Aggression and Running Away

Name: Brandy Gilliland
Email: walmarthorsegreen@yahoo.com
Date: 2006-08-01 21:51:58

Hi. I bought a dog from The Michigan Aussie Cattle Dog rescue. She is part blue heeler and german shepard. she is 6 months old. she does have a few issues. She gets mad at my mom and bites her for no reason and leaves a lot of bruises. She is aggresive towards people who come in the door and she tries to bite them. She also chews everything in the house. She pulls on the leash and choke chains dont work. She also bolts out the door every chance she gets and we are afraid she will get hit bye a car. we have thought about getting her training but dont know where to go. We dont want to get rid of her cause we love her to death but her next stop is a shelter if nothing works. Please help! -brandy

Date: 2006-08-03 13:52:10

Hi Brandy. Thank you for trying to help your dog and I applaud you for rescuing a dog. I can tell you really love your dog and I want to help so I need to get a little bit more information from you. If you can answer the following questions, then we may be able to set up a training plan for you. 1) How long have you had the dog? 2) Do you crate the dog? 3) What food are you feeding your dog and how often? 4) How much exercise is the dog getting? 5) When you say the dog gets mad at your mom, what exactly is your mom doing when this has happened? It sounds like your dog may be very fearful of people and I suspect it wasn't properly socialized when it was younger. Have you tried a gentle leader with your dog rather than a choke chain? It helps with control and will be easier for the dog to focus on you. In terms of chewing, that is fairly normal puppy behavior and I would recommend getting lots of indestructable chew toys and bones (nylabones, etc) to keep your puppy busy. I would also recommend whenever you see your dog chewing on something inappropriate, say "EH EH" in a firm tone and direct the dog to something it can chew on. You can also try bitter apple spray which can help to cut down on the chewing. Whenever you cannot actively supervise your dog I would recommend keeping her in a crate or locked room and not letting her have access to open doors. I would definitely recommend a training class to help with coming when called and attention getting exercises and to help teach her that people in the home is a good thing. These are behaviors that can be trained but it will take time and effort. If you start slow and build a strong bond with your dog, it will last a lifetime. If you live near Muncie, we have group classes and private training available and would be happy to meet with you. Please keep us posted on her progress and good luck! Bonnie

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