# samoyed aggression towards other dogs



## irridium (Feb 26, 2014)

Hi, came here for some help with our new samoyed. He is two years old and we want to adopt him, however he has some issues. According to his previous owners, he was attacked by another dog, ever since he barks and growls ferociously at any passing dogs during our walks. Our neighbor has a very friendly dog, when attempting to try and get him comfortable he attacked the other dog. Sammi is great with people, our kids and really a very sweet dog, but we don't know what to do. The previous owners have given us two weeks as a trial to make sure everything works out, and I really want it to. Does anyone have advice on how I can get him comfortable with other dogs? He is male and not fixed. Any help or advise would be appreciated!


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## Cattledogfanatic (Sep 18, 2011)

Is there a way you can just keep him away from other dogs? How far away are you when he lunges and growls? Not every dog needs doggy friends and he can live a happy fullfilled life without them.


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## greenmaria (Oct 9, 2013)

I would probably get him fixed, but I'm dodging tomatoes as I say that, because I read the big debate thread about neutering and I know opinions are quite varied and strong. Lol! :fencing:

Aside from that, I would look around for a good trainer or classes available locally. When we took one of our dogs to obedience classes, there were two dogs in her class that were pretty leash reactive to other dogs, and the trainers worked with them separately on "regular" training but also on getting along with other dogs.


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

Some dogs are not good with other dogs- that says- he may have certain comfort zones-- is ok with females, or females of his breed but not with certain males- our male Boxer was fairly dog aggressive- but only with male dogs his size (really little, he ignored them, really big he gave up and didnt challenge them)- females he was neutral with and only really played with the female Boxer he lived with as well as his " Playdate" friend- a female pitbull who was only allowed to play off leash with our 2 dogs....

We could also run in him off leash (he was a frisbee dog) but would call him to us when we say another dog coming...
(he was also leash reactive, ie more likely to show aggression on leash, and just ignore other dogs off leash, but we still called him to us and fed him treats until we could see if it was a male dog he was likely to react to, in which case then we just briefly held his collar until that male dog passed by)...

Also in a new environment you need to work at his pace, he may not want to meet other dogs til he settles in-- not all dogs are social butterflies....

Many dogs are not laid back, calm and friendly with all comers type dogs-- you may have to just get to know what he is comfortable with and take it from there...

And a good refresher obedience class is a fine idea.


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## kelly528 (Feb 13, 2014)

Dog aggression can be easily conditioned out of dogs using positive reinforcement and I say that as one who was at a point in the same boat as you. When Toby was about 8 weeks old I got into a round of tug-o-war over him with a loose labrador. Broken leg, huge trauma, threw a massive kink in his socialization. He was a sick kid for pretty much his whole puppyhood as his leg healed. 

Basically it comes down to two things: training with _positive_ reinforcement methods and ensuring positive experiences with other dogs. If he seems stressed around them or is being scared or bullied by them, cut that interaction short before it reinforces his current opinion that other dogs are jerks. 

What (ideally, and probably) you will come away with is a dog that is not reactive/aggressive toward other dogs. Does this guarantee that he will _like_ other dogs? It's up to him. Some humans don't like dogs. Some humans don't like other _humans_! It's really a matter of individual preference, above all. But at the very least it will be a good thing if he can tolerate the presence of other dogs without being stressed, getting pushed around, etc. That is important.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

kelly528 said:


> Dog aggression can be easily conditioned out of dogs using positive reinforcement and I say that as one who was at a point in the same boat as you.


I disagree on this. Dog aggression is often just an innate part of the dog's personality and no amount of conditioning or positive reinforcement (or punishment or any other form of training) can train it out of a dog. Saying it can "easily" be conditioned out of a dog is doing a major disservice to someone that may take on way more than they can handle in a DA dog thinking it is something they can easily fix. 

That said, there is a wide spectrum of "aggression" cases and a lot of reactivity (growling/lunging at other dogs on walks for example) _can_ be dealt with through training. That doesn't necessarily lead to a dog that is safe loose with other dogs or interacting directly with other dogs but maybe just one that can handle seeing other dogs in public from a safe distance and can be safely walked int eh general vicinity of other dogs. 

Depending on what your needs and expectations are for this dog in regards to interactions with other dogs, this can be something that can be worked on or it might be a deal breaker. If you rarely need to take your dog around other dogs (like at family or friends houses), don't often see other dogs on walks, and don't plan to use dog daycare or dog parks, then moderate reactivity or aggression may be something that you can work with over time and just manage when needed. If your entire circle of friends and family owns dogs, you frequent a park with tons of dogs, and you live in an area with lots of dogs being walked in the neighborhood, then DA can be very difficult to deal with. 

There are "feisty fido" type classes that can really help reactive dogs. You may make progress in 2 weeks but I doubt you'll eliminate the problem in 2 weeks unless it is very low level. Here are some links to help you Links


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## irridium (Feb 26, 2014)

thanks for all of the responses! It's not that I encourage him to meet other dogs, but in our area there are many dogs out for walks so he is bound to see one. It doesn't seem to matter what type/sex the dog is, I have to hold him back as he snarls. My neighbors dog is very calm and well behaved, and for a few seconds I thought they would get along as they started sniffing each other, then suddenly Sammi lunged out at him and I had to pull him off. Not getting along with other dogs is one thing, but growling and snarling at every single dog we pass when walking is kind of a pain. What sort of positive reinforcement techniques should I try? I read online some people that it is a matter of getting him not to feel threatened by other dogs but how could I accomplish this?


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I edited my post above to include a link to a thread full of resources on training techniques for basically exactly the problem you are having


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## kelly528 (Feb 13, 2014)

Shell said:


> I disagree on this. Dog aggression is often just an innate part of the dog's personality and no amount of conditioning or positive reinforcement (or punishment or any other form of training) can train it out of a dog. Saying it can "easily" be conditioned out of a dog is doing a major disservice to someone that may take on way more than they can handle in a DA dog thinking it is something they can easily fix.
> 
> That said, there is a wide spectrum of "aggression" cases and a lot of reactivity (growling/lunging at other dogs on walks for example) _can_ be dealt with through training. That doesn't necessarily lead to a dog that is safe loose with other dogs or interacting directly with other dogs but maybe just one that can handle seeing other dogs in public from a safe distance and can be safely walked int eh general vicinity of other dogs.
> 
> ...


I'll grant you that, I definitely spoke a bit too generally.

The leash reactivity, however, shouldn't require you to become a dog psychiatrist so much as it will take patience, consistency and positive reinforcement. As long as he is not reactive on-leash and is not let off-leash around other dogs, this should be enough to get you wherever you need to go and have an enjoyable life together.


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