I’m having a bit of a problem with Svenn, my 2-year-old Husky. He’s always been lovely and playful with people. He’s never shown any signs of aggression towards them, whether they're adults or children, no matter the situation.
With other dogs around his own size, let’s just say he can be a bit selective. He gets on well with all females. With males, he’s sometimes aggressive (more on the offensive in my opinion, he just growls a bit), sometimes playful, or more rarely, he’s just not interested in a greeting.
The problem, however, is small dogs.
When I come across one, whether it’s on a lead or not, Svenn becomes uncontrollable. He growls really loudly and looks like he wants to kill them. He HATES small dogs.
Last time, he spotted a small dog while my girlfriend was holding him on his lead. He ran so fast and with so much power that she couldn't hold onto him, and because of the tension, she ended up dropping the lead. My dog then attacked the small dog very violently, even though the little one hadn't even barked. It ended up with injuries and puncture wounds all over its body and had to go to the vet for observation.
I think this behaviour is partly explained by the fact that he’s had quite a lot of trouble with small dogs since he was a puppy. He’s been attacked four times by yappy little dogs.
These reactions are still very worrying though, and I wouldn’t want my dog to become ultra-aggressive and antisocial with other dogs just because of a few bad encounters.
I’m going to book an appointment with a behaviourist and I’ve already started putting a muzzle on him while we wait to address this bad behaviour.
In the meantime, does anyone have any advice or things I could look into to find a solution to my problem? Has anyone else been in this situation and how did they resolve the issue?
Thanks in advance for your replies! :)
Translated from French
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To summarise, if I were in your shoes, I would look at the different stages of rehabilitation as follows:
1 = Regaining physical control of your dog. What has just happened is extremely serious—not being able to restrain a dog like that is a major concern.
So: a muzzle (refer to the type of model I showed you earlier; definitely not a nylon one that keeps the mouth clamped shut), a lead or a long line (don’t go too long with the line, otherwise you’ll never manage to hold him if he builds up momentum) with a heavy-duty carabiner, and the kind of kit that will reduce the dog's power if he lunges or pulls suddenly (an anti-pull harness or a choke chain).
2 = Regaining psychological control over your dog. He needs to understand that regardless of his motivation, or how much he hates small dogs, he cannot act like that when you are there. You must realise that, no matter his background, you are well within your rights to teach him this. A dog trainer can definitely help you with this mission. Obviously, the first priority will be teaching him to stop reacting aggressively while he's on the lead.
3 = Re-socialisation with calm small dogs, so he can relearn how to communicate with them and eventually be able to behave properly without you having to step in. Once you have regained good "psychological" control over your dog, this work can be done off-lead but while he is muzzled. Given what has just happened, I would be cautious if I were you and would take my time before even thinking about removing the muzzle. All of this involves accepting the idea that your dog is allowed to not have any particular affinity for small dogs, but he must, at all costs, learn to just "walk on" and ignore them.
By the way, you haven't really explained how you manage your dog’s social interactions; that might actually be even more important. Does he often get the chance to go for walks with other dogs (not necessarily small ones), either off-lead or on a long line, and interact freely with them to develop his social skills?
Given the severity of what happened, I think that for the time being, this husky should be muzzled at all times (using a lightweight basket muzzle that makes it easy to see his expressions and allows him to pant) and kept on a lead or a long line depending on the setting. Be careful with certain trendy types of muzzles that still allow the dog to nip (Baskervilles, for instance). Choosing the right muzzle is vital, both for the safety of others and your dog’s comfort. I’d honestly recommend a wire basket muzzle (like this one: https://www.fordogtrainers.ch/images/Museliere-panier-metallique-pour-Retriever-big.jpg).
To start with, you'll need to work on his ability to tolerate the presence of small dogs in his environment without having an aggressive reaction every single time. You don’t need to meet "friendly" small dogs; quite the opposite. You can work around the snappy little dogs you encounter day-to-day, as long as they are on a lead and can’t actually get to yours (since he’ll be muzzled and defenceless). You need to teach him not to react when he’s by your side, on his lead, and a small dog starts "kicking off" in the distance.
These dogs are part of his environment—just like they are for any city dog—and he simply has to learn to put up with them. Yes, it’s a shame that so many small dogs are like that, but there’s nothing we can do to change it. It’s up to your husky to adapt. The good news is that with your guidance, he’s more than capable of it. A dog trainer can help you with this.
Then, once he’s able to pass snappy little dogs without reacting because YOU are asking him not to, it’ll be time to think about how to meet some chilled-out small dogs, so your husky can have some positive experiences and eventually come to like them. But honestly, we’re nowhere near that stage yet. We’re talking about a dog that is completely out of control and who is at risk of killing a small dog on a walk if you can't hold him back.
