How to Train Your Dog to Not Attack Other Dogs

Hello Justin, Check out Thomas Davis from the Canine Educator, Jeff Gellman from solidk9training, and Sean O'Shea from the Good Dog on Youtube. I recommend hiring a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues like aggression to work with you in person in this case. I recommend looking for someone who comes well recommended by their previous clients for aggression needs in their dogs, and who specifically has access to multiple other well mannered dogs, and at least one other trainer, so that sessions with their own calm dogs, in a controlled situation can be set up for the desensitizing process. You will need to be able to control distance between the dogs, how the other dog may react also, how much stimuli there is in the environment, and be able to repeat the same situation over and over and over again, until it becomes more boring to your dog and a calmer response can be rewarded. If pup has never drawn blood on another dog, then you may be able to use a no-pull harness and basket muzzle, and join a G.R.O.W.L. class, if there is one in your area, which would be less expensive than one-on-one training, but if you can't control pup enough for a class I would pursue private training instead. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Oomz, I would start by desensitizing him to wearing a basket muzzle using food rewards. Next, I would see if there is a G.R.O.W.L. class in your area, which is a class for dog reactive/aggressive dogs, who all wear muzzles and are intensively socialized in a structured environment under the supervision of the trainer, to intensively socialize the dogs together more quickly. If you don't have a G.R.O.W.L. class in your area you will need to work in person with a training group that has access to multiple other well mannered dogs, so controlled, safe training scenarios can be set up involving other dogs. Ideally there will be at least one additional training so the two trainers can work together to handle your dog and the other dog while showing you how to do the same. Look for someone who specializes in behavior issues like aggression, most trainers don't, so ask about experience and check into client referrals and reviews for reviews from those whose aggressive dogs have been helped by those trainers. If you are working with a training group opposed to a G.R.O.W.L. class, this process will probably involve a combination of working on routines, teaching commands, and enforcing some new rules with pup to build trust and respect for you first. These new commands will also be things that increase impulse control and help you better communicate with pup around other dogs. Next, pup will be counter conditioned around other dogs, starting with encounters from further away where pup is less aroused and gradually decreasing distance and increasing distraction as pup learns to ignore the other dog and feel less aroused by their presence. For some dogs this may also involved interrupting pup's unwanted behavior. How and if this is done is something the trainer needs to determine in person as they evaluate pup's temperament, behavior, and how they are responding to the training. All of this should be done with safety measures like back tie leashes, basket muzzle, and other tools that keep distance between pup and those pup could bite. Always be aware of safety when it comes to aggression, and the possibility of a dog in an aroused state redirecting their aggression to whoever is closest when highly aroused, even if pup isn't normally aggressive toward people. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Lynn, I would look into hiring a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues like aggression to help you one-on-one. I suspect there needs to be some strict boundaries for both dogs, to give each other space, address any resource guarding, possessiveness of you, intimidation through body language, stares, or hovering. Commands like 1-2 hour long Place commands, Leave It, and Out. Feeding the dogs in separate closed crate or different rooms to remove any stress related to food. Likely counter conditioning them to each other too, rewarding tolerance and calm responses when the other dog is in the good to change the bad association that's been formed due to the fights. There are several factors that could be contributing to the fights. Two years old is a common age for aggression to show up because there is a lot of sexual and mental maturity that happens between one and two. It might be that the younger dog has decided they want to be in charge, especially with the older dog becoming weaker. It could also be that the older dog is in pain or mentally declining, leading to a much lower tolerance for the younger dog than before. They might be reacting very defensively toward the younger dog, and addressing anything medical, and teaching the younger dog to respect their space more could help. The younger dog might also detect something wrong with the older dog, whether that's general weakening due to age or a health concern, and they are not tolerant of the abnormality. There are also general things unrelated to age that could have started this, like a one time incident related to something like an injury, resource guarding, or overly excited play turning into a fight when one dog got hurt or overly aroused, that lead to the first fight and created suspicion between them. It's hard to know for sure without evaluating their interactions together in person. It would be valuable to know who is starting the majority of the fights now though, and to work on things like adding a lot more structure, boundaries, and counter conditioning. I cannot promise whether things will ever go back to how they were but with a great trainer, things can likely at least get to the point where its well managed, so you can relax more again. In some cases, things will improve completely, especially if something like pain is a trigger and the pain starts being managed better, for example. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Jiya, For this training need I do recommend working with a professional trainer in person. Look for someone who specializes in behavior issues, comes well recommended by their previous clients for aggression related training, and who works with a team of trainers and has access to other dogs to practice desensitization and counter conditioning around in a controlled situation. https://www.youtube.com/user/SolidK9Training Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Alison, For this need I recommend either joining a G.R.O.W.L. class which is a training class for dog reactive/aggressive dogs, where the dogs are intensively socialized together in a structured environment while wearing basket muzzles for safety. Or, I would hire a professional trainer who works with at least one other trainer and has access to several well mannered dogs, like the trainers' dogs, so that a combination of training areas can be worked on; things like, desensitizing/counter conditioning pup to other dogs, where rewards are used to help your dog associate other dogs with good things; things like building respect, obedience, and trust for you, which is done through obedience command practice and giving more boundaries, to teach pup trust you to handle situations that make them uncomfortable with other dogs, to make managing pup's behavior easier with commands like Quiet, Leave It, and Place, and to establish new rules for what's allowed in your home between the dogs. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden