Need some thoughts

Hey all. I just moved into a new "apartment" (my friend's guest house) and of course brought my 4-year-old neutered aussie/st bernard, Cash, with me. My friend has three dogs: a 7-year-old spayed lab and two cocker spaniels, a male and female (both altered). The cockers aren't allowed out with the lab because the female cocker is extremely dominant and the last time she annoyed the lab so much that the lab retaliated and nearly killed the cocker. Generally speaking, though, the lab is extremely laid back. Here is my problem...

Cash is extremely dog reactive with large dogs. He adores dogs smaller than himself (we dog sat a schnauzer for a friend of ours and Cash was absolutely perfect with him and he just LOVES my mom's little malti-poo). His reactiveness stems from being attacked at dog parks several times (none of which were at his instigation...I'll explain the attacks later). Now he has a very "I'm going to get you before you get me" attitude.

The first time he was attacked, it was by a white pit bull (have nothing against pits...think they can be some of the best dogs out there, IF they are raised correctly). The pit actually was trying to get at me, but Cash happened to be right there after "checking in" with me and intervened. He had the pit pinned down by the neck by the time I was able to break through the ring of morons who were crowded around speculating on the best way to break up the fight. I pulled him off her, put his harness on, and we left. I only know the pit was trying to get ME because as the couple who owned the pit walked by my truck, I asked if she was alright and took a step toward them. Immediately the pit lunged at me snarling and snapping.

The second time, it wasn't a dog that attacked him, exactly. We were in the big dogs' side of the park with an annoying little white boxer puppy (who was in horrible shape!) and Cash was obsessing over the little dogs playing next door. The puppy just kept going after Cash's face to get him to play, so finally he turned around and "yelled" at her (basically told her to back off, but didn't hurt her at all). Next thing I know, the idiot owner of the puppy has Cash pinned to the ground and is yelling at him. I rushed over and told him to get off my dog. Seriously! First, the way he pinned Cash was NOT the way you do it (if you believe in pinning a dog, which I don't unless it's an absolute last resort) and second, how the heck could he know that my dog wouldn't bite him?! Gah!

Anyway, the third and fourth time were at the same park on the same day. We showed up at a DIFFERENT park than the first two incidents (this one was within walking distance of our apartment). We walked in the gate and I let Cash off his leash. He immediately ran over to the other dogs (a big unneutered weim, a female landseer, and a little female chow/shepherd mix pup) to say hi. Without preamble, the landseer attacked him. The owner of the landseer told me that her dog doesn't like new dogs (then why the heck are you at a dog park?!) and that since they'd been there a while and we just got there, they'd leave. Cash played with the other two dogs for over an hour with absolutely no problems. Then these two guys showed up with two aussie puppies and an adult female border collie. The guy with the BC came in the gate first and let his dog off leash. Immediately Cash went over to say hi. He started to initiate play and the BC attacked him. The dog's stupid owner was standing over both dogs, screaming at them and BEATING them with the bull snap on his leash! I got the fight broken up and we left.

Ever since these incidents, Cash has gotten progressively worse. He loves my sister's lab, but she's 14 and doesn't care about anything anymore. He is terrified of my sister's 5lbs overweight chihuahua. However, I can't take him to Petsmart or Petco because if we see another dog, he goes absolutely nuts (he starts almost hyperventilating and whining really loud and will try to pull me over to the other dog). He was okay with my parents' neighbor's two aussies through the fence, but the few times they ran out to meet him on the road, there was a fight between him and the male (granted, they were charging out pretty aggressively).

Fast forward to the other day. I brought Cash over to our new place with the express purpose of letting him meet Dory (my friend's lab). Dory came out into the driveway where we were and they started sniffing each other. Next thing I know, completely without provocation (that I could see), Cash is on top of Dory with a mouthful of her scruff and he's trying to get her pinned. I had him on a leash, so I'm hauling back on him, but he won't let go of Dory and I can't grab his mouth to make him let go because Dory keeps reaching over her shoulder to get at him. Neither of them were hurt, thank heaven. So, now we're at a stalemate. Cash stays inside my apartment while I'm at work (thank heaven he's past his destructive phase!). When I get up in the morning, my friend takes Dory and the cockers inside so Cash can go out and pee. Then he's locked up in the apartment all day while I'm at work. When I get home, my friend's dogs go inside so Cash can again go out and pee. Today, my friend had to go into my apartment to get something and didn't think about the fact that Dory was loose. Dory desperately wants to be friends with Cash, so she followed my friend up to my door. My friend tried to squeeze in the door while keeping Cash inside, but he somehow managed to slip by her and was almost on top of Dory again before my friend caught his collar and hauled him back inside.

So, what can I do to help Cash accept Dory? I'd love to be able to let him out and play with her all day, rather than having him cooped up inside all the time. One thing we're going to start doing (as soon as the play I'm working is finished this weekend) is we're going to start taking them for walks every evening together. I really need to get Cash another backpack (he killed his last one because I accidentally left it out) because it really helps focus him when we walk, but they're kind of expensive. Anyway, any other suggestions? Cash does have some basic obedience, but we've never been able to do formal obedience classes because when I first got him I didn't have the money, and by the time I had the money, he had gotten to the point where he would have tried to attack all the other dogs in the class.

 

it seems like he is always having problems when you let him go at the park, have you tried going to a park without any dogs? that might sound silly but there are some local parks around me that has basically 0 dogs, or go when there is no one there so cash can play?

I am just wondering just asking ( hope you don't find this offensive ) but why would you take of his leash if you know that

Cash is extremely dog reactive with large dogs. He adores dogs smaller than himself

?

I used to walk dogs for my neighbor before the dog died and I never let him off his leash, he was a real passive dog, he was one of those dogs that run away from everything but his owner, I always took him to the same park around 10pm at night and just let him run around by himself

how old is dory?

about cash and dory, you can try having a sit with both their leashes on and just have them look at each other and see how well they interact with each other, this is what I did with my friends guinea pig =T if they don't like each other you will know right away, but from what I read from your statement, it does not seem like a good fit

when you say

Next thing I know, completely without provocation (that I could see), Cash is on top of Dory with a mouthful of her scruff and he's trying to get her pinned. I had him on a leash, so I'm hauling back on him, but he won't let go of Dory and I can't grab his mouth to make him let go because Dory keeps reaching over her shoulder to get at him.

, does that mean cash attacked her? if so, cash is a very over friendly dog, he is like a little kid that thinks he can do whatever he wants without any punishment, that's from what I get from it

Cash does have some basic obedience

? what does that consist of? I don't know if that means he is good enough to be off the leash when in public

the best thing to do in my opinion is isolate cash from other dogs, also show him pictures of dogs and see how he reacts, you can do this until can stop hyperventilating and feels more comfy with pictures

I hope Cash gets better, my friend is studying to be a psychologist and these were the methods he used to help other dogs, it does take time, but in the long run it would probably benefit Cash than do harm, I think he just needs some isolation, I know its unavoidable to let them out and do their #1 and #2, but maybe do it at a time when no one is out and about? than maybe after a while, let him meet dory again

 

I've just taken an animal behaviour course this semester... definitely far from an expert but here are a few suggestions from my handbook/lectures:
1) Make the presence of the other dog appealing... if he has a favourite toy hide it for a week, and start only bringing it out when Dory's around. Obviously at first keep both on a leash and far apart. As he gets used to her presence and focuses on the toy only you can move her closer, again keeping her controlled and at a distance. If he doesn't go for toys, use something really delicious as a treat. If you won't feel too bad about it you can even fast him for 24 hours so he's really really happy to eat, and feed him only when she's around, again with both leashed and her preferably sitting and being unthreatening. Eventually he'll see her presence as a good thing!
2) Work on obedience for both of them. The better a recall you have the easier it will be to break up fights/prevent them in the first place by calling whichever is approaching the other dog away before anything happens. Again if you make training fun and rewarding for him, once he's a bit better around her you can try training the two of them together so he can see that other dogs can be around without approaching or bothering him, and it will help build up positive associations.
The walks together is probably a great idea as well! You could probably take the opportunity to reward him for being attentive to you rather than focusing on her. Back when I did agility with my beagle (nose driven creature!) I taught her 'watch' which basically meant look at me, to help keep her nose off the ground when I wanted her attention... something like that could help you as well if he starts obsessing about another dog being around and getting him to focus on you instead...
If you have the time/money it might also be a good idea to look into a canine behaviourist who could help tailor a program to the 2 of them.
Good luck!

 

it seems like he is always having problems when you let him go at the park, have you tried going to a park without any dogs? that might sound silly but there are some local parks around me that has basically 0 dogs, or go when there is no one there so cash can play?

There are only two parks near me now (moved from a big city with four or five to a small town with just the two) and both of them pretty much ALWAYS have dogs.

I am just wondering just asking ( hope you don't find this offensive ) but why would you take of his leash if you know that ?

I think you misunderstood me. He hasn't been off-leash around other dogs (except my mom's malti-poo, and my sister's lab and chihuahua, but that was a while ago) since after that last incident at the dog park (with the landseer and then the border collie). He wasn't nearly as reactive as he is now until after that last incident. After that, it's just like something snapped.

I used to walk dogs for my neighbor before the dog died and I never let him off his leash, he was a real passive dog, he was one of those dogs that run away from everything but his owner, I always took him to the same park around 10pm at night and just let him run around by himself

Our parks are all closed after sunset.

how old is dory?

Dory is almost 8-years-old.

about cash and dory, you can try having a sit with both their leashes on and just have them look at each other and see how well they interact with each other, this is what I did with my friends guinea pig =T if they don't like each other you will know right away, but from what I read from your statement, it does not seem like a good fit

when you say , does that mean cash attacked her? if so, cash is a very over friendly dog, he is like a little kid that thinks he can do whatever he wants without any punishment, that's from what I get from it

Without any punishment? How did you get that from what I said? If he attacks another dog, he gets disciplined more severely than he would for any other misbehavior (and that's as much as I'm going to say...I by no means beat my dog, don't think that, but I don't let his misbehavior go unpunished). And I don't punish after the fact, either. As soon as he starts exhibiting behavior that is unacceptable, he is reprimanded.

? what does that consist of? I don't know if that means he is good enough to be off the leash when in public

Again, I said nothing about him being off-leash in public, except when he was at the dog park (which we haven't been to a dog park in almost three years). The yard is not considered "public," as far as I'm concerned. His basic obedience includes all your basic commands (sit, stay, heel [although he does this anyway]), plus "leave it" and a few other random everyday commands that worked their way into his repertoire because I've used them (things like "back" and commands for getting off furniture, on furniture, or into the truck). His recall needs work, but I'd say he's probably 90% on it.

the best thing to do in my opinion is isolate cash from other dogs, also show him pictures of dogs and see how he reacts, you can do this until can stop hyperventilating and feels more comfy with pictures

Pictures of dogs don't bother him at all. I watch movies all the time and even if there are dogs barking in the movies, he could care less. It's REAL dogs that are the issue. He knows a dog in a picture or on the TV can't do him harm. Unfortunately, Cash HAS been mostly isolated from other dogs for the past almost two years and, as proven with Dory, it has just made him worse.

