Aggression Issues

[Lovely Lolita Love]

First, a bit about Abby. She's a large dog (~120 lbs) who's a very possible St.Bernard mix with a wonderful personality to match. My mom and I rescued her from rural coyote country a few years ago in 2007, and we don't know how old she is. (7 or 8 is our best guess ^^)

My dog Abby is definitely one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met. From the point I get home to when I go to sleep (and even through the night!), she's always by my side being my best friend. I love her very much, and she gets along very well with my other dog, Roxie, and my mother's four cats. Unfortunately, that's where her sweetness ends...

In terms of other dogs, Abby's crazy! I'm scared even to take her on a walk in case we pass by a dog (fenced in, leashed or otherwise), and her demeanor changes so completely it bothers me. Roxie's good with all dogs, and I can take her anywhere a dog's allowed, but I could never even hope to walk past the local dog park with Abby in tow!

I've tried muzzles, special collars, training classes, and even medication as prescribed by our vet (she's got a clean bill of health). Nothing's worked, and I've run out of ideas. The reason this whole thing upsets me so is because this is ruining Abby's quality of life- I love her so much, and I want her to experience all that a well-behaved dog can experience. Plus, if she were to ever get out and attacked another dog, she would be labeled as a danger and put down...

Abby's so sweet to every stranger (children if accompanied by an adult) and our household; even the opossums that trek around here every night. Other dogs though...

Please, if you've got any ideas on how to cope with this, or even how to bar the problem, any and all information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much and have a good day!

 

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

have you had a trainer who comes to your home? A class setting seems a bit much for her to handle. I think the best solution is an in home private trainer, who can walk you through leash aggression etc, figure out EXACTLY what bugs her and then slowly work through it in baby steps, like walking past a fenced dog, and then eventually walking past another dog on a leash etc.  

[Lovely Lolita Love]

We've done solo training, but nothing that's been involved at home per se...
Thank you very much, and I'll look into it, though I'm not sure if I can afford something so private. Even so, I'll check it out- thank you!

If I may ask though, if your dog had this problem, how would you go about it?  

[Shearaha]

My dog has a similar problem. He's great with the family but extremely fear aggressive with strangers.

We're working with a behavioral vet and the trainer I'm mentored under. He's on a regimen of anti-anxiety drugs in addition to his training program. He doesn't go out unless he's double leashed and muzzled. Right now we're running management while we wait to see if his drugs are at the right dose, or if we need to adjust anything. We're also working on recall and getting that to near god like reliability. Next step is to get some "volunteers" to stand out and help us with counter conditioning.

Will may never be safe to have in public without his muzzle, but he loves his muzzle, so I trained that right.

I would find a positive reinforcement trainer, do not go to one who uses shock, prong or choke collars. They will really only make the problem worse. Even better see if you can find a behaviorist or behavioral vet to work with.