Dog being aggressive.

[Babyroobs]

Please can any of you dog experts out there give me some advise. I have a two year old Cockapoo bitch who has always loved most other dogs . Normally she plays nicely with other dogs and if ever any aggression has been showed it has been from the other dog because mine has been a bit too persistant or overbearing. We had our bitch spayed about 3 weeks ago and she seems to have made a good recovery and seems to be back to her normal self, tonight she has been running around going crazy at great speed. However on this evenings walk she seemed to be aggressive to almost every other dog we met ( about 4 or 5 of them), the first incident to the point where the other owner looked seriously annoyed with us as I tried to get her back on the lead. She is normally off the lead because there is not normally a problem, but obviously aafter the first incident I kept her on the lead for the remainder of the walk where she continued to 'have a go' at every dog we passed. Can anyone advise if this can happen after being spayed as this is the only thing that has changed, could it be hormonal or just that she still feels a bit vulnerable or whatever after surgery? I really hope it is not going to be a permanant issue as she is normally such a friendly little dog and everyone loves her. Should I seek advise from the vet also ?

[bellasuewow]

I would get her checked by the vet I think I have heard of this problem being exacerbated on very rare occasions by a spaying although normally the other way round. You mention she was persistent and overbearing so perhaps this is a build up of that as aggression takes time to build if the signs are not corrected early on, what is your reaction when she acts up?

[Jolleigh]

One thing I'm not too keen on as an owner of a nervous/aggressive rescue pup..

You say she's normally off the lead because she's not normally a problem. I guess by this you mean she stays right at your heels? If this is the case, being on the lead hardly makes a difference.

If she doesn't stay at heel, I'd seriously reconsider. It's not only your dog that you need to worry about...if she approaches a nervous dog, it could go horribly wrong. My dog wears a muzzle in public but it doesn't mean that being approached isn't traumatic for him.

I used to work at a shelter and strongly advised all adoptive owners to only allow their dog off lead on private land or land designated for off lead dogs.

[pootlepootle]

i don't think it's fair to say that all dogs should be on the lead at all times unless you're on specifically designated land for off lead dogs (i've never seen any of that) or your own land.

i have two high energy working labradors - well one adult and one 14 week old pup who looks like she's going to be extremely high energy! if i can never let them off the lead their lives would be unacceptable. a fit, field bred working labrador is a dog that has been bred to run for miles so they need to run and run fast.

i am not sure it would do their mental health much good being constantly cooped up. she walks very well on and off lead (little one doesn't, she's like taking a rabbit for a walk) and i can call her to heel where she walks tight to my left leg and will sit as i stop.

but i can't train them on lead. The important thing for me was to get the pup off lead fast. my aim is to get to six months without her ignoring the recall whistle which means i need to get her out and about off lead to do so. she needs to learn to keep me in view at all times and keep checking back with me. these lessons need learning young.

we all live in such different parts of the country though (and maybe abroad). i can understand if people live in the middle of cities or in very densely populated areas then there's simply too many dogs but we live in an area where i walked four to five miles yesterday and in that time only met two horse riders yet under your rules she'd have walked the whole lot at heel just in case i met another dog.

if i have to live like that i'd have to rehome my dogs as it simply wouldn't be fair.

[Jolleigh]

Pootle- sounds like you're lucky enough to live somewhere relatively remote, which is great. It also sounds like you understand that recall must be 100% reliable. I've met the odd very well trained dog off lead where I've had no issue when I've called out to the owner to ask them not to let their dog approach, the owner has heard, recalled the dog and crisis has been averted.

None of this I have a problem with, but it is very much not the norm...especially in built up areas (good guess...I am in a large city).

The more specific way to describe my issue with off-lead pooches I suppose is to say that it's dangerous when some owners decide that their dog is friendly so don't have to be on lead, but then they 95 times out of 100 don't train the dog not to approach others. It's a very hard thing to train to all but the most intelligent dogs and people simply give up.

[StarsGoBlue]

This chart may help you decide when to let your dog off-lead:

s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/232212/offleashv10/image.jpg

from Should I Leash My Dog