Agressive labrador??

Question
QUESTION: Hi my name is Ashley I have a question I have a agressive male labrador he is agressive torwards men he won't let any men by me for some odd reason he grew up around them but it seems like he always had a problem Hunter isn't your typical happy go lucky labrador he is very agressive torwards people who try to approach me I tried to work on his leash training but he permanently sprained my wrist he isn't woman agressive or dog agressive he also has a problem with people who talk loud and kids who run up torwards him I wanted him to become a Search & Rescue Dog because he has a great nose but he seems like he is under socialized he went everywhere with me when he was a puppy and everyone petted him and played with him thats what I don't get do you know what I should do???

-Ashley

ANSWER: Hi, Ashley,

Thanks for the question.

It sounds to me like Hunter has a lot of energy and doesn't quite know what to do with it. He may also have a bit of nervousness, which is causing him to treat like a candy bar none of the other kids can take from him (if you get my drift).

Let me ask a few questions if you don't mind. How old is he? What kind of games does he like to play? Do you think other people might say that you sometimes give Hunter too much attention and/or physical affection? How much hard vigorous playful exercise does he get every day? Will he play fetch and tug-of-war with you outdoors? Did you ever scold, reprimand, or punish him for mouthing, chewing, or nipping when he was a puppy? If not, how did you deal with his oral phase? How much does he weigh, and how much do you weigh? What kind of leash and collar do you use to walk him? How much interest does he show in treats when you're on a walk and he starts to feel anxious about running kids or people with loud voices?

I know that's a lot of questions, but the answers will hopefully give me a better idea of exactly where Hunter is coming from emotionally.

Thanks again for contacting me.

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: How old is he?: 13 months old(1yr 1mon)

Do you think other people might say that you sometimes give Hunter too much attention and/or physical affection?: yes not that much though

What kind of games does he like to play?: he LOVES playing fetch, swimming, playing frisbee, hide and seek, he also loves to play with the soccor ball I have in the backyard

How much hard vigorous playful exercise does he get every day?: he runs around the backyard and plays fetch for 30min to 1hr and we go for a walk for about another hour to his favorite park down the street

Did you ever scold, reprimand, or punish him for mouthing, chewing, or nipping when he was a puppy? If not, how did you deal with his oral phase?: Yes I have when he was a puppy he always had to chew so everytime he chewed on something that wasn't his I gave him a tap on the nose and gave him a toy

Will he play fetch and tug-of-war with you outdoors?: Yes he loves it

How much does he weigh, and how much do you weigh?: Hunter weighs 100-110lbs and I weigh 160

What kind of leash and collar do you use to walk him?: I use a Martingale Traing Collar by top paw

How much interest does he show in treats when you're on a walk and he starts to feel anxious about running kids or people with loud voices?: he starts to have his hair stand up on end and if the child or adult looks at his face he will start to bark he also starts whining when he sees a passing person,child or somebody walking their dog I try my best to make him snap out of it but he doesn't listen to me


I don't mind all of the questions!
you can see more pictures of Hunter at www.dogster/dogs/645936
Here is a video of his 1st 11months
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=jxJDV3FSucI

Answer
Hi again.

Okay, so I've got a clearer picture of Hunter (the video was great).

Dogs are very emotional animals. And when they act aggressively it's usually a symptom of fear or anxiety, or some other form of inner tension. A helpful way to think of it is this: picture Hunter's daily life as a swim in a river, and Hunter is a salmon. Only instead of swimming in water, Hunter is swimming in emotional waters. Each time he gets thrown off balance--by kids running up to him, by people talking loudly, or by men trying to "hit on" you--for him it's like the river has come to a narrow point where the emotional waters are rushing harder and faster; they have more energy and give him more resistance than he feels equipped to handle. And since he perceives the kids, or the loud voices, or the men as the CAUSE of the sudden increase in energy, he wants to make them stop whatever they're doing, make them go away, so that the river can go back to flowing nice and slow and easy, and not be churned up in rapids.

With me so far?

Okay, so if you hand feed him all his meals, outdoors, using a pushing exercise, where he has to learn to push into as hard as he can in order to eat (described just below), you'll be teaching him how to swim against the current. He'll show more of that joy a salmon experiences when swimming upstream. His hackles won't go up so much, and if he DOES get nervous, you'll be able to more easily distract him with a treat or a tug toy.

Pushing exercise: http://tinyurl.com/3balu6

The next thing to do is play tug in places other than the back yard or Hunter's favorite spots in the park. Always let him win, and praise him for winning. And make sure he tugs really, really hard to win the toy. Tug works for the same reason the pushing exercise does: it teaches a dog how to enjoy strong feelings of resistance, and to know he can overcome them so he doesn't feel so scared by them. Another reason tug is so valuable is that you can take your tug toy with you on all your walks, and when Hunter gets nervous you can play a quick game of tug, or he can have the toy as a kind of pacifier.

Redircting an aggressive dog on a walk: http://www.tiny.cc/RedirectWalk

I can see from the video that Hunter is a really good boy. And that you adore him. So I hope my advice helps you guys out. The only other thing I'd suggest is that when you train him for agility or anything else, you use his favorite toy as a motivator and reward. And don't ever scold or punish him for anything. If he misbehaves it's because he doesn't know how to swim those particular waters. Scolding him won't help him learn. You have to teach him how to swim better...

LCK