my mom's first dog was not a dog's dog (i.e. didn't like other dogs, just humans) but my mom felt it was important for her to have a companion (or like she says "a dog of her own" lol) since she works all day. At first Bridgette (the 1st dog) did not accept Darcie (the new dog) and would either growl at her or completely ignore her but after two weeks or so and (probably) after realizing Darcie wasn't going anywhere she gave in and accepter her, and NOW Bridgette is a changed dog... she looooves Darcie and has really turned into a dog's dog. They play ALL day and she has even changed her body type, from chubby and lazy to slim and trim... all that exercise! So, in conclusion, i think there's hope for you having another dog, but only you could make the final decision...you know her best! Good luck!
p.s. Welcome to the board!

- Cristina (& Leeloo)
"the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

Nice to have you here!
Emily

she was so sick when she was a baby--that she is just rotten...She will do ok with dogs..just dont get in her face at all..Cookie is 6 now and I just cant change her at all....But she is my love..

I certainly can not add anything to Lynns wonderful advice...
patience and consistancy is the true key..along with ,as Lynn stated,extreme mellow and calmness...hard to do with a frantic pupsters pulling on the lead...but if you follow Lynns guidance here...
you will be on your way to happy walks..and both you and Maggie May will have more fun...
Again welcome ...and I look forwrd to seeing those pictures..if you have any trouble posting them hollor ..someone will guide you through...alot of us had ..to be lead...not to mention any names...like.."me"...chuckle...enjoy..and blessings...ce

I appreciate you taking time to answer my concerns. I especially like the recommendation of letting her drag her leash around at the dog park. That would make it a lot easier for me to jump in if I need to.
In both situations, car-chasing and doggy-pissiness (I hesitate to call it aggression b/c that makes it sound like its always her who starts it and that's usually not true. She just seems to have a very low tolerance level with other dogs.) I really do avoid making any reaction at all. Since she is so worked up in both cases, I don't want to add to that.
I like your suggestion of training her to focus on me when a car goes by. Perhaps we could work in the front yard and if she sits and pays attention, I give her a treat? Now should I attempt to tell her "no" or "leave it" when a car goes by? I've tried that and it doesn't seem to work. With anything else (sniffing too long, etc) she's really good with "leave it".

Glad to see you here!

Hi LeighAnn,

Welcome to the board

First thing you need to do is relax, which is probably the hardest thing to do when you are anticipating a physical confrontation. Staying calm can determine the outcome of MaggieMae's interaction with another dog. Dogs read their humans very well. When we shout, yank leashes/collars etc it only heightens the aggression.
They learn to believe that everytime they encounter another dog, their human acts weird and therefore it is something for them to react to.

When MaggieMae encounters another dog, talk in a cheerful voice, stay calm, give her really good treats.
She will begin to associate other dogs with really good things happening. If the situation appears to worsen, calmly put her leash on her, gently back up and in a playful voice say something like "lets go", when she turns to you praise her like crazy and continue to walk away.

Don't get too excited about her growling. It is a necessary communication between dogs. People discourage growling so much that dogs begin to think it is an unwanted behavior and instead of growling to warn other dogs, they go straight to biting. Bad idea. MaggieMae was not wrong to growl at the JRT. The JRT should have taken her warning. Its owner should have stopped it before MaggieMae had to. When this happens, don't be shy about telling the other owner to please stop their dogs behavior.

Keep all interactions with other dogs very short, end it before MaggieMae becomes stressed. Remember, dogs dont have to like all other dogs. When you and the other bully owner separated the dogs, you should have walked away instead of allowing them to interact again.
Both dogs had already told you how they felt.

Keep in mind, most unwanted dog behavior has been inadvertently reinforced by the owners. MaggieMae chasing cars? I would guess that you probably get pretty excited, yank on the leash to control her, she probably thinks that everytime a car goes by her mom gets upset so she thinks she has to take care of it. Try distracting her. Teach her another behavior. There has to be a point where she hears a car but has no reaction yet. Maybe 50 feet? Whatever it is start there, stay 50 feet off the road. When you hear a car coming, put her in a sit, praise and treat heavily until the car passes. When you have this down, move to 40 feet etc.

Keep a leash on her to you can control her a little better. Drop it and let her drag it.
Good luck, keep us posted. Stay calm and light hearted.

