16 month old New Aggressive? Behavior.

[murph5]

My 16 month old female has started to ignore me on walks when we meet other dogs. She even growled a little at a small shitzu type dog this evening on our walk, and it's really bothering me big time!

A little history;

We got Mia from a COE breeder at 8 weeks. She has been through 4 sets of obedience/socialization classes as well as "puppy agility" since we got her. She has never shown any signs of aggression towards people or other dogs, not even cats. She was very easy going, and didn't even get upset if another dog snapped at her, she was pretty submissive to other dogs, if they challenged her she would flip into submission.

We havn't been in any classes since September, I'm wondering if she might just be craving some social time with other dogs and gets too excited when she sees them. She is also going through her second heat cycle, could that be a cause of strange behavior towards other dogs? ( We were planning on showing her which is why she was not spayed right after her first heat, ran into troubles with allergies. I just decided not to show her, made her spay appointment and she came into heat, she has been rescheduled :) )

I am calling around to get her back into classes, but any ideas why this would just pop up out of the blue? She used to get excited when we met other dogs, but a quick "watch me" command and she would pay attention to me, not she ignores me and drags me to the other dog. I don't like it at all. After we are past the other dog, she goes right back to her nice heeling position and struts along.

[AngelBunny]

Many people get a Rottie puppy, take their tyke thru several sets of classes, and think they have the perfect Rottie. They are baffled when their dog starts exhibiting unexpected behavior. What teenager is ever like an affable child?!

At 16 mo old your girl is starting to mature. This means throwing her weight around. If you don't like her dragging you over to the other dog, completely ignoring you, put a stop to it. You're her leader. If she does something you don't like, don't let her.

As far as "social time" with other dogs, to my mind that's a bunch of malarkey. I am not a fan of unleashed dogs running about. I am a fan of leashed dogs behaving themselves around other dogs, despite the fact they may not like small dogs or they're bitches and don't like other bitches or they don't like yellow dogs or something else entirely.

Good for you for getting your girl back into class! This is what she needs.

[murph5]

Thanks for the reply, just a few more things to concider.

I know that classes need to be an on going thing - my problem is that I live in a very small town, and have quiet far for class. They only hold classes at certain intervals, which is why she hasn't been in class since Sept. The closest I have been able to find at the moment is an hour and a half away, which I will do if my regular place doesn't get back to me soon.

I do a lot of work with her at home as well. I don't just let her go when we get home from class. We have multipul short sessions daily.

The new behavior is something that has started in the past 3 days. I was walking Mia in a halti with no issues until this point. I have since started walking her in a pinch collar to offer myself a little more leverage as I weigh only 15 pounds more than Mia. When she attempted to "go see" the Shitzu tonight she got a sharp yank of the leash and was put in a sit. She stays in a heel and then jumps forward out of the heel position ( well this is what happened tonight)

I guess I should rephrase social time as social interaction. I feel that all dogs need to know how to interact with other dogs and know their manners. So if your dog hadn't been around other dogs for a couple of months when they are used to working around them weekly, and they got really excited when the seen one again and forgot their manners..... you wouldn't see this as the dog missing social interaction and getting excited to see another dog again? Just curious.

Please, I feel that you are attacking me in your post as a first time Rott owner. I did not feel for a moment that Mia was "perfect". She has always been well behaved. I am not "letting" her get away with things. It caught me completly off gaurd as I never had a problem passing by other dogs, so I was just walking along as normal and then "yank".

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by murph5

...my problem is that I live in a very small town, and have quiet far for class. They only hold classes at certain intervals, which is why she hasn't been in class since Sept. The closest I have been able to find at the moment is an hour and a half away, which I will do if my regular place doesn't get back to me soon."

I live in a small city. I drive 1-1/2 hours one way to train where I train and count my blessings that just an hour and a half.

