18-month old CC with aggression problems

[juliantrost]

Hello everyone. I hope someone can help. We have an almost 19-months old CC (Brooklyn), who till about 2 months ago was a great dog, who got along with other dogs and most important with her older sister; 4-year old Shi-Tzu. When Brooklyn turned 18 months, we went to the park and noticed that she no longer had any interest in other dogs, other than wanting to eat them, but while home or in backyard with our other dog, she was fine. That changed yesterday, after we gave the other dog a haircut and it was as though Brooklyn didn't recognize her. Since yesterday evening, Brooklyn tried to attack the other dog multiple times and when we tell her to back off, she obeys, but then you can see her watching and getting ready to pounce. Not the most pleasant of feelings to observe this. We have reached out to few trainers in the past, but all seem to be saying that it is a normal CC behavior and normally happens after they turn 18 months, but at the same time, when we asked why does she not attack her sister, they said because she is a part of pack. So,now we wonder what happened to the pack since yesterday? Is it possible that she is not recognizing the other dog because we shaved her hair off? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

 

[Cobalt]

We have an 8 mos old Presa and 3 Shih Tzu mix dogs and recently had a very similar experience when the three little ones were sent out for grooming. When they returned it was like Bea didn't know them, but I think it was more because of their new floral scent than appearance. Fortunately she wasn't, and hasn't, been aggressive with them - it just took a couple days for her to become reaquainted with them, again through scent with lots of sniffing and close contact. You will, of course, want to manage that a lot more carefully with the already demonstrated aggression on Brooklyn's part.

 

[juliantrost]

Thanks very much Cobalt.

 

[DDSK]

Maybe unscented bath next time?

 

[Onemansurfer]

It could be that your CC got jealous of the time you spent with this haircut ??? You have to stop the aggression as it happens !!

Hello everyone. I hope someone can help. We have an almost 19-months old CC (Brooklyn), who till about 2 months ago was a great dog, who got along with other dogs and most important with her older sister; 4-year old Shi-Tzu. When Brooklyn turned 18 months, we went to the park and noticed that she no longer had any interest in other dogs, other than wanting to eat them, but while home or in backyard with our other dog, she was fine. That changed yesterday, after we gave the other dog a haircut and it was as though Brooklyn didn't recognize her. Since yesterday evening, Brooklyn tried to attack the other dog multiple times and when we tell her to back off, she obeys, but then you can see her watching and getting ready to pounce. Not the most pleasant of feelings to observe this. We have reached out to few trainers in the past, but all seem to be saying that it is a normal CC behavior and normally happens after they turn 18 months, but at the same time, when we asked why does she not attack her sister, they said because she is a part of pack. So,now we wonder what happened to the pack since yesterday? Is it possible that she is not recognizing the other dog because we shaved her hair off? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

 

[season]

Dog's use their nose to recognize....the smell of a shampoo isn't going to mask the smell enough for a dog not to smell through it.....and no, it's not common CC behavior after 18 months.

My two cents, there is probably a lot more going on than we know in the house. Most people would like to think that they have everything under control but they don't.

Dog's don't just all of a sudden try to attack other dogs, or make other bad choices. The signs are there before it happens...and I'm not just talking about body language. I'm talking about living with your dogs on a daily basis. What type of rules do you actually enforce and follow through with? Because if you aren't following through 100% of the time and if your dog isn't following your directions or lead until after the 20th time to sit, or get off the couch, or to come here etc then your dog is not respecting your authority one bit. Then the bratty behavior kicks in. Or the dog trying to run the house behavior kicks in. Simple as that. When a dog lives in a well balanced household and when rules are understood and followed through you don't have these kind of problems.

Yes, there will be people doing the typical, "Season, you are mean" "Season, you are a know it all" "Season you come off sounding like a jerk." I've heard it all....

I'm hoping you can take what I say and maybe use it to help. If you want more insight feel free to PM me. If you fall in line with the others that are overly sensitive then feel free to ignore my comments and move on to advice that you like better.

 

[Edward B.]

SEASON,
I agree with you. Dogs are smart, speciality the Cane Corso ones. They never skip one moment of weakness from the owner to force the house rules.
I have a 10 moths CC and he always pay attention if I am aware what he would try to do next...
With regards to changing behaviour I really saw a very well behaviour CC from the age of 3 months until now at 17 moths.
In the last month he had like a sort of "click" and suddenly he will not accept any male dog around him anymore. He will try to attack/catch any dog (female or male) running in his visual angle. But with all this behaviour when the owner shout at him with the command NO, he freeze and become like a little innocent puppy.

 

[DennasMom]

I agree with you, Season... most of the time, but... having experienced our rescued bulldog mix with an unknown 1st year of life attack our older, well balanced, submissive dog while he was SLEEPING. I'm just not sure what signals the sleeping dog was sending him? Our house has very well-defined rules and I consider it very balanced. We had help from a trainer for this one, too... so, just throwing it out there, that there are exceptions to every rule.

My thought on the CC, was that he may be testing some rules as part of the teenager stage... and also that if the haircut was accompanied by a bath - the smell might have confused him, too. I'd rub a towel on the CC, then rub it on the other dog, and go back to the CC and "reintroduce" the scent as 'family'.

If it doesn't get better quick, I'd bring in a trainer/behaviorist and see if they can identify what's going on.
If you can get some of the behavior on a video, that might help some of the experts here see what's going on and have some better tips.

 

[season]

Yes, there are always exceptions....agreed. I also see a lot of ppl who claim they have rules in place etc, and they really don't. Unless rules are enforced consistently and not part of the time then they aren't rules. They are pipe dreams. It doesn't take an "expert" to see a dog that is pushing limits. That is not tuned in. That is not following their owners lead. It doesn't take an expert to see that an owner is not doing their part. That is not following through. Loving a dog is the easy part. Having rules for the dog. Having boundaries for the dog. Having structure for the dog is the hard part.

 

[Eliz79]

If I could add an option while agreeing with season.

There have been issues, whether play verging on prey drive or subtle signs of unbalance prior to the grooming. More credence with the "sudden" behaviour change at the dog park.

A good behavioral consultant or behavorist is needed as well as a very tightly managed NILF.

Also, one thing we dog, is have all dogs groomed same day. Everyone leaves, everyone is poked, prodded fluffed and buffed and everyone comes home looking, smelling, feeling weird.

We found it helps alleviate one dog feeling safe and sound while another is amped up and off kilter.



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[goatnipples2002]

Has your daily routine changed any? Walks? Any personal probs sending out bad mojo?