My dogs are messed up - Advice?

I have two mixed breeds, a boy and a girl aged (roughly) 1 and 3.


Long story short, both my dogs used to be very friendly and well socialized with other dogs. About a year ago, while we were on a walk, an aggressive off-leash dog ran up to my girl and attacked her, and since then she's been dog aggressive. My male dog was still okay with other dogs, until last week when the same thing happened with a different off-leash dog! I tried to keep it away from my dog with my foot, but it was quite large and much stronger than me. Luckily my dog only ended up with a little patch of skin missing.


It was easier to control just one aggressive dog, but now both my dogs are really aggressive towards other dogs. Just the sight of other dogs gets them in to that low, stiff hunting position. I've watched dog training videos, mainly Cesar Milan, so I know that staying calm and assertive is key. The problem is it's extremely hard to get them to snap out of it when they're lunging and snarling at passing dogs, or even get them to stay calm and leave the dog alone completely.


I'm not really in a position where I can afford to get them professionally trained, so I need all the advice you can give me. If you're thinking to say something like, "If you can't afford training, you shouldn't keep those dogs", please keep it to yourself. I love both of these dogs, and I have trained them the best I can, there's just this one issue.


I'd appreciate any help/advice you can give!

Sorry to hear about your little ones. Mines was attacked by a village dog and ever since then, he's been on edge every time we go out.


what i've been doing is when my pups get riled up, i make them heel, then i squat, look right into their eyes to make sure they are paying attention and calmly say no. After I break their concentration on the other dogs they realize i'm forbidding them to bark and get agressive towards other dogs, they start to whine instead of bark. the whining lasts about 5 seconds and then they are on their merry way.. try that.



Good luck!

I used to walk this really shy dog and whenever other dogs walk passed (sometimes people even), she would bark and sometimes wanted to jump on them. What I did was whenever I saw her staring at other dogs while we walking, I yanked the leash a little bit to make her snap out of it. And this has to be done before the

dog started to get into that low, stiff hunting position you mentioned. Sometimes I would tell her to sit and let the other dog walk past, I found that when the dog is in a still position (not walking), they ate more calm.

*they are more calm I meant

And also like the other post has said, I would also stand between the dogs, get my dog attention, look her in the eyes and tell her no firmly and calmly.


I hope everything works out soon, very sorry to hear about the attacks, am sure with patient and love your dogs will be back to their friendly selves in no time, good luck.

Obviously, your dogs have both had nasty experiences so it's not surprising that they are wary of other dogs right now. The advice given above is good, but you also need to somehow get them to socialise with other dogs as soon as possible in order that they can realise not all dogs are going to attack them. Do you have any friends or neighbours who are dog owners who you can introduce your dogs to slowly, on walks or for 'play-times'? They also need to see that you are happy when other dogs approach, as your dogs will sense if you also feel wary, or try to avoid other dogs by crossing the road, etc. It's likely to take time to build up their confidence again, but with patience and understanding you should be able to sort out their problems.

Good advice from Sapphire and also fill all your pockets with treats and any sign of non aggressive behaviour dish out the treats so the dogs learn that any aggressive behaviour will not be rewarded and non-aggressive behaviour will be. Do your dogs know how to sit on command? If so get them to do that when other dogs are around. You're likely to spot a dog before your dog does so before the dog even is aware of the other dog, start getting them to sit, lie down, sit again etc. If your dog ignores the other dog, then give LOTS of treats and praise heaps. This worked with my dog.