Yet Another Aggression Issue With My New Girl!

[Guest Amis_Ma]

Me again; so Ami has been doing great with her training but we now have an additional issue Now during walks when we pass by other dogs she wants to go after them and when I don't allow it, she suddenly faces me and barks at me as to say, "let me go or I will eat you?" It scares the bejesus out of me. She never used to do this, she's even friends with two other breeds and she doesn't react this way with them. It's like 98% of the time she is this sweet and gentle soul but the other 2% I fear she will eat me.

 

Any ideas as to why she's reacting this way towards me?

 

D. & Ami

[Guest Giselle]

On walks, do you ask for behaviors like an explicit "Watch Me" or "Heel"? Does she pay attention to you or is she always preoccupied with her surroundings?

 

If she is used to doing her own thing while on walks, she's probably getting frustrated that she can't greet the other dog. So, she barks and/or leaps around and/or does other wacky things that impulsive creatures do. My suggestion would be to control her by training her to focus on you and not the other dog. You can do this by teaching her to offer you multiple behaviors like automatic Sits/Downs, strong eye contact, strong Heel or loose-leash, targeting your hand, etc. Then, when you are about to pass by a dog, ask your dog to perform these behaviors in a fun game, and she won't even notice the other dog walking by!

[racindog]

"..It scares the bejesus out of me....the other 2% I fear she will eat me........Any ideas as to why she's reacting this way towards me?"

Yes, its because you are afraid of her. It will continue and probably get worse until you learn better. And if you get another dog it is likely the same scenario will repeat until you do learn and enforce that YOU are the one in command. You are lucky she is so sweet-some dogs would have bit you by now. JMO.

[a_daerr]

Dealing with the same thing now with Truman. Lots if helpful info here.

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/300286-reactivity-only-on-leash-only-during-introductions/

[djsgreys]

Where are you in Canada again? Are you getting help from your group in settling your new girl in?

 

I was almost where you are now in the early days of having greys. What I needed to learn was to take charge, so that my hound knew that he didn't have to take care of anything (and they are ill prepared to play the leader). I needed to get over my fear, which was being transferred through the leash to my dog.

[msjpk]

Definitely start the " watch me" training. Take a treat that is very interesting to her on your walks. Start the training in a control area, backyard, in home etc.

 

Let her sniff the treat, hold it up to your face and repeat "watch me" when she does she receives the treat.

 

Start practicing on walks, prior to her seeing another dog. She will catch on.

[silverfish]

It does sound as if she's a fairly assertive (but still basically very sweet) girl who is picking up on your fear.

 

However, since we can only speculate from a distance and you have had two problems with her within a very short time, which may, or may not be potentially serious problems, I think you should consult someone who can see what she is doing as she is doing it and advise you.

 

With the best will in the world, simply reading what you have written here does not give us a clear enough picture. Everyone reading will be using a little imagination to think about what is going on in her mind and with your own behaviour as you handle her. Sometimes it's simple and this can work well, but the more complex the situation and the more assertive the dog, the harder it is for internet users to help you effectively.

 

Can you find an experienced greyhound owner close to you? Or a good, 'positive re-inforcement' trainer? Greyhounds don't do so well with negative trainers (not that I like them for any breed), and it's easy to ruin a good dog.

 

Otherwise, it would be helpful if you could get someone to video these events, so we can see for ourselves: everyone's body language, what pitch her barks are, etc.

[Fruitycake]

It sounds like she's frustrated and telling you so. Not seeing and hearing the exact interaction it is impossible to tell, but it sounds like frustration. Could be nearly anything, though. Silverfish has it right, from such a vague discription, our guesses are nothing more than wild speculation.

 

What's her entire body language saying: her stance when she barks, where are her ears, how tight is her mouth, is she still pulling back from you or tensed to spring in your direction, is she barking in your direction but still "oriented" - with her attention/body weight directed at the other dog - away from you? Is it a sharp "play bark" or a "demanding" one, or is it a "hey, that hurts!" one because she pulled hard on the leash and didn't like being held back?

