Can anyone offer advice on how to handle an aggressive dog that is agressive only toward other dogs??????

my dog is very good with people ,but is very aggressive toward other dogs. The neighbors dog and my dog cannot be outside at the same time. The other dog is very submissive and cowered. My dog gets upset if she sees that dog and any other dog, whether they are on the road, in a yard or behind a window. I need adviceCan anyone offer advice on how to handle an aggressive dog that is agressive only toward other dogs??????
rather that cut and paste an article - i'll share with you my real-life trials and tribulations with my dog - who was a rescue and poorly socialized w. other dogs. She's quite agressive to other dogs that pass by, exp when on leash - I've gotten prof. adivce on this .. short point form.





- terriorial behaviour is not necessarily ';agressive'; per se - truly agressive dogs spend little time barking and such - they just attack.





- assert that you are alpha and that the dog is lowest rank in your household pack





- wait for a dog to pass by and when you dog shows agression - spray in face with squirt gun or even a bucket of water while firmly commanding in a deep loud voice ';OFF!';





- when you are walking and see another dog employ same technique as above (water - OFF) do NOT pull hard on leash - this acts as a form of resistance that can actually excite a dog (think the tough guy that doesn't really want to fight: 'hold me back - hold me back - I'll murderalize him!!). obviously though if your dog does not respond to water and commands and lunges you must pull back hardon leash.





- practice basic obedience with your dog, heeling, staying, sitting, etc.





- at the end of the day its all about firmly establishing WHO is in charge.. your dogs trying to warn you abouth this other dog infringing on your territory - if you are in charge, it can relax and know that you're ';on it';





EDIT:


I appreciate the gist of the other poster's suggestion about taking your leashed dog to the dog park - but you might be setting yourself up for potential disaster - you'll have no idea what kind of off leash dogs will be in the park, and what kind of voice control the owners have over their pets.. a great many dog fights occur in parks when one dog is leashed and the other is not.. leashed dogs feel ';trapped'; and ';cornered'; and are thusly way more defensive.. you are better off practicing and getting your dog to be more obedient in a controlled environmentCan anyone offer advice on how to handle an aggressive dog that is agressive only toward other dogs??????
TYPES OF AGGRESSION


There are several types of aggression: defensive or induced by fear, pain, or punishment; dominant; possessive; territorial; intra-sexual (male-to-male or female-to-female); predatory; or parental. A dog may exhibit more than one type of aggression.





Dominant-aggressive dogs are characterized as confident, macho, and ';on the muscle.'; They stand tall, up on their toes, with their ears up and forward. They carry their tails high and wag it slowly and stiffly from side to side. They often have their hackles up, stare menacingly, and emit a low growl with lips pursed and teeth exposed. They will place a paw on the shoulder of another dog, mount people's legs, and push children aside when going through a door. Dominant-aggressive dogs are demanding of attention. They demand to go outside, demand excessive affection, are possessive of their sleeping areas, and stop eating when approached. Many of these dogs will not obey commands, especially submissive commands (such as ';down'; or ';wait';). Males lift their legs on everything, even in the house, even if their bladder is empty. Most dominant-aggressive dogs are purebred males.





Defensive-aggressive dogs are much more ambivalent in their behavior. They display submissive body language (ears back, often flat against the head; avoidance of direct eye contact; lowering of the head and body; tucking tail between the legs; submissive urination) and they lick hands and roll over to expose their bellies. They resist handling, hate to have their feet touched, don't like to be groomed, and often shy away from human hands. These are the fear-biters; they may snap if cornered and will often bite at people who turn and walk away.








PREVENTING AGGRESSION


The primary goal is simple -- never allow any dog to achieve dominant status over any adult or child. If dogs always know their social ranking and are never allowed to challenge people, they will usually be good family members.





The first rule for preventing problems is to match the right breed and puppy to the right owner. In other words, the Rottweiler or Akita is not a suitable breed for a meek or mild owner or the macho owner looking for a tough, aggressive dog; the Dalmatian and the Flat-Coated Retriever do not fit sedentary lifestyles; the Shetland Sheepdog or the Chihuahua do not like boisterous, rowdy children, etc. Likewise, the litter bully will take over the home of a submissive owner and the shy puppy needs extra attention to adjust to an active household.





Puppy testing done by the breeder can help. The test includes social attraction, following, restraint, social dominance and elevation dominance.