I hope Cash gets better, my friend is studying to be a psychologist and these were the methods he used to help other dogs, it does take time, but in the long run it would probably benefit Cash than do harm, I think he just needs some isolation, I know its unavoidable to let them out and do their #1 and #2, but maybe do it at a time when no one is out and about? than maybe after a while, let him meet dory again

I've just taken an animal behaviour course this semester... definitely far from an expert but here are a few suggestions from my handbook/lectures:
1) Make the presence of the other dog appealing... if he has a favourite toy hide it for a week, and start only bringing it out when Dory's around. Obviously at first keep both on a leash and far apart. As he gets used to her presence and focuses on the toy only you can move her closer, again keeping her controlled and at a distance. If he doesn't go for toys, use something really delicious as a treat. If you won't feel too bad about it you can even fast him for 24 hours so he's really really happy to eat, and feed him only when she's around, again with both leashed and her preferably sitting and being unthreatening. Eventually he'll see her presence as a good thing!
2) Work on obedience for both of them. The better a recall you have the easier it will be to break up fights/prevent them in the first place by calling whichever is approaching the other dog away before anything happens. Again if you make training fun and rewarding for him, once he's a bit better around her you can try training the two of them together so he can see that other dogs can be around without approaching or bothering him, and it will help build up positive associations.
The walks together is probably a great idea as well! You could probably take the opportunity to reward him for being attentive to you rather than focusing on her. Back when I did agility with my beagle (nose driven creature!) I taught her 'watch' which basically meant look at me, to help keep her nose off the ground when I wanted her attention... something like that could help you as well if he starts obsessing about another dog being around and getting him to focus on you instead...
If you have the time/money it might also be a good idea to look into a canine behaviourist who could help tailor a program to the 2 of them.
Good luck!

Not much in the way of canine behaviorists in my area (in the total tri-city area around me, there are maybe 60,000 residents, and that's including all the outlying, rural areas that aren't within a town's limits). :-/
1) Oddly, for being an aussie mix, he is not toy driven at all. Most aussies I've known and been around have that one toy that they can't be separated from, but not Cash. He has a shark that he likes well enough, and he likes his Kong, but if I were to take either away, he could care less. Every other toy I've given him has been systematically destroyed. Tennis balls (not that he deigns to play fetch) last all of five minutes. Stuffed toys last maybe 30 seconds. The shark he has is made from 600D nylon (what they make luggage out of) and the seams are stitched seven times (it's this one: ). It was sold to me as being pretty much indestructible. Yeah, the shark's bottom jaw is completely gone and the first week he had it, he managed to pull some of the stitching along the dorsal fin...and he's only had it since Christmas!
We're definitely going to start the walking together. We're actually going for a walk today as soon as it cools off a bit.

 

Man, this is why I do not take my dogs to dog parks. Few dog owners understand canine body language. You might want to Google "Turid Rugaas". Poor Cash has a lot to overcome. In my experience solid obedience helps overcome anxiety.

 

Yeah, unfortunately I didn't know any better. There weren't any dog parks in my town until a couple of years ago, when I wasn't living here anymore. Now that I know better, I probably wouldn't have taken him to the dog park, but at the time, I thought it would be a great way to socialize him (especially since he was a pound puppy) since we didn't know anyone in town.

Interesting...my dalmatian actually went through the CVCTC beginner obedience program. We graduated with flying colors, even after the black lab in our class tried to attack me and my dalmatian protected me (I know, it sounds like I'm awful with dogs, but I'm really not! I have only ever been almost attacked twice, which is an excellent track record considering I used to work for a vet and did all their boarding lol). I was eleven when I took her through the course and were the youngest human/dog team in the class (Soccer was a year old at the time). My biggest concern with group obedience classes is that we'll be around at least a dozen other dogs and he gets so anxious that he absolutely won't listen to me. He's too focused on what the other dogs are doing and on them not coming near him. I did email them, though, and asked them what they thought a good solution would be (one-on-one obedience until we get the basics down and then redo basic obedience in a class setting, or just toss him into the class setting).