Originally Posted by murph5

... I guess I should rephrase social time as social interaction. I feel that all dogs need to know how to interact with other dogs and know their manners. So if your dog hadn't been around other dogs for a couple of months when they are used to working around them weekly, and they got really excited when the seen one again and forgot their manners..... you wouldn't see this as the dog missing social interaction and getting excited to see another dog again?

A dog who knows how to behave around other dogs won't forget how to behave around dogs, regardless of the length of time that's past since the dog last saw other dogs. It's like bike riding--you don't forget how to ride a bike.

I don't care how excited any of my trained dogs are to see another dog--that dog better not be dragging me anywhere. Sure, they can whine, but dragging me around?

The fact your bitch is in heat may have something to do with her lack of manners. That and the fact she's been able to rush over to another dog or two before you were able to put a stop to her doing this. Self rewarding behavior, as it were.

Originally Posted by murph5

... Please, I feel that you are attacking me in your post as a first time Rott owner. I did not feel for a moment that Mia was "perfect". She has always been well behaved. I am not "letting" her get away with things. It caught me completly off gaurd as I never had a problem passing by other dogs, so I was just walking along as normal and then "yank".

Sorry, but I can't do anything about your feelings generated by my words.

Real leaders are rarely, if ever, caught completely off guard. Now that Maia is exhibiting new behavior, expect more.

[Da05128]

Originally Posted by AngelBunny

Real leaders are rarely, if ever, caught completely off guard.

Amen! Words to live by...

[sweetlee]

I think the prong collar probably is a good idea, but you need to have it fitted right to be able to control a dog properly. You also need to know how to use it.
I hope you did not yank with all your might when you did the correction. A very short, jerk and then a release is all you need, and most dogs respond quite well with a light touch. Another thing is to use the leash to your advantage, sharply turn and walk the other way.
Take along really tasty treats next time you walk, like chicken, or cheese, all treats are not created equal. When the dog sees another dog and starts to act up,turn around put her into a sit, and watch me and start treating and praising as soon as you get her attention. If my dog knows I have a piece of cheese in my hand, a herd of buffalo could go by us and I don't think he would take his eyes off of me. She will soon get the idea that ignoring other dogs equals great things.
I don't think this behavior is too unusual for a dog of her age, especially a dog in heat.
Keep up the training classes, even if it is far for you to drive. Until you get into them again, work at home, practice commands you already know. Keep your dog challenged.
My dog knows all his obedience commands which we work on every day, and I have taught him many many cute tricks as well. I also play games with him, like hide the treats, it keeps his mind occupied and a mental workout is just as important as a physical one in my opinion.
Once you work on your obedience commands, try and teach something new.
My dog can in addition to all the required commands, shake, play dead, wave, back up, bring me....., rollover, crawl, gimme five, and sit pretty. I need to think of some new ones, and I am running out of ideas.

Sharon

[murph5]

Thank you Sweetie.

I have been reading up on prong collars since we got Mia last Nov. and have been speaking with my breeder about them. The collar rests high on Mia's neck where it should be, and the corrections and quick and sharp, but definately not with all my might. I am using the "dead ring" for now until we both get used to it.

Mia as well has all the formal commands down, along with shake, high five, spin, come closer, target, sit pretty...... I can not get her to roll over with out being lead into it. This was the first "trick" I tried to teach her, she just can't get the hang of it. We work with all of these daily.

Tastey treats are the trick I know for getting her attention. She has allergies which we are just getting under control by switching her food from Canidea to Orijen 6 fish and sea vegetables. I used to take chunked up peices of the Canidea snap biscuits with me and she loved them, I could get her attention and keep it really well with those, but I can't feed them anymore. I'm now just using her food on walks as I am worried of a flair up. I might try cheese and see how that works for her.

Thanks again.

[evilshiddenclaws]

you'll get used to people 'attacking' you on this forum, ive read three posts so far where certain people jump straight into ripping into the poor person looking for advice.

i agree with some points that have been mentioned, just stick at it, this breed deffinatly keeps you on your toes and if you give them an inch they'll take a mile :P