My friend has a BIG problem with her seven year old Springer Spaniel. She cannot tollerate other dogs. So much so that other dog owners in their village take avoiding action when they see my friend out and about with her dog. The dog was rescued and my friend is probably about the third or fourth owner. She is afraid to let her girl off of the extendable lead when out so this is probably making the situation worse. As I live quite a long way away from my friend I am at a loss what to suggest. I am hoping that she will read this message when I tell her about it and all the helpful suggestions I know she will get from you all. Who knows, maybe she will even become a member of the forum!

Hi

Has she tried finding a small training club or even one that specialises in rescued dogs? We were fortunate to find one quite close to us ( we have a year old border collie rescue who is frighteningly unfriendly to other dogs) However after just a few weeks we could see a difference.

She met a dog that bit back and started to think better of it. We had to get brave enough to let her get close enough though (on our teachers instructions) as there is always the tendency to not let them get close, just incase. We'll get there I'm sure. Better had, as we are looking to bring another dog into the home!

Best of luck
Judith

I agree it would be a good idea to find a training club that has an understanding of, and can perhpas offer, rehab training.

The club I attend offers this (don't suppose your friend is in Dorset?!) and the owners attend a special class once a week, plus go for walks with the aggressive dogs, all trained to be used to muzzles for thesafety of all the other dogs concerned.

Owners with "normal" dogs also attend the walks, and it is so interesting to see all the dogs interract and the aggressive ones learn, often by being allowed to be free but under suupervision of owner and trainer, to be less aggressive. It can take a lot of time and comittment though, and much depends on why the dog is aggressive in the first place.

My first suggestion (as always!) is to visit the vet, have the dog thoroughly checked over, blood tests etc. Then any physical problem is totally ruled out.

Was your friend told about the dog's aggression towards other dogs when she took him on? As a good rescue might be able to help.

Also, in this instance,do consider a good reputable behaviourist as this is exactly the sort of situation where they can be of great help, often spotting what the cause of the problem is and then taking it from there.

I do know a very few trainers who specialise in rehab, so if you tell us what area your friend is in, I may be able to recommend a friend.

HTH a bit

LIndsay

Thank you all so much for your usual good, logical advice. My friend lives in Burtle, Somerset.

HI

Well I am not sure where Burtle is, but Somerset is a great place as Angela Stockdale lives there! She llives at Minehead and has a huge amount of knowledge and experience with aggressive dogs, and is a nice lady too. Take a look at her website at www.dog-partnership.co.uk and click on behaviour. (Sorry i am still useless at converting these to clickable links in spite of Leigh's help. But I can do these :)!!! )

I attended a practical session with her some months ago near Southampton with some NCDL dogs, and would highly recommend her.

Lindsay

Thanks Lindsay. I am going to email my friend straightaway with the info.

I have the same problem, maybe a bit more serious, as my dog is a huge 3year old rottweiler. Despite the repuation, he is really soft...but only with people! I got him when he was only a couple of months old and was determined to train him into a good dog, which he really is, he is really well behaved, comes when called, does not beg, does not even bark when people visit our house, but is only happy to greet anyone from a chinese delivery man to our friends! But he turns completely "homicidal" with practically every dog he sees around. It gradually got worse I think, because what happened is I got married and moved to the UK from one of the ex-soviet countries, where dogs are often encouraged to be agressive. I had to leave him behind for just over a year but he got much worse during that time, being walked by someone else. He is a lovely gorgeous animal and it makes me really sad to have stressful walks with him, as he is determined to attack every dog we meet. Maybe his problem got worse after 6 months quarantine in the UK, as he tried to attack a bitch yesterday, which is really not anyhow normal, he would never do any damage to a bitch as far as I know! I desperately need help and am hoping someone could advise me as well....Is there still a hope to calm him down? he is not fiex yet, and we are planning to have him fixed soon, but some people say it might not help as he is 3,5 years old already...
We live in Middlesex, and if anyone knows a good "behaviour consultant" in the area, I would really appreciate contacts.

Thanks in advance,
Nailya