I need help...my dog is being mean towards other dogs

We have had our dog Murphy since September. He is fine around our other dog Lucy and all other dogs we have come into contact with. He goes to doggy daycare about once a week and we also go to the dog park occasionally. He has always been fine with other dogs.

We started a training class at Petsmart about 2 months ago. He was fine with all the dogs in the class except for one, who was big (Murphy is only about 10 lbs, this dog is probably 50). This dog is also only 6 months old and VERY hyper/playfull. He would always try to get Murphy to play with him and Murphy was not having it. He would growl at him and show his teeth.

Now when we go to class, Murphy is still mean to the big dog in our class (the other dogs who were in the class don't come anymore) and he is also mean to the dogs who are there shopping and just walk by us. He growls and barks (a very mean bark) and acts like he wants to attack them. It is so weird!!!

When he does this I tug his leash and say "NO!" and make him go into a sit/stay position.

Last weekend we were there and he was barking like crazy at a Pitbull. Then he stopped and acted like he wanted to sniff the Pit so I let some slack on his leash. He sniffed the Pits face and I thought he was fine but then he snapped right in the Pits face!!!!! I have NEVER seen he do this to any dog! He is like a totally different dog when we are there.

What should I do? The trainer suggested I spray his body with water (not face) or shake a penny can.

 

Is Murphy neutered? Maybe he is now maturing and getting aggressive from harmones. It does seem strange that he was fine before and is now getting more and more agressive. Also remember you should never allow your dog to "greet" other dogs when he is on a leash unless. The leash increasses a dogs aggression.

 

Annie also had this problem...mainly in our obedience class in close quarters with other dogs. I knew she was dog agressive, which was not suprising since she is a pit bull. Our trainer recommended giving a stern voice correction and directing her attention to me with a command and treating her for her good behavior. She said the key was to watch her body language closely and not allow her to have a reaction to another dog. Every time she even started looking at another dog I was to bring her attention back to me by asking her to do something, sit, down, sit up...whatever I wanted. It really helped Annie...she learned to ignore other dogs while she was working and her attention was focused on me instead of thinking about killing every body else for looking at her..hehe.

 

Murphy is neutered. He is about a year and a half old.
Maybe it is the leash thing. I didn't think about that. At dog day care and the dog park he isn't on a leash.

I try to distract him and the sit/stay thing. I want him to not growl/bark in the first place though. Haha, good luck, righ?

 

If he is OK at day care and at the park off leash then it sounds definitely like leash aggression. Most dogs exhibit that trait which is why most trainers warn you not to greet another dog on a leash unless you know the other dog and person and the dogs also know each other.
At 10 pounds Murphy could get into trouble if he "attacks" a larger dog so you need to keep him clear of temptation. Continue to work to keep his attention on you when on a leash and you should do fine. Also keep an eye out to see if he starts to be aggressive while off leash.

 

Hi,
My dog started doing exactly the same thing at around 18 months. I've tried all sorts, the stern 'no', distraction, getting him focussed on me, treating him as we walk past, the lot.

I've just learned to read his body language and handle every situation when it arises.

I avoid dogs now that aren't leashed as I can now keep Floobs attention on me. He's aware the other dogs are around but he'll stay with me and be more than happy to just walk along listening to me talk to him. The main problem has been other owners just letting there dogs run over to us. Like your Murphy, Floob doesn't like over hyper dogs, pups or just generally inpolite ones. He likes to say a polite hello and be on his way. He won't tollereate being disturbed if he's "busy".

I always try to work on the basis of 'turn every negative into a possitive'. Maybe some time working on distraction rather than real commands (like the sit/stay thing) could work for your boy.

I hope you find a solution, and quick. If it's any I didn't mention I'd tried, please tell me! :lol:

Oh, is Murphy very vocal normally? I mean asin when he's playing does he growl alot? Or when he's excited will he bark? I've found that Floob is. When he's playing with dogs he absolutly loves he's non stop growling and mock biting. If anyone new hears him they think he's ripping the other dog to peices, but it's just his way. It's asif he controls the situation from the beggining by growling so everything's in hand... if that makes sense?

 

Thank you all very much for the support and advise.
I droped him off at doggie daycare this morning so hopefully everything will be OK there. They keep the large dogs and small dogs separate so he never has issues (he seems to have more issues with large dogs).

Yes I was very lucky that the Pit did not snap Murphy's head off. The poor Pit was shaking....she was scared!

Murphy doesn't growl, bark, etc when he is playing. He and our other dog Lucy (who is also small) play and wrestle all the time. Lucy is very vocal....Murphy is basically silent.

It's difficult because we know nothing about Murphy's background. He was abandoned at the shelter in July 2005. He was in very bad condition...terribly neglected. He was going to be put to sleep but luckily a rescue organization adopted him ebfore that happened. He lived in a foster home for 2 months before we adopted him. He lived there with 2 small dogs and one Bull Mastiff (who weighed about 140+ lbs). He and the Bull were best friends!

Thanks again for all the support.