Completely Stumped......

[3Furbabies]

Indy has had severe fear aggression which we have been sorting and she is sooooo much better but every now and then she still charges and growls at other dogs on walks.

This is when we are in the forest, when we are at the beach she has no growling or charging at ANY dogs. Why is she so different at the beach? She will actually play and interact with other dogs at the beach. She just doesnt seem to be able to do this in the forest. Is it at all possible that she could associate the forest with negative experiences and therefore she feels she has to act aggressively?

[lucky13]

on leash off leash in the forest ??

[3Furbabies]

Mainly off leash but she will still growl and try to lunge on leash if the other dog gets to close. This is not very often now though

[Presidential]

Since you don't really know what sets Indy into agression, she can't be trusted off leash. Yes, her agression has only happened in the forest - is that a coincidence? Was it really the smell of the dog, the attitude of the dog in the forest, or was it the forest? Since you don't know - you can't trust her.

You have to be realistic about what you are risking. If Indy starts something, you will be responsible for her injury, another dog's injury or possibly a human injury (even if it is just an injury from trying to protect their dog).

As always, your lab is being honest with you - listen to what she is communicating.

If you are enjoying a lovely day in the forest/beach/wherever and an aggressive pit-bull comes after you & your dog - - what do you think about the owner's responsibility? Well, you have that same responsibility!

[OliverNW]

Just a hypothesis...
On the beach she might be more comfortable because she can see the other dog and the other dog's body language from farther away. If the forest is dense and she's meeting the other dogs on trails a couple things come to mind:
1. She might not have as much time to see the dog coming and see what kind of signals its sending off.
2. If in the forest the dogs are meeting along a path... They are approaching her from head on and she might be interreting this as a challenge she needs to respond to. Walking directly up to another dog is a more dominant (or challenging) approach than taking an arching, more sideways, approach that signals friendliness and is not a challege.

Just an idea.

[3Furbabies]

Originally Posted by OliverNW

Just a hypothesis...
On the beach she might be more comfortable because she can see the other dog and the other dog's body language from farther away. If the forest is dense and she's meeting the other dogs on trails a couple things come to mind:
1. She might not have as much time to see the dog coming and see what kind of signals its sending off.
2. If in the forest the dogs are meeting along a path... They are approaching her from head on and she might be interreting this as a challenge she needs to respond to. Walking directly up to another dog is a more dominant (or challenging) approach than taking an arching, more sideways, approach that signals friendliness and is not a challege.

Just an idea.

It could well be. Sometimes dogs appear out of no-where & give you no time to react or plan your next move

[Snowshoe]

I was thinking the exact same thing as OliverNW. If the path or trail is bordered by tall grasses or bush or trees it might appear to a dog as if there is no alternative to a head on meeting with whoever suddenly appeared. If this might be the case, what if you tried moving off the trail yourself and taking Indy with you? To try to show her she does have someplace else to go?

[Megi]

Originally Posted by OliverNW

Just a hypothesis...
On the beach she might be more comfortable because she can see the other dog and the other dog's body language from farther away. If the forest is dense and she's meeting the other dogs on trails a couple things come to mind:
1. She might not have as much time to see the dog coming and see what kind of signals its sending off.
2. If in the forest the dogs are meeting along a path... They are approaching her from head on and she might be interreting this as a challenge she needs to respond to. Walking directly up to another dog is a more dominant (or challenging) approach than taking an arching, more sideways, approach that signals friendliness and is not a challege.

Just an idea.

My thoughts too.

[battmain]

It's the environment. It's different than the beach, so you need to work on getting your dog to accept that you'll handle the situation or getting the dog to understand obedience is needed there too. Off leash it is a little more difficult but it can be done. You just need to work on it. Look up mixedupdog's method of getting the dog to look at you first before doing anything. (using treats.) You can also consider an e-collar, but that requires a specific plan of action and it will not be used for punishment. It will be used for obedience. An e-collar used properly, can assure a recall in situations like this.

[3Furbabies]

Originally Posted by battmain

It's the environment. It's different than the beach, so you need to work on getting your dog to accept that you'll handle the situation or getting the dog to understand obedience is needed there too. Off leash it is a little more difficult but it can be done. You just need to work on it. Look up mixedupdog's method of getting the dog to look at you first before doing anything. (using treats.) You can also consider an e-collar, but that requires a specific plan of action and it will not be used for punishment. It will be used for obedience. An e-collar used properly, can assure a recall in situations like this.

This is what is so crazy, she is really obedient so long as the dog doesnt get to close to her. She doest go for every dog every time, its like a couple of times a month. She comes back when called and when I say she charges dogs I mean she will be in a sit and then if a dog comes within 1.5 ft of her she will chase it back outt about 3 ft then come back to sit

[mckjen]

I have a fear aggressive dog too. We were making a lot of progress but about a month ago we had an incident w/some one who did not have control of their aggressive dog. SuX!

So I notice my dog is more relaxed on the beach than in the forest as well and I really do think it has to do w/her being better prepared. We found another trail system near our house that has wide trails which allow more distance too and that helps.

However, everywhere we go that she allowed off leash she is to come and be leashed when another person or dog approachs. I've been so consistent on this that now if she sees someone/dog approaching from distance she will head to me before I call her.

It also might be that you are more relaxed on the beach because you can see the dogs approaching where in the forest you might be startled. After spending a fair amount of time this summer walking w/just the puppy I realized that I was getting stressed while walking w/the dog. I know that dogs pick up on stress and that I was prolly making things worse.

We are going back to square one w/the treats and the focus on me when strange dog approaches and hope we don't run into the fool again.

[battmain]

Originally Posted by 3Furbabies

This is what is so crazy, she is really obedient so long as the dog doesnt get to close to her. She doest go for every dog every time, its like a couple of times a month. She comes back when called and when I say she charges dogs I mean she will be in a sit and then if a dog comes within 1.5 ft of her she will chase it back outt about 3 ft then come back to sit

1.5 ft? With a strange dog? Get between the dogs, don't look at the other dog(s), don't talk, just block and watch the behavior improve.

I know everyone likes a friendly dog, but when you have issues like this, first work on the behavior, then as the behavior improves in the particular environment, you may allow the greeting.