 

I think you misunderstood me. He hasn't been off-leash around other dogs (except my mom's malti-poo, and my sister's lab and chihuahua, but that was a while ago) since after that last incident at the dog park (with the landseer and then the border collie). He wasn't nearly as reactive as he is now until after that last incident. After that, it's just like something snapped.

oh sorry I misunderstood, I always see dogs off their leash and I always wonder why people do that in a dog park, I am scared to do that with any dog I take care of =[

Our parks are all closed after sunset.

bummer, if you lived in NY, you can stay in the park all night, just need to watch out for the homeless people

Without any punishment? How did you get that from what I said? If he attacks another dog, he gets disciplined more severely than he would for any other misbehavior (and that's as much as I'm going to say...I by no means beat my dog, don't think that, but I don't let his misbehavior go unpunished). And I don't punish after the fact, either. As soon as he starts exhibiting behavior that is unacceptable, he is reprimanded.

when I use to volunteer in a vet hospital, most of the people that I come in contact with don't really punish their dogs or kids, its society now a days that says, if you beat your kids we will take them away and so on, that also goes into animals, so most people don't "punish" their dog due to some rules now a days if you know what I mean. I think my generation was the last one to be beaten severely that I still have scars in my back =[ those bamboo sticks that my dad grows in the backyard

Again, I said nothing about him being off-leash in public, except when he was at the dog park (which we haven't been to a dog park in almost three years). The yard is not considered "public," as far as I'm concerned. His basic obedience includes all your basic commands (sit, stay, heel [although he does this anyway]), plus "leave it" and a few other random everyday commands that worked their way into his repertoire because I've used them (things like "back" and commands for getting off furniture, on furniture, or into the truck). His recall needs work, but I'd say he's probably 90% on it.

oh wow I did not know he has not been in a dog park in almost three years, I thought these problems were recent

I had a police officer explain to me that, your backyard is "private" property, but your front yard works both ways, it is "private" property but it can be seen in "public" thus making it a double edge sword, your dog was in your property, but since it is open to the public (unless you have fence), people or animals still can for a second intrude in your "private" property, it took me a while to understand this because of what happened to me, person came in, uprooted my rose bush ( which is now placed in the back ) and I chased the guy and called police

Pictures of dogs don't bother him at all. I watch movies all the time and even if there are dogs barking in the movies, he could care less. It's REAL dogs that are the issue. He knows a dog in a picture or on the TV can't do him harm. Unfortunately, Cash HAS been mostly isolated from other dogs for the past almost two years and, as proven with Dory, it has just made him worse.

oh wow that is a long time, my friend just told me to do this for a couple of weeks, I had no idea it was two years, but I think doing a sit with leashes on and walks with dory would do a lot of help, have you tried using the muzzle or whatever its called? I remember a dog that had problems with other dogs and he kept nipping and chasing their tales until the other dog got fed up and retaliated

can I see a picture of this cutie please =]

 

Yeah, unfortunately I didn't know any better. There weren't any dog parks in my town until a couple of years ago, when I wasn't living here anymore. Now that I know better, I probably wouldn't have taken him to the dog park, but at the time, I thought it would be a great way to socialize him (especially since he was a pound puppy) since we didn't know anyone in town.

I expect my dogs to be indifferent to other dogs. Around here dog parks have become the place for canine ignorant people to take their ill-mannered and/or fearful dogs. In that environment dog fights are not uncommon. People get all bent out of shape and blame everyone else and their dog because their own dog "was just trying to be friendly" when in fact it was throwing aggressive signals. Canine body language is fascinating.

My biggest concern with group obedience classes is that we'll be around at least a dozen other dogs and he gets so anxious that he absolutely won't listen to me. He's too focused on what the other dogs are doing and on them not coming near him. I did email them, though, and asked them what they thought a good solution would be (one-on-one obedience until we get the basics down and then redo basic obedience in a class setting, or just toss him into the class setting).

I totally get that and agree with you. He needs desensitization... a slow process... not to be thrown into the middle of a group... then the obedience to continue building his confidence. You need assistance in a controlled environment. Other dog savvy people are your best bet. There's bound to be someone with a dog who throws the calming signals Turid Rugaas talks about. My mother's pound puppy is one of those. He integrated into my household without a hitch the very first time I cared for him.

