# Small Dog Aggression



## Nick Brugal (May 26, 2012)

I have a 6mo old Malinois that I am raising in the hopes of getting certified for police work. I am getting help from several K9 handlers and everything is going very well. But I am by no means experianced in raising a working dog, this is my first. Anyway, my Mal is doing awesome I have no complaints he does extremly well with people and with big dogs (I have 2 other large dogs) but he wants to KILL every little dog he sees. He does o.k. when we goes near small dogs but if it barks or moves near him he goes into kill mode. 
I think a large part of the problem is that my neighbors have 2 small dogs that smash their faces against the wood fence and bark like crazy. My other dogs complety ignore it but my Mal goes crazy. School just started up so this actually just started about 2 weeks ago, bc my neighbors now let their dogs out at 6am when my dog is out. I don't let him exercise the barking behavior but he now has this small dog issue.

So I'm thinking to correct the problem I would like to put a pinch collar attached to a long lead and correct him as he runs to the fence. But I'm affriad he's to young for this. I also have 24 hour access to the City Dog Shelter so I can train in the back lot with the dogs barking at the fence, so I was considering doing obeidence training there after hours.

Any advice on how to correct the problem would be great. Thanks


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

what have your K9 handlers recommended so far on how to deal with this part of your problem ?
what kind of relationship do you have with the neighbors and their small dogs ?
are you able to modify the environment in your yard ? (as in temporarily blocking the view so your pup deals with sound only and not the sight AND sounds of the other dogs, etc ?

lots of ways to go that would be better than tethering to a prong/choke which would be the opposite way to go and possibly create worse issues, imo

i would look at it strictly as a desensitizing and counter conditioning challenge by figuring out how to turn a negative into a positive rather than how to deal with another "problem" dog


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i would also add that you may not be interpreting the problem accurately, so monitor body language carefully and don't focus on one sign only.

imo barrier frustration is different than barrier aggression, and dog aggression in general

pup may not want to "kill" as much as it is just frustrated that it can't get to the other dog to interact, especially if it is not dog aggressive around other dogs


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## Nick Brugal (May 26, 2012)

Unfortunantly the help I'm recieving is in tracking and scent detection right now, later bitework. These guys didn't raise their dogs, but they were given to them by the department. So I'm sorta going this one alone. I'm not a dog expert but I can tell you that my Mal has managed to kill several birds and eat one and he is going at these small dogs the same way. He has a very diffrent bark when he wants to get to the dogs to play. Today I walked him passed the glass at Petsmart where they had a bunch of dogs, I had a bunch of treats and keep him distracted and we did some sits and downs. All went well, the other dogs were barking, then a small dog jumped at the window and started barking. My dog lunged and had some mouth foam going. I'm pretty sure he would kill a small dog based on the bird killings. 
The fence is a regular wooden privacy fence so not much to change. I would be welcome to suggestions. Thanks for your time.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

since you left out the bird kills.......
- so now it looks like you are describing a hunt/crittering behavior rather than small dog aggression////??
....typical case of "not enuff details so suggestions go in the wrong direction syndrome" 

- USE imagination ..... suggestions should make you think how YOU can solve a problem yourself
- a wood privacy fence that you can't do anything with ? wrong answer 
u can easily hang a tarp to that from your side that takes away all sight of the other dog

if your trainer K9 helpers are knowledgeable they COULD help you ... have you even laid out this problem to them ?? 
- you are talking about a problem that could prevent a dog from even being considered for psd work, but already working on the psd behaviors (room clearing/scent work/biting, etc)

??? imo you might be going in the wrong direction and should maybe adjust your priorities


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## Nick Brugal (May 26, 2012)

Like I said this problem just became a problem about a two weeks ago. I didn't get concerned about the birds because its a bird, lesson learned. But the small dog issue has become a priority, which is why I am asking for experienced opinions. As far as training goes I have only worked on scent and tracking, very fun stuff that he loves doing and I'm not sure why I wouldn't work a dog in tracking if he naturally loves doing it. He may never become a work dog and I understand that. The tarp is a great idea, but I never said I couldn't change the fence I just described it so it wouldn't be consfused with another type of fence. Also I'm not sure my priorities are mixed up because this is my priority, which is why I'm asking about this and not other things. Not trying to be ungrateful but I feel like you might be misreading me.


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## Steve Strom (May 25, 2008)

Hey Nick. Ithink when it comes to the neighbors dogs the only answer really is management of it. Tarp, new fence, whatever keeps them from being able to bother your pup in your yard. All these types of things need to be controlled to work on and the neighbors dogs will be too random and unpredictable for you to get anywhere.

