Hello! I am new to this forum and am hoping for some advice. This is going to be a long post so forgive me that! I grew up with a male Akita/German Shepherd mix, Kuma, who was very much an Akita. Dog aggressive, no recall, bored easily. He was pretty big, about 115 lbs., also loved every person. Just aggressive to dogs and hunted most small animals. He became best friends with our cat and they would wrestle and cuddle and play constantly. When he died, she slept by the door waiting for him for two weeks. It was heartbreaking. I've had an affinity for Akitas for as long as I can remember. I knew how challenging they can be but also how rewarding that challenge is. After years of research, my now husband and I adopted a nearly 2 year old female Akita. She is a smiley little beastie and so loving. However, she hates other people. Background we have is that she was found wandering the suburbs around Atlanta at around one year old and taken into rescue shortly after. She then lived in a kennel for 5 months followed by foster for 2 months. I learned from the foster family that they were instructed to not have any visitors and the few they had she growled or barked at. This seems misguided to me but I cant change it so we'll move on. She was wonderful the first few weeks, settling in and responding very well. She never barks or growls at strangers entering our house and tolerates them barely, some sniffing and then she is done. Recently, she lunged at a small child in a manner that made the child scream (it was unpleasant and scary) and I had to remove her from the situation. She seems to be regressing, the people she liked she now doesn't tolerate around her. When I walked her earlier, her hackles were raised and I had to put her in a down-stay for 5 minutes before they went down (there was no stimulus to instigate the hackles). She pulls constantly in a manner she never did and she is getting increasingly reactive and aggressive when on leash. When we were walking recently, another dog came out of a house about 30 yards ahead of us going the same direction. She went after him. I put her in a sit-stay for 5 minutes. The walk home was miserable, stopping every 5 yards or so because she was essentially tracking this dog and pulling so bad. I felt like I was rewarding her for basically hunting this dog but we couldn't go another way so we just kept stopping. According to the rescue, she is not dog aggressive and loves people. This has not proven true and it was not true when we got her, she has never tolerated other dogs and she is fear aggressive around people. I guess that's why I am here, I don't really want to ask the rescue I got her from as she was a very different dog from the start than they thought she was. I guess my question is, what next? Does anyone have experience with behavioral therapists? Medications? I thought time would help but we're actually regressing here so it appears to be having the opposite effect. For what it's worth, both my husband and I are never physical with the girl and we are doing positive training with her (we're finishing week 5 of our 6 week program and we adopted her 6 weeks ago and have a reactive dog class we're on the waiting list for). She's very, very smart which may make this harder. For an Akita, she is very upset when I ignore her and she is also food motivated. But high stress situations, neither food nor the promise of helps. I am not scared of her but I am scared of what she will do to other people. She is intolerant of them. My complete lack of fear doesn't seem to calm her so I need something else. I know the reactive class will help but we're waitlisted until at least February so any advice I am willing to try. We currently are doing clicker training. Thank you!
