Hi,
We have a 3 year old lab-retreiver cross.
Its been 3 months + since he's been with me.
He was/is a pretty aggressive dog and has these temper tantrums. The
vet has adviced us to give him a pet care product to reduce anxiety and
stress. THat seems to have helped quite a bit but he still gets
aggressive when someone goes near him if he's chewing something.
I'll describe an instance today.
I was preparing a sandwich with some sausages and a piece of sausage
accidently fell down. I went to pick it up and at the same time he went
for it. He got ferocious and had a bite at my leg. He starts shivering
with anger/fright once he gets these attacks. I sat down and called him
to me. He came up and seemed Ok but suddenly he attacked me again. What
could be the cause of this? Also how do we ensure that this does not
happen and incase it does, what are the steps that we need to do to
reduce this. Do we like need to punish him or something ( which I'm
sure may not be the right thing to do). How do we need react to these
situations? We love him a lot but we dont quite agree with this
behaviour.
Please help!!
Thanks in advance,
Soni

On 18 Jan 2006 12:10:24 -0800, "hangar18" ,
clicked their heels and said:

Hi,
We have a 3 year old lab-retreiver cross.

A lab is a retriever - Labrador Retriever. I'm going to assume you
mean labrador retriever/golden retriever cross. Just curious - do you
KNOW the cross or is it a guess?

Its been 3 months + since he's been with me.
He was/is a pretty aggressive dog and has these temper tantrums. The
vet has adviced us to give him a pet care product to reduce anxiety and
stress.

How about TRAINING?

THat seems to have helped quite a bit but he still gets
aggressive when someone goes near him if he's chewing something.
I'll describe an instance today.
I was preparing a sandwich with some sausages and a piece of sausage
accidently fell down. I went to pick it up and at the same time he went
for it.

TRAINING prevents that from happening. "leave it", "down-stay", both
extremely effective IF they have been taught.

He got ferocious and had a bite at my leg. He starts shivering
with anger/fright once he gets these attacks. I sat down and called him
to me. He came up and seemed Ok but suddenly he attacked me again. What
could be the cause of this?

Lack of training, leadership, structure, guidance.

Also how do we ensure that this does not
happen and incase it does, what are the steps that we need to do to
reduce this. Do we like need to punish him or something ( which I'm
sure may not be the right thing to do). How do we need react to these
situations?

PROactively. TRAINING (did I say training?). You need IN PERSON HELP
not drugs for stress.

--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

On 18 Jan 2006 12:10:24 -0800, "hangar18" wrote:

Hi,
We have a 3 year old lab-retreiver cross.
Its been 3 months + since he's been with me.
He was/is a pretty aggressive dog and has these temper tantrums...
Please help!!

I truly love working with dogs that growl, bark and snarl at me, but why would you bring
this ill tempered dog home?

I'm curious about where you obtained this dog, and whether or not you knew about his
temperament before you acquired him. Has your veterinarian given him a checkup? Out of
curiosity, just how would you go about punishing your dog? When you sat down and called
him to you, were you sitting at his level? Were you holding your sandwich?

I support the training that has already been recommended, but I think you are in some
danger and that your dog might not be accepted into a class right now.

There are so many variables at play here that a definitive answer isn't possible, but it
is certain that you can't keep a time bomb like this. My Chow Chow/Rotweiller mix growled,
barked and showed his teeth to me twice the day I brought him home. I knew he didn't
really want to hurt me; so, I did not back down--he did. Six months later, we are
partners.

You said, "He starts shivering with anger/fright once he gets these attacks." Does he has
a reason to be afraid? Was he handled roughly, at some point in his life?

Assuming no health problems, I think your dog might be "food aggressive" and he definitely
sees you as an adversary. I think you can address both issues simultaneously by
immediately withholding all food that you don't give to him--one bit at a time. The goal
is to make him dependent upon you, and establish a degree of control over him.

Begin tomorrow morning, when he is apt to be hungry. Place his empty food bowl on the
floor. A few minutes later, put a piece of food in it. Repeat this over and over. But
leave him hungry until later, then go through the routine again. Even if you have to use a
whip and a chair, don't let him bully you. Look for signs that his demeanor is becoming
submissive.

Are you able to walk this dog on a leash? That's a fair way to begin establishing his
confidence and your relationship.

School - Four walls with tomorrow inside.

Hi,
We have a 3 year old lab-retreiver cross.
Its been 3 months + since he's been with me.
He was/is a pretty aggressive dog and has these temper tantrums.

I second the motion to get TRAINING, mainly a professional trainer, ONE on
ONE, not in a class....yet.
This way they can, hopefully, read the situation much better, they can be
hired to work with you personally for as long as you require, or at least
tell you whether this dog is for you or not.
No, I'm not in any way saying the dog ought to be disposable, but sometimes
it's better all around to find a good match. The behaviorist/pro trainer can
help you decide if you really have the drive to keep up with the training.
(They will train *you* how to teach the dog.)

Thanks for adopting this dog, and I hope all works out well all around.
All of my pets have been 'rescues' of sorts.
All the best wishes for your new addition.

MaryBeth
Rudy, Ceilidh AKA Boo, Zack(aroni), HannahBean and Mrs. Peeps AKA Piper