[philospher77]

I agree that it is very hard to tell what is going on without more information. To give you a brief example, I am constantly reinforcing good leash manners with Pixie. She will lunge and bark at other dogs, and at people moving inside partly-open garages. But simply saying that isn't enough... I have had to learn the difference between her barking at dogs because she thinks they are a threat and she's blustering (deep chesty barks) or because she wants to go greet/play (higher yippy barks). And the people are an entirely different "stranger alert" bark. The way I handle these situations is pretty much the same, but I am much more alert in the first case, since that can escalate in a negative manner pretty easily if things go wrong.

 

Which is why I would definitely second getting a good trainer to work with you. This may be a situation where some personal training would be very helpful. That's how I learned that I had a split second where Pixie would look at me before lunging, and if I could get her attention at that point, I could short-circuit the entire cycle. It's worked to the point where she now looks up at me with a very expectant look whenever she hears a barking dog, because she knows that I will give her treats!

Edited August 10, 2013 by philospher77

[Guest Trammell]

I think you might want to try a different trainer, maybe the technique your current one has doesn't work well with the Grey's personality? Or a behaviorist perhaps?

I couldn't tell you why she is barking, but I can tell you that when Loni barks at me it can sound scary. Even when she is just saying "where is the rest of the family, why aren't they home yet". I learned over time and through her other actions what was going on (she looks ous the window, looks for my daughter in the other rooms, barks in my face, repeat). It sounds really scary, but she isn't going to eat me, I am the only family member she can find after all

[Guest Amis_Ma]

I am eating this information up; I'm willing to work my hardest at improving Ami's life as a pet. We are getting better and better with each passing day with our communication with one another and we are both working hard. Today we will work on "look at me." We also found a fully enclosed soccer field which we will be haeading over to later so she can get in a real good run, if she wants to. We have a follow-up with our adoption agency on Tuesday. I will provide more details about her current aggressive behavious in a follow-up post.

 

Ami and I thank you for all the great support and we are working on posting in the intro section soon; we're just really busy atm.

 

D & Ami

[JohnF]

Reinforcing "Look at me!" will help.

 

But you know... Peggy will 'roar' when she wants to be allowed to go and play with another hound sized dog and I won't let her. It scares non-greyhound people but I tell them it's a Greyhound thing to do that as play gets going. She was doing it on the beach today and i wouldn't let her go because there were loads of people and the sand was too hummocky (rocks under it) for it to be safe for a high-speed chase. I just redirected her onto something else... paddling in the sea with me.

 

Watch for and use Calming Signals from now on too.

http://diamondsintheruff.com/calmingsignals.html

[GeorgeofNE]

I think you're misinterpreting this dog's behavior.

 

Sounds like you'd do better with a different dog, frankly.

 

An adult who is afraid of what is supposed to be their companion animal is not doing either the animal or themself any favors.

[Guest Amis_Ma]

I think you're misinterpreting this dog's behavior.

 

Sounds like you'd do better with a different dog, frankly.

 

An adult who is afraid of what is supposed to be their companion animal is not doing either the animal or themself any favors.

 

Again I appreciate everybody's support and guidance regardless of it's bluntness and/or lack of empathy. GeorgeofNE; no I don't believe I'm misinterpreting her behavior. Her trainer came close to being attacked by her, as did I. I was than informed by her trainer that she has severe resource guarding and that she will bite. She was shocked by her behavior. I was informed by the adoption agency that there is no possibility of rehoming her due to her aggressive behaviors.

 

We have a follow-up session tomorrow evening in regards to progress and further training.

[Guest Marsroving]

No possibility of rehoming her? What kind of adoption place is this?

 

Statements like that make me so greatful of GAO here in the states. Not that I would ever rehome my boy, but its nice to know if I was gravely injured or unexpectedly passed away, Mars would have a home.

 

 

Also I just want to state, the adoption agency should have never placed a "harder" greyhound with a first time owner.

 

Be patient and you will work through it. Keep arming yourself with as much information as possible.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Marsroving

[Tallgreydogmom]

Also I just want to state, the adoption agency should have never placed a "harder" greyhound with a first time owner.

 

I DO SO AGREE

 

 

There are many greyhound people who take in these "harder" to place greyhounds. They are special needs greyhounds and we turn them into "Love Bugs"