Aggressive Dogs?

Dracko · December 27th, 2005, 07:42 PM

I posted a thread a while ago about my dog, Dracko, saying that he isn't fond of strangers...takes him a while to warm up to them. But, he is wonderful with other dogs and cats. (Oh, he's a 90lb Shepherd as you can see in my picture.) Over Xmas my bf's brother was a bit pissy about Dracko's attitude.

Yesterday the brother's dogs tried to practically kill Dracko when we were out at their farm. Just now we find out their dogs tried to kill one of the pet cats on their farm (a deer farm). Their dogs are fairly nice to humans (well, the one shepherd won't let you near her and during storms she is so traumatized she'll break through windows!) but hate other animals. They killed many of the cats they've had on the farm.

So, you tell me...how can someone be such a dink about my dog when their own have "issues" too. When his brother got mad after his dogs tried to kill mine (apparently it was OUR fault) I took my dog got in my car and left. My bf had driven in his own vehicle. My dog showed absolutely NO aggression to his animals whatsoever.

What's my point? Oh, I don't know...needed to vent somewhere. People can be so unaccepting of something that belongs to someone else...but fail to see the problems in their own world. I've never been an overly social person cuz I can't stand the judgement that comes along with most encounters. This is a bit of a last straw for me with my bf's brother. Fuck you, asshole. When your animals and family are PERFECT, then you can come and judge my life.

Luna · December 27th, 2005, 07:51 PM

Oh boy. Yes, just like parents of kids, so many pet owners think their pets are extra special to them so they should be treated as such by everyone else! No one elses pets are nearly as "special" as theirs so they are not worthy. blah blah blah stfu to all those "special" people.

Grimmlok · December 31st, 2005, 05:58 PM

I had a golden retreiver, the most laid back and fun loving dog EVER.. wouldn't hurt a fly, let kids climb all over him, didn't ever bark or growl..

Dogs hated him. HATED. Any dog he came across would attack him, and he'd kind of stand there, unsure what to do and look at me with a "wtf is going on!" face.

All he ever wanted to do was play. He'd have a ball, and another dog would come up, he'd be laying down.. his tail would thump and he'd get all excited and happy, but never jumped up or down.. and the other dog would just lunge for him. Every fuckin time.

I decided that my dog didn't know how to speak 'dog' body language, and was pissing the others off somehow. Strangest thing.

Luna · December 31st, 2005, 06:30 PM

Doggie autism?

Grimmlok · December 31st, 2005, 09:31 PM

No, i just think that not spending a lot of time around other dogs made him doggy-retarded, cuz they communicate A LOT through visual cues.. he was probably staring them in the face, which is a sign of aggression/dominance. He always looked us in the eyes whenever he wanted something.

A*O · December 31st, 2005, 10:07 PM

It's VERY important to socialise dogs from a very early age, especially if you only have one. It's a bit daunting at first to take a puppy to a public park with other dogs around, but provided you keep a careful watch the pup will quickly learn to interact with other dogs and establish a pecking order. It's a dog's deep-seated instinct to operate as a part of a pack. They are not solitary animals like, say, cats. Sorry if this sounds like a lecture but I know SO many dogs who NEVER have any contact with other dogs and without exception they are either very aggressive or total wimps.

mklady · December 31st, 2005, 10:27 PM

Some people are like that, they think it's ok for a dog to act like that when it's in it's territory. We had a dog that was the sweetest thing, I don't think she had an aggressive bone in her body. One of the places we rented was on a farm and the owner's had this lab mix that was just a pain in the butt. Everytime my parents or I would feed our animals she was over in the yard going after our dog and trying to eat the food. My mom took care of that by putting out a gallon size can of pork and beans for her to eat! Apparently she crapped all over their house for the next few days, but anyhow, she just didn't seem to like our dog.

Grimmlok · January 1st, 2006, 05:46 AM

Well my golden wasn't a wimp, nor was he aggressive.. he was very even tempered, but i just don't think he 'got' other dogs. He seriously just wanted to play with anybody or any dog he came across, but they just hated him. It was kind of sad to watch, cuz he'd be all happy some dog came up to him and his ball, and then be kinda mopey on the way back after said other dog tried to rip his face off.. it was like he just didn't undertand wtf he was doing wrong.

It wasn't my dog, it was a Bf's.. kinda became my dog, cuz I just communicate better with animals than he did, but it seemed to me that he had just been brought up in a veyr people centric environment and didn't know how to communicate with his fellow canines, despite best intentions. It was like having a mentally challenged kid, it was hard to see him get so frustrated and freaked out cuz no other dogs wanted to play with him.

Damn sweet dog, I miss him. *sniffle*

Tenaj · January 23rd, 2006, 08:23 AM

Dracko I have similar issues with Jake, he's a German Shepherd too, it is in their nature to be very protective of their loved ones but it's not an excuse either. Jake is adorable with people he knows, he will kiss them and try to sit on their laps. But if a stranger enters the house we have to hold him until he calms down, usually about 5 minutes and then he's fine. We socialised him from a young age and he met many people and dogs however he is very very wary of strangers. I really want to nip this in the bud and we are looking at training sessions. I even considered castration but the vet said that wouldn't help.

I remember walking down our road and a couple stopped to look at him, they said he was gorgeous, turns out they had a Shepherd too. Jake starting barking ( I had him on a lead) I apologised and said that he was wary of strangers and the couple just laughed and said "Ours was exactly the same". Jake has a huge circle of doggy friends including Basil, Button, Candy (Candy's his tiny girlfriend my Mum says) so it's not dogs he's scared of. He sounds just like Dracko. How old is he BTW?

Dracko · January 23rd, 2006, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tenaj

Dracko I have similar issues with Jake, he's a German Shepherd too, it is in their nature to be very protective of their loved ones but it's not an excuse either. Jake is adorable with people he knows, he will kiss them and try to sit on their laps. But if a stranger enters the house we have to hold him until he calms down, usually about 5 minutes and then he's fine. We socialised him from a young age and he met many people and dogs however he is very very wary of strangers. I really want to nip this in the bud and we are looking at training sessions. I even considered castration but the vet said that wouldn't help.

I remember walking down our road and a couple stopped to look at him, they said he was gorgeous, turns out they had a Shepherd too. Jake starting barking ( I had him on a lead) I apologised and said that he was wary of strangers and the couple just laughed and said "Ours was exactly the same". Jake has a huge circle of doggy friends including Basil, Button, Candy (Candy's his tiny girlfriend my Mum says) so it's not dogs he's scared of. He sounds just like Dracko. How old is he BTW?

Dracko is 5 1/2 now. He has pretty much always been wary of strangers...but not other dogs. I agree it is rather instinctual for them, but like you said, it's not an excuse. Not all Shepherds do act like that. I wish so much he didn't act that way and I could have him around people all the time cuz I love having him around me.

Tenaj · January 23rd, 2006, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dracko

Dracko is 5 1/2 now. He has pretty much always been wary of strangers...but not other dogs. I agree it is rather instinctual for them, but like you said, it's not an excuse. Not all Shepherds do act like that. I wish so much he didn't act that way and I could have him around people all the time cuz I love having him around me.

Jake is coming up to two years old in June. He's great with my friends that he knows but I'm always especially wary when walking him on a lead - he will bark at people he doesn't know and I hate that, I don't train him to be a guard dog at all. I've been reading up on it and signed up to a newsletter on GSD's, I'm also in regular touch with the breeder too. If I learn anything of help I'll let you know.