Is pepper spray safe to use on an aggressive dog for self-defense?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I find that flipping puppies that misbehave on their back in your arms or on the ground and holding them in place for a minute or two helps. I've had some fairly aggressive puppies that this trick worked well with. Also, saying in a stern voice "off!" or "stop!" when the unwanted behavior happens can help correct this as well. I would also consider incorporating a spray bottle filled with water and using this every time the puppy becomes aggressive. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Peppermint and vinegar may cause some digestive upset if ingested, so as long as Clark isn't eating/licking the area you spray I don't think it would be harmful. If you'd like to take an extra precaution, you can spray the area and keep him out of the room until it has dried (15-30m) just to be extra safe.

I'm sorry you are having these problems with Pepper. Firstly addressing her breed, sometimes the humane society gets a litter of pups with no information about the parents breed types - they use their best judgement to guess what breed the pups are, so they can get it wrong. From the picture, Pepper has the smooth coat of a miniature pincher or Italian greyhound, but she is larger than those breeds. There is a genetic DNA test that can be run which is developed by Mars Scientific. It is available at Banfield Pet Hospitals (and costs around $90 plus office visit fee). With regards to her behavior, this is more of a concern. I suspect you will be best to have a consultation with an experienced pet behaviorist, or vet that specializes in behavior, as I would hate for someone to get bitten badly by her. Try to determine the situations that seem to trigger her aggression, and attempt to prevent similar events occurring (eg. shouting or arguing, meal times, disciplining her). You could also try using a product called "Adaptil" which is a patented pheromone formula and can help lessen the severity of some behavioral problems. It comes in a collar or a plug in diffuser and is made by CEVA. I hope these suggestions can help.

I would suspect that this is because the dogs can sense your fear and aprehension when approaching you. It is less likely to do with your scent. Try to be calm when dogs approach and let them come to you so as to not frighten them. Best of luck. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend using corrective collars like a pinch collar or gentle leader. These can help stop the pulling behavior. You may also look into the low voltage shock collars. These collars emit a small shock that is similar to being snapped by a rubber band. You can use this to correct the behavior and these collars can all be found online or at your local pet store. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

In the long term, this is probably neither safe nor healthy. The ingredients may cause stomach upset if licked and ingested. Perfume may also irritate the eyes if it gets into them during spraying. A dog's nose is much more sensitive than the human nose, so perfume may be irritating.