Dog-aggressive cane corso

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\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->Hello Amanda, welcome to the forum. I don\'t have any answers for you but I wanted to say well done for trying so hard to make things work for Lola, if only everyone took so much trouble with rescue dogs, Have you tried Lola in a harness? I found that it worked better than just a collar when I had a dog (also a rescue dog) that pulled and lunged.
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[<!-' + '- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -' + '->Justontime<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->]

\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->Hello and welcome Amanda. I am sure someone with more knowledge than me will be along soon to offer advice on this. It must have been. very challenging for you having to deal with this, I hope you can get it sorted out soon. Good luck.
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\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->HI Amanda you found us then. As you know I can\'t offer any further advice. I do agree with one of the trainers though - dogs that whine when they see another dog, usually do want to go over and say hello, etc...I walk little groups of dogs and I always know when there is another dog around - on the other side of the street etc, because someone will "tell" me. If you think it would be difficult to manage the clicker and the treats and Lola, don\'t bother with the clicker - you can use a verbal subsititute for the clicker like "yes." I do wonder whether Lola has a problem with dogs that are on-lead? seems all the attacks outside the house have been on dogs that are leaded up.<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->\r\n \r\n

[<!-' + '- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -' + '->miss_lola<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->]

\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->Thanks to everyone for replying!
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\r\nkernow - the trainer that I saw most recently recommended a harness, but because she\'s so strong, I would have to attach a secondary leash to her in case it broke off. I find that too complicated, and I also want her to be able to walk without the use of tools. I have nothing against tools but I personally prefer that she learns how to react to other dogs with just a collar. Right now I\'m using a martingale collar but I just got it and we haven\'t ran into another dog while she had it on yet - I just hope it stays on, lol.
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\r\nStephanie - that\'s what throws everyone off, when Lola sees another dog, it looks like she wants to play, but when she actually gets to the other dog, it\'s another story. Since she probably wasn\'t very well socialized, it could just be that she doesn\'t know how to play properly and is 200 times too intense than a normal dog in play. It\'s hard to say since the times she has attacked other dogs, I was too busy trying to pull her off than noticing her body language!
\r\nMaybe she would be ok with dogs offleash, but that\'s too dangerous for me to try at this point, lol.
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\r\nBut I did just find out a couple of days ago that she didn\'t actually live in a car for 2 years. Apparently she lived with a young girl in an apartment, and this girl was a real party girl and very immature with a boyfriend who was "rough around the edges". Lola would bark and make too much noise when left alone, so the girl was told to get rid of the dog or she would be evicted. They moved her to the car for the weekend, until she was picked up by the shelter. Kind of gives me a new perspective on her!<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->\r\n \r\n

[<!-' + '- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -' + '->Justontime<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->]

\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->I can\'t help wondering if there is an element of fear in her behaviour. It seems as if she wants to be friendly but then something makes her react. If she has been roughly treated in the past maybe she doesn\'t trust anyone now, so as soon as she feels threatened she reacts by being aggressive. It is only a thought, but I am sure the roots of this go back a long way
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[<!-' + '- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -' + '->miss_lola<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->]

\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->That\'s interesting, I never thought about it that way!<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->\r\n \r\n

[<!-' + '- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -' + '->Robert<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->]

\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->Hi Amanda, are you still having issues with Lola?<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->\r\n \r\n

[<!-' + '- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -' + '->miss_lola<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->]

\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->Hi Robert, I wish I could say no, but that would be a lie... that\'s why I posted on here, lol. Believe me, if her problem ever gets fixed, I\'ll be giving other people advice, lol!<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->\r\n \r\n

[<!-' + '- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -' + '->Robert<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '->]

\r\n \r\n <!-' + '- google_ad_section_start -' + '->Hi Amanda, I was watching the Dog Whisperer and Cesar talks about using an ecollar. Have you considered that as an option?
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\r\nIf so, there are a couple of systems I found that have had good reviews:
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\r\nelectronic dog leash
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\r\nRemote dog training collars
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\r\nHope this helps....<!-' + '- google_ad_section_end -' + '-><!-' + '- AMS TENTH IN POST -' + '->\r\n \r\n

[miss_lola]

Hi everyone,

I was invited to join this form by Stephanie, who I met on another mailing list - so thanks again for the invite, Stephanie!

