What can you do about small animal agression?

[bullypets]

Hooligan has been doing pretty good with his new arrangements...except he is still trying to take a chunk out of a kitty or 2 whenever he can. He is doing really well with our other dog and seems to have lost some of his aggression towards strangers. (not that Im letting my gaurd down) The only problem we seem to be having is he can not relax in the room with the cats. We have to keep him muzzled or on a leash whenever he is the house out of his room. I am forever worried that one of the kids is gonna open the door to his "room" and he will get out and kill the cats. The men in the house refuse to admit that they are not that savvy when it comes to this breed and that you really do have to treat them differently than say a lab. They both think that they controll Hooligan and they think I have no idea what I am talking about. I miss being able to sit on the couch with my dogs and relax. Hooligan gets so stressed out that he starts breathing heavy and he seems miserable. Is there any hope for my baby?

[PresaRed]

If you're concerned about cats in your house, I would set it up so that you have the dog on a prong collar and know that the cats are going to be coming through the room.

When he lunges, give him a VERY sharp correction, until he calms down, and then reward him with lots of praise, and a treat if he's food driven, or a toy if he would rather play with you.

You have to make the reward something he really likes, hopefully something he likes more than chasing cats. You also have to make sure the correction is a stiff one, and that you don't stop correcting until the dog has calmed down, and is not still lunging at the cats. As soon as he calms down and behaves, reward with food / toy, and lots of praise.

It's always hard to really get a feel for what the is happening over the internet, but that's my suggestion, and what we've been doing with Choque's dog aggression and it seems to be working.

Mark

[bullypets]

We do keep a prong on him when he is the house. When I yell at Hooligan he stops almost immediately. However the men aren't as stern as I am. I have tried to explain to them that they need to learn a bit more about the dog but you cant tell them anything really. I am still trying to find out what Hooligan really likes. I have had him for over a year and still havent figured it out yet. He doesnt even like a lot of treats. He doesnt play with a lot toys and the only thing he seems to really miss is a dog my ex had that he seems to really miss. He seems to be depressed almost. THanks for your tips. It helps so much to hear how people who are more presa savy than I handle the dogs. If he was a pit I would be a little more confident. He seems so much different than my pits.

[PresaRed]

What about cut up hot dogs?

There can't be a dog on earth that doesn't like little pieces of hot dog.

Mark

[bullypets]

I wonder how he would feel about tofu dogs...We are vegetarians...although it would funny to watch I dont think it would go over to well...great idea though

[PresaRed]

Vegetarians ?!?!?!?!

With Pit Bulls and Presas?!?!?!?!?

Don't you know these dogs eat children and the elderly?!?!?!?

Mark

[bullypets]

That is very possible one of the funniest responses I have ever had to the vegetarian issue. And in all honesty I have 5 children (working on # 6) and we havent lost any of them to the dogs yet...there have been times when I was hoping however.
Today he got out of his room (yes my dog has his own room with his own bed) and our neighbor was over with her poodle mix. I was seriously thinking we would have an incident but he didnt even seem to see the little dog. He started after the cats (which were promptly heading upstairs) but the second we yelled his name he stopped. So lots of praise and cookies for Hooligan

[eSPO]

Here in Arizona rattlesnakes kill dogs that mess with em. Here is where "Snake Proofing" comes in. You take your dog to a "Snake Proofer" he puts a shock collar on your dog and lets a rattlesnake( defanged) loose, when the dog gets near it , the snake proofer zaps the dog. After a few times the dog thinks the snake is the source of the shock and he stays way from all snakes that he encounters. Depending on how hard he was shocked , he may even run away when he sees a snake. I would never use a prong or shock collar unless you have been trained in their use by a qualified person. They can be very effective when used properly.
I trained a dog, or two, not to jumpo n a sliding glass window with a shock collar, it was the best, shortest training I`ve seen.