# Aggression Towards Strangers



## jkt89 (Jan 11, 2013)

Hello,

Sorry for the length of this post!

I want to start off by saying that my guy (22 months, unaltered) is the sweetest, most fun-loving goofball in the world. He is an angel 98% of the time. He's great with kids, good with other dogs, and when off leash could care less about strangers. He's never been a "social butterfly" though, from the time I brought him home at 8 weeks he's preferred to not interact with people or dogs he didn't know (which honestly, I have no problem with). When he was really young he was scared of his own shadow (to no fault of the breeder... she was amazing and did such a great job socializing the pups), which made socializing hard. No one wants to pet a puppy that's yelping and trembling with fear. But alas, through many trips to stores, friends houses, office visits, and time spent in the show ring he became a little more confident and was (seemingly) turning into a well rounded young man. He's generally great in public places, off leash, and locations he's unfamiliar with. 

That all being said, he has always been a little protective and territorial... he barks at people he doesn't know when they come to the house or if they approach him in a car. This is a behavior that, while I've tried to correct, never drew much concern. I don't have a problem with him being protective as long as it's not aggressive and is controllable. Well, recently (over the past 6 months or so) he's gotten to a point where I can't control him and I can't really predict what he's going to do and that makes me nervous. When people come into the house now he barks at them like he's going to hurt them and there have been a couple times I haven't been able to calm him down. I can restrain him, but he will just keep barking ferociously and even after he calms down he stays very skeptical of those people for a solid 20-30 minutes. I can't find that "off switch". Generally speaking, he does not lunge, but there have been a couple instances (both times I've been holding his collar) where he has and that is what makes me most nervous. I don't think he would ever bite, but I am aware that my baby is still an animal. I'm just very conflicted right now. I'm 99.9% sure this isn't an aggressive reaction, but a fear based response (and sometimes I think he's just trying to protect me), so I don't know how to handle it. I don't want to get mad at him for being afraid, but I don't want him to ever get to the point where he's so unsure of himself and of the situation that he feels like biting is the answer. 

Besides the obvious "take him to a behaviorist" response (which, I am in the process of doing), has anyone had this experience with their dog(s)? If so, was the answer more training? Re-socialization?


----------



## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

jkt89 said:


> He's never been a "social butterfly" though, from the time I brought him home at 8 weeks he's preferred to not interact with people or dogs he didn't know (which honestly, I have no problem with). When he was really young he was scared of his own shadow (to no fault of the breeder... she was amazing and did such a great job socializing the pups), which made socializing hard.
> 
> That all being said, he has always been a little protective and territorial... he barks at people he doesn't know when they come to the house or if they approach him in a car.


I'm afraid I don't have much advice for you, but I'm interested in hearing other's responses. Our new weim pup is very much the same way. She's never been anything but friendly after being introduced, but she is very stand-offish and will bark until she gets to meet someone. I feel like she's too young to be protective or territorial, I think she's just unsure and nervous. Our V is a social butterfly though and she ends up following his lead most of the time.

How does he do outside your house? Is it possible to meet someone outside, go for a quick walk around the block together so he gets used to their company, and then have them come inside with you as a group?

Our V loses it when he sees other dogs walking by while we're in the car, or if a person walks by and startles him while he's in the car. I've heard other V owners say the same thing. To hear him in the car, you'd think he was Cujo. Is it possible he's partly reacting this way because he's startled?


----------



## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

jkt89 said:


> He's great with kids, good with other dogs, and when off leash could care less about strangers.
> 
> Generally speaking, he does not lunge, but there have been a couple instances (both times I've been holding his collar) where he has and that is what makes me most nervous.


Also, wondering if he only does this when he's on leash or otherwise restrained? I know a lot of dogs that are unfriendly to other dogs while on leash, but fine off leash. Reactive because they are protecting their owner, feeling trapped, etc. Dexter is fine meeting other dogs while leashed unless for some reason I feel uncomfortable. If I don't like the other dog's body language and tense up, or pull Dex back, then he will snap. It's very much me causing the tension though. Could it be kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy where you're afraid of how he's going to act, and he feels that?


