I have a male wirehaired dachshund aged 17 months.  He has been the nicest, happiest natured dog I have owned - a typical wire temperament (and someone once said his breeder has the nicest temperament dogs) - until recently at shows.  He bcame somewhat vocal at a show in January when he was crated close to another dog in a crate - we covered the crate and that was the end of it.  But about a month ago he turned rather nasty to a dachsie he usually gets on really well with and seems to have adopted the habit of barking nastily at other dogs when he is in his crate if the blanket slips.  This weekend he got extremely agressive a couple of times in the ring at a companion show - and no amount of telling off worked so I finally moved him.  Whilst I realise his aggression might have been made worse by the heat I am very concerned as we do show seriously.  He is a very excitable dog and gets beside himself if he thinks he is going to a show.  I know he is 'flexing his muscles' at this age but is too nasty to simply hope it will go away.  He is fine in any other situation and is extremely friendly.  Any help would be much appreciated.

Hello :)

I've been in this situation, but with a 7 stone dog it's a bit of a nightmare! I would suggest a behaviourist - let me explain why. My boy did the same as yours, he was absolutely fine and then one day a dog grumbled at him and looking back at it, my boy was shocked - up until then he'd been loved by everyone! After that he started having a go at shows and eventually got quite a name for himself as an aggressive dog. Outside of the show atmosphere he was just the same dog and he still loved seeing the "show bag" come out and got excited but once we were there he changed into a monster!

To cut a long story short, we took him to a well known behaviourist at the other end of the country on a personal recommendation for an unrelated problem we had with our "pack". We had only been there half an hour when she said to us that he wasn't an aggressive dog, he was terrified! It would seem that this dog having a go at him had upset him and he got fearful of other dogs coming too close and the "aggression" was in fact him telling them to go away because he didn't like it!

We took him away from the show ring and last year he only went to one show. He was doing well until a dog turned to face him in the ring and he was off again :( We'll try again as he matures to see if he improves in his self confidence, but for now we love him for who he is, not for what he could win (or lose!)

All I wanted to say is that "aggression" is often misunderstood behaviour :)

Agree with the above post :)

I suspect the dachsie is also getting worried about being in a crate with other dogs around and is seeing it as a place to start guarding (because of fear and having nowhere to go except the crate). Personally I would never tell a dog off for barking in this kind of situation, as it's best to understand why (esp. if its out of character) and then go about solving the problem, of course you may also need to teach "Quiet" etc too afterwards.

A good behaviourist is a good investment, but be wary as to who you choose as there are all sorts out there, one company in particualar I would avoid like the plague.

Good luck and i hope things improve for you :)

Lindsay
x

Sounds like he is protecting his cage and trying to defend himself.  as said do go and see a behavourist.  none of us who have replied are so do not take our answers as the final answer! :)

Good luck.  heres to hoping you get the problem sorted and can go back in the ring!

Many thanks for your messages.  I can now remember the first time it happened his crate was next to another dachsie that 'grumbled' a lot - obviously that is what set him off.  I have been in touch with an excellent behaviourist and she has suggested that I crate him far enough away from dogs that he is quiet, reward him when he is quiet and slowly move the crate nearer to other dogs.  This sounds like sensible and practical advice, and worth starting immediately before he starts to be regularly aggressive in the ring.  It was very hot last weekend so I am sure that didn't help.