Hi,

I have a 2 year old neutered male bull dog who is growling at dogs and people. We've owned him from 8 weeks and have worked incredibly hard socialising him with dogs/people/ children etc. He has done puppy school, junior school and senior school and is obedient and trained. He has three good walks a day and is fed on a complete raw food diet. He is loved but knows his place and has never been spoilt. Since he was a puppy he has been attacked, unprovoked, by other dogs, where he would also just try to run away, never fight back. We live in a busy city and see lots of poorly socialsed dogs. He had always bounced back from these but since being neutered he is much more fearful. He has had all vet checks to ensure it's nothing medical, eg thyroid and we've worked with 2 very well respected dog behaviourists. We have dedicated the last months to this and have been absolutely consistent. However, things just seem to be getting worse and now we're nervous of taking him out due to the growling which would escalate if we didn't have him under control. We are miserable, stressed and depressed. We feel sick every day knowing we have to walk our dog and feel we have done everything we can. Is there anything else we could do/ advice you could give? Anyone had a similar expereince? Thanks so much inm advance! Also, he has never bitten human or dog.

Can I ask at what age was he neutered and when did the incidents with other dogs start?  Neutering can, unfortunately make a dog more fearful and you will need to keep doing what you are doing to achieve some level of success.

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your situation - I've had a fear aggressive dog myself and felt similarly stressed.

Have you tried working one on one with a trainer who deals in behavioural issues rather than a 'behaviourist'. In my experience behaviourists turn up and talk with you for a few hours before issuing a written report. They don't work with the dog in the problem situations to demonstrate the solutions in a practical manner and assess what's working. A trainer prepared to demonstrate and teach by example would be miles better and give you more confidence. The more stressed you are the more stressed your dog will feel, but it's impossible to switch off the stress without some support.

Yes I have a dog like this -we've been working with him for over 3 years now and have accepted he will never be normal. He's happiest at home with us, hates walks which in itself isn't normal of course.  With him neutering helped a LOT but as I knew there was a huge risk that he would instead get worse (through the lack of testosterone) we had him implanted with Suprelorin first as the effects wear off after 6 months and so if we noticed a problem it was reversible -it's a shame you don't seem to have been warned about neutering.

Re. socialisation -with this dog of mine it was done too MUCH. i.e. he kept getting exposed to busy places etc and that was one big mistake. This is why he now hates walks. It's far better to have a few really good and enjoyable experiences than many overwhelming ones, as I learnt to my cost. I went to car boots, town centres and similar and that was the complete wrong approach for a dog that was sensitive.

Have you tried Zylkene caspules, on a daily basis? It's worth a try and does help some dogs. I would normally suggest you muzzle a dog like this as it helps both you and the dog -people seeing a muzzled dog tend to keep away from it both on their own and with other dogs and you don't have to worry about a  possible bite out of fear so you can relax more. But as it is a Bulldog I assume there are no muzzles that would fit?

Marianne -  re socialisation, this was my problem too. Mine was v sensitive, but very sociable in situations where she felt relaxed. However, as I live in a very busy part of London she was bombarded by stressfull social situations on a daily basis. From a young age she was overwhelmed by this. Sometimes less socialisation is better - fewer social encounters which are positive experiences for the dog rather than lots of encounters which can be unpleasant.

Echo the sentiments about socialising at a slower pace as too much too soon can be counterproductive.

Your poor boy is trying to let you know that he is not happy and very stressed and if pushed past his comfort zone then he may well bite either another dog or person as he is trying his best to let you know he isn't coping in these situations.

This is not because of anything you have done wrong but could be that he was never really overconfident because of past experiences but was managing to get along in his own way.It does sound as if the castration,and loss of testosterone,has exasserbated this.

Vets very rarely mention that neutering can infact make a sensitive dog aggressive.

Is it possible to drive out of the city to a much quieter area with less dogs etc around and take things at a much slower pace. I wouldn't attempt to walk past other dogs for now as he is not able to cope with this.

Ask your vet for a refferal to a behaviorist who is recognised by  apdt and if you can then stick to playing in your own garden for now.

i really hope you manage to get some help soon

If not then stick to the garden for now

I feel for you both.
We got out elder dog at ten months he was a sensitive chap & stupidly we followed the advice of his breeder & pressure from his vet & was castrated at around 2.
Life for him since had not been the same, previously friendly with most dogs & others he would give a wide berth but within a couple of months he was being chased and humped by the majority. Tolerated this for sometime but then began to avoid dogs & would snap & chase of those who raced in.
It has helped that he regularly attends training classes where he's settled & friendly, told that he is the best trained BH they've had (obviously not met many!) but when out on walks if a dog takes too much interest or charges in he will still react. Fortunately living in a rural area we head for quieter areas, he has friends but slip him on lead and move away from others, it's not what I would have wished for him. It's a topic that regularly comes up but would never castrated another dog unless for medical reasons. I'm told that in all probability that he now smells female & from other dogs reactions, I would guess that's what happened - feminisation.

Hi Ralph44,

I really feel for you, when you have worked so hard it is upsetting to have all that work undone by other people's unruly dogs. Alas, I think quite a few dogs can also find bulldogs strange/scary and that can also cause them to 'go' at the dog. Not helpful for you though.

I think you do need the help of a good behaviourist, but as Toon says, someone who will actively do training with you. There is a relatively new type of training called Behavioural Adjustment Training (BAT) that was developed for fear aggression). There is a website here. The idea is that the dogs is rewarded for offering a non aggressive behaviour around the stimuli that make them fearful (like sniffing the ground, turning their head) as soon as this happens the dog is immediately walked away from what it fears. Eventually the dog learns that it can control its environment and that it can choose to keep a 'safe' distant from what it fears.

Anyway, have a look at the website http://functionalrewards.com/ and see if you can find a behaviourist that knows how to do it. I like the idea that the dog is not 'forced' to confront their fears and learns over time that it doesn't have to use aggression to make what it is scared of go away.

Please don't be nervous of the growling. He is saying that he is anxious- all you need to do is acknowledge that he is trying to let his feelings be known- Try to watch what he does before growling, does he freeze, look away, lick his lips? These are the signs that tell you he needs to walk away. Try to react to the very first, tiniest signs and figure out how close he needs to get to another dog before his anxiety levels begin to rise.

Don't try to do this without the help of a proper behaviourist and make sure they know about this form of training.

Do you have a garden and does your dog like to play games with you? Try to play with him away from dogs for now, just to ensure he is getting enough exercise and if he is tired he will be less stressy. You could also try DAP.

Good luck.

Hi
I have nothing to add to the already excellent advice here, just wanted to let you know your not alone, I too have a reactive dog ( just other dogs, loves people ) and i know full well how your feeling. My dog was attacked a few times and turned, what was a friendly outgoing dog, into a liability round other strange dogs.
You might want to do a bit of reading on fear aggression, I'd recommend anything by Patricia McConnell, she has a couple of booklets out The Cautious Canine and Feisty Fido, which are cheap and easy reading, for a more in depth understanding James O'Heare's book The Dog Aggression Workbook is an essential addition to any dog bookshelf.

Just noticed James O'Heare has another book out Empowerment Training, anyone read this ?, there's not much info on what it's about.