Super senior shelter dog bit my parent's dog. Please help

[alexachavez]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I just adopted an 11 year old dog from the shelter. I'm not sure what breed he is so I'll include a photo of him instead:

Brian

I'll answer some of the questions I saw in the questionnaire for the sub:
- We just got him a week ago, which I know is not a long time at all
- We walk him 4 times a day and play with him at home
- He weighs approximately 40 pounds
- He is very friendly to humans and completely nonreactive
- We live in a condo in Los Angeles. However, the area where we live has a lot of green space where we walk him

I'm posting here because of two things. When we're at home, Brian is completely calm and can sit, stay, etc. However, when we walk him he is completely unresponsive. His eyes dart everywhere and is clearly excited. Something we also noticed was that he wants to go after other dogs...but he's always begging or whining when he does as if he's excited. However, because he's a new dog we didn't let him meet any dogs on walks.

Yesterday we visited my parents who have two dogs, a 7 year old Blue Heeler mutt and a 9 year old Terrier/Chihuahua mutt. Brian saw the dogs through the glass door and he looked excited...but then bared his fangs. We took him to the backyard where he looked very anxious and was panting heavily while the dogs were inside separated from him. We tried bringing the small dog out but he immediately tried to nip at her while she was in my mom's arms.

What happened next is the incident in question. I let go of Brian because we thought the dogs were back inside (you can't see the backyard door from the yard, it's on the side) so that he can go smell the area. However, at the same time my mom was going back into the house and the small terrier popped out. Somehow Brian knew or was curious so when I let go of him he immediately sprinted around the house, found the small dog and bit her on the throat. I had to run over and pry his jaws open. Thankfully the small terrier was unharmed but I was shook. I grew up with that dog and began crying because I felt so bad.

My question here ultimately is...what do I do and why is my dog like this. I've seen dogs growl before or get defensive, but I've never seen a dog actively go after other dogs and then just bite them. I'm afraid now that when I'm walking him and he sees other dogs and whines/pulls, he's trying to bite them as well. Is there a chance that this dog was trained from his previous owner to be aggressive or attack dogs? Is he just nervous and fear aggressive? Is there anything we can even do with his behavior besides keep him away from dogs?

 

[slr]

@alexachavez Is it just the lighting in this picture or are his eyes a bit cloudy, I’ve known dogs that got more reactive as they get older because they know they can’t defend themselves as easily so they go on the offence. I know it likely happened very fast but with the terrier did he attempt to shake her? Do you have any background info on him? Did the shelter mention his issue with dogs? It’s impossible to say why he is like this but if he was trained for fighting he would likely have scars or marks from it. Some dogs are just more prone to dog aggression without proper socializing and training as a pup.

 

[alexachavez]

@slr Hi thank you for the response.

His eyes are definitely a bit cloudy. And he lifted the dog and looked like he was going to shake her but I ran there as fast as I could.

The shelter didn't mention any issues with him. In fact, they said that he was friendly. We're thinking now that he was probably in a kennel by himself at the shelter though.

Do you think a muzzle would be best for now though? I'm researching some right now.

 

[nobeardlady]

@alexachavez There's s a variety of reasons why your dog may be reactive towards other dogs off the bat. I'd be inclined to think it may be overstimulation, from being in the shelter, being adopted, and then immediately introduced to another dog. There's a couple things I might suggest just from my experience with shelter dogs and working with dogs at a daycare. One is give your new dog time to decompress. You can take him on walks around the neighborhood and whatnot but just try to let him really settle in your new home. General rule is 3 days, 3 weeks, and 3 months. 3 days to settle into the house. 3 weeks to start to learn the rules and boundaries. 3 months to truly be a member of the household who knows what is expected of them. Of course there is flexibility but that is generally the time frame you are looking for.
As an older pup, it is entirely possibly he wasn't socialized properly as a puppy and/or if he's been a stray before he may have had to fight other dogs on the street and so any dog starts a fear-aggressive reaction.
One thing that may help is start by giving structure to your pup with some training at home, even if he knows these tricks make sure he knows and associates YOU with these tricks. One thing I would highly recommend is a "focus/look at me" command to immediately pull his attention from the dog he may be zoned in on back to you and out of that fear mindset.
You could also consider muzzle training on its own or in tandem with the focus command. A big cage muzzle (not mess) that allows your dog to pant/bark/drink water but prevents them from biting if they do go after another dog. It seems kind of extreme but it can take a lot of mental pressure off of your pooch while you work with them. I would highly suggest once you've settled in closer to the 3 week mark consider a behavioralist who could help with this. You could also check out @mannythepibble for an owner who does extensive muzzle training.
It can be very hard and frustrating working with a reactive dog but SO rewarding when you reach that goal of giving the dog peace of mind and you being able to walk in peace.

 

[alexachavez]

@nobeardlady Thank you for your thoughtful response, I really appreciate it. We are going to start muzzle training.

A quick follow up question I had is how do I teach him to look at me when he's distracted? When he's home he's great at looking, sitting, staying, etc. However, when we walk him even when there aren't any dogs around he's so wound up. He doesn't sit and doesn't even look at me. Instead, he's just always looking around him. We tried some treats but he's also not very food motivated.