Sounds like she's feeding off your anxiety & will have lead/leash aggression Lead/leash aggression is usually rooted in a dog's fear of a person, place or thing. To manage the behavior, you must first identify what is causing the fear, and then work to desensitize the dog to that fear by utilizing positive training methods. Here’s what is going on. Your dog is probably frustrated and anxious. Very likely, he wanted to run after or gain access to whatever he saw while on the street; it could’ve been a squirrel, other dogs, skateboards etc The harness, collar and lead/leash however prevented your dog from gaining access to these things and over time, exuberant curiosity was replaced with frustration. Your dog needs to release that frustration and voila, the barking and lunging begins. “I WANT IT! I NEED TO GO INVESTIGATE! I JUST NEED TO SAY HELLO! WHY CAN’T I HAVE IT?” It is very likely that your dog’s initial outbursts were met with some form of disapproval from you. “FIDO, NO! HEY! STOP IT!” The cycle then begins and now Fido begins to also feel anxious. He begins to think that not only do these things frustrate him, but they make Mom and Dad angry! “HEY DOG! GET AWAY! MY DAD GETS MAD WHEN YOU ARE NEAR! GO AWAY!” Now that we likely know the why, let’s focus on how to manage the behavior. In any case of aggression, I strongly advise working with a gentle and humane professional to guide you through this process and teach you about the importance of your timing and consistency. Seek a trainer whose methods are firming planted in reward-based training. You need to develop a more refined replacement behavior for the lunging and barking. A dog that is quietly trotting along your side, staring into your sparkling eyes is ideal. In order to get this going, you need to be a vigilant owner. It is now your job to scout out other dogs before your dog has the opportunity. You must also be a well prepared owner. You must always be stocked with tasty treats or your dog’s favorite tug style toy. Game plan The very second you see a dog (before your dog has the chance to react) you quickly get Fido’s attention with a happy voiced, “Fido!” Give him treats or access to his toy as you get close to and continue to pass the other dog. During this time, it’s important that you remain calm, happy and refrain from tightening up on the leash. We are teaching Fido that both you and he need to relax in presence of other furry friends. Once the other dog has passed and is at a distance, the treating stops or the toy is put away. Learning that you are the giver of all good things, your dog will become conditioned to look at you automatically when spotting another dog. This conditioning will also help improve Fido’s association with other dogs. It is very important, in kicking off this project, to be lavish in your reward giving, distributing treats every second while in sight of another dog. People often immediately retort, “My dog is going to get fat!” Not if you are a good owner and recognize that treats are incorporated into your dog’s daily ration of food. Cut back on what is going into the bowl, knowing that tackling this behavior hurdle is top priority for the health and happiness of both you and your dog. It might take a bit of retraining yourself! Over time, as your dog becomes increasingly comfortable looking at you, while ignoring other dogs, you will slowly decrease the number of treats given. If you are a good consistent trainer, by the end of this process you will be flipping one treat to your dog after you’ve passed the other dog and even sometimes simply offering a “good boy!” Setting yourself up for success 1.When you are lazy, avoid routes with dogs! If you aren’t going to be a good trainer, don’t allow your dog to react–and thus unravel all the work you are doing. (It’s like a smoker who picks up a cigarette again!) 2.Practice “Fido, look!” every chance you get, NOT just when faced with other dogs. Your dog must make eye contact with you for everything he wants in life: before you put his food dish on the floor, snap on his lead/leash, open the door for him to go outdoors, between each toss during a game of fetch. This is your batting practice. The more you and your dog get in the batting cage, the more successful you’ll be at the big game! 3.Exercise your dog. If you have a backyard, play fetch for fifteen minutes before going on a walk. Your dog will be a bit more tired, a bit more convinced that you are cool (after tossing the ball to him), and likely to free less anxious about those other dogs. Work hard and your training will pay off. Sitting at at outdoor café without worry that your table flies out from under your plate as Fido lunges for another dog IS possible. [NOTE: If your dog is unable to pass another dog–while being treated and without reacting–you will need to consider proximity. Establish a comfort/space threshold: approaching other dogs only to the point where your dog is comfortable, and then crossing the street or creating a visual block as you get by. Over time, you’ll increase proximity. This will definitely require working with a professional.]
Some rescue centres can be economical with the truth’ but if the dog is picked up as a stray there is no known background, and even the best of rescues can’t guarantee what the dog’s temperament will be like once it gets into a permanent home in certain everyday situations, being in kennels can also mask a dog’s true temperament. Some rescues settle in strait away for others it can take several months or more for their true nature to show, I would take things very slowly with her and not put her into situations she’s not happy with, keep your distance from people; until she starts to feel more comfortable around them, when visitors come I would put her in another room for the time being. Im not sure what you mean by ‘reactive classes’ but i personally would not take her to training classes, as a wrong kind of trainer plus feeling trapped in a hall with lots of people and dogs would just make her worse. Akitas are known to be dog aggressive, my two were and its something you learn to live with and manage best you can.
