# Help! My shar pei is dog aggressive!



## Carra1983 (May 9, 2017)

Hi everyone,
I have a male shar pei who is 15month old, i have had him since he was 3 and half week old as his mum died. I love my dog more than anything but he has been a complete nightmare! At 6 month old he was attacked by 2 other dogs and ever since then its been horrendous taking him out. As soon as he sees a dog he starts trying to get at it nearly pulling me over as the strength he has is unbelieveable. If a dogs off its lead and approaches him he bites it straight away. I have spent a fortune on training and still in the same position. Some training has worked well with him because at 1 point people couldnt enter my house without him going mental but this has now calmed down alot. The trainer i had said he has fear aggression but has done what he can for him. Im at my witts end with him because just going for a walk is a stressful thing every single day. Does anyone have any advice on how i can stop this aggression with other dogs? I was thinking of sending him to 1 of them camps but read up that i shouldnt, i really dont know what to do so any advice would be great! 

Thank you
Carra


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

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Carra,
there's a lot missing that would be needed, to make any really substantive suggestions. // U've had him since 3.5-WO, but U don't mention when or if he was socialized with other dogs, non-family humans, & so on.
I understand that he was attacked when he was 6-MO, but it's also true that Shar-Pei can be dog-reactive or dog-aggro from an early age, as it's a known breed tendency.
Also, M : M aggro is quite common in Peis & Pei-crosses. 
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A dog who is merely tolerant but not sociable toward other dogs could be easily made paranoid by an attack - especially at puberty, when his own reactivity to other M dogs is ratcheting up. Dogs of both sexes begin to be suspicious, intolerant, & territorial when puberty strikes, & owners have to continue to socialize them thru that period & into early adulthood, to prevent them becoming reactive hermits.
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I'm going to assume he's still intact, so my 1st suggestion is to neuter him. It's not a silver bullet; he'll still need B-mod, but it makes B-Mod easier.
I'll also bet that the dogs who attacked him were most-likely male, too - which will have made a strong impression on him. [They may or may not have been neutered, but i'm betting they were male.]
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What KIND of training have the trainers that U've hired, attempted? // Any details would be helpful. 
Were the trainers members of any professional organizations?
Did they have academic credentials, or were they 'certified' by a for-profit school or organization?
Can U post a link to any of their websites, to give us some idea of their ideas, or their training philosophy?
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## Happy Paws2 (Sep 13, 2008)

Hi Carra and Welcome to PF

Dillon was attacked when he was about 18 months old he's 7 1/2 now and has never forgot it.

Dillon is big and very strong, walking him became a nightmare, we were always crossing the road, hideing behind cars, going up peoples drives even hiding behind their hedges to avoid other dogs. I found that hinding getting him to sit as soon as I spotted another dog and giving him lots of treats blocking his view and talking to him until as they went passed did helped.

Then when that started to work, crossing the road not hinding but still sitting and treating, when he was OK with that, we still crossed over walking with a treat on the end of his nose until we were past the other dog, then he got his reward if he didn't react.

I got a Dogmatic headcollar gave me much more control over him, I could slip my hand into the loop under his chin that gave me some control as well. It did take a long time and we still cross over when we see another dog, he very rarely reacts now just looks at other dog, but will happily walk passed them but still gets a treat for been a good boy.

We did talk to our vet about neutering him, but he said he didn't think it would make any difference, so we didn't have it done.

The dog that attacked him was female.

Hope this makes some sort of sense, I'm not to good at explaining things and my spelling isn't brillaint.

http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/contents/en-uk/d2.html


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## Happy Paws2 (Sep 13, 2008)

Sorry posted twice


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

What training methods did the previous trainer suggest and how did he respond to them?


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

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there are 2 very-helpful books that work well as DIY-manuals - _Click to Calm_ & _Control Unleashed_ .
'Click to Calm' has a recipe-style format, & U can simply page to the section that has Ur dog's symptoms [the observed behaviors] & begin B-Mod, or U can read the whole front section for the overview, then go to the B-Mod pages.
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bear in mind that U must avoid flooding him - U can't put him in situations that send him ballistic, he needs DISTANCE between himself & other dogs so that he can cope, & learn a new emotional response to them. The distance between can only be reduced gradually, as he learns to see other dogs as predictors of Good THings - not as threats.
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There are video clips all over UTube for both Click to Calm & Control Unleashed - they're great for seeing how others have done it. 
Just remember that U can only progress as fast as the dog does - U cannot hurry the process, & it won't be a nice steady ramp upward; there will be setbacks, such as when a dog unexpectedly emerges between parked cars & sets him off.
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3 tips:
* WRAP HIS TAGS to silence them - use a wide rubber-band or masking tape, or a neoprene bag such as Quiet Spot to mute them.
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* Wearing a Calming Cap can be a huge help; it reduces anything beyond his immediate surroundings to a fuzzy blob.
Calming Caps look like horses' fly-masks.
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* a front-clipped Y-harness with the leash attached to his CHEST will give good control, without requiring big upper-body strength.
Just remember to keep Ur hands _low_ , don't go chicken-winged & bend both wrists & elbows - straight arms, hands down. 
Move Ur arms from the shoulder; the harness converts his forward thrust into a sideways arc, if U stop & step back, he will end by FACING U.
Very low force, very safe for dog & handler.
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A headcollar is also good, but requires approx a week to possibly 10-days to introduce happily, before USING it with a leash attached - until then, it's brief happy periods with no leash on it, as the wt of the leash is directly on the dog's foreface... U want the dog to get accustomed to the funny feeling of a strap below their eyes, *before* they ever feel the wt of the leash & the clip!
The Y-harness is immediately useable, & needs no habituation - just fit it properly, & yer off!
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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

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some prior posts -
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*how to introduce, habituate, & FIT a headcollar*
for full fitting & habituation instructions, with 4 videos: http://www.petforums.co.uk/1061658704-post13.html the dog should be taught from...
Thread by: leashedForLife, Jan 27, 2012, 10 replies, in forum: Dog Training and Behaviour



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*Video: conditioning to wear a headcollar happily*
go to ABRI Videos and Podcasts and scroll down to - this technique can also be used for introducing a box-muzzle for OCD behaviors like...
Post by: leashedForLife, Jan 25, 2010 in forum: Dog Training and Behaviour


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*bloody hell the Halti headcollar is amazing!! (long)*
i cannot reccommend it highly enough! some of you may remember me getting the Halti as i asked how to introduce it. Oscar used to pull really bad....
Post by: GoldieGirl, Apr 16, 2012 in forum: Dog Training and Behaviour 
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## Happy Paws2 (Sep 13, 2008)

I found the Dogmatic Headcollar very easy to use, Dillon got use to very quickly and it does not ride up in to eyes like some of them it stays in place. We also use a double ended training lead, one end clipped to his normal collar and the other on the loop under his chin on the dogmatic.


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## Panda_girl (Jan 15, 2017)

I sympathize, my Patterdale is male dog aggressive as it turns out. If I get any good tips from the behaviourist we're going to see to try and help I'll let you know!


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