Need help with aggression please..

[Sweet Phoebe]

Hello. We have a 6 month old pure-bred Samoyed (Phoebe)..we are thrilled with her. She LOVES people, gets along with our kids, and is just a good little girl. We have one problem, however, is when a friend of ours and her dog came to visit us at our house, she attacked her dog. She jumped on her, growled, tried to bite the dog on the neck, and wanted to fight. This has happened twice so far with the same dog in the past week. It really shocked us, for she is such a passive, sweet doggy with people. But her aggression with the other dog was pretty scary. The other dog didn't do anything to Phoebe, our dog attacked right when the other dog walked in the house to meet her. Any suggestions on why she is doing this? And what we should do about it? In the meantime, she cannot be around another dog, for she gets too aggressive with them.

Thanks everyone!

[PatchO'Pits]

As for her being sweet w/ people... human aggression and dog/animal aggression are not the same thing at all and your situation is not rare in the dog world

Can it be fixed well that all depends on the dog. Some will never like other dogs invading their space but will however be able to interact in controlled circumstances and on lead and learn to tolerate dogs but may never be pals w/ them.

Some important factors were left out of the post
How was this other dog introduced to your dog? Where were they? Were they on or off lead? Is the other dog the same sex ? Are either spay/neutered? Is it all other dogs or just this particular one

[Sweet Phoebe]

Thanks for your reply.

The first time, both dogs were on a leash right outside of our home, and the other dog came up to just sniff her, and our dog immediately began to attack her. The second time (just today), the same owner and her dog came to our home, I opened the door, her dog was on the leash, and she was barely inside our home, when our dog came running and immediately jumped her. Yes, the other dog is the same sex, both female. They are both under a year in age (6 months). No, they both are not spayed.

I am just a little nervous she might hurt another dog. If we weren't there, she would have probably seriously hurt her.

Is getting her spayed a way to reduce her aggression?

Thanks for your help, I am pretty new at owning a dog. :confused:

[PatchO'Pits]

Thanks for your reply.

The first time, both dogs were on a leash right outside of our home, and the other dog came up to just sniff her, and our dog immediately began to attack her. The second time (just today), the same owner and her dog came to our home, I opened the door, her dog was on the leash, and she was barely inside our home, when our dog came running and immediately jumped her. Yes, the other dog is the same sex, both female. They are both under a year in age (6 months). No, they both are not spayed.

I am just a little nervous she might hurt another dog. If we weren't there, she would have probably seriously hurt her.

Is getting her spayed a way to reduce her aggression?

Thanks for your help, I am pretty new at owning a dog. :confused:

Sounds like she first of all is protecting her home both inside and out. It is always best to intro dogs on nuetral turf no near their territory. I'd still need to know more to see if there is more than just that going on with her

I actually find that spaying does not really help with aggression with one exception, though I'm sure others will have their own views. If she or the other female is near or in her heat cycle yes hormones can cause more aggressive tendencies to come out.

Has she been like this to any other dog?

Was she a rescue or from a breeder?

If she is from a breeder I'd give them a call and let her know what happened and ask advice too.


I don't know much about them so I was trying to research the breed a bit. All dogs are similar yet so very different if that makes any sense to you. I'll have to look into the more

[Sweet Phoebe]

Thanks Therese,

She was bought as a pup by a family, but those owners returned her to the breeder(they said they weren't ready for a puppy)... I found her on a rescue site, and we got her now at 6 months old.

Phoebe lived the last month with her breeder, & her mom and dad which are also Samoyeds, and she got on fine with them. The other dog she attacked is the first dog she encountered since being with us (the other dog was also a Samoyed, but mixed with lab, & she was not at all agressive towards Phoebe).

Protecting her enviroment makes sense, since she was outside, then inside her home both times.

[Sweet Phoebe]

We tried to get them together again, today, Phoebe started to growl...I told her "NO" over 50 times :eek: ....then they smelled eachother for a few minutes..... & now they are the best of friends.....haha.....a dogs life is jussssst wonderfullllll!! :p

[PatchO'Pits]

At least no one was hurt in the prior instances and now you just know she is protective of her home and what to watch out for. I'm guessing she will grow up to be a dominant gal. So just be aware of that.

