Aggression Towards A Un Neutered Dog And Myself

[Guest GreyPurrson]

I was walking my Greyound yesterday on a leash and our neighbor and his un leashed un neutered male dog were walking towards me. The neighbors dog is a Pit Bull and not neutered but a very nice dog.

My Greyhound does not like this dog and a few weeks ago when out in front of our houses the Pit Bull approached my Greyhound in a non aggressive manner and my Greyhound tried to bit him..he did not break the skin however my husband said he did turn quickly towards him and tried to bite him but did not. When walking my Greyhound yesterday and this dog approached us my dog became very aggressive and vocal and tried to lunge towards the other dog when I yelled at him he turned quickly and bit me on my leg. He did this twice but only bit me once.. After getting away from the other dog he was fine but I am very concerned and worried about this. He otherwise is very very loving towards me and plays wonderfully with my English Bulldog. He has been around other dogs before on our walks and has been fine. It's this particular dog who is not neutered that he hates....but biting me really has me upset... Can anyone offer any help? Can it be because this dog is not neutered and my dog just wanted to get at him and just bit me in the heat of the moment?? Just not sure what to think...

[spottydog]

My grey did a very similar thing when we were approached by a hostle off leash dog. I was turned towards him, blocking him and he lunged and bit me in the crotch. Some dogs do a kind of displacement bite when they cant gwt at the object of their ire.

[NeylasMom]

Tell the owner to leash his dog and get help from a behaviorist that uses force free methods. Dogs can sometimes redirect aggression toward the closest object - it's a sort of "reflexive" response, he's not intending to harm you. Many greyhounds aren't well socialized to other breeds of dogs and you can't always predict which dogs will elicit a fear response. My female grey loves to play with many dogs, but dogs that are significantly larger or fluffier freak her out (makes sense, they look less like her idea of "dog" ). So working with a trainer who can help you create positive associations with seeing other dogs will be helpful. In the meantime, try to avoid meeting strange dogs jut on walks.

[Guest Scouts_mom]

My male dog, Henry, does not get along with non-grey males, particularly nonneutered ones, and particularly when he is with my girl, Bree. As Henry was not neutered until he retired at age 5, I figure he still has some hormones dancing around inside him. I make sure he does not get close to other males (non-grey).

 

What to do about your neighbor's dog I don't know. It doesn't sound like they are very good owners.

[Brandiandwe]

Brandi regularly redirects her aggression, particularly to my other dogs. She is always muzzled and they put her in her place, but it is something that happens often enough for me to be aware and to take steps to prevent things escalating.

[GeorgeofNE]

Buck does not like unneutered dogs either.

 

I'd call the police/animal control on your neighbor. They're usually particularly willing to help out with unleashed, intact pitbulls.

[racindog]

Buck does not like unneutered dogs either.

 

I'd call the police/animal control on your neighbor. They're usually particularly willing to help out with unleashed, intact pitbulls.

This. YOUR dog is NOT at fault. He has every right to be concerned for your and his safety. Re: the biting he doesn't even know he did it. Some dogs have "contact aggression" and simply bite anything/anybody in range when they are stressed/excited like that. He loves you, would never hurt you and was probably being somewhat protective of you-his pack leader-from what he perceives as a threat. And if HE thinks it is a threat it probably is. And PLEASE do NOT muzzle your poor guy! He would be totally defenseless if the other dog attacked him and a grey vs a pit is no contest even unmuzzled. He (or you) wouldn't have a chance.

[inaandmax]

I am having a similar problem with my boy, though not the redirected aggression/displacement bite aspect. We live in an apartment building and the downstairs neighbors have a pitbull that Max absolutely HATES. He will try to lunge at it on his leash, growls and gets his hackles up and won't calm down until the dog is out of sight. I'm not sure if the dog is male or female. (We never get that close!)

 

Thankfully, they leash their dog - if not, I think we'd be in trouble as I don't think this dog is friendly to people or dogs (apt maintenance routinely won't go in their unit if the dog is there without an owner to control it, and we always hear the owners shouting aggressively at the dog). I'm worried that our neighbors might complain that Max is reactive towards their dog, but I never let him get anywhere near the pitbull. He reacts even if the dog is across the street, and seeing as we are neighbors SOME contact is unavoidable.

 

The other issue here is that the pitbull is some kind of service animal/emotional support animal, so I don't think we would have any grounds to complain about it, and I'm not inclined to do so, since Max is the reactive one in this case. He's getting a lot better at ignoring non-greyhounds since we started positive reinforcement training and I can almost always distract him with treats, petting him, and talking to him in a calm voice if I see him starting to get too worked up or focused on another dog, but pitbulls and big fluffies are still triggers for him.

 

Any specific advice for instances where pitbull contact just can't be avoided? I really don't want to have to muzzle him on walks, because I can control him on his leash and I can almost always completely avoid encounters that I think will be especially triggering for him, but if you all thing muzzling is the way to go, I'll definitely consider it.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

My Jayne is very sensitive to being approached by any dog when she's on a leash - especially if the other dog is off leash. I don't allow greetings, even from dogs she's familiar with while she's on a leash. She can walk along with other dogs, and her sisters, just fine, and in off-leash settings isn't reactive.

 

That your dog bit you was just almost certainly unintentional.

[sobesmom]

Avoid that dog. I don't think it has much to do with it being un-neutered, or a pit. Your dog has an issues with that dog, so avoid it. Redirection of aggression is super common.

[XTRAWLD]

Sounds like more encounters with that dog is likely. Get involved to get your dog safe.

 

I think your dog just didn't know what to do in that situation, he was trying to defend himself and you called him off maybe, or he just wanted to go after it regardless and then chose you since you got his attention. I'm not sure really but sounds like redirection as others have mentioned.

[gracegirl]

@inaandmax, service dogs and support animals are highly trained and temperament tested. You can ask the office to request the licensing paperwork. I can't stand people to slap a service dog vest on their dog in order to take it places with them.

Edited July 2, 2016 by gracegirl

[Guest AtticusMom]

@inaandmax: I wouldn't muzzle your grey. He loses any ability to protect himself, if he really did have to. If the pitbull you encounter is safely on-lead, I would just keep them at a safe distance.

 

I would not personally be okay with any off-lead pit bull approaching me, and my dog. I wouldn't let my greyhound off-lead to approach anyone. It's just a common courtesy.

 

My Atticus will occasionally lightly nip at my hand when he wants to approach dogs that I choose to avoid. I think this is just a dog thing.

[inaandmax]

@inaandmax: I wouldn't muzzle your grey. He loses any ability to protect himself, if he really did have to. If the pitbull you encounter is safely on-lead, I would just keep them at a safe distance.

 

 

Thanks for the advice! That was my inclination as well. Hopefully with time he won't be so reactive to other dogs.

[claudiav]

My boy does not like NONgreyhounds and will try to attack any and all dogs we see on our walks. Trainer said he is protecting me, because when someone else is walking him, he doesn't do this. In his excitement, he always tries to bit me, but i have learned to keep my arm fully stretched out to the side, so he won't make contact... this after 3 painful bites on my thighs and butt, and black and blues for good...

[Guest xengab]

Since this is someone who lives close to you. Can you go chat with them? Explain your fear of it starting a real fight (it could) and both dogs getting hurt. Ask him to use a leash (most cities have leash laws) so they cannot get close again.

I'd also seek out a behavorist who might be able to teach you ways to deal with this situation.