Aggression prevention includes early socialization. Puppies should be handled gently, especially between three and four months of age. They should be hand-fed by children and adults and taught to take food without grabbing or lunging. They should not be allowed to chase children or joggers, jump on people, mount legs, or growl for any reason. They should never receive or be part of rough, aggressive play such as hand-fighting, wrestling, or tug-of-war games. Puppies should never be physically punished for aggressive behavior; instead, they should be denied the rewards of aggression, restrained from repeating the infraction, and taught alternative behavior.





If puppies bite at or jump on children, the children should take charge by screaming ';Off!'; and crossing their arms (to protect hands and arms from being grabbed) and turning away. Puppies love to play; if fun is denied when they get too rough, they will learn to play more calmly.





Puppy parties, where children of all ages visit and play gentle games and offer food rewards are helpful for the children and the puppy.





The puppy should be part of the family pack and should learn to accept delivery people, repairmen, and other strangers. Once they have been vaccinated against the common canine diseases, puppies should be exposed to non-aggressive dogs so they learn that other dogs as well as other people are friendly.
Dog aggression is any behavior meant to intimidate or harm a person or another animal. Growling, baring teeth, snarling, snapping and biting are all aggressive behaviors. Although aggressive behaviors are normal for dogs, they're generally unacceptable to humans. From a dog's perspective, there's always a reason for aggressive behavior. Because humans and dogs have different communication systems, misunderstandings can occur between the two species. A person may intend to be friendly, but a dog may perceive that person's behavior as threatening or intimidating. Dogs aren't schizophrenic, psychotic, crazy, or necessarily ';vicious,'; when displaying aggressive behavior.





Because aggression is so complex, and because the potential consequences are so serious, we recommend that you get professional in-home help from an animal behavior specialist if your dog is displaying aggressive behavior. Our Behavior Helpline can't assist you with aggressive behavior problems (see our handout: ';When The Behavior Helpline Can't Help';).





Types Of Aggression


Dominance Aggression: Dominance aggression is motivated by a challenge to a dog's social status or to his control of a social interaction. Dogs are social animals and view their human families as their social group or ';pack.'; Based on the outcomes of social challenges among group members, a dominance hierarchy or ';pecking order'; is established (see our handout: ';Dealing With Dominance In Dogs';).





If your dog perceives his own ranking in the hierarchy to be higher than yours, it's likely that he'll challenge you in certain situations. Because people don't always understand canine communication, you may inadvertently challenge your dog's social position. A dominantly aggressive dog may growl if he is disturbed when resting or sleeping, or if he is asked to give up a favorite spot, such as the couch or the bed. Physical restraint, even when done in a friendly manner, like hugging, may also cause your dog to respond aggressively. Reaching for your dog's collar, or reaching out over his head to pet him, could also be interpreted by him as a challenge for dominance. Dominantly aggressive dogs are often described as ';Jekyll and Hydes'; because they can be very friendly when not challenged. Dominance aggression may be directed at people or at other animals. The most common reason for dogs in the same family to fight with each other is instability in the dominance hierarchy (see our handout: ';Canine Rivalry';).





Fear-Motivated Aggression: Fear-motivated aggression is a defensive reaction and occurs when a dog believes he is in danger of being harmed. Remember that it's your dog's perception of the situation, not your actual intent, which determines your dog's response. For example, you may raise your arm to throw a ball, but your dog, perceiving this to be a threat, may bite you because he believes he is protecting himself from being hit. A dog may also be fearfully aggressive when approached by other dogs.





Protective, Territorial And Possessive Aggression: Protective, territorial and possessive aggression are all very similar, and involve the defense of valuable resources. Territorial aggression is usually associated with defense of property. However, your dog's sense of territory may extend well past the boundaries of ';his'; yard. For example, if you walk your dog regularly around the neighborhood and allow him to urine-mark, to him, his territory may be the entire block! Protective aggression usually refers to aggression directed toward people or animals that a dog perceives as threats to his family, or pack. Dogs become possessively aggressive when defending their food, toys or other valued objects, such as Kleenex stolen from the trash!





