Kristin contacted me about her pup Tank, she’s concerned about his aggression on leash toward people and dogs – and aggression toward dogs in general. Taking him for walks was an adventure, any person or dog he seen, he wanted to attack.
Tank was in the back yard when I arrived, sat and talked with Kristin and the family to try and gauge what was happening. Tank is pretty young, and it’s a good time to work with him. Kirsten had taken him to dog parks earlier on, but Tank tangled with a dog (was attacked) and forever changed since then. Owners firmly believed Tank would attack me when I entered the back yard. Had Monty with me, but he stayed in the house with Kristin til I was ready for him to come into the back yard.
The video below details pretty much everything that transpired over the 2 hour assessment period. Feel free to watch it, it’s 20 minutes long. Tank did not attack, he was terrified of me, kept running. By the time Monty was brought out, Tank was fine with him.
After the assessment, Kristin wanted to try him in a dog park – she really wanted him to get back to being a dog park dog. If you don’t try, you won’t know. Well, we tried, and it was no go. Tank was highly reactive with me alone, and worse with Kristin there. Before we left the park, there was one really cute French Bulldog puppy, tiny little thing that really wanted to tangle with Tank. I couldn’t believe the balls on the little guy – and we had to restrain Tank.
The one thing I noticed when we parted ways at the park, Tank tries to protect his owner – but not in the typical way. He will bowl her over, run her over to get to the target. He’s showing the Kristin really belongs to him, almost treating her like one of his toys.
Kristin decided to go it alone – which I’m ok with. She sent me periodic texts detailing the changes in Tank, especially on walks. She has learned to relax alot more, and that is reflecting in the dog. He is much more relaxed on walks. I wish her luck.
The video is NOT a how to and it is only the assessment. I have no fear of dogs, and sometimes we have to put ourselves in a vulnerable state in order to help a dog. But note how Monty handles the situation when he comes into the back yard to meet Tank. Tank at one point goes over his back to his neck – Monty will usually correct dogs doing this cause he’s been nipped on the neck. He knew better with Tank – and I said “don’t correct him buddy”.
Tank was showing human and dog aggression. The main of the assessment was to show he could be fine around people and a 10 pound dog – and he was. Tank is capable, just going to take alot of time. Tank isn’t an aggressive dog, he is fearful and insecure.