# Territorial Aggression in Basenji/Blue Heeler Mix



## katrice (Jan 29, 2012)

Two days ago we rescued a one year old blue heeler mix from a shelter. He bonded quickly to my husband and follows him around "herding" him everywhere he goes. He has shown aggression towards me on three occasions: once when I came into the living room where he was playing with my husband, once when I came in the front door upon returning from running errands, and the last time, when I opened the office door where he was sitting near my husband. He growls and lunges at me. At other times, he allows me to rub him, and seems very relaxed around me.

He has also shown aggression towards a male neighbor who came to our door, and to a 6 year old girl who was bouncing a ball outside while he was being walked. Today while my husband was walking him, he growled at a 4 year old boy who was calmly standing about ten feet away from him.

I understand the protective nature of the blue heeler, so this territorial/protective aggression concerns me. The shelter that had him, found him abandoned, skinny with open wounds, possibly from a dog fight. He growls and bares his teeth at other dogs, so he may have caused the attack, or may be distrustful of other dogs because of the attack. Since we don't know what he was like as a puppy, we won't know why he has dog aggression. It may also be a territorial response.

We're not sure that we can keep this dog, since we will spend several months of the year at a lake house that we share with our children and their families (including a 3 year old granddaughter).

My question is can territorial/protective aggression be trained out of adult blue heelers, if they were not socialized properly as puppies, or will their genetic propensity for protection be difficult to overcome? He is a great dog in every other way, and he really wants to please, but at this stage he is very unpredictable. We have been treating him as though we are the alpha dog, and it is absolutely not aggression due to us allowing him to be alpha.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Well you don't have a clue as to what or who your new dog is, You and husband are strangers to this dog and so are the surroundings. With his background it's gonna take some time for any kind of trust build up. Do not have him off lead anywhere outside and supervision is very important.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

After just two days, I wouldn't make any assumptions about why he's behaving the way he is
Shelter dogs often need months to feel settled in and safe. I don't think you're seeing his true personality yet.

That said, you don't have to accept rude or dangerous behavior. But, remember, he is probably afraid. My general advice would be to MANAGE his behavior while you're training him to use good manners. You can manage him by keeping him a safe distance from others. You may also want to keep him on a leash inside, so that you can remove him from a situation if necessary.

Check out the stickies "NILIF" and "Doggy Zen" at the top of the forum pages. They will help you teach impulse control and manners. And, remember, as a working breed he will need lots of exercise. 

While you are working on this, you might also want to do a bit of threshold work. He has an issue meeting other dogs or people on walks. So, make a note of how far away from other dogs/people he can get BEFORE he starts to freak out. That distance is his threshold. When you walk him, keep him under his threshold. That may mean crossing the street, turning down a side street, or going a different direction. The reason is, he can't learn or listen, or respond when he's freaking out. So, keep him at a distance where you can reward calm behavior. Gradually, you'd want to shrink that threshold.

As for growling and lunging in your home, I just think he's not sure, after two days, that he's totally safe, and he doesn't always know who to trust. Keep treats handy. Toss treats in his general direction every time you walk by
Have guests toss treats to him, no hand feeding yet. And, keep himeashed si you have control.

I wouldn't have him close to children yet. Kids are a bit unpredictable to dogs. They have higher pitched voices, they make noise and make quick and sudden moves. To a stressed dog, this can be scary. He may be fine with them eventually, but give.him some time to settle in.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

doxiemommy said:


> After just two days, I wouldn't make any assumptions about why he's behaving the way he is
> Shelter dogs often need months to feel settled in and safe. I don't think you're seeing his true personality yet.
> 
> That said, you don't have to accept rude or dangerous behavior. But, remember, he is probably afraid. My general advice would be to MANAGE his behavior while you're training him to use good manners. You can manage him by keeping him a safe distance from others. You may also want to keep him on a leash inside, so that you can remove him from a situation if necessary.
> ...


