Fear or nervous based aggression

[Tigger229]

My dog has bitten a few dogs that were very loud and almost hyper or very nervous. I would like to know if there is anything i can do to stop this before a serious injury happens to another dog. She only ever has this problem when the dog makes a sound, i am learning to be a dog trainer but i am unsure of how to continue her training without getting this under control, can anyone help?

[Bill]

I don't understand exactly what you are asking. In what situation and what sets the dog off? How old is the dog and how long has this been a problem? What breed? What kind of sound does the other dog have to make? Is this with all dogs or just certain kinds?

[Justontime]

If the dog has actually bitten other dogs it really should wear a muzzle when out in public. If it responds that way to other dogs it could easily respond in a similar way to a child.

[Tigger229]

The noise she reacts to is high pitch usually, i took her out today and there was no issues at all, however i did keep her on a leash today as i do not wish for any more incidents. The problem is only with dogs and only with dogs that make the higher pitched barks and yaps. I may be recieving a puppy soon for me to have as a medi - alert dog for my epilepsy and i really do not want to have to loose the dog i have just gained, i believe in a dog for life.

[Bill]

Describe how your dog reacts to the other dogs when she "looses it". Does she draw blood? Is there a lot of growling and teeth baring? Higher pitched barks are usually made by smaller dogs. Is it smaller dogs she usually reacts to? How big is your dog? How old is the dog and how long has she lived with you? Has she always done this? How old are you? Is this always when she is off leash? Does she try anything when on leash? How often does this happen?

[Tigger229]

My dog is a bitch that is about 3 and a half years old and i have had her for about a month now and she has only drawn blood once and that was the other day, she is a terrier mix of Staffordshire bull terrier, Norfolk terrier and Dachshund - she is not as big as a staff but not too small either, it is not easy to describe her size as i have had difficulty getting the correct halti size for her. She only ever goes out with the halti on so that i can deal with her issues on pulling me on lead. I am unsure of her previous history as her previous owner was not really the primary carer most of the time as she had to work away alot - this is how i got her in the first place. I myself am 24 years old.
Her behaviour on lead is almost perfect, she is not pulling me with the halti on and her issues with distractions are non existant almost, i have been working with her obedience every day to increase her manners in house and out of house. When off lead she is fine until a dog starts to bark highly pitched and this does not have to be a small dog, this can be any sized dog. I walk her in the mornings with a group of owners and their dogs, there is about 7 or 8 dogs and 4 owners and we have not had an issue when walking at this time of the day, however, i walked her the the evening to help socialize her a bit more and there was soo many dogs present in the park that the other owners were having difficulty controlling or even seeing where their dogs were, and this one time that i walked her in the evening she behaved completely different to the morning walk.
She does not play with any toy or ball at all, so i am training her to fetch with a tennis ball.

[Bill]

When off lead she is fine until a dog starts to bark highly pitched and this does not have to be a small dog, this can be any sized dog. I walk her in the mornings with a group of owners and their dogs, there is about 7 or 8 dogs and 4 owners and we have not had an issue when walking at this time of the day, however, i walked her the the evening to help socialize her a bit more and there was soo many dogs present in the park that the other owners were having difficulty controlling or even seeing where their dogs were, and this one time that i walked her in the evening she behaved completely different to the morning walk.

I take it you are walking her off lead. I am baffled by this behavior. Does the proximity of the barking dog have any bearing on whether she reacts to it? By that I mean how close does the other dog have to be? If the other dog is 10 yards away, will she run over to it and jump on it? Does the other dog have to be standing right by her? I really have no idea what is going on with her.

[kernow]

I am sorry, I don't know why your dog is doing this. I really think you need to get some help from a dog trainer to deal with this. In the meantime I wonder if you are wise to allow the dog off the lead. You are on notice that it will bite other dogs and it will sometimes behave unpredictably. For the sake of the dog and to prevent you being sued for vet bills it may be more sensible to keep the dog on a leash and to muzzle it when out in public at least until you have had help with this problem.

[Tigger229]

She does no longer get walked off lead since the incident, i have also adapted her hi vis jacket so people do not approach her. i will have a look around for a pro trainer to help her. thank you for your help.

[Justontime]

Good luck, I really hope you manage to sort this problem out.