Space Aggression

[Guest Sarah]

Hello! I am new to this forum but after a google search, it looks like there are many people here with experience that can provide me with some advice! We have had our greyhound, Gansett, for just over a year. He has come so far! When we first got him, I could not hug him or pet him while he was lying down without a growl/bark/snap. Now, I hug him like crazy and can approach him when he is laying down (not asleep). He is the best and my husband and I just love him more than anything!

 

He is always relaxed at home and will once in a while growl when I cross the line with his space, but is generally very calm and happy. The issue comes in when we are around my sisters' dogs. I am very close with my family so we are often together for get togethers and parties. My parents have a 1 year old Aussie who is so sweet and crazy and Gansett LOVES her. She licks him all the time, runs into him, etc. and he does not mind it. He really trusts her. But my sisters' have a total of 4 dogs who make Gansett on edge. He will lay down or on the couch and he will growl and bark if they so much as look his way. Or if he is standing up and they sniff him. We were away last week and the first week it was just Gansett and my parent's Aussie for the first week and Gan was so relaxed and had a great time, but the last few days, my sisters were there with their dogs and he was so on edge and snappy.

 

Do you have any advice for Gansett to get better with this? We live in an apartment complex with many dogs and he is fine saying hi to other dogs and has only barked/growled a handful of time at any of them over a year. I know we could just keep him in another room when around my sisters' dogs but I will do whatever we can to get him used to the action.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice!!!

Sarah

[Padfootx13]

Hi Sarah! Welcome to Greytalk You need to share pictures of Gansett, it is part of the rules plus he's such a handsome boy!!

 

As for getting Gansett to be more comfortable around the other dogs, what we did to help Padfoot be more comfortable around my sister's two high energy dogs was was feed him smoked salmon (locks). Seriously. Our first introduction didn't go the way I wanted to (forgotten leashes for the two little ones) so we ended up having Padfoot with a basket muzzle and feeding him the salmon through the muzzle, which worked great. Try to make being around the other dogs as much of a positive experience as possible. Same with the other dogs, if you can manage to feed them all tasty treats when they are around each other and then stop when one walks away. They will learn to associate being around the other dogs to getting something really tasty. Also, the more treats, the better, essentially become a treat dispenser constantly praising him for just being around the dogs and not growling. Hopefully that makes sense.

 

There are lots of great topics about space aggression on here if you do a quick search. Good luck and good to see you on this forum, give Gansett pets for me!

Edited July 8, 2014 by Padfootx13

[a_daerr]

Are the other dogs well-behaved? Or are they also crazy like the Aussie? Teaching appropriate behavior in a controlled environment with other well-behaved dogs is one thing. But if these dogs are running around, jumping on him, or engaging in a play style that Gansett doesn't appreciate, that's a difficult thing to "train out." It's hard to make a dog "like" another dog, especially if their energy levels and play styles are a mismatch. He may be more tolerant of the Aussie because of its age (a lot of dogs are more patient with puppies, or with rambunctious dogs they know well and have grown up with). That higher threshold doesn't necessarily translate to every other dog of similar size, age, appearance, or physical characteristics (i.e. Gansett may like *this* Aussie, but not necessarily all other medium-sized, furry dogs).

 

If he were my dog, and it was clear he was uncomfortable, I don't think I'd force it. I'd probably give him his space. You don't have to put him in another room or in a crate. That could actually make his aversion worse. You could try using a physical barrier, like baby gates or an x-pen so he has somewhere he can retreat to when he's had enough. It's a pain in the butt, but much easier and safer than dealing with a dog fight.

[Guest Sarah]

Corissa- Thank you so much for the tips and for sharing your experience! I am so glad that Padfood was able to adjust to being with those other high energy dogs! I will for sure pet Gan for you and will upload a picture as soon as I figure this site out! Hopefully we will see you and Padfoot soon at a walk or something!

 

a_daerr- Two of them are high-energy puppies and two are adult dogs. That is a great idea with the baby gate, I didn't think of that. I just don't like the idea of keeping him in another room when he can hear us, so that baby gate is a great idea. He got to know the Aussie when she was a brand new puppy (she even met him when he was still at the rescue kennel) and had a lot of 1 on 1 run time and time with her so I think he just knows her better. Thank you so much for your response!

[scullysmum]

I have had my current greyhound for just over three months and I call him the "manners police". He gets on really well with other dogs, even my friends lurcher who is slightly brain damaged and does not speak "dog" very well, but he finds some dogs that are impolite hard to deal with and can be snarky with them.

 

I think it may be because greyhounds actually get to "grow up" as it were, and pet dogs (particularly certain breeds) stay puppyish for most of their lives. I think that gradual introduction to the others dogs, supervised and preferably one at a time might do the trick. Your boy needs to just learn that the other dogs mean no harm, they are just different. The reason he gets on so well with the Aussie is because he's known him since he was a puppy, dogs are almost pre-programmed to be kind to puppies.