New sitter, new aggression

[Otis&Gracie]

Hi all. Otis, our 5-year-old black Labrador has always been a very typical Lab, aggression-wise -- basically, he wasn't aggressive at all. We've noticed that since sister Gracie, a 2-year-old Golden, joined the pack, he's developed leash aggression with other dogs and even displays it sometimes when we're on off-leash trails. It only happens when they're together. Any advice about what could be going on and how to remedy the situation?

[Labradorks]

Hard to say without seeing him, without seeing your interactions with him and with both dogs at the same time, etc. Have you consulted a trainer? Has he had a full work-up at the vet recently? Any health issues?

[SunDance]

What is Gracie doing when this happens? My guess is either that he feels the need to protect her or else she's giving off vibes that he's joining in on (pack behavior).

Sunnie is selectively friendly to dogs...most dogs pass her test. Dan doesn't like dogs in his face. Alone, Sunnie is predictively wonderful. With Dan on the walk, Sunnie picks up her cues from him...if he's on alert, she starts to woof...if he barks, she is worse...if he's quiet, she's quiet or else pulls to meet. Luckily, both respond to a preemptive "leave it".

[Snowshoe]

Training, training, training, maybe with a behaviourist who can observe and work with you one on one for a while. ARe they both neutered? Was Gracie neutered when you got her?

A dog walking friend had a similar problem. She took in a male Weim, had him neutered as an adult, had him a few years. Then she took in a female adult Weim from the same rescue, not yet spayed. BOOM (it seemed) the male went dog aggressive with intact males. He stayed that way even after the female was spayed. Sadly the female was dog aggressive with other females, spayed or not. You have to wonder if these things were why the dogs ended up in rescue. Fortunately for the rest of us the owner was a very good owner but I have to tell you, she was unable to overcome either of the dogs actions. The female was really her biggest problem (as there are not that many intact males around) and she took to walking them, off leash, in a place where not as many people went. What she did to work on it I don't know, Oban is intact so I didn't hang around much to talk with her. Good luck.

[arentspowell]

What is Gracie doing when Otis acts that way? Her body language might be giving Otis signals that a certain dog is a threat and he is responding accordingly.

When I walk my two together, Daisy will pick up on Lily's behavior. If a dog starts to approach that causes Lily to bark, Daisy's hackles go up and she's even positioned herself in front of Lily if a dog tries to lunge at her.

[Tanya]

I agree with the above. and the question about how Gracie is with other dogs is a good one (how she reacts, body language either rwith Otis or without Otis with her). Without more info/seeing it does sound like he is being protective of her, could be for many reasons. I'd highly recommend working with a trained professional to identify what's going on and give you a plan to improve things.

Oh and is this the first time Otis goes on outings with another dog? Like beforehand did he have "friends" that you went out with regularly? Or dog sit? Or is this the first time he has a "close regular relationship" with another dog?

[Rosy]

Hello! Just train your doggy until you succeed.