6JRT's: That is wonderful and detailed advice, thank you so much for that. I do avoid busier times when walking her and wait for all the school kids to be away when I take her on her first long walk of the day. Unfortunately, there is a large golden retriever that has an invisible fence that is unavoidable. We live at the top of our neighborhood off of a busy road and he is 3 houses down so when he is out, we just walk as far away on the other side as we can. The golden is also dog aggressive so it gets loud. I also hadn't thought of using "look" as you suggested but that is brilliant and a great way to reinforce a concept she is still learning. GsdSlave: The reactive classes are through the place we currently take her (positive training with a clicker) and they have been very good with her, not nervous or scared at all. They are designed for dogs that are very reactive on leash, such as chasing after animals, dogs, people, etc. I do agree that this might be problematic as I think you eventually work up to a bunch of reactive dogs all together in one room. Have you any suggestions for better training? Maybe a personal trainer? I do know Akita's are dog aggressive, the male I grew up with wanted to get at any dog he could, regardless of whether it showed aggression first or not. It seemed age was the only thing that tempered this in him though it never fully went away. I appreciate your feedback as well, it's nice to find a community of dog lovers who are so willing to help!
I work in a Rescue Home in the UK & am a fully trained dog trainer, (was mostly training pupies) I did re-educate owners of big muscle dogs that a thick heavy chain lead & check collar was not needed when walking their dogs, I had a muscle dog walking to heel just by taking the check collar & heavy chain lead off dog & replacing it with leather collar/lead & harness.
Many trainers are not good with Akitas. There may be a breed rescue or breeder close to you who could recommend someone experienced/ familiar with the breed. On a ‘lighthearted Note’ I found myself in some of these situations with my Akitas https://bullinthecity.wordpress.com...-and-not-lose-your-shit-an-impractical-guide/
Thank you GsdSlave! That link was what I needed after last night! Great advice about contacting breeders, I will start researching today. 6JRT's, we just went on a walk and as we were approaching the golden retrievers house (which my dog gets very anxious about and starts pulling towards since she expects him to come flying out at her), we played look and treat. Not only did she completely lose interest in his house but she was very lax on the rest of the walk, virtually no pulling and paid more attention to me. I know this is a work in progress but thank you again for this advice, I think with consistency and a refusal to give up this has the potential to help us both so much!
What is a gentle lead collar? I've tried various harnesses but they just seem to allow her more pulling strength.
I prefer Dogomatic to the gentle leader as it don't close your dog's muzzle like the gentle leader does DOGMATIC WINS ‘PRODUCT I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT’ AWARD FOR THE FOURTH TIME!!! A huge THANK YOU to all our Dogmatic Customers who voted for us! Dogmatic are extremely proud to announce that they are Winners of the ‘Product I can’t live without’ category of the Your Dog Magazine Product Awards 2016/17. This is a wonderful achievement, being voted the ‘Product I can’t live without’ for the fourth time, in a category that spans the pet product market. Thank you so much to all of you for taking the time to vote for us and for this wonderful win!! It really does mean a great deal to us. We are delighted to hear how much the Dogmatic Headcollar has helped owners and their dogs and it is their ‘must have’ product. Telephone: 01952 245330 www.dogmatic.org.uk Gentle leader Tired of Your Dog Taking You for a Walk? The Gentle Leader® Headcollar quickly controls dog jumping, pulling, barking, chewing and begging. It even teaches sit and stay in one easy lesson! Why and How the Gentle Leader® Headcollar Works First of all, the Gentle Leader® Headcollar is NOT a muzzle. When fitted properly, your dog is free to open his mouth to eat, drink, pant, fetch, bark and even bite - except when you close his mouth by pulling on the leash Gentle Leader Dog Collar features two soft nylon straps - the collar portion fits high at the top of the neck, and the nose loop fits loosely and comfortably across the base of the muzzle. Each strap has a distinct and important effect. The Nose Loop - Dogs are naturally "pack" animals with a highly structured social order. One of the ways the "pack leader" will demonstrate his position is to gently but firmly grasp a subordinate's muzzle in his mouth. This is a non-aggressive, very clear signal regarding who's the boss! The Gentle Leader's® nose loop encircles your dog's muzzle in this same manner, letting him know in his own language that you are his leader. Dogs feel more secure when they know who the leader is.
Just an aside - maybe the rescue didn't lie about your girl not being aggressive around people and liking people. Maybe that's how she was at the rescue. Now different environment, different people and she feels different.
It looks like a muzzle but it's not. It takes a week or 2 for them to get used to it, but it completely took pulling out of the equation. http://www.petsafe.net/gentleleader
