Copper ... the protector!?!

[Dahitman44]

Ok - -My yellow lab is four and is a great family dog. Everyone loves him. He is also a great hunter.

PROBLEM -- my wife does not like the fact that he "Hunts" everyone that walks by our house. He is on a in-ground fence and he will sneak up behind them and barks really deep and loud. He scares the (poor word choice) out of them.

He also is not a big fan of other dogs entering our yard. He has gotten into scraps with other dominant males so he does not like any other dogs coming into HIS yard.

We are going to be having a camper at a seasonal campground and I am worried about that a little bit. He will be tied up or in his kennel, obviously.

Our old lab never barked unless he wanted to come inside and never fought with other dogs.

I actually like the fact that he barks. I like the security of it. He went after a buddy of mine when he came into the garage without us noticing. He did not bite but got after him with a deep growl and flashed his teeth.

He is an intact male -- that is, well, in charge or HIS yard.

Wife want a barking colar and I do not.

HELP????????

[Todd Caswell]

How old is he ? Guessing around 2 thats about the time they start to mature and either go one way or the other with other dogs, the dog aggression is one thing but agggression towards people is a bad deal, in our sue happy world it's a law suit waiting to happen.

When he went after your buddy were you in the garage with him? I guess it's different if a stranger walks into your house and your not home but if your there and he acts like that then you have a big problem.

Quote:

HIS yard.

Sometimes with dogs like this is part of the problem it's not his yard it's your yard, and he needs to understand this.

I had a similar situation with a yellow male a few years ago, great family dog , with alot of promise but did not like strangers, went from barking , to showing teeth to nipping a buddy of mine in the butt when he turned his back. Tough decision but he is no longer with us, my feeling are that if a dog bites out of the blue It's not my fault but if a dog bites someone after I ignore these signs then it's my fault. I went through great lenghts to try and fix his problem but in the end we didn't gain much ground and I didn't want some kid walking down the street getting bit and having to live with it. And I was advised by two attorneys that I couldn't afford to have a dog like that around.

Getting him fixed most likely won't help, if you end up kepping him i would advise in it because he's not breedable, and a bark collar won't help either and will possibly make matters worse.

Do some searching on Dog aggression, this stuff can be controlled but it takes alot of time and consistancy on the entire familys part, worst part is retrievers aren't supposed to be like that.

Good luck

[Dahitman44]

Hold on a second --

He is not agressive -- at least I don't look at it that way. He barks and he is wagging his tail.

He has had other dogs "fight" him in our yard so he is protective of it. He is not a mean dog at all.

In fact he is one of the best dogs I have every seen. Just territorial. He is not like that on walks or anything like that. He does not bite or nip at people.

[Todd Caswell]

Quote:

He went after a buddy of mine when he came into the garage without us noticing. He did not bite but got after him with a deep growl and flashed his teeth.

Sorry if I took it the wrong way, but what you wrote above in my mind is not acceptable, what if it was a young child?

I may be way off base but from what you described could be a devolping problem, that is sometimes hard to see from the owners eyes as it was for me at first..

Mine was a good dog as well, very gentle, slept on the bed ECT. ECT.

Like I said do some searching there is tons of info on line dealing with this, I don't mind if a dog barks either but NO teeth and when I say "Enough" it should cease.

[MuleShack]

I would work him by the curb with the choker on...

When people walk by on a nice day (so you can get lots of corrections in) constantly correct him to not bark or be aggresive if the people are just walking by on the street.

It just seemt to be another exercise that could be done to get the dog to understand it is not OK.

I saw on the dog whisperer that if the owner is not maintaining the dominant position, then the dog assumes it. Not sure if it applies here or not. Maybe your dog thinks its a game to harrass people? Either way you should be down with him in sessions to work on it.

[Todd Caswell]

Another thing is the underground fence sometimes they can create a " this is my space " feeling for the dog as well with out really containing the dog. Ive got one and don't use it, for me if the dogs are out I'm out with them.

[MNHuntress]

I had a GWP that did the same thing with her yard. I talked to a trainer once that said the underground fence systems make them territorial of their yard. I don't mind because it keeps the rif-raf out(i.e. steak peddlers, bible bangers, etc). My new GWP is coming soon and I hope she's the same way.