I'd teach him to relax around other dogs by using a distance that he will settle at and then shortening that distance as you can. The other dogs at the AC facility may work for that,if you have enough space. Later on you can work some obedience in, using the same distance idea.


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## Nick Brugal (May 26, 2012)

Thanks Rick that seems like a great idea. Every day on our walk we pass two large dogs that go crazy when we pass and my dog doesn't even pay them any attention, they are probably about 15 yards away. I tend to want to barrel into problems head first and I don't think I would have taken the distance into consideration. Great advice, I'll let you know how it goes.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

like it was pointed out control distance - control the environment, etc.
i take dogs like this out and walk by fence fighters all the time cause i can control it
- also beneficial for the fence fighters even tho that is not your target 
- every time a fence fighter "chases" away ANY dog they will tend to repeat it more CAUSE IT WORKED for them
- stop, park your dog and do shit with it while it ignores the bastards and the bastards will lose interest ... 

i guess this part threw me :
"I have a 6mo old Malinois that I am raising in the hopes of getting certified for police work."

- THAT sounded like a lot more than just raising a working pet dog and would require priorities before you waste your time "prepping" a dog for a job it wouldn't do well in
- don't know if you are thinking of trying to sell your dog to a LE agency later or whatever. but curious about just how you want to get it "certified" for police work. 
- i always thought they only get certified after they already are PSD's


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## Nick Brugal (May 26, 2012)

I am a full time patrol/swat officer. So I am raising my mal to hopefully do police work. I have access to all the narcotics through the proper channels of police dog detection. One K9 officer is helping me out just with scent right now. We haven't done to much because of his age but i am trying to get with another department that raises patrol dogs, but its politics. I do not plan to sell the dog, I hope that if he gets certified I can get it cleared for him to work in my department with me. It could be a dream because of politics but hes a high drive dog and it gives us something to do together so I won't be upset how it turns out.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

thanks for filling in some more details Nick
being a LEO will help of course

just get the little guy as non reactive to the critters early on or it will be a nagging problem as he grows up and matures

imo u could never start too early with the scent work and start getting him gripping and outing
- being high drive is great, as long as he is clear headed and stable ... no matter what, this type of problem should be dealt with head on with counter conditioning, and it can happen faster with some environmental management too, which imo also is better than just correcting the snot out of the little guy ... which also works for some owners and is often a preferred method for owners who think they have a hard ass dog who can handle it


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## Annamarie Somich (Jan 7, 2009)

I would break the socialization down to first normal small dogs - maybe a small play goup and outside the fence of the small dog section at a nice dog park. Then add the crazy small dogs at Petsmart. Last would be the high stressed dogs at AC.

I would suggest breaking the backyard down to alone, then add neighbor's dogs, then add your dogs without neighbor's dogs, and then finally throw everyone out there. Along with barrier frustration, aggression, there could be a little territorial stuff going on too. That is all normal for a pup that is starting to grow into his own.

The barking and lunging at the small dogs sounds like forward aggression due to fear. Not abnormal in any way. This is separate from chasing/killing critters. You will definitely need to socialize for chasing criitters.

I'm raising my pups for K9. The trainer told me to focus on the socialization and environmentals - as much stuff and situations that I can think of. It's time consuming, but not hard, but it is a deal breaker if the dog is going to be k9. The other can be knocked out quickly.


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## Annamarie Somich (Jan 7, 2009)

I may want to add, in your pup's mind the small dog is different from a large dog. They are not the same. A large aggressive dog is different from a small aggressive dog. And then throw in a small aggressive dog at Petsmart with a stupid costume on for Halloween picture day. That's totally different! He grew up with large dogs and probablably learned to be submissive to them. So maybe he handles aggression from them differently. Maybe before he was too scared to feel brave enough to tackle a small dog, but now he is. You may even have to go thru this with large aggressive dogs next month. Ha Ha - life with a mal is not boring!

what ever is going on in his mind, he is not comfortable with things that are strange (and scary) to him and he does what he was bred for, react with forward aggression - take care of it before it takes care of me. 

My pups are just now finishing going thru what your pup is going thru with small dogs. They are now acting like they think they are tough little shits thru the privacy fence with the neighbor's big dog. I'm knocking it out with exposure, food reward for ignoring the behavior and focusing on me, and when that doesn't work after repeated attempts and giving them benefit of the doubt, then they get some tough love. So don't feel alone. Welcome to the malinois.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Annamarie Somich said:


> what ever is going on in his mind, he is not comfortable with things that are strange (and scary) to him and he does what he was bred for, react with forward aggression - take care of it before it takes care of me.


or he just wants to kill them...


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## Annamarie Somich (Jan 7, 2009)

or he just wants to kill them... 

Yeh Joby, you're right. I'm fooling myself for what it really is. Aggression is aggression.


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