NcPrisonguard wrote:So my boy Boomer is almost 9 months old and within the last few months has really "turned on" his dog aggressiveness. Not with dogs he knows that come over i.e. my friend's dogs (both small breed mutts both fixed) he does great with them its playtime all the time.. Then we leave the yard and walk alone.. any dog that he can even catch a glimpse of he wigs out.. lunging, barking, the whole nine yards. At a local rabies shot clinic he was so bad I had to remove him from the group. He's worse when I walk the female with us... so therefore we only do solo walks now. I live way out in the sticks and so there aren't many chances to socialize him with other dogs and now... I'd be afraid to take him somewhere with other dogs around for fear of him hurting one. I even muzzled him once when we went into PetsMart... and he still was in the "I must kill everything around me" mindset. Any thoughts? as to how to socialize him... we've had a few come to jesus discussions.. doesn't seem to help.. on choke collars or prongs.. they don't do much.. he pulls untill it hurts.. stops the lunges again.
The other listers are correct about the collar. You have to stop behavior you don't want, but corrections alone will not fix the problem. Inappropriately used corrections can elevate drive. People who are savy dog trainers are capable of using them as such.
Our breed has a genetic propensity toward this type of behavior. This is a typical example of a dog who is overadrenalized. He's getting high on the chemical flood and is now looking for triggers. He does not know any other way to deal with situations, has no coping skills, and it feels good to him to get that high.
It's the same sort of chemical rush that runners get.
It is possible to teach him relaxation techniques which will be applicable in situations where he is exposed to triggers, but it will not happen overnight. If you work diligently, it takes about 7 to 8 months.
You wrote:
"I still want him to be wary of strangers and strange animals like he is now, I just don't want him to feel like he needs to kill everything that moves."
Wary of strangers means he can't discriminate and may accidentally bite somebody totally harmless or a friend. Wary of strange animals means he might mistake a small child for a rodent.
As far as breeding goes, do you really want to supply your family and friends with the problems that come with aggression? You may be willing and able to fix it, but what if they are not? You are still responsible, not just for any pups you may produce, but to the breed, and the other people out there who love them and are trying to save them from being banned to the point of extinction.
Julie K