Dog is reactive to other dog's growls?

[lambrini]

My partner recently moved in with me and brought her dog, let's call him H. He's a pit mix and is super sweet and gentle most of the time and he gets along great with my dogs. The issue is that he's extremely reactive, specifically toward my corgi mix, let's call him B.

For context, when I say H attacks it's a very predictable pattern. He will attack very suddenly, with little to no warning. He will run up to the other dog and grab the back of their neck, ears, cheeks, or face in general, and shake the other dog. Sometimes he will let go when grabbed and pulled off, sometimes he will clamp down harder.

When H first moved in he had some gate aggression, specifically when B was on the other side of the baby gate from him. He would attack the gate if B was standing at the other side, or if he was let through the gate H would attack B. We have worked with getting him more familiar with the gate and with B and that seems to help, there have been no issues with that in several weeks.

We also have to be extremely careful at the dog park with H because he will attack other dogs as they are coming into the park if we aren't holding on to his collar, and he attacked another dog immediately after being let off leash. Other than that he's great at the dog park and gets along well with every other dog there.

The main issue though is one concerning pattern we've noticed. B is a rescue and has been through a lot including chronic back pain, he's a sweet boy but is very vocal about his boundaries. When he doesn't like something that's happening or if it's hurting him he will growl and use body language to say "stop that, I don't like it", and if it persists he will do an angry bark. It sounds scary but I've had him long enough to know he's just communicating. This sets off H though. The second he hears B growling or barking he's in attack mode, no warning he just lunges. It's getting to where it's just about daily at this point, and the other day B's entire shoulder was covered in blood from the bite, though thankfully it didn't seem to be a serious injury once we got it cleaned off.

I'm not sure what to do in this situation or how to help especially since it's such a sudden reaction. He calmed down from the gate aggression so I don't think it's impossible to work with him, but I'm also scared B or another dog is going to get severely hurt since H is the biggest and strongest dog by far in our house.

Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[bragar]

@lambrini B is in mortal peril and H is dog aggressive. Separate them completely and stop taking H to dog parks immediately. If he damages another dog there, you will be entirely responsible as you already know he has many triggers for attacking other dogs. This isn't anxiety and an attempt to protect himself, it's straight predatory aggression. Stop giving H opportunities to prey on other dogs. He's getting practice and the attacks are going to get worse. It's not an accident when you can see it coming a mile away.

You owe it to B to protect him and allow him to live in peace and comfort. Right now be lives with an abuser, walks on eggshells, and lives in fear. Crate and rotate, separate your house, but don't allow them to be loose anywhere together. B is stuck with you, he doesn't have the option of finding another family unless you choose to rehome him. His quality of life is very low right now.

 

[hiccup]

@bragar I broadly agree with you but OP hasn't described a regular pattern of predatory behaviour which has atleast a few obvious signs in my opinion. So OP will have to fill in the blanks here.

The situation with B kinda also fits rivalry which isn't super uncommon in 2 dog households and resembles predatory behaviour because H is trying to eliminate B in the same household.

H is displaying more worrying predatory behaviour on the walk.

As per the description, OP mentions the dog attacks without warning. OP, are you aware if leash corrections or shck/prng collars were used on this dog? Because it would explain why the dog is jumping steps in a predatory behaviour pattern?

Or maybe this dog never had a fully developed predatory pattern?

It's hard to say conclusively but B definitely needs to be seperated and H should not be near a dog park.

Muzzle is the only option till this is figured out.

Sorry OP, this is a tough situation.

 

[bragar]

@hiccup The predatory sequence has been modified to a great extent in many breeds. Herding is a modified predatory sequence. Attacking without any obvious warning signs is common in fighting breeds because it was an advantage in the pit. Working breeds used for protection tend to give exaggerated signs.

But predatory aggression doesn't generally have signs because it's not a great way to hunt if you warn the prey that you're coming. A lot of attacks that seem to come out of nowhere with no provocation are from predatory aggression.

 

[ezrael]

@hiccup Thanks for posting this! No doubt the dog is gonna kill the corgi unless they change how they understand their dogs - but I'm with you on the aggressive vs predation. I hadn't really figured out how to best word it but I don't believe reactive dogs are generally predatory, so much as removing a threat with aggression. Of course I was saying "I don't believe dogs are aggressive" which is basically accurate but a certain type of redditor doesn't understand what that meant.

 

[obadimu]

@lambrini B isn’t safe, you need to keep them separated.

Also, I don’t really care how circumstantial it is, you shouldn’t take a dog that attacks other dogs to a dog park. Ever. That’s irresponsible and unfair to every other dog and owner who might get hurt or killed.

 

[kidwindy001]

@obadimu Right??? “He’s fine at the dog park, but only after he attacks the dogs coming in”…. so in other words, he is absolutely not fine at the dog park.

 

[bragar]

@kidwindy001 I am a pit bull advocate, and OP is the opposite. People like them so do much damage to the breed just by being clueless.

 

[bordas]

@lambrini H should be muzzle trained asap. And the two dogs should never be alone together ever. No more dog parks either. H can and probably will kill another dog. Could be B could be some poor strangers dog.

And I didn’t see mention but ever time there is a puncture wound from a fight. There needs to be a vet visit. Poor B

 

[ezrael]

@lambrini Dude, everyone else has said it : pit mix is gonna kill your corgi. I love pit mixes and I don't think anything negative about them specifically, but he will kill your corgi. It will happen fast and surprisingly and then we will get to see another post about a tragedy that could have been avoided.

I'm honestly not sure what your best option is but it's gonna be hard no matter what. You could probably work with the pit to get him to be better, but if none of the other stuff was concerning you, you will need to change how you understand your dog entirely. It's not impossible - and it could just be working through some fear/anxiety issues, but my guess is that he has been punished for barking and growling, or otherwise showing discomfort. Thus, he attacks with little warning to remove a threat. No clue how to fix this all, you need a professional. Also, go to the vet - it's possible that coincidentally the dog has some underlying medical issue that popped up. You would t want to chase your tail with the behavior if there is a disease process at work.

The other issue is that reactivity isn't really a learned behavior but can induce stress and reactivity in a normally not reactive dog. So, you are really setting yourself up for multiple projects - and you said dogs, so I'm guessing there are more...

I don't think I've ever said BE was a good option here before but that may be where you end up unless you dramatically change you and your partners views on dogs.

 

[boboman]

@lambrini You owe it to B to keep them separated at all times. Most adult dogs are dog selective but it seems much more severe than that and without knowing more H sounds like he should really be in a single dog household.

Dogs aren't kids, but it might help to put the situation into that perspective. You have kid B who has an shoulder injury caused by kid H while playing. Kid B gets upset and cries because of the injury. Kid H's response to the cry is to make the injury worse to the point of doing damage. Every. Day. If they were kids would you let H be around B after that?