I'm glad they are buddies now!!!!! How great! :)

[DiegoDog]

I am glad they are friends but like Patch said, you best, curb the aggression. You said you told her NO repeatedly. And if I guessed correctly she was on a leash. I can tell you now, if she meets one off leash, NO will not work. You have to get her to the point where if you tell her NO once she will stop in her tracks. Because if she is going for your friends dog or someone walking by's dog, they will not just be looking at the dog ya know? They will be lookin at you too. I find the first rule in training is Never give a command more then once. Dogs are defintily a case where actions speak louder then words. If you tell her NO and she ignores you, you get her leash, make sure you have her attention and let her know that will not be tolerated. You may want to seek out a trainer that deals with behaviour problems. Now she may act differnt on foriegn soil but its something that has to get under control. I know its under control with this dog. But the fact that you had to repeat your command over and over again is not really having a handle on it. I am not saying this to insult you, its just agression can be a very dangerous thing, especialy when she is willing to go to that level, the fight level. But if you go to a trainer, establish that NO means NO, you have a good shot. Wouldn't you rather know if anything is to escelate, you see your dog taking off after another dog that you can call her back without any confrontations. Trust me, try training. It will give you a feeling of confidence, not only in your dogs abilties but also in yourself as an onwer, knowing you have THAT BOND.

[Sweet Phoebe]

thank you very much for your info.....you are right, I did have to say no over and over again to get her to stop. Training sounds like a good idea, I will look into it.

[Alix]

Take your dog to a dog park but make sure you keep your distance. A choke chain works great on dogs for this purpose if they are to try and leap at another dog. Make sure you pull the chain tight and release quickly or you may hurt the dog if you pull tight and don't let go over and over again. Like the post above says. Say NO and make sure you bring your dogs attention to you wether it is spraying her with a water bottle & vinegar or standing in front of her. Remember don't bend down to her level, stand above her so she knows that you are in control. What works on some dogs is when they behave this way the owner can gently flip the dog on it's back and say NO and make sure you look her in the face, let her back up when she looks away from you and you know she is listening and understands. (only look her in the face if you are absolutly confident she won't bite you because this means that you are challenging her and some dogs will attack if stared at). When you feel confident with her in a park than approach dogs closer and closer until she can be trusted to be near them. I believe she can be curved from this because of her age. Also, try doggie daycare. I own a dog daycare and I have been opened 1 year and have successfully stopped at least 3 dogs aggression problems. One being my own 70 lb husky. He is more laid back now than any of the dogs here. Hope I helped.

[PatchO'Pits]

The reality is desensitization training and obedience training can help in some instances but not everyone. It is always worth a try. As some dogs will always be dog aggressive by nature due to their genetic make up and temperament. However training can curb and control it, but it doesn't really go totally away.

Keep working on it!

Best advive is know your dog and every posture.

[Mutt Manners]

Take it from a trainer who knows terrorial aggression. You are asking for problems if you take an aggressive dog to the dog park and let her off leash - or worse you keep her on leash and you get ganged up on by 20 other dogs!

I agree with Patch-O-Pits you need to get some professional training and then and only then you might consider a dog park. But with a territorial dog she may be protective of you and be agressive there too. Plus those places are a breeding ground for dieases. The 2 times I have taken my dogs they have come back with kennel cough. I would steer clear of them.

Get into training. It will be a great way for you to bond and get control of your dog. You will both love it!

Best of luck!

Julie

[Sweet Phoebe]

thank you ,everyone, for your great advice.

.....we are currently looking for a trainer in our area.

[PatchO'Pits]

I really don't like dog parks at all either. I think they are an accident just waiting to happen along with disease breeding grounds klike nuttmanners stated.

[Alix]

I'm so sorry I need to watch what I say I didn't mean an off leash dog park I just meant a park where many people have dogs on leash. NEVER take your dog and have it on leash with other dogs approaching it you almost always will end up with a fight. ONCE AGAIN I APOLOGIZE