Lynn K

And as for the bullies behavior, have you tried being the dominent one? When your bullie does this to another dog, grab her by the scruff of the neck, push her down to the ground with your knee on her (gently, but forceful) and tell her NO!! Do not let her up for a few minutes, then let her up and try again, repeat this until she does not get pissy with the other dog.
Good luck, and visit often!!! By the way, we do require pictures of everyones bullie!

little girl is a real crab..I have learned to just keep her home...she is fine with my dogs --but has them days with them too.

I'm sure our resident expert, Lynn K, will stroll by and have some advice for you. If she doesn't see this thread, restart it tomorrow with her name in the title.

Welcome to you both! This is a great place.

Oh, and though I have no advice for your situation, I can relate somewhat... Grover hit it off with the American Bulldog in his obedience class full of labs and goldens. They were best buds, and very raucous during "free time." They could not have cared less about the other dogs - must be a bully thing.

Julia & Grover

Welcome to the board, glad you here!

I can’t answer your question but someone on here will J
Can’t wait to see some pictures

Jacob Jessica

& Lincoln

Buy your Bulldog Decals

he was scared of them, we still to this day will not go get in the truck if its started. I told him to leave it and kept walking. If he would go after it again, i did a correction and told him to leave it. He now doesnt pay attention to the cars that drive past.



Vicky Bosco & Bella

Bulldog Club of Greater Seattle

http://www.rainyday.net/bcgs

www.network54.com

then log in and come back to bulldogsworld. when you post hit insert oject. click on temp files, upload, browse, once you find your pix hit upload. Once the pix is uploaded click on the pix file and insert. Your file needs to be about 100megapix, no numbers or spaces just the name of the pix and .jpg make sure you have spaces at each end of the pix line so it will show up....

Welcome and i look forward to meeting you around the Seattle area.

Vicky Bosco & Bella

Bulldog Club of Greater Seattle

http://www.rainyday.net/bcgs

LeighAnn,

If she is reacting to the cars going by, you are too close to the road. Go far enough away they she doesn't notice them. As a car approaches, have her sit, and fire those treats at her. If you have to give her 20 little pieces of hot dog-go for it. Anything that will keep her focused on you. Does she have an all time favorite toy. Use that, give it to her and play while the car is passing. I prefer to use the "watch me" focus instead of the toy, only because attention to handler is the first step in teaching anything. But if the toy is a greater reward for her, it is certainly O.K. to use. I have a dog that loves to try to kill cars. I worked alot with her and now she will sit and wave while they pass. I think she gained 5 pounds working on this one, but I got the result I was looking for.

If you want to use "leave it" you have to work on stepping up the importance of the item. If you are currently saying "leave it" and she isnt listening, you haven't solidified the command yet. Start with things that have little importance to her and slowly increase. Cars obviously have a huge importance to her, so you have to build up to that.

Definately work on praising and treating her in the presence of other dogs when she is acting appropriately.

Good luck, be patient, all behaviors take time to modify.

Lynn K

LeighAnn,

Introducing dogs should allows be done in an open space, not inside a house. Dogs get the feeling of being trapped. Not all dog to dog "issues" are dominance based, so I would not use a dominance correction to deal with it. She could probably get along well with a passive dog, she just isn't going to take any crap from a dog that gets in her face or gets pushy like the Boxer.

Lynn K

And thank you for directing me here! Do you know how to post pictures? Do I just copy and paste the jpg file into the "message text" box?

Did you get her first or last? i.e. have you had to bring another dog/puppy home for her to get used to?
We are contemplating getting another dog next year, but with her current behavior I am really sceptical as to whether or not she will allow another dog into the family....
Just wondering if you have had this experience?

Thank you for the suggestion. I did try this one time when we took her to a friend's house who had a Rotty and a Boxer visiting. The boxer is a dominant female as well so they got into it. I did just what you described but it just seemed that her little frenzy wouldn't end. They ended up taking the Boxer out of the room. The poor Rotty was so bewildered he just hid under the table the whole night.
It was so embarassing! I felt like an idiot too b/c I couldn't control my puppy (yes, she wasn't even a year old).
I told this story to the trainer we hired who said it was my fault for taking her to someone else's house who had dogs b/c it wasn't neutral territory so she was immediately on the defensive.
But I don't want Maggie's life to be sheltered. If there's anywhere I can take her, I want to take her...
So frustrating!
LV