Reddit reviews Fight!: A Practical Guide to the Treatment of Dog-dog Aggression

Contact a veterinary behaviorist. There's simply too much going on here for you to tackle without professional help.

If you would like a better understanding of what's going on with the dog aggression, I would recommend Jean Donaldson's book Fight!

Warning: very little good news ahead (sorry, going through some stuff right now which has me pretty fucking jaded on the subject, and while I do think my information is helpful, it is a bit more doomsdayish than really necessary--apolgies for that.)

Honestly a lot of shelter dogs will not show their problem behaviors right away. This is most likely not sudden, and probably the reason he was at the shelter. This behavior is not something that you caused, it is a behavior that he has learned a long time before you and is now displaying because of his level of comfort around you. It takes a LONG time to rehab a dog like that, considering his age, and sometimes it's not really successful, depending on the underlying causes of the aggression...so you must ask yourself are you really in this for the long haul or do you want to get a different dog that will be easier?

I would definitely recommend seeing a behaviorist not just a trainer for at least one or two sessions to get some practice under your belt for how to manage and treat this situation. The main techniques will be counter-conditioning to the presence of other dogs and redirection. Timing is KEY when doing this kind of training and if you do it yourself without being really shown how, you risk fucking the dog up more.

I rescued a dog from the shelter who seemed perfectly fine (although a bit unruly) at first. He started showing aggression to other dogs AND people after about 3 weeks. I took the DIY approach for about a year, decided I needed help, now 2 and a half years and roughly $15,000 in books, dvds, seminars, workshops, behaviorists, trainers, vet bills, training camp, training classes, etc I have decided to have him humanely euthanized for his own benefit, that of society at large, and also my own mental health. He is a super smart and amazing dog who I love dearly (hence why I have tried so hard), but to be honest he is dangerous.

I don't mean to scare you, and honestly, I ended up with a REALLY bad dog, way worse than most people would from a shelter. Dog aggression is quite manageable if you are willing to accept that you may not ever "cure" your dog, and make sure that he is kept away from other dogs at all times so as not to practice this behavior further. The fact that he has redirected at you is quite concerning, however, and should definitely be discussed with a professional if you do decide to keep this dog.

While you are looking for your behaviorist I would recommend the following books:

http://www.amazon.com/Behavior-Adjustment-Training-Frustration-Aggression/dp/1617810509

http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Practical-Treatment-Dog-dog-Aggression/dp/0970562969

http://www.amazon.com/Control-Unleashed-Creating-Focused-Confident/dp/B000UCF53A

These are the books that helped me the most dealing with my problem dog.

Dog aggressive... Right off the top of my head I would suggest taking a look at BAT 2.0. Jean Donaldson has Fight!

/u/mysled is right that a good behaviorist will be able to help you. Check the wiki and sidebars of /r/dogs and /r/dogtraining for links like this one, and feel free to ask. Lots of folks deal with reactive dogs, and I think there's a support thread that floats around on /r/dogs.

I wish you luck with this; I know loving and dealing with a reactive dog is a difficult path.

Keeping them separated is the right start. Be sure there is nothing to resource-guard while they are together. You want to make sure each dog feels secure, that his food/toy/spot on the bed isn't threatened. You also want to prevent incidents because aggression may cause fear which can cause aggression which is harder to treat.

I'd try to chance the emotional associations they have with each other. So only good things happen when they are in each other's presence (you may want a gate or at least space between them.) When they are reliably calm you can supervise the younger dog on leash while you give the other dog a treat. Reward the younger dog for any behavior other than barking/lunging/growling. So looking at the dog with the treat earns a treat. Ignoring the other dog with the treat earns a treat. You may not want to start with the highest value treat you can think of if that's too stressful. You may have to reverse this precedure, I'm not exactly sure who you are saying is the instigator.

I recommend the book, Fight! by Jean Donaldson.

Try a BAT training program! BAT, in combination with a clicker training class, should help you get your dog to be more friendly with other dogs. I recommend the class because you should always have a trainer to guide you! You can find classes in your area through the Association of Pet Dog Trainer's website:http://www.apdt.com/
BAT's website is here:http://functionalrewards.com/
Also, a great book on dog aggression here:http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Practical-Treatment-Dog-dog-Aggression/dp/0970562969

Fight! by Jean Donaldson is also a helpful book in a case like this.

I would suggest reading the book "Mine". It's all about resource guarding and while I haven't read it yet (it's in my queue!) it's highly recommended by most.

Another book you might consider is "Fight" this one is all about dog-dog aggression and I believe covers resource guarding from other dogs as well.

But, first things first, try to manage the situation first. This means no longer leaving food out, as annoying as that is. Everyone now has to have set meal times - preferably with the lab away from everyone else or at least in a crate.

Do not use a shock collar. All it will do will put more stress on an already stressed dog and may even make the resource guarding worse. It won't be fixing the core of the problem which is really what you want to try to do.

The advice to consistently give time outs to settle when he gets too rough is good start. Check out Jean Donaldson's pamphlet/book Fight!: A Practical Guide to the Treatment of Dog-dog Aggression. I wouldn't call your dog's behavior "aggression" at this point but it does align closely with Donaldson's "Tarzan" type dogs that get overexcited and play wildly without ability or desire to self-regulate.

I'm going to give the inconvenient advice others have skipped over. Stop going to public dog parks where and when he encounters these crazy players. Dog parks have bad role models who will exacerbate his social over-arousal. They'll teach him to disregard cutoff signals, to jump into rowdy play without any polite negotiation, and encourage rough contact-based play. Instead, give him more low-key structured social exposure like group walks, group classes, and one-on-one hangout playdates so he gets more practice being polite and calm around other dogs. If you have good daycares nearby that strictly regulate play and don't allow wild play, they may be good resources too. Daycares that allow free wild play all day would make things worse, so choose very carefully if you go that route. Do not socially isolate him, but do choose his encounters very carefully.

If you continue to go to dog parks, it may help to go at carefully selected times of day, like early in the morning when the regulars are there but not in the evening when there are crowds.

If you use a muzzle for more than a couple of minutes at a time, use a basket muzzle that lets him pant and drink for safety's sake.

I haven't tried any of her training videos, but this one looks appropriate and is a decent price. Just remember any money you spend is money taken away from hiring a good trainer. Hiring a live person can really help because all of their advice is tailored to you, your dog, and your specific situation.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0991495349

I would also recommend Jean Donaldson's book "Fight!: A Practical Guide to the Treatment of Dog-dog Aggression"

http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Practical-Treatment-Dog-dog-Aggression/dp/0970562969/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452694400&sr=1-1&keywords=fight%21+jean+donaldson