my dog was adopted by us at 4 months old, and never had any socialisation, she is now 13 months old and is socialised and happy in most situations these days (after alot of patience and hard work on both parts!), the 'but' is - big dogs.

she is fine with my mums labs, but used to run away from approaching larger dogs and then snap in defence (even though they dont want to hurt her),

now she is better, she wont run, but does bark excitedly/nervously at them and run around them sort of snapping at their hocks,

she mouths my mums labs hocks but in a soft way.

with strange dogs that dont take much interest in her she will act as described, but if a large dog takes interest in her - by leaning right over, smelling, initiating play - she will go in submissive position and snap her mouth together at their faces.

both the barking and snapping put owners off (and other doggies), this to me is not aggression as she really wants to play with them but is displaying on the surface aggressive behaviour.

i need to know how to get her to chill out and not worry so much. when she acts like this i ignore her, i dont grab her and put her  lead when we see other dogs, i want her to interact, but i dont want her to carry on!

I'm sorry Chris, but I think you are going about it the wrong way!   You say you don't put her on the lead when you see other dogs ....how do you know that another dog isn't just getting through fear aggression too?

You work for a vet - talk about getting a referral to a recommended behavourist - its not fair to Jo Public & her dog to try and train your snappy dog out of it on other dogs.  By ignoring her behaviour, and letting her carry on snapping at other dogs' hocks is just allowing her bad behaviour to go on unchecked!   I'm glad I don't live near you :(

Margot

i didnt explain it well enough and cant do so on here, she doesnt make contact, and doesnt go near them, they bound on top of her, when i put her on lead they will still bound on her and this intensifies her nervousness and she snaps her teeth together, so i leave her off lead and she can at least get away, you dont know what its like living in my area, every large dog is free is jump up to any one any dog.

when she meets a calm dog - any size, she is brill.

i glad i dont live near you either if you react this way margot.

No, you didn't explain very well, did you?    If you are exercising/training her in an area where she is liable to be "bounced" by larger dogs, then you aren't doing her any favours, imo!

Your first post made it sound as if your girl is allowed to bounce/snap at other dogs. 

Find somewhere else to exercise her, until she is more confident.   From your previous posts, I see that you do have access to an APTD trainer - talk to him/her!

I'm sorry if my reply sounded sharp - I too have a fear-aggressive bitch, and when I'm trying to train her, the last thing I would want is an unchecked dog bouncing at her!  

As you said in your PM, this is a discussion board, and we all have our own points of view - equally valid ;)

Margot

I agree with Margot.  Sorry if this sounds like pent up frustration, but it is:  I'm just tired tired tired of reading about people on boards like this who walk in areas they know there are problem dogs, or dogs which their dogs have problems with.  :rolleyes:  Having a sensitive dog requires careful management, not just going ahead with what you'd usually do.  Of course though, people I say this to invariably come back and say they don't drive, they only have one area within 200 miles where they can walk, they "must" walk at X time of day and so on.....

I am trying to work with my dog at the moment who barks/lunges at other dogs - to me as a novice and first time dog owner I find this very agressive - some people who have seen him say it isnt aggression it is excitement but I know one thing for sure I wont let him off the lead if there is another dog in view - just in case - I dont want to be the cause of any dog getting hurt or upset - mine or anybody elses.  I find it difficult enough when placid nonchalant dogs come towards us so if faced with another nervous/barky dog that was off the lead and came to us I would be horrified.  Partly from the point of view of not knowing what that dog might do to mine but also in not knowing for sure how far my own dog would go!  Because I have only had my dog three weeks now at the moment I am trying to arrange a walk with a friend and her dog to get mine used to it but if that doesnt work I am going to try the behaviourist route.  I suppose what I am trying to say is that if your dog was to come anywhere near mine for example he might suffer and become even more nervous - so although you are letting him free out of kindness it could make matters worse.  Sorry if that sounds rubbish - I know I'm not an expert I'm just thinking what could happen if you met a dog like mine.......  Maxine.
PS  I love my dog to bits though and he's wonderful in every other way and I have found everybodys advice to me on here really really helpful and calming... 