Redirected Aggression: This type of aggression is relatively common, but is a behavior that pet owners may not always understand. If a dog is aroused into an aggressive response by a person or animal that he is prevented from attacking, he may redirect this aggression onto someone else. A common example occurs when two family dogs become excited, bark and growl in response to another dog passing through the front yard. The two dogs, confined behind a fence, may turn and attack each other because they can't attack the intruder. Predation is usually considered to be a unique kind of aggressive behavior, because it's motivated by the intent to obtain food, and not primarily by the intent to harm or intimidate.





Individual Variation


Dogs differ in their likelihood to show aggressive behavior in any particular situation. Some dogs tend to respond aggressively with very little stimulation. Others may be subjected to all kinds of threatening stimuli and events, and never attempt to bite. The difference in this threshold at which a dog displays aggressive behavior is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. If this threshold is low, a dog will be more likely to bite. Raising the threshold makes a dog less likely to respond aggressively. This threshold can be raised using behavior modification techniques. How easily the threshold can be changed is influenced by the dog's gender, age, breed, general temperament, and by whether the appropriate behavior modification techniques are chosen and correctly implemented. Working with aggressive dogs can be potentially dangerous, and should be done only by, or under the guidance of, an experienced animal behavior professional who understands animal learning theory and behavior.





What You Can Do


First check with your veterinarian to rule out medical causes for the aggressive behavior.


Seek professional help. An aggression problem will not go away by itself. Working with aggression problems requires in-home help from an animal behavior specialist.


Take precautions. Your first priority is to keep everyone safe. Supervise, confine and/or restrict your dog's activities until you can obtain professional help. You're liable for your dog's behavior. If you must take your dog out in public, consider a cage-type muzzle as a temporary precaution, and keep in mind that some dogs can get a muzzle off.


Avoid exposing your dog to situations where he is more likely to show aggression. You may need to keep him confined to a safe room and limit his people-contact.


If your dog is possessive of food, treats or a certain place, don't allow him access to those items. In an emergency, bribe him with something better than what he has. For example, if he steals your shoe, trade him the shoe for a piece of chicken.


Spay or neuter your dog. Intact dogs are more likely to display dominance, territorial and protective aggressive behavior.


What Not To Do


Punishment won't help and, in fact, will make the problem worse. If the aggression is motivated by fear, punishment will make your dog more fearful, and therefore more aggressive. Attempting to punish or dominate a dominantly aggressive dog is likely to cause him to escalate his behavior in order to retain his dominant position. This is likely to result in a bite or a severe attack. Punishing territorial, possessive or protective aggression is likely to elicit additional defensive aggression.


Don't encourage aggressive behavior. Playing tug-of-war or wrestling games encourages your dog to attempt to ';best'; you or ';win'; over you, which can result in the beginning of a dominance aggression problem. When dogs are encouraged to ';go get 'em'; or to bark and dash about in response to outside noises or at the approach of a person, territorial and protective aggressive behavior may be the result.
Take her to a local dog park and keep her on a leash. Lavish her with praise when she shows any signs of calmness, and voice disapproval when she shows signs of aggression. Most of the other dog-owners at the dog park will appreciate that you are recognizing this as a negative thing, and that you are working on it, so they shouldn't be bothered by it. This type of socialization is the only thing that will work, though.
Your dog is obviously extremely territorial. He must be big. You hear a lot of this about the animal kingdom, be it wild or domestic. I tried with my dog, and the only thing I did was keep her on a long leash. When she barked at other dogs. i went outside, brought her in and made her lay down. I thought she would get the picture. Not. I did this for almost a year and she would not stop being so territorial. Maybe it will work for you. It's worth a try. Just because my dog didn't get the idea. Your dog may be smarter.
buy a muzzle and a pinch collar. these look barbaric but really aren't and they work wonders. see if the neighbor is willing to work with you. sit your dog in your yard with the muzzle and pinch collar on with you holding the leash. have the neighbor walk their dog past yours. if your dog trys to attack the other dog, give a hard yank on the leash. say a firm ';NO'; and make your dog lay down. continue doing this about 4 more times. if your dog continues trying to attack (or even growl) yank, no, lay down. if your neighbor will not participate try it with another friends dogs or just walk up and down the fence while the neighbor dog is outside. i would start out slow only doing it a few times a day ( that's why i said 5 times) for 3 days and then, if you don't see improvement try walking a dog past yours more often. try different breeds and sizes of dogs so your dog will know not to react this way with all dogs and not just your neighbors dog. good luck