Why does my Golden suddenly attack my friend's Shiba on the stairs?

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem. Aggression issues between dogs in the same household are very complex, and generally need in-person help to get a better idea of what is causing the problem - so I would recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate the dogs in person and help you put together a detailed plan to work on the problem. You can search for a behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org In the meantime, I would keep the dogs strictly separated - it's not a good idea to let Yoshi out into the house if this provokes an aggressive reaction by the Yorkie, since it will only make the problem worse every time this happens. Instead, I would make sure that they stay in different parts of the house and don't see each other at all until you can get a professional in to help.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem with Runt! Aggression towards housemate dogs is a complex behavioral issue that can have a variety of different underlying causes, so it's hard to give any specific advice without being able to evalaute the dogs in person and get a much more detailed behavior history. Because of this, I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can do a full assessment of the situation and help you put together a detailed plan to address the aggression. You can search for one in your area here: www.dacvb.org In the meantime, the best advice I can give is to keep the attacking dog separated from the other dogs in your household until you are able to get a behaviorist in to help. This will help keep the problem from escalating, and keep any of the dogs from being injured in the meantime.

I hate to hear that about Cooper. Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety , resource guarding or a combination. Pets can also shift around within the pack hierarchy. Being overly aggressive may be a sign that Cooper is uncomfortable in his current pack role. Unless you are very familiar with reading canine body language and training, I recommend to work with a professional trainer. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say before a bite happens. You can find many books written on the topic. One thing you can do at home is to give Cooper (and all the dogs would benefit as well), lots of exercise, routine and structure. A physically tired dog typically has less behavioral issues. Dogs also tend to thrive in a controlled environment. This can be a tough situation. You may want to separate the dogs any time you are not home to avoid injuries. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I hate to hear this is happening. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to give advice without being able to observe the behavior. Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. Most people are not familiar with reading canine body language and training. Because of this, I recommend to work with a professional trainer. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Neutering him may help but will not likely solve the problem. In general, neutered males are less aggressive than intact males. Best of luck.

Hello! I would recommend finding a private trainer or veterinary behaviorist that works with positive reinforcement training for Abigail Rose. Shiba Inus are a notoriously difficult breed to train, but it is possible with some hard work and dedication! A good trainer or behaviorist can help Abigail work on her impulse control and find out what is triggering her to go after other dogs. Sometimes, when anxiety is pinpointed as the cause, anti-anxiety medications are prescribed. Prozac is commonly used for this purpose. For your situation, a basket muzzle would probably be very helpful as well. Basket muzzles look creepy at first, but they are excellent training tools. They allow panting, eating, and drinking, but make it very difficult to successfully bite. I hope this is helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Aggression issues within the household can be scary and dangerous, particularly in situations like this where one dog is much older and younger than the other. I would approach this situation with a lot of care and patience. As you have asserted already, it would appear that the Springer seems to be guarding or possessing the house. In order to truly dissect this situation, I would need you to really think about where these incidents have been occurring within the house and how they might be preceded. Think about if they tend to occur in one area more than another, if they are only occurring when other people are around, if they are only occurring before or after some sort of event or instance, etc etc. If you can't identify any patterns, you either have to keep the Springer on leash inside the house until she can be retrained or keep the two dogs completely separate. This would be the only two options to keep the 10 year old safe and sound. I would be happy to speak with you in some more detail regarding the behavior issues in a consultation. These tend to be quite complicated and will require more time and details than I am able to write in this small area. Good luck to you either way.

If this was a sudden behavior change for Luk, I would recommend having him examined by a vet before doing anything else - he may be sick or in pain, which can often cause aggressive behavior in dogs since they are less tolerant of many things when they don't feel well. Blood work to check his thyroid and other organ functions may also be recommended. If his exam and blood work are normal, then it's likely that you will need a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer to help you with this in person - aggression towards humans is a complex behavior issue that is a bit beyond the scope of what we can tackle in this forum. Generally speaking, treatment for aggression problems involves identifying things that trigger the aggressive behavior, then using positive reinforcement to change how the dog feels about these situations. It can be difficult to do this safely on your own, which is why working in-person with a professional is always recommended.