Member

Posts: 31
From:Toronto, Canada
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2004 05:41 AM         

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My 6 month old pupp (who is not a pit but of a similar personality type) is beating the crap out of other dogs at our local dog park!! He is only playing, but he is grabbing and shaking other dogs and making the lab owners at our park a little nervous. Most owners at the park know me b/c I've been going there with my gentle saint bernard since her puppyhood, but the new baby is acting like a jerk! I don't want to stop going because the social time with other dogs is good for him, but he needs to learn how to play nicer with other dogs. Any advice??

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Posts: 173
From:Canada
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2004 08:48 AM         

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Hi AC,
I have a very dog aggresive dog, and we are unable to take her to any dog park. Its a shame because she really is wonderful. I would suggest that you start keeping her on a leash for a bit while at the park and reintroduce her to some of the dogs. Bring some yummy treats (whenI want my dogs attention I boil a chicken breast and cut it into pieces the size of a pea) this controls how much you give him. When you walk up to a dog with him and he starts being aggressive, redirect him, walking away from that dog. Don't scold him, he probabl won't know what you're getting mad about. Try walking up to another dog, repeat as needed. When he does a desired behavior (plays nicely) you give him some treats and praise. This will eventually get into his head that other dogs mean yummy treats from mom. This won't change over night and may take a while but its well worth it. You work in resuce and I am sure you've seen dog aggressive dogs. Its so sad. My girl was abused and never socialized before we got her. She is wonderful with people but turns into a different pup when she sees a dog.
I would definetly keep him on leash for a while at the dog park though. Also, good practice would be to perfect your "come here" with him. That way when he can go off leash again and if he starts to get aggressive you can redirect him to you right away. You didn't say what breed you have but if its a bully breed, then you need to be all the more careful. If someone at the dog park felt to threatened by him and his aggression, you could ultimately pay the price for it.
Good luck to you and your boy!
Keep us informed with his progress.
Leslie

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Member

Posts: 136
From:CT.
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 03-11-2004 08:55 AM         

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Here's a link you may find helpfull

http://www.caninetrainingsystems.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=BE-AG-F

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Member

Posts: 31
From:Toronto, Canada
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2004 09:29 AM         

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Thank You for the replies so far, but I think you are misunderstanding.....He loves other dogs and plays great, but then its almost like he becomes over-stimulated and plays really rough. Everything about his body language still says 'play' but his intensity is way increased. Calling him off at this point doesn't work even though he listens all the time otherwise. I was thinking of a zap collar to buzz him with when he reaches that point in play.

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Posts: 136
From:CT.
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 03-11-2004 09:40 AM         

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Of course you know your dog better then we do. Thats why I sugested that training site. This is not exactly un herd of in fact its very commond.

Check out that site, there are traing methods and tools that you may find helpfull

Deus

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Member

Posts: 173
From:Canada
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2004 10:06 AM         

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A zap or buzz collar would not be a good idea. This will give him mixed signals about dogs, and could cause him to become more "hyper-active". Like Deus said, you know your dog better than us, butI think you do need to work on your recall. Your dog should be at a point where no matter what's going on if "mom" calls I better go right to her.
The fact is, other dog owners are getting nervous. You dont want that. You know how loving your dog is,you just need to have him cool his jets so to speak when he gets rough. Have you thought about a breaking stick? This is supposed to break up dog fights but may be able to be used when he gets over stimulated, just to seperate him until he is ready to play again.
The point I am trying to make is that you said your dog is acting like a "jerk". Well you need to stop that behaviour because if you don't stop it as soon as it happens he is learning that its okay to be this rough. Its not a hguge deal now, but it'll be harder to break him of these habits when he's older. Social time is excellent for dogs, you are right on there. This will help your dog learn to use proper doggy manners and body language. He may very well grow out of this behaviour, he is still very young.

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Posts: 392
From:lewisville, texas, united states
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 03-11-2004 10:13 AM         

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i dont really think that a breaking stick is going to be needed unless she can't pull the pup off of the other dogs. but the pits and bull breeds i've seen always tend to play a little rougher than most dogs. good luck with the litttle guy.

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From:Canada
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2004 10:25 AM         

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I was thinking breaking stick because I have read to many stories of puppies/dogs playing too rough and the owner trying to stop it and getting bit accidentally. This is not something i would ever want to go through. Bully breeds do tend to be more aggressive, its in their genes. In fact, on most pit rescue sites I have been on it recommends that you dont take you pit/bully breed dog to a dog park and if you do, don't take it off leash. The point I was tryingto make is that AC knows its play for her dog but owners of other dogs are getting nervous,and if they decided enough "play" was enough, they could call the authorities and she could get into trouble. My pup is very aggressive when we play tug, so when she starts going to hard I end the game and away goes the rope. No aggressive play allowed.
Just my two cents.

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Posts: 31
From:Toronto, Canada
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2004 02:23 PM         

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What I have been doing is that as soon as the play gets rough,(usually not until an hour or so after we get there) I remove him from the situation (with no correction) and go and play elsewhere with him with a ball or something. I knew that it was a good possibility that I would have to deal with this with him and I have done some research, but everyone says something different so I thought that I may be able to find out from you folks what might work best. I don't want to leave the park when it happens, then I feel like I'm avoiding the problem instead of trying ot solve it. If after we've tried to work on it several different ways it doesn't get any better and we can't go to the park, then so be it. I knew that it was a possibility when I got him.

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Posts: 173
From:Canada
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2004 02:52 PM         

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AC, I think you are doing the right thing. I think I gave the walk away suggestion to you in a different post too. This is the best way of correcting the behaviour. Hopefully it won't come to a point where you can no longer go to the park, but I am glad you did your research BEFORE you got him. That gives you a heads up of possible problems. It sounds like he just needs to learn some puppy manners. Letting him play with more dominant dogs at the park may help to keep him in line a bit better.
Have fun at the park!

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Posts: 31
From:Toronto, Canada
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2004 03:13 PM         

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I just spoke with a friend of mine who has an english bulldog that had the same problem growing up. She said that with her dog it only seemed to be when he was overtired too. She just left the park when he started to get tired and now he's just over 2 I think and he still does it every now and again, but for the most part he behaves himself.

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Posts: 227
From:Perth, Western Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 03-11-2004 06:19 PM         

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my dog plays too rough and there isnt really much you can do apart from find a dog the same size and ask the owner if they mind if your dog plays too rough. alot of very socialised dogs will play this way, because after all, its how dogs play naturally. hell settle down after a couple of years.

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