Help! End of tether with aggressive dog (other dogs not people)

[buckyou]

I'm after some advice on behalf of my mum. She is completely beside herself with this dog she has got and I don't know what to suggest to do for the best.

Her border terrier died last year and for some reason my mum decided to pay £800 for a 2 yo border off gumtree!! I know this is not advisable and not something I would do myself so don't have a go at me!! Anyway, she has no breeder or anything she can go back to.

He dog is friendly and nice with people but extremely aggressive with other dogs. If any dog goes up to her when on lead she ends up in a fight with it and off lead she just makes a beeline to attack other dogs. She gets the total 'red mist'.

My mum and dad go away in their camper a lot to the lakes etc. And she also comes to help me with my children but she can't do either of those things because of the aggression with other dogs. (I also have dogs).

What should she do? What advice should I give her?

Options:
1 - find a dog behaviourist and see if they can sort her out
2 - move to somewhere in the sticks where there are no dogs and never go anywhere
3 - rehome (where, who with??)
4 - PTS, not sure if people even do this but guess it's an option if she's not suitable for rehousing

My mum's not an irresponsible dog owner at all (apart from method of purchase!) and is so upset. What should we do??

I'm not after a lecture, just advice.

Definitely contact a behaviourist. The dog sounds reactive.

Remember he is under control if on lead. If other dogs approach it's without permission so they're in the wrong.

I'd recommend getting a yellow dog tabbard saying 'space please'

Muzzle for now before your dm gets into a situation she can't handle while out and about.

Then dog classes - back to basics.

Definitely a behaviourist. I don't know where you are in the country but Chirag Patel at Domesticated Manners is exceptional and and is internationally renowned. He helped me sort out a very tricky (but too outing to go in to here) situation and he has such a natural affinity with animals. All his methods are very positive.

It might be worth giving his team a ring even if he's too far away to be of use to get a recommendation for a local trainer as he knows people all over the country as he organises an annual dog training national conference.

Behaviourist and muzzle.

It's not the end of the world to have a dog aggressive dog but it's very restricting. Its something that your mum has to understand will always need managed and that the dog may never be happy around dogs no matter what she does sadly.

Training the dog to happily wear a muzzle is definitely a good idea. It needs to be a well fitting basket muzzle (not one of the fabric ones that prevents the dog opening their mouths) so it doesn't restrict panting/drinking/taking treats/etc.

Getting in a decent behaviourist or trainer to help is also a very good idea, though she needs to be careful as anyone can set themselves up as behaviourist and there are plenty about still pedalling dominance-related rubbish. The best way to find someone reputable is to go through one of the following organisations: APBC, CAPBT, APDT or IMDT. They will be able to help her find someone who uses up to date, scientifically based methods.

It would also be worth her looking at some of the resources available online for owners/trainers of reactive dogs. I've had great success with my reactive dog using the CARE method and Behaviour Adjustment Training (there's an updated book on the subject available on Amazon as well) is also very much worth looking into.

In the meantime, it would be wise to avoid other dogs as much as possible and allow the dog time to recover if they do have a bad encounter.