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Labrador aggressive behavior issues K9acad10
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 Labrador aggressive behavior issues

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Labradorable
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PostSubject: Labrador aggressive behavior issues   Labrador aggressive behavior issues Icon_minitimeFri Sep 16, 2011 5:27 am

yes you read correct. I have a Labrador (Harlow) that has shown signs of aggression. I think a lot of it has to do with being afraid. She's now one year old, I took her to puppy school and she was fine with all the other dogs and people... in fact she probably enjoyed the people interaction more so. But now I find that if I take her for a walk she gets stand offish with people and other dogs, she'll either hide behind me or she'll bark aggressively even if someone is merely just walking past her without acknowledging her. I work full-time but Harlow stays with my mother and my 4 year old son. She's never been abused, she's a beautiful dog. Her parents were actually show dogs who won a lot of ribbons.

Some things that have bothered me when I take her out in public is everyone has a need to just come up and touch her without asking me first or at least giving me a chance to say 'no'. One teenager got the surprise of his life when I had stopped to help my son fix his helmet along the waterfront/footpath. Harlow was sitting next to us (She's always on a lead) and before I had the chance he was all like " hello doggie" as he touched her head from behind and without any noise at all she jumped up to snap at him, luckily I pulled her back before she could do anything. Personally I never would touch someone's dog without asking first. But yes, this isn't the first case someone has just come up to her randomly. I take it as that Labs are seen as very placid dogs. I've since however bought her a muzzle so no accidents happen.

She appears to be incredibly protective of my son, they wrestle around and everything. Harlow even on odd occasions ever since she was a pup wrestles with the house cat too which is adorable. I've decided however as I feel some of the aggressiveness may come from being protective of my little one that I will walk the dog alone. I guess a question I have in mind is as I take her for walks along the waterfront/path where people walk with other dogs, is it a good idea to get them to give her a treat and allow them to give her a pat if she's willing after that? She was funny with one lady at one stage who's a huge dog lover until she gave Harlow a treat than she was fine. I've had heaps of dogs before, never have any been like this. I'm a first timer with a frightened dog. So all advice would be greatly appreciated. I feel like a terrible owner Sad.
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Ann
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PostSubject: Re: Labrador aggressive behavior issues   Labrador aggressive behavior issues Icon_minitimeFri Sep 16, 2011 8:08 pm

Awww...no, you're not a bad owner! You're astute enough to notice it happening and wanting to help her with this very common symptom of fear. You said she's a year old, and I can tell you that most dogs go through several "fear periods", with one of them being at about one year. I'll google in a few minutes and try to find something helpful for you. Yes, by all means, set up good situations for her in relation to things she is afraid of ie;having people she is not familiar with approach and give her treats or other positive reinforcement for tolerating them.
A rather notorious opinion of mine is that a dog is a dog is a dog. Breed has little to do with behavior. Labs are prone to act exactly like Yorkies, Rotties, Poodles, etc.
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Ann
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PostSubject: Re: Labrador aggressive behavior issues   Labrador aggressive behavior issues Icon_minitimeFri Sep 16, 2011 8:13 pm

Here's a brief but concise description of fear periods.

http://www.berkeleyhumane.org/upload/documents/CriticalFear.pdf

My Baloo (23 month old Rottweiler) recently had an episode of hackling and barking at a truck that appeared to be following us one day on our way to a class. I laughed, realizing it may be his last fear reaction ever, and started singing to drown out the noises he made until the truck turned off onto a side street.
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Betterdog4u
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PostSubject: Re: Labrador aggressive behavior issues   Labrador aggressive behavior issues Icon_minitimeFri Sep 16, 2011 10:01 pm

One other thing to remember is that when dogs reachs maturity (12-18 months) they will naturally become more protective.

As Ann said, they go thru these "fear" periods several times during thier lives. All you can do is work and play with them and continue to build thier self esteam. (Lots of "good dog" when they do things correctly and very little amounts of correction).

Set your dog up for seccess. When she is calm, praiser her. When she starts to get upset, move away from the stimulas and allow her to calm all the way down. Once she is calm again, praiser her again. (notice the circle here). The idea is to show her that its not her job to be upset and that you are in control of everything in her world.

I also find it helpful to carefully socialize dogs under direct supervision.

As for ppl approching you, you may just need to say, "My dog is in training so please ignore her and dont approch her.
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Betterdog4u
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PostSubject: Re: Labrador aggressive behavior issues   Labrador aggressive behavior issues Icon_minitimeFri Sep 16, 2011 10:14 pm

One other thing that just came to mind; When dealing with a fearful dog it is CRITICAL that you NEVER lean over the top of the dog or reach over the top of the dog's head when petting. In the dog world this is a show of dominance. The best way to approch is to take a knee then slowly extend the hand. Then ONLY scruff the under-side of the chin and chest area.
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Labrador aggressive behavior issues Vide
PostSubject: Re: Labrador aggressive behavior issues   Labrador aggressive behavior issues Icon_minitime

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