MSU Red Cedar Message Board

Whatever works, right?!

A way to get him acquainted with other dogs once he's trained not to be so aggressive is to take him a couple times a week to a dog daycare. I work at one in Livonia and the socialization that the dogs get is unparalleled, it's a giant dog park and he can play all he wants. If he can calm down a little, it might be a nice way to familiarize himself with the idea of other dogs...

http://www.4-leggedfriendsdaycare.com/

His socialization period is essentially over, he's going to behave in certain ways in certain situations based on his past experiences. Unfortunately it takes a lot of time and effort, constant training to keep behavior problems under control. You should see a behaviorist for a consult, especially if your dog is showing aggressiveness toward people. I went to a behavior academy and was surprised at the amount of work our instructor, a well respected behaviorist/trainer had to put in to help control her own dog's issues. Even the best trainers in the world can't "cure" a dog's behavior problems 100% of the time, it's a ton of work just to get to the point where you're comfortable.

This Old One Eye sounds like he speaks from experience.

I don't necessarily agree with this stance. As a day care worker, I intervened in any potential issues that would arise and was trained to read dogs in a lot of social situations. The whole idea that dogs establish a territory within a dog park isn't anything that I've encountered in my time at the company. I consider myself to be pretty observant, when a new dog is let into the daycare area, the dogs will chase him or her around for a few minutes, sniff and try to engage the new guy in play, and move on with their lives. There are some dogs who are there everyday, while others come once in a long while, with new dogs being introduced all the time. The dynamic between old dogs and new dogs is no different; seniority in the pen has little significance whether the dog is aggressive or not.

the only reason my experience may be different than what this guy expected would be the sheer number of dogs (sometimes there are over 100 dogs on the big dog side), but I doubt that is the case.

1. Never beat the dog, it makes them aggressive. I have a Beagle which many people think the best way to train a beagle is to beat them because they are stubborn dogs.
2. As for the leash at the park, get an E Collar. I never take my dog hunting or anywhere outside my yard without it on. At this point I never even have to give him the light shock anymore, I can give a warning sound before I zap him, now if I have to I just use the sound and he stops whatever bad behavior he is doing.
3. Show him a lot of love, my dog is protective of me and my 3 and 1 year olds and he is only 3. He never lunges at other dogs but I had him around other dogs since I got him and my dad has his litter mate, so he is social with other dogs. But if a dog comes running at me and/or my kids he steps in front and gets ready to protect if needed.
4. Give him time, it takes awhile for a dog to develop his real personality, the more you get him around other dogs and people the better he will become at it. My dog allows my kids to pull his ears, tail and eff with all around and the worst he has ever done, is give a light "bird dog" bite, did not leave any marks on my son, my son realized not to mess with him in that way after that.
5. I believe there is no such things as bad dogs, just bad owners. While there are exceptions to the rule find this to be the case with every dog I have been around.

Overall I find the E Collar as a great training tool. It allows you to correct the behavior without beating them and also it doesn't associate the little bit of pain with you. And for the lunging, a choke collar helps with that. A lot of people do not like them I know, however all my dogs always have choke collars. And at 23 months you have plenty of time to get this solved. You will be fine, the dog just needs time to adjust and who knows what he went though before he got rescued. The training course will help as it will put him around other dogs and all those training coursed do is train YOU. Good luck Goldens are great dogs and very smart so he will get it figured out.

I won't say bad owners, but owners who aren't as aware as they could be. Sometimes you can be a good owner, but it might require a great owner to train a certain dog.

I appreciate the words of wisdom greatly. Will keep you posted on how the trainer session goes.
I'm trying to put him in good situations, and if there is another dog/ person that is gaining his interest i put myself between them and reward him when he ignores the person. Also try to get him to listen to ME when he's all worked up by doing some simple commands (Sit, high five) so he can go out of attack mode.

Tried to upload some photos but 24/7 won't let me do it.

Tell that to someone's child when they're sitting in the emergency room. Aggressive dogs have no place around a family, if he wants it for a guard dog fine.

This is good advice for tropical fish too.

Except for the kids part, you could substitute "Penis" for "Dog" and it would still be good advice.

Smack the dog in the mouth next time it growls. If it has any intelligence, it will learn fast.