Aggressive Chocolate Lab

by Mary M.
(Canada)

I have a 3 year old chocolate lab who is very aggressive towards me. He constantly lunges and tries to bite me whenever I am outside in the yard either going to the garage or going to or from next door. He is a really sweet dog and obeys my husband but I can't get him to obey me whenever he is outside and tries to be too dominant around me. I have taken him to different obedient classes and he totally disrupted the entire class during his first two sessions so I tried a different trainer and that only worked somewhat. I was told he had thyroid issues but my husband doesn't think that is what is wrong. My husband thinks I should be able to control him but I am afraid of his aggression most of the time.

Any suggestions would greatly be beneficial.

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Jul 02, 2015
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Does The Dog Understand?
by: Adam G. Katz

Hi, Mary:

You'll need to start by asking yourself two questions:

1. Does the dog understand that the dog aggression is unwanted behavior?

and

2. If he understands that he shouldn't be aggressive, then he's choosing to ignore me. In which case, you have a respect issue.

Get a prong collar and a six foot leather leash and learn how to correct your dog in a safe and humane manner. I can guarantee that you'll see an almost immediate, dramatic improvement. Check out DogProblems.com to learn more.

Employ the "Nothing In Life Is Free" approach, so that your dog starts to view you as the "pack leader." If your dog doesn't see you as the leader, then your corrections will be meaningless. So, if you're doing subtle things (inadvertently) to undermine your leadership role around the house-- it will be counter-productive.