----------



## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

We have a 2+yr old intact male who is also protective of our space (home, cars, and us in general). We weren't sure how to address it; leash him, hold his collar, correct him, give him an "enough" command... nothing stopped him. Our trainer recommended creating a taped off area around the front door that we controlled. We taught him "back", meaning get out of the taped off space. We started without anyone at the door, and once he knew what was expected of him, practiced with people coming to our door. 

Every time he creeped back in, we'd say "back" again, and step into him moving him back. On his third creep back into the space, same thing, but this time he got sprayed with a water bottle. When he finally sat down outside of the space, we would calmly open the door and eventually he was allowed to say hello to whoever was at the door. After a week, we removed parts of the tape so that it was a dotted tape line, and the week after that, removed it fully. The dog now knows where that line is without it being there. I didn't think it would work, but we've been able to answer the door for pizza delivery, with him standing 4ft from the door just watching! 

When he barks at the door because something is concerning him, we walk to "our space" to see what's going on. This is important because you're acknowledging him and his job. He is the alarm, and we're in charge of figuring out the rest.


----------



## jkt89 (Jan 11, 2013)

Hello dextersmom,

Unfortunately, it doesn't really matter whether he gets introduced inside or outside of the house. If he doesn't know them, he's going to act like Cujo to use your comparison. It's difficult because the locations this is a constant issue at aren't neighborhoods where I can simply walk out the door and be in a neutral zone. That would be ideal. I live in a stand-alone condo at the top of a hill, my parents live on a ranch, and my friend (who I visit regularly, so he is very much her guard dog too) lives on a vineyard. These are large areas of land that he considers "his property". 9 times out of 10 I'm able to say "it's ok" or "go say hi" and he calms down immediately and switches to play and cuddle mode, but there are cases where I just cannot calm him down. He is 68 lbs of solid muscle, so I'm sure it's kind of terrifying for my guests. 

In terms of the issues he has when in a car, I think those stem from him being protective and unsure about the situation. He doesn't startle very easily, but I'm sure if someone caught him off guard and was approaching him that he would freak out just the same. He goes insane when people are focused on him and are approaching him with their high-pitched "look at the doggie" voices, but he's completely fine and calm with people standing outside of the car if they aren't paying any attention to him.

He has a little leash aggression, which I agree with you on... I think he senses me being tense in certain situations and acts on that. He has never been the one to initiate the confrontation, he's fine walking by dogs. When it becomes a problem is when he's leashed and an off leash dog is trying to play with him or is jumping on him/bugging him. He'll give a warning snap. I'm not too concerned about this behavior. I don't think he's wrong in these situations... he's not being aggressive, he's just saying "hey, I don't like that". He's MUCH better and more patient with dogs when he's off leash. This being said though, as mentioned previously, the only times he has ever _lunged_ at people have been when I have been holding him by the collar, which obviously inhibits him from doing anything really.

Thank you for your response Watson! This success story gives me hope that we'll be able to get this all under control. He's a great dog. Very willing to please, just has his quirks. I don't have a lot of room around the door of my place. You walk in and are met with a stair case, so perhaps I will try to create an area for him to go that's upstairs.


----------



## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

jkt89 said:


> In terms of the issues he has when in a car, I think those stem from him being protective and unsure about the situation.
> 
> He has a little leash aggression, which I agree with you on... I think he senses me being tense in certain situations and acts on that. He has never been the one to initiate the confrontation, he's fine walking by dogs. When it becomes a problem is when he's leashed and an off leash dog is trying to play with him or is jumping on him/bugging him. He'll give a warning snap. I'm not too concerned about this behavior. I don't think he's wrong in these situations... he's not being aggressive, he's just saying "hey, I don't like that".


I agree with you, I think that is a normal and acceptable reaction. I wouldn't consider it leash aggression if he's only correcting the other dog, etc. Our V goes a bit nuts in the car, and if strangers enter our house when it's dark and he can't see who it is. I was just wondering because if I let our guy go, he runs right up to them and is friendly if he's off leash. If I continue to hold him, he's not likely to calm down. Obviously, I can't always let him go, so we're working on that part though  It does sound like he's just going a bit overboard with the whole protective/territorial thing. I hope you guys get it figured out soon and fix the wiring of his "off" switch  Some other members will probably have more advice for you! Let us know what the behavioralist says, too!


----------

