I'm gonna post this again, because I didn't post enough detail last time, and was told to do things we'd already done prior to his aggression. :) [I know there's A LOT of detail, but I kind of wasted your time last time, if you were one to answer.)
"He's scared of dogs, and nervous around people, but gets used to them quickly. If he sees a dog he 'automatically attacks' and doesn't really respond to anything we say/do until the dog is out of sight. :/
According to professional source, he lacks confidence, and once he builds that up, he won't be as scared and will be in a sort of remission. How do I build up his confidence around other dogs? :/"
He's already learned basics (Sit, Down, Look At Me (command only, no hand movement/signal) Wait, Come, Heel, Leave) plus a few tricks and 'advanced basics' (Sit Close, Turn Inward/Outward, and some commands at a distance). I tried teaching him more, so it would occupy his brain so he wouldn't attack(at all/as much) but that was before we knew that it was fear-based and not plain "I'm going to kill you!!" aggression. The training helped with his obedience when nobody was around, but it didn't really 'occupy' his mind.
We do really basic agility from home (just jumping :/) some days, and there's lots of space to do it, because we have a field right behind our house where nobody else goes. We take him up there for like, 20 minutes, getting him to chase/retrieve a tennis ball the entire time before we go for walks, but it doesn't 'dull' his sense of fear, or even make him easier to manage when he see's another dog. :/
We were told by a trainer that he would be fine to only exercise in the field, and not go for walks. I don't really see the point in that. I mean sure, I have a dog at home, but when I'm out I have nothing to walk with or worry about when he goes out of sight. That's kind of the fun in having a dog; being able to explore with it and complain about the fact it tries to pull you into the road right when that big van is coming. Dogs really aren't that fun when the only walk you can take it on is the one around your field. :/
He is aggressive with people, *but* after a few times of seeing them, or a few hours of them being near him, he's fine with them (no, we don't leave him with anyone unsupervised or without a muzzle.)
He can bark through the 'specially fitted' nylon muzzle which we have, and the basket muzzle can't be on when we go for walks, or else we can't use the halter, which we REALLY need to use. He's normally easy to handle; he doesn't use all his weight to pull toward dogs. But if he *did* pull as hard as he could, he'd obviously be able to either break the collar, the lead or just pull it out of our hands. :/ I'm the one who walks him, but my sister and mum say that he must pull a lot harder for them because they have a really hard time. ._.
We play a lot, he gets the needed exercise, and he isn't allowed to do ANYTHING unless he's earned it. We don't let him on the couch, but he *does* sleep on my bed. We have no room for a crate, in the bedroom or anywhere else, and if he's forced to sleep on the floor, he'll find things to chew (cabinets, carpets, pillows...) so at the moment it's easier to just have him on the bed. In February, we're having a clean out and will find a way to get a crate up for him permanently, but... Well, it's easier to have him behave himself on the bed for the next month.
When we play, we play tug and fetch. He loves tug, and will normally do anything for a game of tug, but the toys don't even get a glance out of him if he sees another dog. Nor do loud/weird noises, touches, or actual visual blocking so he can't see the dog. He'll just sit and bark at whoever is blocking his vision, which we were told is basically saying "Hey! I'm boss, how dare you do that?!" but other than clamping his jaw shut, there's no way of shutting him up after that. Even walking away doesn't work, or moving him, or telling him to do something (he'll just scream as if in pain if you give him a command when you're blocking him from seeing another dog). He'll just keep staring at you, barking, and if you move, he'll go after the other dog.
He's always on his nylon muzzle when outside, apart from when it's really late or really early, when nobody else is around. At 10PM and 5AM, he's a model dog outside.
He gets about an hour of off lead exercise in the field a day, plus any walks that we can manage. Sometimes it's not worth it, because he acts the same on every single walk. There's no where private to walk him, other than the field in the garden, so we can't even give him a quiet change of scenery. :L
Taking him to dog classes isn't safe atm. Li
It's ILLEGAL to have an uncontrolled dog off the lead. Are you suggesting I break the law? Sure...Can I have your insurance details for when my dog gets himself and me in trouble by attacking another dog or even person? Even without physically harming an animal or person, he can be reported and PTS because he's aggressive and out of control. Thanks for the advice, I'll totally take that on board!
Are you also suggesting that I limit his ability to breathe by having him on a muzzle at night time so he can't chew anything and possibly injure himself? Or are you simply suggesting I allow him to do this and hope he doesn't swallow bits of wood or carpet which then damage his stomach lining, or get caught in his throat or intestines? Or would you advise me to tie him up outside at night time so I don't feel bad when he eats something and dies or has to go through a traumatic experience at the vets? I'd be really appreciative to know..
Half of what I've learned has been from the trainer, which is why I'm doing as the trainer says. I know NOTHING about aggressive dogs. Sorry if it seemed I pretended to. :L
We were actually told not to let him on the couch because it wouldn't help with the training.
Walks aren't necessary for a dog. I wouldn't even need to take him up the field. I've seen plenty of over weight dogs who seem just fine. -_-
Walks are something you *want* to do with your dog.
I didn't include his breed, as I'm sure the responses I get will be centred just on that, and that he "can't be cured because it's his breed". Total cr@p. Is the breed really relevent? He's aggressive, it shouldn't matter whether he's a Chihuahua or Great Dane. It's still aggression.
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