# Help! Newly adopted slightly aggressive German Wirehaired Pointer



## nickp1234 (Feb 7, 2016)

Hello!

We have just adopted a wonderful 1 year old German Wirehaired Pointer, named Klaus.
Klaus is living in doors with us, and is having no problems at all so far. He is extremely affectionate, loving, and very relaxed. We take him for 2 big walks a day, and he spends the rest of the time happily sleeping in his bed.

In the house he knows his boundaries, and there are certain rooms he cannot enter. He knows this, and he is well trained in this aspect. Outside of the house I feel like we have less power over him. I think he has the attitude that once we leave the house, he becomes the leader. 

Anyway, when we take him for walks, he is becoming more and more aggressive with other dogs. As soon as he sees another dog, he freezes all of his attention and focus goes here. We will bring him closer to the other dogs, but he stills stays very straight, and very very focused. His tail used to stay below his legs, but now it is more straight in these situations.

Then, out of no where (no barking, growling etc), he will just lunge at the other dog. Or, if this doesn't happen, the other dogs have begun to growl of bark at Klaus, and then he will retaliate. When this begins, we have to really hold him back hard, as he doesn't stop wanting to jump and lunge at the other dog. I believe he is showing a very dominate attitude towards the other dogs. As, these dogs will even begin to growl at him as soon as he gets close. 

During the first week he wasn't like this. He would approach the other dogs with his tail between his legs. Then, after a few minutes, his tail would begin to wag, and then he would want to play. I am not sure what has changed here. Also - he was de-sexed around 2 weeks ago.

We rescued him from a group of hunters, who abandoned him and his sister when they were 8 months old.

We are going to start using the muzzle with him outside now.

Please, if you have any tips or ways we can work against this behaviour, it will be extremely appreciated!

Thanks,
NP


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

First, I would suggest dropping the idea of thinking about your relationship with the dog in terms of who is a leader and who has the power. Think of it as a partnership, where you work together and you give him guidance on what is good behavior. Dog-human dominance theory (as in, alpha or pack leader etc) is pretty well debunked, even the man who originally coined the concept has retracted it.

Read up on reactivity, leash aggression/barrier frustration, and fear aggression (see sticky at the top of this forum section)

Why are you forcing him to meet other dogs on walks? Are these dogs running loose or are they being walked on a leash also? Meeting strange dogs on-leash is a very stressful situation for a lot of dogs, it inhibits their natural body language and puts them in a situation they can't escape if something goes wrong so there tends to be more defensiveness and more aggression.

What has changed is probably that you've continued to force him into situations where he is very uncomfortable and each time that happens, he is going to get worse. He started off showing some mild fear or uncertainty (tail between legs) but had to meet other dogs anyway, so now he's probably giving off signals to the other dogs to stay away and if that doesn't work (because you're bringing him closer) then he goes for a lunge or when the other dog reacts to his body language with a growl or bark, he's going to counter that.


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## nickp1234 (Feb 7, 2016)

Thanks so much for your reply - this is really helpful!

In the beginning we naturally thought Klaus would want to socialize with other dogs, but looking back I can see that maybe this wasn't the case. Also, before we got Klaus I don't think had walked on a leash before (maybe very very little) - so I think you are right, and that when meeting other dogs with the leash, he gets very stressed and anxious. 

But, in saying that, he was always super friendly after meeting them! After 15 seconds or so, his tail would begin to wag, and they would start playing. But now, he just jumps straight into attack mode.

Would you have any general tips moving forward? Should we no longer socialize klaus on the street with other dogs until he is more comfortable on the leash? What if he is pulling and would like to go see the other dog? Should we try to introduce them or just continue walking forward, without giving any attention to the other animal? Now, when he sees another dog he typically freezes, and locks on and wont stop staring. Even as we try to walk away, he will be pulling and his focus will be on the other dog. 

Inside the house he is super affectionate, and really a lovely intelligent and playful animal. We would just like to know how we can take steps to reduce this behaviour - and we want to ensure we are moving in the right direction, and not actually making this behavior worse. (side note: klaus has only been with us for 8 days in total)

Thanks again for your help so far - really really appreciated!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I think for now at least, I would not let him meet strange dogs while out on walks. Give him time to get used to you, his new life and new surroundings. It is good for a dog to learn to ignore other dogs while out on walks. That way, you can can choose if and when he should meet another dog and he won't have an expectation of it. Personally, I don't let my dogs meet unknown dogs when out and about. Too much potential for problems and a bad experience or two, even if there is no physical harm, can create a a big mess in terms of a dog who is then fearful and/or aggressive and set back leash training a bunch.

In the reactivity sticky, there are links on BAT and LAT (behavioral adjustment training and "look at that") and "look at me". Basically, you want to work on getting his attention on you before he focuses on the other dog, distance is your friend as are treats in your pocket. Then you can work on holding his attention as you move past the other dogs are a safe distance, not passing on the same sidewalk but maybe crossing the street to walk on the other side or in a park, moving off the path into a field etc. 

If there are dogs that you do want him to meet, like dogs owned by friends, you can do slow introductions which will be easier if he's used to ignoring other dogs.

8 days is a short time, he will likely show different aspects of his personality as he settles in and becomes comfortable with you over the next several months. He is also young and may develop changes in his personality as he matures and grows an "adult" brain


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

My older dog - who loves to play with other dogs in the right circumstances - does not greet other dogs on leash. She sounds a bit like your pup: she pulls, wants to meet, but gets snippy if things don't go as she wants. Once I convinced my husband to stop letting her greet other dogs, her reactivity decreased significantly. She's no longer anticipating getting to greet a potential playmate and getting frustrated when the other dog doesn't meet whatever criteria she's made up in her head. 

If I were you, I'd allow Klaus to settle in for a few weeks (or months), bond with him, maybe enroll in a positive reinforcement-based training class, and then see what happens. If you have friends with dogs or meet people with dogs (e.g., in class, around your neighborhood), you can try having your dogs meet and potentially play together. **Or what Shell said above**

I'm not a fan of allowing my dogs to meet random dogs on the street or interact with other dogs on leash, but if I had real life dog friends and our dogs got along, we'd definitely have play dates.


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