Dogs fights when they are on leash

[NicoleChan]

Hey Adrienne, 

I have 2 male Rottweilers and they are in good terms when they are not on leash or being tied. When they are not on leash, they can share toys, sleep and eat treats together. They occasionally growl at each other but it won’t turn into a fight.  The real horror begins when they are on leash or tied or one of them is in the crate then they will start fighting. It’s difficult to try to tie them up when there are guest or when I want to bring them for a walk. As they will start attacking each other once you tied the other dog. 😭

[Adrienne]

Hi Nicole!

Welcome back! In your last post of about a year ago, you had one Rottweiler puppy, and now I read you have two, congrats on your new addition!

How old is your new Rottweiler?

When you say " The real horror begins when they are on leash" does that mean that you are taking both together on walks, meaning you are walking both dogs yourself? If so, when does the fighting occur? Right when they are leashed together, or when they see something like another dog or something exciting going on during the walk?

And when "one of them is in the crate and they start fighting" is the one in he crate with the door closed and the other is coming nearby?

And finally when you "try to tie them up when there are guests" can you explain more in detail what you are doing? Are you putting them both on leash? Are you tethering them?  How are they tied up?

Thanks for the extra details.

 

 

 

[NicoleChan]

One of the male Rottweiler is 15 months and another is 12 months. I adopted the male at 6 months as the previous owner want to get rid of him. 

1. The real horror begins when they are on leash" does that mean that you are taking both together on walks, meaning you are walking both dogs yourself? If so, when does the fighting occur? Right when they are leashed together, or when they see something like another dog or something exciting going on during the walk?

Answer: right when one of them are leashed or tied then the other one will come to initiate fight. 
 

2. one of them is in the crate and they start fighting" is the one in he crate with the door closed and the other is coming nearby?

Answer: yes you are absolutely right

3. try to tie them up when there are guests" can you explain more in detail what you are doing? Are you putting them both on leash? Are you tethering them?  How are they tied up?
 

Answer: for eg, when I am trying to tie one of them up before tying the another. I use metal chain to tie the dog to the tree. Once one is tied the other one will come to initiate fight. 
 

 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the details!

So it sounds like one dog in  particular will proceed to attack your other dog specifically when this other dog is put on leash, placed in a crate or tied up. Let's call this particular dog who goes into attack mode,  "the instigator." 

 If the fights occur only in these specific circumstances, we have power over this behavior since we can take steps to manage the situation. 

So management-wise you can do the following:

-Have the instigator crated (give some tasty treat when crated) before the other one is crated so that he cannot go initiate fights

-Have the instigator tied up (give some tasty treat when tied up) before the other one is tied up  so that he cannot initiate the fights 

-Have the instigator on leash with a helper/family member at a safe distance or outside, before you go put a leash on your other dog.

-Take both dogs on separate walks or have a helper/family member walk one dog while you walk the other one at a distance from each other

These are management strategies based on the assumption that one dog in particular is always the one initiating the fights. If they both tend to fight in this same way, then your best bet is to have them separated to avoid the fights from erupting.

Of course, this is just management. To work on this behavior you would need a mix of training and behavior modification, which needs to be carried out under the guidance of a behavior professional for safety and correct implementation.

The goal of behavior modification is changing the dog's emotional response to the trigger by training an alternate behavior to engage in. This is done through a desensitization and counterconditioning program and can also involve some elements of differential reinforcement of alternate behaviors, and it is a rather complex process requiring observing dogs carefully to recognize early signs of stress to prevent pushing too close to their limits, making various judgement calls as to how quickly to increase criteria, implementing safety measure (muzzles, tethers, leashes, having plans in place should a fight erupt etc.) I will just post a couple of examples of this work, but every case requires a different, individualized approach based on a careful in-person assessment. 

For example, one may  train the instigator to engage in an alternate behavior that will be rewarding enough to surpass his desire to initiate these fights. One helpful behavior could be training him to respond to a smacking sound. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ In other words, the smacking sounds means "come to me for a tasty treat."

The goal is to get the instigator dog into a "thinking state" rather than a reactive state, so one can lower those arousal levels to a good extent.

It goes without saying, that in order to get the instigator dog to be in such a responsive state one would need to practice very diligently to obtain a fluent response. If the instigator dog isn't responsive to this cue in the absence of the other dog, then there is little chance that he will respond obediently when in presence of the other dog and when facing his triggers. 

So the training would go something like this: the instigator is trained to respond to a smacking sound where he will be receive tasty rewards. This is initially done without the other dog present. Then, once obtained a fluent response, one can practice having him responding to the smacking sound with the other dog present at a distance. Once obtained a fluent response with that, one would increase criteria and have the instigator on leash at a distance from which the instigator can see him but without being reactive, and the helper would put the leash on the other dog as the instigator is prompted several times to respond to the smacking sound for the duration of the leash-putting on behavior.  

Several repetitions of this set-up this can be done, where the helper removes the leash on the other dog and one would stop feeding the instigator treats, and then when the helper puts the leash on again, treat delivery starts again, in an open/bar closed/bar fashion. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/ The helper can also occasionally deliver treats to the other dog having the leash put on to keep him motivated and happy. 

The goal is to obtain what's known as a conditioned emotional response where the instigator looks forward to the helper putting the leash on the other dog because he has associated this action with getting treats. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

After several reps, criteria can be further increased then by decreasing distance building up to the point where the instigator can happily watch the helper put the leash on the other dog. If at any time there is a setback, that is sign that the process has been going too fast causing the instigator to go over threshold. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

The same exercise can be done with closing the other dog in the crate. Helper puts the other dog in the crate, the smacking sound is made and instigator receives treats. Helper gets the other dog out of the crate no more treats. This is rinsed and repeated many times to make it clear that the instigator gets treats contingent upon the other dog being put in the crate. 

Another option is to train the instigator dog to go his mat when the leash is put on the other dog, the other dog is tied up or when the other dog is crated. Once again, this going to the mat behavior must become fluent enough prior to being exposed to the other dog and then the behavior is asked in presence of the other dog, and then in the presence of the other dog being leashed or placed in the crate. The instigator may be given a longer lasting edible when on the mat to help him stay there and the dog placed in the crate or tied up can receive something as well once crated/tied up. 

This is the guide for mat training:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

The instigator should be prevented from approaching the other dog once crated or tied up and therefore he should be as well quickly crated/tied up to prevent him from failing and making a bad decision. 

I hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne 

Disclaimer: If your dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others

[NicoleChan]

Hey Adrienne, 

I have tried your method of giving them raw chicken bones when I want to leash them and it work wonders. They didn’t fight when I tied them. Thanks a lot. 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the update, keep up the positive associations!

Best,

Adrienne