# Aggression



## Shanbrier (Nov 29, 2011)

Hi all-

Drake will be a year old next week and he is becoming very territorial of space. He is NEVER aggressive towards us nor his toys or food but if someone walks by the house he barks (which to an extent I'm fine with) but he also approaches aggressively. Once he gets to the person he usually is tail wagging and fine-has never bit but he seems scary and I'm worried someone may actually hurt him. He also approaches children this way in front of our house and has scared them into crying. Once he reached the child he was fine. We also went camping this weekend and if anyone walked past our site he ran towards them barking. We have hired a trainer in the past and have used treats but once he's focused it's hard to break. A friend offered to let us borrow her shock collar but that breaks my heart-but not as much as people fearing him when he's such a sweet pup. Help!!!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

He barks for attention. In the past, this behavior must have been enforced somehow. However, Vizsla is not a barking dog. Traditionally, it only barks when absolutely necessary. 
As a matter of fact I have to work quite hard to make my dog (or my previous dog, GSD) to bark. 

I would leave the "shock collar" for now because, you have other issues that need to be addressed first. If you use it the way you intend to use it right now it will not serve the dog properly. 

The trainer, while well meaning, did not really address the leadership issue. If he did, the dog would not be barking at strangers. It would be interesting to know if the dog barks when the trainer is around. 

The dog does not need to announce anything and is not required to make any decisions on your part, aside from those you trained. 
I would lay off the treats because we look like human pez dispensers to the dog and that's not good position to be in. While it is good practice to introduce commands with treats, continued use has actually a detrimental effect in the long run. 
I would put him back on a long leash and verbally correct the dog until he un-learned the habit. 

Please do not use the e-collar to punish the dog every time it barks. Instead, address the leadership issue first.

Good luck, it is not that hard and in the end, it's very rewarding and healthy for the dog


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## Jimbo15471 (Mar 27, 2012)

We have similiar issues when Max is in the yard. He barks but means nothing by it and just wants to play with anyone or anything that walks by. I am convinced he has learned this behaviour at daycare. Daycare is a non boarding open daycare with lots of dogs. All the dogs bark like a synchronized swim team. We have always verbally corrected him when he barks outside and used a 30ft check cord to keep him in check. I will update on this method as I don't like it one bit either.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Sounds more like a slight case of fear barking......... 

"I'm not 100% sure on you, so I am going to bark at you and see your reaction.....hopefully you will want to pat me and give me some love, but at this point, I'm not convinced so I am going to bark............ Oh look.... I'm really close and they seam OK.........I'll wag my tail and see what happens"



Astro went through this and still does it occasionally, mostly if someone sneaks up on us or we don't see or hear them approach. I was just encouraging with Astro, reassuring him that it's OK and telling him to go say hello, if I read a willingness to engage with him in the person's body language.

Once i tell him OK, he hinges in the middle and goes and says hello.


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## Jimbo15471 (Mar 27, 2012)

Yeah I agree its fear barking but unsure why it happens. He is very socialized as he is around 100's of dogs each week and strangers.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

He's being protective of your house/yard - why is that an issue? I *like* the fact that Riley does this because I know we won't ever be robbed. I actually sleep with several windows open because she is a very light sleeper and would scare the crap out of anyone that tried to come in our house. She's allowed a good 15-20 seconds of barking and then I praise her and give her the "shush" command. She's starting to learn that I like her alerting me, but I do expect her to be quiet on command.

I also purposefully go out and say hi to people sometimes to show Riley that I am in control of the situation and she can relax.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/04/vizsla-as-guard-dog.html

RBD


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## Lincolns Parents (Aug 6, 2011)

Speaking of this thread, today Lincoln jumped my parents fence twice to chase after a guy on a bike and a guy on a skateboard. He scared both guys to death but thankfully didn't have time to bite either one. Hes extremely protective of our house and now evidently my parents house. Im worried to death hes going to actually bite someone ones of these days. 

Needless to say im crushed....he no longer has full run of their HUGE yard and will have to be tied when there. We were outside with him both times when he jumped the fence so us being out there with him doesnt matter one bit! Im now at a loss other than to keep him tied up which is a shame.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

As a suggestion you could get some people that your pup doesn''t know very well to go past your house on a bike or jogging or on bikes and have your pup on a leash and correct him each time. Once he doesn't react to them at all you enforce the behavior with a treat.

Repeat this over several days and fingers crossed he will understand that you don't need protecting from the scary skate boards and bikes out there.


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## Lincolns Parents (Aug 6, 2011)

Thats great, i will have to try that and see if it helps.

Thank-you for your suggestion.


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## Shanbrier (Nov 29, 2011)

I don't mind the "protecting and alerting" but he cannot charge children/people in public places aggressively. Children have cried when he's done this. Doesn't matter that by the time he gets to them he is fine and calmed down. I don't want to punish the barking at the house but we are really working on the word "easy" and wanting him to calm when we say it.


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## SIMON7929 (Aug 21, 2012)

Elmo is exactly the same. He barks at anyone who comes near the house or if he hears the slightest of noises outside. Children or Adults, it doesn't matter. However when he gets near to the person, they are his best friend. He is by no means an aggressive dog but I can understand why owners feel uncomfortable with this behaviour.


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