In July of last year I adopted a 3-year old spayed female cane corso from a local shelter - I named her Lola. She lived in a car with a young girl for 2 years, and was given up because the girl couldn't take care of herself or her dog. After that, she was at the shelter for 5 months before I adopted her, and from what I was told she became depressed at the shelter. When I introduced Lola to Jackie, my other dog (a senior female husky mix), they got along fine - no scuffles or snapping or anything. On a side-note, she was living with another (male) dog in the kennel, and from what I was told they got along fine, and Lola had never shown any signs of aggression to other dogs. She did really well when I brought her home, but after about a month she started attacking my other dog (when my other dog wasn't even looking at her, was lying down/sleeping, etc.), and it started happening more frequently to the point where I had to keep them separated. I was still able to walk them together, but then Lola started trying to attack Jackie even on walks, so I started walking them separately.

At first I thought it was just Jackie who Lola didn't like, but I soon found out it was also other dogs. The first incident happened when I was taking Lola out of my car, and she ran up to a guy walking a lab. She sniffed him, then started to attack (the other dog didn't fight back, just tried to run away). When I finally got her off the dog, I saw that she didn't do any damage, and the dog was ok (thank god). I knew I had a problem on my hands, so I started walking Lola with a muzzle. A couple of weeks after she attacked the lab, I was walking her and we passed a girl walking a bouvier across the street. Lola started jumping and lunging, and somehow her LEASH unclipped from her collar, and she attacked the bouvier (again, the other dog just tried to get away). In the middle of this, her muzzle came off (I realized I had a crappy quality muzzle!), although I was able to get her off the other dog pretty quickly, and again the other dog wasn't injured. The third incident happened when the fire alarm went off in my building, Lola and I were standing outside, and this time I was using a choker on her (I don't use them anymore - I just started using one because she's able to get out of a regular collar, so it was just for safety, not to correct her). So all of a sudden, she gave one pull and I realized the chokerbroke (!!) and she started attacking a pug. Again, thankfully the other dog was fine (and again, was just trying to get away). So I started walking her with a regular collar and a choker, so if one broke I would still have a back-up collar, as well as a leash with a screw-on carabiner, and I haven't had any incidents with her since then.

I saw one trainer last fall who observed her with Jackie (inside, on-leash) and said that it was an ideal situation because Jackie is so calm around Lola and completely ignores her. She suggested I have Lola out on leash for an hour a day with Jackie around just so Lola would get used to being around Jackie again. Of course, it was easier said than done because I'm usually always multi-tasking and it was a little inconvenient to be dragging my dog around with me every time I got up to do something. So of course I felt guilty that I wasn't doing what she suggested. Anyways, I ended up seeing another trainer a couple of months ago who I had heard about a while ago and wanted to see, but had forgotten about. This trainer uses positive methods and I really liked her. We talked a lot about dog body language and getting Lola to look to me for leadership instead of trying to take on that role herself. She told me to make Lola do something for me before opening the door/ giving her food, etc. - not having anything to do with "dominance" but just so Lola will pay more attention to me and start to automatically do these things before I even have to ask. We also worked on teaching Lola to come using a clicker and treats. It's been really fun teaching her, but I haven't been able to tackle her reaction when she sees another dog outside (she jumps, pulls and lunges like crazy. Doesn't bark/growl/act aggressive but sometimes whines. Another trainer told me it looks like she wants to play with the other dog!). I haven't seen the trainer again because I don't have the money right now, but I asked her what to do when we see another dog on the street. She told me to use the come command with the clicker, even if it takes Lola a few seconds to stop reacting. I haven't tried this yet becauseI'm really afraid I'll loose control of her while fumbling for the clicker and treats. During our next session, the trainer wants to bring another dog and work with Lola outside.

I think that's pretty much it - oh, something else I should mention is that every time Lola's attacked another dog, after the fight I've been able to have her sit down calmly next to me and not try to go after the other dog. I also have a friend with a very non-reative female rottweiler. We sometimes meet up with the dogs, and Lola is really good with her dog. At first she tried to lunge once in a while, but with much less intensity than she would upon seeing a strange dog. We met up with the dogs tonight and for the first time, Lola didn't lunge at her dog at all.

One other thing - the day I brought Lola home, we stopped off at a pet food store where there were 4 offleash dogs, and Lola was fine with them. After I knew she had a problem with other dogs, I started to wonder if it was something I did (or didn't do) that cause her to start reacting to dogs out of the blue. In the back of my mind I still wonder, but I think a lot of it has to do with her being depressed at the shelter, and that her true personality didn't come out until a few weeks later when she got comfortable (as is the case with a lot of rescue dogs!).

A couple of off-leash dogs have come up to her, and while she was obviously agitated, she didn't react as badly as she does when she sees a dog across the street. She also reacts worse to some dogs and not so bad to others. I really don't know what her trigger is.

Sorry for writing a book! I was just hoping someone might have some words of wisdom or suggestions for me... but keep in mind, I don't intend to use corrections on her, I'm not interested in behaviour suppression, I want her to understand why she shouldn't be reacting this way.

Thanks!
Amanda