Help! My mastiff attacked

[ash_mandy]

Mandy is a 3 1/2 Year old rescued English Mastiff. I've owned her for about 2 years now and I've noticed very little behavioral problems from her. She is a very jealous/ attention oriented dog. But she absolutely loves adults and children. A year ago we moved out of my parents house and into a new neighborhood in a new city. The house was medium sized with a large unfenced backyard. I let her out a few times before I noticed she had a tendency to chase after other dogs when they passed by with their owners. Nothing aggressive, just the causal curiosity. Cautiously, I started keeping her on a leash when we would go outside.

One day, my niece accidentally left the door open, so Mandy took her opportunity to go outside. Not a minute later I hear screams from a woman and I immediately run outside. Mandy had this womans dog by it's throat, luckily my brother and I were able to get her off without too much damage done to the poor pup. Mandy had also ended up biting the owners hand as she was in the process of trying to break it up. It was a very costly accident and I can't afford for it to happen again.

After the accident about 6 months ago, I've noticed her extreme aggression towards other dogs. She freaks out whether she's on walks or in the car and notices another dog being walked by their owner. I tried introducing her to a friends dog, and she nearly overpowered me to try and attack him. Are there any tips on breaking the pet aggression?

The weather is starting to get warmer and I'd like to take my dog for walks without feeling fearful of what she might do. Also, she is very well behaved with my family dogs and the newest puppy my roommate has brought along.

 

[HULK101113]

Socialise socialise socialise

 

[Tunride]

Training. Find a professional trainer to help you. Fence the yard. A fence will protect you, financially, both dogs from cars, being lost and stress from other people and animals. A roll of 5 ' field fence and metal poles will work and it's cheap. Socialize but at arms length until you really trust her. She probably sees other dogs, outside her space as a threat. She needs to be near enough, both on leash, to other dogs and taught to ignore them. Leave it command or a look at me command. This will take time and patience. Thanks for rescue. I to have a new rescue Mastiff and a lot of work. But they are a treasure in the ruff. Bubbles has so much love to share that nobody saw before. He also is a terror on a leash. Time and patience.

 

[Sadies Mom]

I Agree with Hulk and Tunride......I would also invest in a privacy fence for the back yard. Take her everywhere dogs are allowed. Bring lots of treats and just people/dog watch. When she does not react praise and teat like crazy. Do not push her to meet/sniff other dogs. Just let her observe from a distance and be patient. Does she know watch/focus on you with distractions? If not, start with that at home without distractions and then take her to places. Good luck

 

[Ash1985]

Some people may have a problem with this but Galoot was trained using electronic collar. He still has DA but if he has his collar on and starts reacting to another dog he gets corrected after a firm Leave it.

 

[musicdeb]

I would only advise using an electric collar with someone who has experience using the collar. Misuse of the collar can cause worse problems than what you are having.

Tunride and Sadies Mom gave excellent advice and suggestions. Most importantly, fencing your backyard is a must!

 

[QY10]

I have attempted to use e-collars for aggression before with my APBT and Staffy. It did not work. Even on the highest setting, the e-collars were unable to break their attention from fighting. I don't think the collars made the fighting any worse, but it definitely did not stop it. Also, we did obedience classes to train us how to use the collars properly. I would never use those collars except in extreme cases, which this case was. We've since had to move to a "crate and rotate" method in our house. I would look for a trainer who specializes in aggressive behaviours. That way, you'll learn to see the warning signs, how to properly correct the behaviour before it goes to a full-blown crisis situation and you'll also feel supported throughout the process and not like your flying solo with the problem. Just my two cents.

 

[joshuagough]

Some 1on1 training with a decent trainer would do wonders. That would be my first option if you can afford it. There's no replacement for hands on training, with someone who knows what there doing.

I have two questions,

1. How's her obedience, general temperament & ability to preform commands? Honest answer..

2. What kind of collar are you using with her?

Mandy is a 3 1/2 Year old rescued English Mastiff. I've owned her for about 2 years now and I've noticed very little behavioral problems from her. She is a very jealous/ attention oriented dog. But she absolutely loves adults and children. A year ago we moved out of my parents house and into a new neighborhood in a new city. The house was medium sized with a large unfenced backyard. I let her out a few times before I noticed she had a tendency to chase after other dogs when they passed by with their owners. Nothing aggressive, just the causal curiosity. Cautiously, I started keeping her on a leash when we would go outside.

One day, my niece accidentally left the door open, so Mandy took her opportunity to go outside. Not a minute later I hear screams from a woman and I immediately run outside. Mandy had this womans dog by it's throat, luckily my brother and I were able to get her off without too much damage done to the poor pup. Mandy had also ended up biting the owners hand as she was in the process of trying to break it up. It was a very costly accident and I can't afford for it to happen again.

After the accident about 6 months ago, I've noticed her extreme aggression towards other dogs. She freaks out whether she's on walks or in the car and notices another dog being walked by their owner. I tried introducing her to a friends dog, and she nearly overpowered me to try and attack him. Are there any tips on breaking the pet aggression?

The weather is starting to get warmer and I'd like to take my dog for walks without feeling fearful of what she might do. Also, she is very well behaved with my family dogs and the newest puppy my roommate has brought along.

 

[NeSaxena]

Yeah, I agree with the trainer part definitely.

 

[JuneBugg]

I'm curious on your dominant level in the house.

My female gets a long with all other dogs. Except the one she grew up with. My father's dog whom happens to be a boxer named Molliie haha Maddie and Molliie.
They would get into terrible fights, and not little arguments. They were bent on killing each other. The boxer had an aggression problem, and my girl has a protect mom at all costs problem. When these fights would happen, a simple and firm (and loud) "MADDIE NO" Stopped the fight long enough for me to get Molliie off and calm them down.

She might have also had a run in with an aggressive dog before she was rescued.

I would find a dog with a calm energy to introduce her to.

Also, try calming cues that does use daily. Like stretching, lip licking and yawning.
Seems silly, but used at the correct moment will work wonders.
Of course you have to calm down enough first.

Thats my two cents!

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[CeeCee]

I have to agree, invest in an experienced trainer and a fence. There are so many nuances to teaching a dog to remain calm and you remaining calm in the presence of a trigger.

I have to completely disagree with using an e-collar with a dog who is in an aggressive state of mind or hyper aroused - best case scenario (and I say that loosely) is that the collar has no effect. Worst case, it fuels their aggressive/aroused fire.