How to stop my dog from snapping at other dogs in his personal space?

It depends a bit on how severe the problem is. If he just doesn't like interacting with other dogs, but is able to ignore them when they're around as long as he's left alone, this is perfectly normal - some dogs don't have much interest in meeting or playing with strange dogs, just like some humans don't want to strike up a conversation with everyone they meet. If you mean that he barks, lunges, or tries to attack other dogs when he sees them, this is a much more serious problem. In that case, it would be best to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate him in person to help determine the problem, and help you put together a training plan to work on it. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is not that the other dogs are influencing Oscar. It is just that they cause just enough excitement or anxiety (or both) for him to forget his training and to get to more of a “fight or flight” stage. A little anti-anxiety medication or slower introduction to your sisters dogs when you visit may help. A vibrating collar to get his attention and then a command (come, sit, etc) with a treat can help refocus his attention and calm his emotions.

Aggression is a complex behavior because it can be due to dominance, fear, anxiety or possessive behavior. Unless you are very familiar with identifying canine body language as well as training, it may be difficult for you to train him without assistance. You need to know the reason why he is doing it in order to adjust your own behavior. Your best option is to work with a trainer who can teach you to recognize the body language and then how to modify your behavior to change Oscar's behavior. You should also read some books about dog body language and also training. Victoria Stilwell is a great trainer with several published books. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello, sorry to hear about Oscar. There are some things you can try at home to manage his fears. Here are some basic definitions and tips to better orient you, however, successful management of his fears may require patience and time as counterconditioning to the stimulus can sometimes take a long time. Hope this helps and best of luck. DOES YOUR DOG HAVE FEARS? Fear in a dog may present in a variety of ways. Recognizing that your dog is indeed fearful is the first step. Some signs that a fearful dog may display include: tucking its tail between its legs, lowering its head, shaking or trembling, lip licking, rolling over to expose the belly, urinating, or becoming immobilized. A scared or frightened dog may also display aggression, including barking or growling, if it feels it cannot escape what is feared. Avoidance behaviors such as running away, hiding or backing up into a corner may also be seen. WHY IS MY DOG FEARFUL? Many dogs are fearful of specific stimuli or situations. These fears may stem from a lack of exposure to the stimulus, or may develop due to an adverse experience. Both can result in the dog having a fearful, emotional reaction when confronted with the stimulus. Often dogs respond fearfully to things in their environment that in nature would be potentially dangerous, such as loud noises or strangers. This behavior can be troubling for owners to watch. Often, owners become concerned that they have done something to make their dog fearful and their natural reaction is to try to comfort the dog which may amplify these behaviors. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP YOUR DOG? 1. Identify specific triggers This is an important step in moving forward and helping your pet overcome their fear. Knowing what stimuli are a “triggers” is key in creating a treatment plan because it allows you to have more control over the behavior and avoid such stimuli when possible. 2. Avoid the stimulus Initially it is often best to avoid the things that will trigger a fearful reaction. This may provide an opportunity to work on your relationship with your pet and develop trust without distraction. 3. Define your relationship with your pet How do you and your family members react to the behavior? Often times the natural reaction to the fearful pet is to comfort them by petting or picking up small dogs. This response may enhance the dog’s reaction to the fearful stimulus because they perceive the comfort as positive reinforcement of their fearful behavior. Rather, a more appropriate reaction is to act as though nothing unusual is going on and try to redirect the dog’s attention to you through a “look” or “sit” command and then treating that behavior. Some dogs are so fearful they may not be food motivated. Perhaps there is something else that your dog considers a “treat”. You may use this in the place of food. In these cases it is essential that all family members are consistent and treat the dog in the same manor.

It sounds like Toby was frightened and overwhelmed by the dog park - some dogs don't enjoy crowded places like this with lots of other dogs. I would suggest walking him in quieter places where he's comfortable, if he has problems with barking and growling at dogs in other situations, it would be best to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate him in person and help you put together a training plan to help him learn to be more comfortable around strange dogs and people. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org or a qualified trainer here: www.ccpdt.org

I'm sorry to hear that your dog is having this problem! Behavior issues like this are quite complex, and often very difficult to handle successfully on your own if you don't have any training experience. And particularly with an aggression problem, it may not be safe to attempt to work on this without professional assistance. If at all possible, I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate your dog in person and help you put together a detailed plan to work on the problem. Although the initial visit may be somewhat expensive, in many cases owners are able to stay in contact with the behaviorist via phone or email about how things are going without the need for repeated in-person sessions - which cuts down tremendously on the long-term cost vs. working with a trainer every week. The behaviorist may also recommend medication or other adjunct treatment options that could be helpful in addition to the training plan. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist here: www.dacvb.org If your dog is mainly aggressive to other dogs when she sees them on-leash (the most common form of this problem, in my experience), I would also suggest the short book "Feisty Fido" by PhD behaviorist Patricia McConnell - it has very sound, useful advice for dealing with this issue that may help to get you started.

This is really tricky. Many training groups offer classes for Reactive Dogs that can help. Make sure they use positive only training, no force or punishments. The basic steps to working on this are minimizing chances for an encounter, teaching him a behavior that is incompatible with going nuts (such as watching you and eating a treat), and then SLOWLY SLOWLY SLOWLY introducing him to other dogs (you really need a good trainer to help with this portion, you have to go so slow it's painful). I would recommend not allowing him to be outside by himself so that you can remove him if he starts to bark - you may even need to keep a leash on him so you can easily get him and calmly go inside. In short, this is a common and real, but very hard to resolve issue, so I'd encourage you to find an amazing trainer or even have a consultation with a veterinary behaviorist.