Fear aggression

Hi LBrigham and thanks for you post,
I am having trouble locating the story you are referring to in my database, are you able to give me any more detail such as the full subject line or the name of the dog in the story? In the mean time I will attempt to answer your questions as well as I can.

Fear aggression can be difficult to sort out however if your dog is being aggressive to both you and your other dog dominance training is vital. Along with this having a clear regular routine with lots of praise for calm behavior and calm removal to time out for bad behavior can help a fearful dog learn what is expected of it and what to expect from you.

Following the alpha dog training will definitely help show the dog its position in the pack is below you and can also be used to reduce aggression between your dogs. It is important to remember the key points of dominance.

In a wild dog pack the dominant pack member controls :
-access to food
-access to favoured sleeping areas
-any interactions with lower pack members
-access to favoured items such as toys

In order to show your dog his position as bottom of the pack you and your whole family can take advantage of these keys points. For example

1) Both dogs must be the last eat after you at every meal and should never get treats from the table. Once you have finished eating ask both dogs to sit and then give the labradoodle its bowl first followed a little later by the labradors. This is because you want the labrador to be right at the bottom of the pack.

2) They should never walk through doors before you. A good way to practice this is to walk around the house and make them sit at each doorway and wait.

3) If either of your dogs is lying in the hallway or anywhere you have to get past make them move. If you think they will snap leave a lead on them so you can move them whilst maintaining a bit of distance.

4) When you arrive home completely ignore the dogs for 15 minutes. Don't look at them, talk to them or pat them. After this go to the labradoodle and give it some quiet attention, then after that the labrador only as long as they are relaxed and calm.

Only interact with the dogs on your terms. If your or someone else is petting one of the dog or playing with it and it becomes aggressive or badly behaved immediately remove your attention from the dog by either removing yourself from the area or moving the dog to another area. You should do this without displaying any emotion such as anger just be a calm but decisive pack leader and the dog will appreciate knowing where it stands. Similarly you can assert your dominance by not allowing access to beds and couches or by only bringing out favourite toys when you want to play and removing them when you are finished.

Making your labradoodle higher than your labrador is important and should be reinforced at every opportunity for example allowing it access to beds and couches and first access to new toys. This may seem unfair or like favouritism but remember the dog pack is not the same as the human family and non-pack leaders are familiar with such controlled access by their dominant pack mates.


In regards to tug of war, tug of war games should definitely not be played with any dogs who are showing signs of dominance aggression as dogs are very strong and most can easily win the game further instating in their mind their role as dominant leader. However tug of war can be a useful tool in dogs who are well aware of their subordinate position after extensive alpha training if you know for sure that your dog knows the drop command and will obey you. You can bring the toy out when you want to play, have a few tugs and then give the drop command and take the toy away thus highlighting the fact that you the leader, controls access to toys. This will not work however in large or strong dogs who can quickly remove the toy from you and run off with it so should not be used with them, you must always win the game and if you cannot do not play it.