We get this question all of the time. The answer is yes and no. It all comes down to different shades of gray that go from pure white (a dog that gets along with all other dogs) to pure black (a dog that will attack any other dog it can get to). In my experience with over 3000 dogs, about 3-5% of dogs are pure black. This means that they will attack any dog they can get to. Most of the dogs in this group have a few things in common. The three biggest seem to be lack of socialization with other dogs earlier in life, often followed by being removed from their birth pack too early, and being attacked by another dog early in life.
Unfortunately, I had a perfect example of this yesterday with a beautiful 4 year old Pitbull / Cattle Dog named Maddie. She was absolutely the sweetest thing and did extremely well in the first part of the appointment where we acquire the dog’s focus. We were called because she had been aggressive towards her owners brother / roommate’s 9 mo German Shepherd. When that dog was introduced into the yard where I had Maddie on lead, she flipped and no amount of correction was going to change her. My unscientific litmus test for whether I can change the behavior of a dog who is being aggressive is pretty simple. I pull (not yank) their tail (or in the case of a docked tail I grab the rear legs). In Maddie’s case, it was the tail. During normal circumstances, just touching the tail will get a dog to turn around. Not with Maddie. No amount of pulling or time could break her fixation on the other dog. From the beginning, it was also easy to read the other dog’s take on Maddie. He was off leash and would never get within 3 feet of her and when he came that close he would bring her a toy in a show of submission and appeasement. My point being that if Maddie wanted to attack him a dog that came towards her would never have a chance. Again, these dogs are not born, they are created by what people do or fail to do. Unfortunately, my recommendation to Maddie’s owner was that she should never leave their property without a basket muzzle on. In addition to this, she should never have contact with another dog in or off the property.
When people contact us about dog aggression, I always ask if it is within or outside their pack. If it is in pack, then I want to know the age of the dogs and a better description of what they see as aggression. The big factor here always seems to be the age separation between the dogs. We always advise that if getting a new dog they be within two years of the existing dog’s age when possible. Dogs, like people who are in a different season of their lives, don’t always tolerate the other well. More than anything, we see older dogs correcting younger dogs when they have had enough. This happens because the pack leader is not stepping in before that happens. It is just like two siblings getting into it. As a parent, you need to step in before someone takes it too far. All behaviors go from a 1-10 but not typically recognized until it nears 10 and that is when bad things happen. You need to interrupt the behavior at least by 3.
Most dogs are not aggressive but rather just reactive, especially leash reactive. First you need to condition your dog to maintain a loose lead when moving or standing still at a distance from another dog. Until I can get a dog on a loose lead, we don’t go any farther.
It is pretty simple. If you and your dog encounter another dog and your leash is tight, it means you have put the dog in charge of making decisions for you. Lack of experience and confidence will lead to bad decisions.
If getting a puppy, be sure that they are introduced to as many stable dogs as possible around 9-14 weeks. Be wary of adopting a dog from a shelter instead of a rescue that utilizes fosters. Fosters have the opportunity to study the dog in various situations and are experienced in spotting issues. If you are looking to adopt, I recommend the following rescues since I have worked with them extensively and they “get it”.
If you have a case of aggression or reactiveness on your hands, give us a call, talk is not just cheap…its FREE.