# Aggressive St. Bernard, need some advice..



## Rileytai (Feb 10, 2009)

Hey all, new user here, and I'm hoping to get some advice for my situation. My family owns a three year old St Bernard, and he's always been uncontrollable outside and extremely aggressive. He hasn't been on a real walk in a long time now. He isn't neutered, and he was never trained..

He moved in with us after his brother (who we previously owned) was killed, and because the original owners had been abusing him by keeping him locked in the basement all day and only walked once a day. He is basically a house dog now, but we have a large backyard and set up a net so he can't escape so he can get some exercise everyday.. we also bought Don Sullivan's (The Dogfather's) leash and use it on him, and that has made things slightly better, but he still manages to injure us sometimes when he chases a squirrel or hears a neighbour or any other noise really and bolts towards it, and we have no choice but to let him run, and t hat's just in the backyard. We've tried to use force, but we've sustained hand and arm injuries. He has escaped a few times.. 

He is extremely territorial, and we can't have any guests besides the previous owners (extended family). We can't clip his nails or he'll bite. We can't take him to the vet. 

He hasn't really been around another dog in a very long time. our neighbour has a small shitzu who always used to bark at him when he's in the back, and he went ballistic and tried to escape to play with it (or ravage it..). He has escaped a few times from the backyard to chase cats as well. 

Now, with us, he's extremely playful.. most of the time in the house he's very relaxed. He gets alot of attention from us, and he's always very happy.

I'm not really sure what else to write, I have spoken to several other dog trainers including other St Bernard owners and have been given suggestions ranging from real dog training to having him put down. He gets alot of love from us, but we want to be able to take him at least around the block.. 

What should be our next (first) step? I really want to help this dog, but I feel powerless.. and I won't beleive that he's bound to a life as a housedog and can't play around with other dogs or go on walks ever again. 

We want to be able to take him on real walks, and we want him to be able to interact with other dogs or people without freaking out.. we love him very much.
So, please, any advice. Thank you.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

You have a lot of issues to deal with here. The pulling is one; the territorial behaviour is another; lack of socialisation with strangers and other dogs are also very likely to lead to some leash-reactivity when you finally do get to walk him. These are difficult problems and dealing with them all at once is going to be a bit of a handful. Having said that, I don't think this dog is at the end of his rope yet. The first thing I would do is start implementing NILIF religiously. 

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

Everyone who interacts with this dog needs to be consistent in applying this method. It's not so much that I think this dog has issues with respect or leadership, as it is that he needs to start dealing with some kind of structure in his life. It's very non-confrontational and can work wonders in a surprisingly short amount of time. Also start doing some basic training at home for now. I think group obedience classes might be a bit hard to handle right now, in terms of actually getting him there and having him focus among a group of strange dogs, but I would strongly consider looking into having either a professional dog trainer or behaviourist come in and evaluate the situation.

The other thing I would do is go and get yourself a Halti or Gentle Leader head-collar. This will help with the pulling, but you will need to desensitise him to it first; this video will help with that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wakterNyUg Once you have him walking on the GL in your backyard, see if you can walk him outdoors with it with minimal contact with strangers and other dogs. When he does see another dog outside, he's likely to react; he might be aggressive, fearful or he may just want to rush up to it and play. Try not to let any of these things happen. If you see him spot another dog and start to react to it (eyes locking on to it, growling, freezing in place, ears either pricking or pulled back -- not necessarily always signs of aggression, sometimes just fear or "OMG"ness) catch his attention (with a treat, calling his name, squeaking a toy) and walk in the opposite direction. You will deal with that later. 

All the best, and let us know how things turn out. Like I said, it may be necessary -- and I would strongly encourage it -- to call in a professional behaviourist to work with him. He has a lot of problems to deal with at one time.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

I would hire a trainer or behaviorist to come for a private lesson (or few) if you can.


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## Rileytai (Feb 10, 2009)

rosemaryninja said:


> You have a lot of issues to deal with here. The pulling is one; the territorial behaviour is another; lack of socialisation with strangers and other dogs are also very likely to lead to some leash-reactivity when you finally do get to walk him. These are difficult problems and dealing with them all at once is going to be a bit of a handful. Having said that, I don't think this dog is at the end of his rope yet. The first thing I would do is start implementing NILIF religiously.
> 
> http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for the quick reply and advice. I will definetly study and try to implement the NILIF as soon as possible and buy a halti. 

And a professional behaviourist sounds like a good idea, though I've never had contact with any or would even know where to look for one.. but I think that's a good suggestion as well and I'll look into it. I don't think we'll be doing any test walks out of the backyard without getting him evaluated first...


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

http://www.apdt.com is where most people in the States find their behaviourists.


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## Rileytai (Feb 10, 2009)

Thanks for the link.
One last question, would neutering him now help any with the aggression and territorial issue..?


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

I don't think it would help his agression but it MIGHT help keep him from escaping when he smells a female in heat. his drive to get to her will be lessened


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Ok, you say he lunges, so I'm not sure the head collar would be a good fit. Head collars can cause serious head/neck injury to a dog that lunges, so I think I'd go with an Easy Walk or Sensi Harness, they will STOP the pulling and lunging because they take the reward out of the pull or lunge by redirecting the dog in the opposite direction. I've seen them be very effective on Mastiffs. I'd use a Basket muzzle on him in public so he can't bite anyone and yes a Behaviorists is DEFINATELY in order to help this guy before a serious bite occurs.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

Carla may be right about the harness. I had not taken into account his lunging.

And yes, neutering may help with the territorialism and aggression; it will definitely take care of his propensity to escape in pursuit of females in heat.


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