[kentuck_ike]

chain gang & a figure 8 could do wonders in this situation.

[duckbuster]

This in theory would be the way to go, right up to the point where you corrected the dog in front of the passer-by. The next thing that would happen, most likely, would be a squad car arriving at your door with a complaint of animal brutality. Most people do not understand how corrections work with dogs therefore get their pants in a bundle when they see something like that.

I would agree with Todd. Get onto the internet and find some solutions that can help you and Copper before it's to late.

GOOD LUCK

I would work him by the curb with the choker on...

When people walk by on a nice day (so you can get lots of corrections in) constantly correct him to not bark or be aggresive if the people are just walking by on the street.

It just seemt to be another exercise that could be done to get the dog to understand it is not OK.

I saw on the dog whisperer that if the owner is not maintaining the dominant position, then the dog assumes it. Not sure if it applies here or not. Maybe your dog thinks its a game to harrass people? Either way you should be down with him in sessions to work on it.

[Dahitman44]

Yes -- he is wagging his tail big time and seems to find scaring people a pretty fun game. I will do the correction idea - -it is great.

[WaveWacker]

I'd first seriously consider getting him fixed first of all. Might not help with the barking but could help with the "scraps". Why not a bark collar or e-collar (if you can correct him when he's "committing the crime"? He has to be taught that the actions that he is doing is not ok. Only way to do that is to correct his actions when he is doing it. That's just what I'd do however.

[RiverRunner]

I have a two year old yellow lab female that used to be like this. She's kind of a dominant dog, that doesn't back down to other dogs, but doesn't start fights. I think its more of a territorily thing than anything. She wouldn't hurt a fly. I had an electric fence and she would never cross it. She would bark at every dog and sometime people that passed by. She would run along the fence line barking at them. I tried the e-collar route and sitting out side and correcting her, but I moved to an area with more dogs around and she slipped back into doing it. With the e-coller you'll have to be outside all the time with the dog. So I got a no bark collar and that fixed it right away. I would go the no bark coller route it will fix it.

[caseymcq]

... PROBLEM -- my wife does not like the fact that he "Hunts" everyone that walks by our house...

Does he do it when you're around? Might be a territory/person issue. Our male, Oscar, wouldn't hurt a fly and wants to be everybody's buddy (he is overly friendly). He is in a totally different mode when I am not around. He is in what I call "gaurd dog mode" when it is just my wife and daughter. At our old hose the neighbor had a male pitbull, Buster. Oscar and Buster are the same age, new each other from the time they were puppies, about four months old. Played together always got along. Both are fixed. When I am around they are buddies. When I wasn't around or when my wife would take our daughter and/or our female lab (when she was still around) for a walk without me Oscar wanted Buster to keep his distance. I don't no much about canine behavioral science so I really can't explain why Oscar does what he does so I make the SWAG that it is the "gaurd dog mode."

If your situation is similar, where it is your wife he does this with, she may need to work with him on it.

[Walleye Widower]

Do you leave the dog outside alone when this occurs? You’re not outside supervising the dog, is that right or wrong?

Usually dogs like this are not dominate, maybe his is, but obviously I have not seen the dog. But from what I have seen (I have been around a lot of very nice dominate dogs) this dog does not sound dominate or really aggressive, more of a “sharp” dog with weak nerves. By “sharp” I mean real quick to bark, get its hair up and all that stuff. By weak nerves I mean a little unsure of himself and his surroundings. Dogs like this are real quick to bark and act real tough, when in fact they are not. So dogs like this tend to act real tough because they have learned that is how they “win” in different situations. Barking = person getting away from me, showing teeth = person pulling away from me, etc… Most people don’t know how to read if a dog is dominate or not, just because it is “aggressive” must = dominate, which is not true.

A dominate dog generally is pretty confident and doesn’t fly off the handle all the time. A lot of police dogs are real nice dominate males, they don’t get to go out and act crazy, barking at everything and biting whatever they feel like, they are generally very nice confident dogs. Just because a dog doesn’t “back down” from another dog does not mean he is dominant.