Good Luck! Cash sounds like a good boy who has had some bad experiences.

 

Tiger, the pit that attacked him first was trying to pick fights with all the other dogs in the park. She tried with Cash when he was away from me and he just ignored her. The problem was when she tried to get to ME and he was right there. That didn't go over well with him. When we left, they were walking past my truck and I had just put Cash in the back (my truck has a camper). I took a step toward them to ask if their dog was okay and she lunged at me, growling, snapping, the whole shabang. Apparently Cash, while trying to get a better hold on the pit's neck, accidentally sunk his teeth into the guy who owned the pit's bicep (idiot was trying to get his dog in a strangle hold to pull her away!). He was totally cool about it and said it was his own stupid fault (which is was). Anyway, they said they were going to take their dog home, let her calm down and then bring her back later. Almost everyone that was at the park told them that they were not allowed back at the park until their dog had learned some manners and didn't try to start fights with all the other dogs.

Maxima, here's a pic of my boy:

 

Cash has no choice but to be a complete gentleman where you live. If he was my dog, I would lay him down on his side and allow the lab to sniff him all over. If Cash reacted in any way, I would "tsk" him (or whatever sharp sound you make that he responds to) and give him a little poke to show him no reaction is necessary or acceptable.

This always always always works with every single shelter dog and personal dog I've used it on. They stay laying on their side until a) the other dog is satisfied and b) they are completely calm submissive. Only then are they released.

Sometimes it works right away, sometimes it takes time, but it's a lesson that sinks in after the one event. A lot of patience is required of you and your dog if he's the type that has to lay there until he "gets it".

 

cash is absolutely adorable, I love his colors a lot!!! the other dogs are just jealous XD

 

Cash has no choice but to be a complete gentleman where you live. If he was my dog, I would lay him down on his side and allow the lab to sniff him all over. If Cash reacted in any way, I would "tsk" him (or whatever sharp sound you make that he responds to) and give him a little poke to show him no reaction is necessary or acceptable.

This always always always works with every single shelter dog and personal dog I've used it on. They stay laying on their side until a) the other dog is satisfied and b) they are completely calm submissive. Only then are they released.

Sometimes it works right away, sometimes it takes time, but it's a lesson that sinks in after the one event. A lot of patience is required of you and your dog if he's the type that has to lay there until he "gets it".

I agree with LyndaB. You need to show cash that he is not the dominant dog here. Since the lab is older you definitely need to allow her to be the dominant one.

We had a problem with our yorkie all of a sudden getting territorial over our 16 year old mutt. She would just maul her. I had to work with the yorkie for about 9 months showing her that she is to be submissive and show no reaction when other dogs are around. I think it is necessary to train Cash in the presence of other dogs but never where the other dogs are off their leash (that completely floors me... I would never walk into a dog park if there were dogs off their leashes... been attacked too many times by dogs. no thank you)

keep him on the harness so that you can have better control over him if you do take him in public. People could sue you if Cash ever had an outbreak like that again.. eep!

I would start with working cash with the lab- once he feels better around her, then you can move onto other public places.

 

Lynda, that's actually a really good idea. I'll have to try it this weekend.

As for him being in public with him acting the way he does...he doesn't go out in public, to be honest. I have taken him to the local feed store once or twice when I was POSITIVE there were no other dogs there. I took him to one of the LPS once and I made sure there were no other dogs. The last time I took him to Petsmart, we went late in the evening and stayed in the fish section because most people don't take their dogs over there.

The thing about dog parks (at least around here) is that they're all off-leash, meaning they're an enclosed area where you can safely (and legally, since we have strictly enforced leash laws) let your dog off leash to run and play.

 

We go to the dog park for the sole purpose of letting our dogs run off leash. That's where I discovered that my little guy, Scruff, had dog aggression. Notice that I said "had". That first time we took him shortly after adopting him, he started acting up. I flipped him on his back and invited all the other dogs to come over and sniff him. He hated it. I only had to poke him once or twice during the lesson. Once I let him up, I took his leash off, he ran off and played with the other dogs as though the aggression had never happened and he's been fine ever since. That was about 6 years ago.

