During the Spring of 2010,
I began working with a group of long term obedience students who all
had the issue of their dogs acting aggressively towards other dogs.
These students had put years of obedience training into their dogs to
deal with the issue but wanted an outlet to teach them how to
socialize with other dogs safely. After dealing with dog aggression
issues with some of my own dogs for a very long time, and learning
what methods are most effective for long term rehabilitation, I
decided to try out my methods on this particular group.
Sessions
involved the dogs being muzzled for safety and introduced to
well-socialized and well-trained friendly dogs
(dogs of my own family) as well as the other (dog-aggressive) dogs
within the group. We have been working weekly since April, first
beginning in a very controlled environment indoors, then conducting
group walks offleash outside. As dogs learned appropriate behaviours,
the muzzles were removed at the pace of the individual dogs' progress.
New dogs were added to the group to benefit from socialization and to
test the original group's new social skills with dogs they hadn't
met.
Note
that some of the friendly, well-socialized dogs used to help
rehabilitate the aggressive dogs are 'pit bulls'...
We
filmed each week initially, and sporadic walks once the group worked
outside. As of January 2011, our group walk has grown to over 15 dogs
(including my dogs plus some of the student's other dogs) and all the
dogs are now off muzzles and many have learned how to play.
Congratulations
Jackson, Ellie, Prince, Luke, Amber, Grayls, and Scout on all your
progress.
Before and After:
Some videos captured of our progress:
Note: The first video demonstrates just
how much owners influence their dogs' behaviour.