Have you considered training classes? Well-run ones (you could ask your vet for recommendations or look here) will do wonders for both you and your dog. :)

I have only had my dog three weeks now
I think dogs are a little like children... they need tome to settle in. As they grow confident they can actually try it on a bit. Think of your dog as a new pup and keep your dog on a lead. Socialise and train  into the lifestyle you live as you would a pup...take nothing for granted..just because the dog is older it may have still missed the basic trainings..if untrained it could just be be a baby pup in a big body. So you will need to train out the natural pup behaviours.  Train in a fun way just like you would teach a toddler and play games to focus the dog on you ..in theory the more the dog learns to focus on you the less the dog will focus on other distractons.  And yes I'd agree a good training class. In training club  you frequentky train with a mix of dogs...some pups, some rescues, some training for fun or socialisation for competition, some for behaviour problems.  So it is a good way to show your dog that you are in control and  it is safe even though there are other dogs so close to you.  Ideally do not pander to the fears the dog shows as that teaches it there is a danger. Also the trainer will help you read your young dog better and be able to encourage you.

Also when you are new to dogs you read stuff and books and advice say do this or that and this works and that will work... and if you take a young pup and socialise it it will be perfect and so on...but don't worry too much about all that because it is not an exact science...each dog/owner is different and there is no quick magical path to perfect perfection... sometimes you try something and the next week you solve the issue..sometimes you plod on for months and the result is the issue eventually becomes managable. so relax and take it slowly. Don't worry about what other dog owners think..shut them out and just train and enjoy your own dog.  I know very experienced dog handlers who are frustrated with their young dog beause it is not responding in the same ay as all their previous dogs!  So any peson can struggle with a dog.

Do take it slowly... my inclination would be short frequent walks with the emphasis on retraining this youngster. Train focus. My younger is 18 months and I had him since a pup...he gets a lot of training, a lot of socialisation and he is still a playful monster! Until they mature the excitement is just hard work to manage! You have good days and bad days. lol!

I think you need to realx and not be so fearful of other dogs..they are there it is a fact..you just need to realx and learn to live wih it. Your worry will pass to your dog who will react to your fears..they can all  mind read! You can hide nothing from your dog.

Sorry..that's long. I'm relatively new to dogs so get where you are comming from. Try to relac and take it slow as it takes us humans a while to tune in too.  I'd try a club before a behaviourist ( much cheaper ;) ) ... go watch first see if you like what you see in the trainer and their methods.... many club trainers will give you a little one to one time fre of charge after training sessions and will answer any of your questions and worries and help put you mind at rest.

I think no mattrer where you walk dogs are off lead and there will always be strange dogs who will come charging up to your dogs!  Some will charge up and bounce to play...some to warn, some will be agressive. You can not avoid it! 

And I am saying this and I do  have a car and I do walk in a diversity of areas/environments  because it is good for my dogs to be in different and interesting locations. The only dog free  location is actually right in the  city.... but on my trip to London  with my dogs in London we still met off lead dogs who came and bounced on our dogs and one on lead who came and growled and snapped and barked...so no where is totally loose dog free.

If you walk by roads on  street footpaths you can meet this..but wilh more territorial unsocalised dominant dogs because they are permitted by the owner to self walk!  In more deserted locatons you meed more aggressive type because people with problematic dogs end up talikn them to the less populated areas. In parks you get higher quantity id bouncy dogs...but although agressive dogs show up from time to time park peerr power drives those types away...but you can still meet them.

I actually hear more people developing problems because they avoid the situations that make their pup react and hide away... and then the issues gets worse. It is far bettewr to at least attempt to train throug the issuses while the pup is still young or the behaviour relatively knew.  So to see people posting who are wanting to change the behavior they see in their dog is great!  It should not be discouraged.  

In develpped areas dogs do need to learn to cope with attentions from off lead dogs and all manner of loose running behavioural issue dogs because we share the same spaces with these and these dogs are plentyful and are here to stay. 

I agree.  Of course you should do your best to ensure the vast majority of inter dog associations a puppy has are pleasant, but it is unrealistic to expect to avoid all unpleasantness.

Like our children, they will meet the bullies as well as the nice kids, and it is best they learnt how to avoid problems with them.

Maybe it is me that is too worried - and Louis realises and is protecting me!  I am the worrier in the family worry about the kids, the husband and now Louis!  The rest of my family are so laid back I dont think they every see any problems or danger coming so I always think I have to be extra vigilant - perhaps if I relax around other dogs Louis will - you never know my luck!  Maxine

Do you know what breed xbreed your dog is?  Just wondering as some herding dogs bite at the heels of the stock that they are herding, could be the herding instinct in her if it is from a herding breed?

Just a thought :d