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My dog is probably the best crag dog I have owned, there is a picture of her on my profile, she plays very well with other dogs, is tollerant of little kids pullingher hair, and always comes back when I call (unless she is stuck). I have never had any complaints about her temperment. However, over the last few months she has developed some srange behavior. Whenever she is on the leash and and ONLY when she is on the leash, she tries to visciously attack every other dog we see. I f I let her off the leash, she would go to the same dogs and do the usual butt sniffin, I am at a los. I don't want to be that guy with the bastard dog from hell at miguel's, she was always so well behaved last year. Has anyone ever had this problem or have any sugestions?

It's time-consuming to fix, but it can be done.

First you have to get her to always pay attention to you. Small treats, short sessions. You want her to always look to you when you ask her to.

Next you do the same thing while on a leash. Practice it with no other dogs around. As she gets better praise will do as a reward.

Gradually start adding other dogs to the equation. The key is to get her attention before she notices the other dog and to make her pay attention to you despite the other dog.

It'll take lots of short sessions, but if you're willing to put the time in, it's very do-able.

It appears from your pic that she's a black lab. Lab's are very eager to please and don't take a ton of discipline, so that should make the going easier.

thanks, shes actually a fully grown lab mut, most of the lab tempermant though. So far training has been a snap. I have never really had to use treats as a reward yet so I hadn't really tried that.

I think I met this baby at Muir? Right? She is precious and very well behaved.

Duke is also aggressive toward other dogs when he is on leash. I think he knows he is at a disadvantage and feels that he needs to big up (not that he needs to be bigger) quickly. He's even aggressive toward puppies, and he loves to play with puppies!

Oh yeah, I remember you dipsi, you let us jump on that trad climb. Its so frustrating when you know they are good animals. I have been trying what whadam said on this mornings walk, she definitly paid more attention to me when I had treats in my pocket....who would have thought

I hope this works out for you, but, if it does not, there are plenty of models down at the pound that you can trade her in for...maybe start over and try again.

krampus wrote:she definitly paid more attention to me when I had treats in my pocket....who would have thought

I'm glad its working already. One thing to keep in mind is that treats are extremely high in calories compared to a dog's daily needs. If you can get by with something small and low in calories, it will be better for her. Popcorn is usually a good one.

It never ceases to amaze me how much dogs really do want to please you. It really is just a matter of showing them what you want them to do and being consistent.

hell, I was originally trying to find her a home, the only reason I kept her was her supreme crag-dogability

Just let her hang out with Logan for a couple weeks. He will punk her out in no time. Wait, better yet, how about the 230 lb dog that went to Rocktown with us... Zion. That dog would definitely put her in her place, he he he

sounds good, I could use a big dog as a ginny pig. Lets put em on leashes and see what happens. Then again, the two times winnie(bego) has been attacked it was by vary large dogs and her little ass put up a surprising fight. A method I like to call super-scrawny style, she gets it from me 8)