We got a rescue bitch last May who turns out to be a ridgeless Rhodesian Ridgeback.  She had been picked up by the dog warden, wandering the streets in a pitiful condition.  She was initially very quiet and withdrawn but has gradually come out of her shell and has found her place as matriarch in the doggy family that also includes a Weimaraner dog and bitch.  However, over the last few months she has become increasingly aggressive when out.  We used to let her off her lead with the other two, but she sees a speck on the horizen and is off after it.  She has been bitten twice (although has never bitten) and is now permanently on the lead.  She also lunged out at a man the other day as we walked past him and nipped him, something she has never done before - she is now muzzled when out as a result.

At home she is the total opposite, a very tranquil, peacefull and loving dog, and to be honest the nicest dog I have owned.  She is great with the kids, the cat, our other dogs, my brothers dog, but  a nightmare when out.

Help!

Any change in behaviour should be checked out by a vet as it may be caused by a medical rather than 'behavioural' reason.  Once the vet has ruled out any injury or disease you should ask for a referral to a behaviourist (preferably a member of the UKRCB or APBC) who can then asses the dog and help you work though it.

It would be irresponsible to advise any further than this without observing the dog.

I agree, if this is a sudden change in behaviour you should get her checked out by a vet.

I would also suggest that she seems undersocialised - to men for sure, and possibly badly socialised to strange dogs if she has been bitten twice by them and had few other encounters because you now keep her on lead.

I think it would be a good idea to take her to training classes.  This should help with her socialisation both to other dogs and to people.  Whereabouts do you live - someone might know of a good trainer in your area?  If not, check out: www.apdt.co.uk

Lola's behaviour actually started to get worse after being spayed.  When the vet opened her up he discovered that she had pyometra (probably spelt that wrong!) which was maybe the reason she was so quiet and withdrawn before.  We are wondering if how she is now is how she has always been and this led to her being abandoned (although not an excuse to do that to her).  Lola has regular check ups at the vets because of the condition she was in when we got her.  She is an angel when she is at the vets incidently, with dogs and people. We also take her to exemption shows where she is also fine.  It just seems to be around our locality and she is much worse on the lead than off, baying and pulling if she sees another dog.  Someone suggested the flight or fight response - that because she is on the lead and unable to escape, she feels she has to be aggressive.  She also lets the window cleaner in the garden when I am out with no problem - he says she just sits at the bottom of the garden out of the way, but wags her tail when he speaks to her.  We met him once whilst out walking however and she was her usual aggressive self towards him when on the lead.  He couldn't believe it was the same dog.  We really are at a loss as to what it is with her.  Perhaps we should just accept that this is Lola?  It is just such a shame that whilst the other two dogs are running in the woods and swimming in the ponds she is on a lead all the time.

Who knows what happened to Lola whilst she was out wandering the streets, before the dog warden picked her up?  Stray, scavenging dogs can be a nuisance, ripping open bin bags etc. so someone may well have been nasty to her there - so perhaps thats why she feels defensive when out in your locality?

It's impossible to really know for sure what has happened to a dog that you take on as a rescue and how they have ended up behaving as they do.  In the end, the point is to rehabilitate and re-train regardless.  I agree that a vet check and behavioural referral would be a good way to go.

Louise/Chris

I would work on your "watch me" command, or your "sit" command, so that when you see another dog coming, you can tell Lola to "watch me" and keep eye contact with you, or "sit" and remain there (so not barking or lunging) until the dog has passed.  It is possible even for aggressive dogs to learn this (not saying she is aggressive, because I"m not sure she is from what you say).  It would be a good idea to go to training classes, possibly even outdoor training classes so you can practise this kind of thing in a similar environment (urban, pavements etc) and not a hall. 

I believe training classes would be best

We will certainly work on distracting her.  We are caught in a bit of a vicious circle at the moment - because of the way she is we go on our long walks as early in the morning and as late at night as possible so as not to meet anyone.  Because we don't meet anyone she isn't socialised when out walking.  We took her to training a couple of times, not really to teach her anything new as she sits, stays, walks to heel, recalls, all the usual, but to socialise, but she was fine.  As I said, I don't know what it is with her, she is only like it when we are out in the fields and woods opposite the house. We did wonder if she was being protective at first because she was only like it when I took her out by myself, but she is like it with Chris now too.  We are moving house soon to somewhere with more land so she can run around a bit more, but it would still be nice to take her out and let her run in the fields with the other two.