Help with extremely aggressive 9 month old female presa

[Thunderflash]

Please can anyone offer some advice, I am a first time presa canario owner but have kept rottweilers and Rhodesian ridgebacks previously, I have a 9 month old female who is very large and powerful, unfortunately no amount of socialisation has helped me calm her natural guarding instincts, she is very aggressive towards small dogs and at times people that surprise her, there has been two biting incidents, everyone will say it is not there fault but in each case freak circumstances led to the attack, in one instance I had bought her A new collar which broke under strain, she ripped someones jacket when they were trying to protect their dog, which she was trying to attack, in another instance when I was recovering from whiplash she managed pull me off balance when a drunk guy surprised her in the dark bundled into us, his jacket was mauled. there has been several other incidents, her level of aggression towards dogs can be frightening at times, I have put so much time, effort and money into my dogs my bullweiler boy, is incredible with everyone but also a great guard dog when needs be, but she seems unable to calm down and goes into a frenzied attack with small dogs and when surprised by people, today I was bitten which I believe was redirection when she was trying to get to two women. Please can anybody help with what I can do to go from here.

 

[DennasMom]

Whew.
Hard to say what's going on with her without seeing her in action... I'd try and find a behaviorist or trainer locally that has some good, relevant mastiff experience.
Could be she has anxiety issues and needs to learn to relax... could be a medical issue or food allergy causing her to be overly sensitive... could be a known or unknown traumatic event from earlier which she is having trouble over-coming...

So many possibilities...

I'd work on making sure YOU remain calm in all situations, and see if you can work on her obedience skills. Get her to focus on you for direction instead of feeling the need to take charge of these situations herself. It will take patience and consistency... and you will need to learn to manage her surroundings to avoid throwing too much at her too soon.

Hopefully you'll get some more support from the forum here.

 

[musicdeb]

Agree with Tina, first work on yourself being calm. The pup picks up on your fear and believes he has to defend you. Unfortunately, some pups do not like other dogs especially small ones. Titan hates small dogs and male dogs. He gets along fine with a female EM.

Buy a muzzle for when you walk him. Also, recommend using a prong collar. Be sure to put on the prong collar the correct way to prevent injury to the pup.

Leerburg Dog Training | How to Fit a Prong Collar

Train the pup to sit and look at you before he gets to the "red zone." The red zone is when you can tell by his body language that he's getting ready to do some damage. I can read Titan's body language when he's getting ready to lunge because he doesn't like men. He's focuses on the man, licks his lips and his tail wags really fast and then he goes down and he's off to lunge after the man. Now when I see the body language, I make him sit and focus on me. I stand in front of him. We stay at that position until the man passes. If the man talks to me, I tell him without looking at him. "Please do not talk." Once the man passes, I yell at him. "I do not mean to be rude but my pup is in training."

Buy a vest for your pup or a leash flash that says, "Dog in training" or "Ask before approaching." Titan has a red flag, "Ask before approaching."

Again, number one is for you to remain calm. Train the pup to sit and focus on you. Reward with positive reinforcement when he does what you want him to do.

If you are not confident to do this, hire a trainer who has worked with this breed to help you train the pup.

If this behavior is not corrected, your pup will cause some serious damage.

Please keep us posted.

 

[chauncey]

is she fixed? have you ever had professional help? is all i can ask.

 

[Thunderflash]

is she fixed? have you ever had professional help? is all i can ask.

Getting alll the help I can , not many people experienced with the breed in ireland, very few people interested in trying to help, she does not like small dogs at all bu is sonetimes ok with bigger breeds, she is now becoming aggressive towars strangers, she has just gone through her first season,thats when the big changes in her behaviuor sarting she has always been very protective of me, but now wont even let children come near me- not good, employing a behaviourist, and trainer........

 

[musicdeb]

What does she do that you consider to be aggressive? What is her body language? Does she growl? Does she bark? Does she lunge? Does she show her teeth?

Good that you are hiring a trainer. Be sure the trainer trains you as well and the trainer uses positive reinforcement.

 

[Thunderflash]

Goes into full attack, jumps towards people barking , hackles raised she is amazingly powerful so it is not a pleasant experience trying to hold her, i think she might be fearful of somethings inlife but never cowers only attacks

 

[musicdeb]

She's afraid. You're allowing her to get into the "red zone/strike zone." See my earlier post to help her with the "red zone/strike zone." Forcing her to enter the zone is causing her to react. You want to teach her how to react. Show her what you want her to do and you need to be confident when training her.

 

[whit72]

I agree with Deb, it also could be a fear stage. Has she been taught to focus on you? You want to try to redirect her before she reaches that level. I understand you're stressed when this occurs, you are probably transferring that negative energy to her and she is reacting, she is guarding because she can sense your fear.

Sent from my HTC One VX using Tapatalk

 

[esaudio]

Hi,
Has this issue been sorted out? Is your dog more calm in the presence of strangers?

 

[Aryell]

Hello! I have a presa canario he is only 7 weeks and very fearless and has had many moments of aggression and dominat behavior. I have spent a lot of time with him establishing a bond with him and also correcting him. I have 2 other dogs that correct him as well when he gets so hyper. I would recommend long walks with a mussel. Make sure your dog walks slowly next to you not ahead of you. I have a black Chow and she was very aggressive and assertive and with a few months of training we perfected our walks and now she listens to my direction but still guards the house. When I take her to dog parks I walk away from her and dont allow her to stand in front of me because she attacks dogs when they come close to me so I dont let her sit in front of me too long so she doesnt feel like I need to be protected. Since I started walking and training her she is more sociable and when strangers come over I introduce them to the house very calmly until she sees they are not a threat. Good luck to you and your presa. I think they are a lot of work but it is worth it they are wonderful dogs. I will start training mine in a month when I can walk him after his shots.