URGENT(dog aggression)

Question
Dear Patti,
 I need your help. I have a dog that is three and we adopted him about two years ago. As time went by we rescued two more dogs and they were both puppies at the time of rescue. He was aggressive with both of the dogs when we brought them home but only for that first initial period of I'm the boss stage i guess you could call it but it was never as serious as this incident, though they were bit both times. Recently our friend got a 6 week old puppy from a family that could not take care of it and we decided that she could keep it our house because we have a yard, more room etc etc. Needless to say one morning he went for her and bit her causing some serious injury, she ended being ok but we are really worried about him because he did it again today but thank goodness not as tramatic.He has only done this with puppies, he has never gone after people or any older dogs. He is also epileptic, we just found this out about 3 mos ago, i don't know if that has anything to do with anything but we thought maybe it did, also he is fixed and so are all the other dogs. I need any advice you can give me on how to deal with this aggression i do not want anymore animals hurt or any people hurt for that matter. I know even the sweetest dog can act on instinct and i just want to keep everyone including him safe

Answer

Hi Lauren,

Doing rescue work is very commendable, but you have a responsibility to your own dog, that you already know is aggressive towards other dogs! If you are not able to separate your dog from any rescue dogs you might take in, you should be muzzling your dog, or simply declining to take in rescues because of the possible danger of an attack.

When your dog CAN'T be watched like a hawk, he needs to be crated or otherwise contained. He should not be having unsupervised access to the puppy. When you ARE able to watch your dog, he should be wearing a basket style muzzle (which is a very humane kind of muzzle), he should also have his leash on so that you can safely break up a fight immediately. Be sure to feed your dog and the puppy in separate areas, and keep their toys and beds separate too. You should not be giving your dog access to the puppy in any way. If an attack happens, the fault is yours for not supervising him closely enough.

If you are unable to supervise your dog, or unable to contain him during those times when you can't supervise, then you need to find another home for this puppy. If you do not, the puppy can be seriously hurt.

This has nothing to do with your dog's seizure disorder. Many dogs who are aggressive towards other dogs are wonderfully sweet to people, it's simply other dogs they can't stand! Dog to dog aggression is a complex canine behavioral problem, with each case requiring an individual approach. It can stem from many and varied causes and can surface at any time throughout your dog's life. You may be able to train your dog out of his aggression towards other dogs, but that will take time and dedication on your part.  It would probably help to contact a professional dog trainer, if you've tried to train your dog out of this, but haven't had success. Until then, it's up to you to separate and supervise, so that no other attacks can happen.

Best of luck,
Patti