 

Okay, I think the problem is me. Not directly, though. I know that sounds strange, but let me explain how I reached this conclusion.

A few days ago, I let Cash out to pee in the morning like I always do. My landlady's dogs (Dory and her two cockers, Rusty and Rosie) are usually inside until after I leave for work at around 8:15am. Well, this particular morning, my landlady's husband let the dogs out when he got up for work at 5am without telling her or me. I let Cash out like normal, propped the screen door open, and went back to bed (I usually let him out around 6am and let him run around for a while). About half an hour after I let Cash out, all of a sudden Rosie, one of the cockers, jumped up on my bed. I couldn't figure out where she'd come from at first (was still half asleep), but then I figured that my landlady didn't realize Cash was out and let her dogs out. So, I got out of bed and called Cash, fearing the worst (even though I hadn't heard any indications of an altercation). Here came Cash trotting up with Dory at his side to say hello. BUT, as soon as Cash saw me in the doorway, he suddenly became EXTREMELY anxious with Dory and tried to display dominant behavior. I stopped him before he even really got into it and pulled him inside, then texted my landlady to tell her that her dogs were outside.

So, the conclusion I draw from this is that Cash is anxious when meeting new (big) dogs because he is being protective of me...or am I grasping at straws, here?

 

Cash has made it clear that he's perfectly capable of being a dog when around other dogs. He is obviously getting vibes from you that he should be nervous. You need to let him just be with the other dogs more often without you "being in the way" if you know what I mean. Kind of like Cesar's Power of the Pack. Cash has worked it out with the other dogs. Now, you need to work it out with Cash.

P.S. It's not that uncommon. My husband has the same effect on our dogs.

 

It's weird, though, because I don't think I'm sending off nervous vibes when he meets new dogs. I try to stay calm and just let him be, so to speak. Or maybe it's just that I kind of "expect" him to be a jerk with new dogs (for lack of a better phrase)?

I know there was one instance where HE was the aggressor and I wasn't anywhere around (I was in the house). My friends and I were going hiking and I had my mom's maltipoo, a friend's dachshund that I was dog sitting and one of my friends brought her lab/chow mix who weighed probably a good 120lbs (FAT dog). I had run inside to get something out of the house and explicitly told my friends NOT to let Cash out of the gate and not to bring Bear (the overweight lab/chow) inside the gate. One of my stupid guy friends (who has absolutely no clue about dogs) thought "Oh look, they want to be friends" when he saw them sniffing through the fence and failed to see Cash's raised hackles, upright tail and lowered head (all signs that he is NOT happy). So, the idiot opened the gate. Next thing I hear from inside the house is my friends all screaming and the sounds of a serious dog fight. Cash had Bear by the scruff of the neck and WOULD NOT let go. He was ticked off that there was another dog on HIS territory and he was going to fix the situation. Bear was a big wuss and wasn't even trying to get Cash off him, he was just "screaming." No one was doing anything but screaming and/or crying as they watched, so I ran in and had to literally pry my dog off Bear. I promise you that my stupid friend who opened the gate got QUITE the earful!

Anyway, so do you suggest that I just let Cash out when my landlady's dogs are out? My landlady is concerned because her female cocker is apparently VERY dominant and she said that Rosie would just keep picking at Cash until he reacted. Rosie did it to Dory and Dory finally snapped, grabbing Rosie's neck and causing the need for almost ten stitches by the time she got them apart. I don't think it'll be a problem, though, because Cash is INSANELY tolerant of little dogs (he'll even let them eat out of his bowl while he stands there and watches). Also, I'm usually at work all day, so Cash goes out before I go to work, once when I get home for a few minutes to pee, and then he gets to come and go as he pleases after the other dogs get brought inside for the night around 7:30. I don't know if my landlady would be up for letting him and Dory loose all day without someone around (she's usually out at the stable where we board our horses most of the day and her husband works the same hours that I do, or longer). Dory is usually loose in the yard and the cockers go into a dog run by the back porch.