Correcting a dog like this, and again, haven’t seen the dog, may potentially make this worse not better. This is why. You take a dog that is a little sharp and nervy out and do what a few others have told you, that figure 8 business by curb correcting the dog, can potentially make the dog more “aggressive” because, people around will start to = corrections which = pain which = people are something to be leary of and reconfirm his original suspicions that are people are something to be concerned about. And it is crappy dog training. You’re not going to work this out using compulsion (corrections). I guess you could fry the dog with an e-collar every time he does something you don’t like but that is not good dog training, which is what I am guessing some people on here do and their dog probably doesn’t like them very much. I would like those people to try that with a few dogs I know and watch what happens.

If the dog is allowed out by itself without direct supervision from you, stop doing this, you need to supervise this dog at all times until you get this stuff worked out. And aggressive towards MY friends that come over to MY house, is not acceptable, that does get an immediate strong correction and hard enough so he thinks twice about doing that again.

Does he get enough structured exercise? Running around outside by himself is not the good kind of exercise. A tired dog is a good dog!!!

Your dog aggression issues are much more complicated, sounds like the dog has been in a fight before, this is something no one can help you with on a forum like this, there is very good forums out there that can but not this one, no offense. All I can say is if you leave him outside by himself, he has to defend himself against other dogs, that is really your job as pack leader. Your dog needs a safe place to be (kennel, crate, house) If a dog like this tried its antics on me while I was out walking my dogs he would be sprayed with bear spray…The main reason, I protect my pack, they don’t unless told to. My dogs know this. I take absolutely no chances having my dogs attacked by another dog.

There is a very good video out there called “how to deal with dominate and aggressive dogs” it may help you ID the exact problem you have. There is a lot of examples of what is and what is not DA.

[Dahitman44]

Wow I am getting a lot of information here. Hard to digest it all.

We are normally out with the dog and the kids - -are there times the kids let him out and I am not there -- yes. But most of the time he is with us.

He has no problem at all with anyone crossing into the drive way he is just excited to see whoever comes into the driveway. But he barks if they don't. No teeth ever with people going by.

I was able to correct him this past weekend an he did not bark at people when I was out there. I told him not to bark (No Bark) and he did not.

A dog came by though and got into a minor scrap and got big-time corrected.

I am wondering about what somebody said earlier in this thread about the underground fence being like his domain. Might be something to that.

Do you guys think a bark collar is really necessary? I like the fact that he barks - -by old lab that passed away never barked or alerted us that people were around.

I am a little worried about this summer at the campground. I don;t want to be "That Guy" who has the dog that nbarks evertime somebody goes by. and maybe her won't because he will be on a chain or in a kennel and NOT HAVE THE UNDERGROUND FENCE?

Thoughts?

[Walleye Widower]

A dog came by though and got into a minor scrap and got big-time corrected.

This is an owner problem (of the other dog and you), you need to scare away other dogs from your yard. If you know whose dog it is go talk to them.

Dog fights are not good, your dog will become dog aggressive very quick and you will have a real hard time fixing that and they are potentially very dangerous. Look up "how to break up a dog fight" properly, there is a very good free article on the subject with many pictures of people after they have been bitten during a dog fight, a lot of times it is your own dog that bites you. THEY CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS AND A SERIOUS SITUATION, especially if you don’t know what to do. Everyone should read this article.

It will not be good for you at the campground. A dog can learn the best way to deal with other dogs is to fight since you are not dealing with the situation, that is a pack leaders job not the dogs. This is also why dog parks are horrible places.

Even though I have "protection" dogs they always will look to me for leadership if we encounter an aggressive acting dog. It is one of the things a pack leader does to assert his leadership. I protect my pack until I say different. Beleive me when you do this it will not fall on deaf ears, it is one of the best things you can do to assert your leadership. Much better than "alpha rolls"

[JayinMN]

Honestly you are very lucky that no one has called animal control on your dog for the fights it has been in even if they are in its yard. You could get the short end of the stick when someone does finally call and report your dog. I would end this as soon as possible.