meant to be sprayed from a decent distance.