 

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't leave the dogs together unsupervised, at least not at this point. Sounds like it could be a tragedy waiting to happen. Reading back on his experiences, I would venture a guess that Cash has learned this behavior. As such it may not matter what "vibe" you are giving off currently, he's going to become anxious in this type situation. Besides, I'm sure at least your body language alerted him to your concern about him being in the yard with the other dogs. To answer your question, I do not think this is a protective behavior. I believe he is anxious and your presence has become the trigger for his anxiety.

Have you been able to contact the training club near you? There may be someone there who can work with you and Cash... not a group class... one to one. I really feel you need a dog savvy person to observe Cash and work with you based on those observations. In this situation internet advice is not likely to be effective.

FWIW I do not leave my dogs outside when I'm not home. I would not want them to somehow get out of the yard and run around harassing livestock (and possibly be shot). If we were in the city I would worry about them getting out and being caught by animal control.

 

Why don't you start taking Cash and one of the other dogs for daily walks, on leash, so that they learn to do well together. Alternate the other dogs so that Cash gets evenly exposed to all of them.

I know what it's like to be the one saying "Geez, I'm sorry but I'm not quite sure how my dog's going to react". It's a horrible feeling and one I think you can shed with Cash.

And yeah, he's picking up your vibes PLUS he's learned what you expect of him around other dogs. Even if you're not there, he may still behave the way he believes you've trained him to.

 

Unless Cash jumps the fence (which won't happen...he respects pretty much any boundary you put in front of him, even the 3.5ft chain link fence that we had at our old place that he could clear without trying if he wanted to, and our fence is a decorative wrought iron affair with spikes topping it), there's absolutely no way he's getting out of the yard short of someone letting him out on purpose. All three gates (two walk-throughs and a drive-through) are chained shut.

Anyway, the main reason we want to have them able to be out together is that Cash has taken up howling when I'm not home. According to my landlady, he will howl for an hour straight at times and no amount of her telling him to shut up will make him stop.

We can walk the dogs together, but lately, it's been so hot that the asphalt doesn't cool down until almost dark and by then it's not safe to go walking. We live in a fairly rural area and there have been reported mountain lion and bobcat sightings in the area as recently as a couple of months ago. Mornings are a possibility, but I get up around 6am and my landlady usually doesn't get up until 8am (when I leave for work). I have tried to get her up earlier to go walking, but it hasn't worked yet. As far as I know, Dory doesn't walk very well on a leash, so dealing with two 60lbs dogs, one of which pulls, would not be good (torn rotator cuff makes it difficult to walk Cash properly at times, but luckily he's is fairly good at "heel"...and Cash WILL NOT walk on my right, trust me, I've tried).

Tiger, I emailed that training club and never heard anything back from them. I tried to call the number, but got no answer. I used to know a trainer in Chino that would have helped us (she rescued and did agility with border collies, as well as doing training), but she passed away earlier this year.

 

Cash has taken up howling when I'm not home. According to my landlady, he will howl for an hour straight at times and no amount of her telling him to shut up will make him stop.

How about giving him a stuffed kong (instead of breakfast) when you leave the house. If I stuff ours properly, my dogs are entertained for at least an hour and no distraction (my leaving, a squirrel in the yard, etc) will take their mind of conquering the kong.

I get up at 4 AM to take the dogs for a walk. I don't have to leave the house until 7:30 AM but I choose to have this time for just me and them. And it's paid off handsomely. Get up earlier, take just Cash on a walk or exercise him hard before you leave for work. Leave him wanting nothing more than a nap.

Oh, and set your radio to NPR. For some reason, even Merlin, who used to scream when I left for work, has settled down since I repositioned his crate (closer to Scruff's) and also tuned in to NPR (they hear voices and classical music every day).