Yes, read the above, then read it again. Good Stuff


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## TxRider (Apr 22, 2009)

doxiemommy said:


> After just two days, I wouldn't make any assumptions about why he's behaving the way he is
> Shelter dogs often need months to feel settled in and safe. I don't think you're seeing his true personality yet.
> 
> That said, you don't have to accept rude or dangerous behavior. But, remember, he is probably afraid. My general advice would be to MANAGE his behavior while you're training him to use good manners. You can manage him by keeping him a safe distance from others. You may also want to keep him on a leash inside, so that you can remove him from a situation if necessary.
> ...


I agree, sounds like how Kaya was when I rescued her.

For the first month I simply called her name, and gave her a treat when she looked at me. Built trust and taught her her new name real well. I may have taught her to sit with a treat after a couple of weeks.

Then I found adults who would listen to me and have a little patience, and started having them give her a treat. At first she wasn't sure whether to growl and threaten or take the treat but after 20-30 times she got a little better. I still didn't allow her near kids, or kids near her. Then I started taking her to the pet stores and having yet more strangers give her treats under my direction, preferably after them asking her nicely to sit lots of folks are willing to help if you ask them nicely. After enough encounters and months living with me she stopped the aggressive behavior toward strangers. She is still wary, but not aggressive.

Then I started taking her to kids parks, and just sat at a safe distance and gave her treats and such with kids squealing and running and playing 100 feet away, kids soccer games were good for that. And eventually moved a little closer over time..

Then I got some kids to ask her to sit and give her yummy rewards for treats and slowly worked at it.

I also enrolled in a training class, specifically to do exercises around other dogs in a controlled environment so I desensitize her to dogs, as she would lunge at any dog that came within three feet of her. I slowly worked her closer and closer, giving treats, having the other dogs owners give her treats..

Took about 8 good months and she's a great dog now. She is still more territorial than most, a grade A watch dog, and a bit wary of strangers but not a danger to bite people any more.

For her it was all fear, I suppose her life as a stray dog was probably pretty scary and she had learned that if she got nasty scary things would go away. Bite first before they get a chance to bite her.. So I taught her strangers and kids and other dogs aren't as scary as she thought and aren't a threat.

edit: almost forgot, forget that be the alpha nonsense. Just desensitize the dog and teach it how you want it to act.


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## katrice (Jan 29, 2012)

doxiemommy said:


> After just two days, I wouldn't make any assumptions about why he's behaving the way he is
> Shelter dogs often need months to feel settled in and safe. I don't think you're seeing his true personality yet.
> 
> That said, you don't have to accept rude or dangerous behavior. But, remember, he is probably afraid. My general advice would be to MANAGE his behavior while you're training him to use good manners. You can manage him by keeping him a safe distance from others. You may also want to keep him on a leash inside, so that you can remove him from a situation if necessary.
> ...



Doxie,

Thanks for your advice. We are walking him twice a day, and stopping along the way to talk to any strangers that we encounter. We have had a couple of episodes of soft growling, but it is a great improvement over the way he was when we first got him. Yesterday, he hid behind my husband when a dog approached him to sniff, instead of reacting aggressively, so I think that you are right that his reactions are more about fear than territory at this point. We have decided to work with him a few months to see if he can eventually be trusted around our rather rambunctious grandchildren. He is already working on sitting for a treat, or before we put his food pan down. He's a bit stubborn, but does not seem to be food aggressive. 

It seems his threshold for human distance is about 5 feet, at this point; we'll work on building trust and narrowing that distance. 

Thanks again for your response.


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## katrice (Jan 29, 2012)

TxRider said:


> I agree, sounds like how Kaya was when I rescued her.
> 
> For the first month I simply called her name, and gave her a treat when she looked at me. Built trust and taught her her new name real well. I may have taught her to sit with a treat after a couple of weeks.
> 
> ...


We love your idea about strangers and treats. We will carry a few treats in our pockets to have strangers offer him when we go on our walks from now on. We are starting to see that his aggression is more related to fear than territory. He has made some improvement over the last couple of days, so we are encouraged. 

Are you able to trust your Kaya unleashed around children now, or do you still have to be vigilant? Our grandchildren will be visiting occasionally, and we would eventually like to be able to let him roam freely around them, although we may have to crate him for their first few visits.


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