 

[nobeardlady]

@alexachavez So there are a couple of ways to go about this. Consider if your dog reacts to a "high-value" treat. Something really smelly that he doesn't get often and then also have some sort of "low-value" treat you might use often. Also consider whether your dog may be toy motivated instead like a favorite ball, stuffed toy, or even game like fetch. Don't forget that plain praise can also go a long way. Once you've figured out a decent motivator for your pup, you need a mark word. Something you don't say often in everyday speech but that gives a positive feeling like bazinga, bubbles, or yes!. In your home, in a calm environment give the high value treat unprompted as long as the dog is looking at you (even just a glance) with your mark word the first couple of times, then shift to low value. Then once you feel fairly confident they have the word, ask for a trick they already know like sit. Once they sit, mark it, treat it, praise it.
In order to work on focus, sit in front of your dog with the treat in hand (high-value best for the initial stage) . Take the hand with the treat and let the dog get a wiff of the treat without actually getting it, then slowly bring your hand in to your nose. Don't say a word yet, just use body language. As long as they make even brief eye-contact, mark it as soon as you see it, treat it, and praise it. Then once you start to get fairly consistent eye contact, start to wait for more prolonged eye contact and start adding a cue word like "focus or eyes on me" Then longer and longer. Until eventually you've been making eye contact for say a minute. Then maybe have a wife or friend add in a distraction. Wait and mark it if they are able to refocus on you when you cue. Do that with increasing distractions in the home. Then once confident in home, step out into your yard and try it. And do this over and over in different situations once you feel confident with the focus of your pup on you in moments of distraction. This takes place over the course of several weeks, if not months. Just depends on your pup. Don't spend more than 10 minutes at a time on this as you won't get the same value out of the treats if it's constant. Keep training sessions to no more than hour a day whether all at once or split up. Again I would highly suggest getting a behavioralist/trainer involved in the process if you can.

 

[alexachavez]

@nobeardlady I'm blown away by your in depth comment and am immensely grateful. Thank you so much and yes I am looking into a behaviorist. You are incredible

 

[kittyc]

@alexachavez I did this with my first dogs too--I introduced them to other people in the first couple weeks and I should have let them settle in quietly first! Give Brian plenty of time to calm down before he has to be a visitor again.

Since you got the warning fang at first, Brian was feeling fearful in the beginning. Small dogs can also set off prey drive and a silent rush-and-grab can also be a prey drive thing. The whining and pulling could be frustrated greeter or prey drive. Because prey drive is self-reinforcing it needs a little bit different approach. I suspect it's not prey drive but it's worth keeping in mind as you learn his body language. Frustration can cause aggression just as easily as fear, and dogs are capable of having mixed feelings, so he may start out wanting to say hello, get mad that he can't, AND get scared once he's close and have all that going on at the same time, and maybe even have his prey drive activated by a sudden motion on top. It's a good sign that the terrier wasn't hurt, but more safety measures are needed in the future. If the terrier isn't unusually forgiving, be prepared for those two dogs to just never be friends now that they have this history between them.

I would not let Brian meet any new dogs without him wearing a muzzle and hopefully the other dog wearing one too. If he scares the other dog into defending themselves he could get bitten by a totally reasonable dog. I suggest the book The Art of Introducing Dogs to see just how carefully you can take doggy intros if you want the absolute best chance of success. But definitely wait a while for this. Getting adopted is stressful.
Work on positive muzzle acclimation so muzzles are something he looks forward to instead of an added stressor.

As for on walks, he sounds very stressed and overwhelmed. As an older guy he probably doesn't need a ton of exercise so you could keep the walks to a minimum especially for a week or two, like not any at all if he can potty in the yard or just long enough to go if he needs walks to eliminate. Even with a young and healthy dog you don't need to worry about exercise in the first two weeks after adoption. If you then establish a short stretch of neighborhood where walks are so routine as to begin to get boring, you can start getting his attention there and then use that as a stepping stone to more distracting areas. If not, put him on leash, open the door wide, and do training inside where he can see out, hear a little, smell a little, but he's still safe inside where it's not too distracting. Distractions are the fastest way to make any training task more difficult so the more you can break it down into smaller steps the better.

 

[alexachavez]

@kittyc Thank you for this comment. It almost sounds like you've met my dog in person lol.

We do think he has a wide range of emotions when he sees dogs. When he sees a dog outside when we're in the car he looks excited, terrified, and anxious all at the same time. I think we'll avoid the car for a while.

We're going to buy him a muzzle. Would you recommend a cage one? Or the strap one?

And I think you hit it on the nail. When we walk he is very clearly excited while at the door (we live in a condo). However as soon as we get outside he still looks excited but after learning his body language a bit more I think he's also anxious. I really love your idea of just walking him without dogs so he almost gets bored of the area. Sadly it looks like he was never really walked before even though we got him at 11.

Thanks again for everything. Really appreciate it!

 

[kittyc]

@alexachavez For walking you want something the dog can pant in, because that's how they cool themselves when they get hot. I like Baskerville brand but I have heard of dogs occasionally biting through them, so they aren't absolutely guaranteed.

 

[alexachavez]

@kittyc Thank you! Appreciate it