Right, I agree with Caroline Eg that at some point you've just got to move on. It’s important to understand *why* your husky is attacking small dogs, but the answer to that "why" should mainly come from observing his current behaviour: is it triggering his prey drive? Is it out of fear? Is he just annoyed by their barking? and so on. It shouldn't be about his past.
Dwelling on a dog’s past and trying to figure out exactly what traumatic events he might have gone through can quickly end up just being an excuse for his behaviour. It can also lead you down the wrong path (especially by overlooking the prey drive factor in your case). Plus, more often than not, it’s a combination of factors rather than just one single reason.
My own dogs have been charged more times than I can count by whole packs of yapping little dogs, but they aren't traumatised by it. They don't show any aggression towards them; they just ignore the barking and steer clear when it gets a bit much. Generally speaking, they don't react when a small dog goes for them, whereas they definitely would if it were a big dog.
As you suspect, with your dog, there might be a lack of socialisation with smaller breeds on top of everything else, which is why he’s generalised the experience. But honestly, it doesn't really matter!
Actually, I don't think it has anything to do with the original problem. I think we’re all pretty much in agreement that the root cause seems to be those attacks by small dogs when this husky was a pup: the killer huskies live near Docline, and the aggressive little dogs live near Cedka! 😈
Now, we just have to get on with it and help Cedka improve the situation with their husky. 🙂
I’m sure they can count on some sound advice from everyone: those with well-behaved huskies and calm small dogs, as well as everyone else 😉
Yeah, I agree that in this thread, the breed isn't the issue. Because there was a traumatic event with small dogs, any other breed could've reacted the same way, I'm sure of it and I completely agree...
But stories like a Husky escaping and killing a sheep or a cat, I reckon that's down to the breed. A Golden or a Basenji would be less of a risk than a Husky...
"Yes, I think it's an instinct inherent to the breed, and yes, I consider it the most dangerous breed for other animals!" That is exactly what was written.
Yes, she said it—she said that SHE THINKS, SHE considers, based on her own experience... Just because she’s wrong to think that in our eyes doesn't mean we can deny that it's her truth, or that we shouldn't respect the experience that led her to that conclusion.
As for harping on about the same thing: some people go on about Northern breeds, some about Caribbean rescues, others about Spanish rescues, others about small dogs, others about restricted breeds, others about freedom, others about dominance, others about the dog's role as a protector, others about neutering, others about BARF... the list is endless, we all harp on about something, rightly or wrongly.
The fact that she has this experience and this opinion is a fact you can't deny, whether she's right or wrong.
The fact that it winds you up is a fact we can't deny either XD
But the fact that you think she's wrong doesn't stop you from respecting that it's a truth for her, born from an experience different from yours, and therefore deserving the same respect as your own. The fact that you don't agree with the opinion her experience has given her won't change what she went through; and without changing her experience, I don't see how you could change her opinion. It can only end up as a pointless scrap in the end, not an intelligent discussion... regardless of who is right or wrong.
And regardless of who is right or wrong—if it's even possible for someone to be "right" when it comes to personal feelings and experience— there are ways of saying things...
Even if we all know your legendary sense of tact and diplomacy! 😁
Take my two dogs for example: Loulou, a Golden/Border Collie cross, and Orka, a little hunting dog – a ratter. Their behaviour is completely different in certain situations...
They both chase cats...
If Loulou ever managed to catch one, he’d just want to play, give it a lick; he’d be fascinated and it wouldn't go any further than that...
Orka, on the other hand, would kill it – just through excitement, out of instinct and reflex...
Is it really an insult to point that out?
Yes, training plays a massive part in being able to live peacefully day-to-day regardless of the breed, but breeds and their traits do exist, and you can't deny that either...
We’re the first to say, "Watch out with a Beagle, they’ll have their nose to the ground on walks, and recall is trickier than with other breeds."
And it’s true!
So why can't we say, "Careful with Huskies, if there’s a small bit of prey moving quickly, they’ll have a high prey drive"?
Mind you, I think the problem with this post in particular is actually the attacks he suffered from small dogs when he was younger. In this specific case, I agree, it’s not a breed issue!
But GENERALLY SPEAKING, Huskies and several other breeds will have a much more pronounced prey drive than others...
Again, it’s not meant as a negative thing, it’s just breed characteristics, that’s all...
I think it’s just a matter of genetics and breed...
Yeah, I also think a Husky is more likely to have a high prey drive than a Golden or a Poodle...
It’s not an insult, and I don’t see why it should be a bad thing to say, when we all agree that, generally, a Border Collie is more likely to have the instinct to herd a flock than a Beagle...
Anyway, our bickering isn't getting us anywhere with the original issue. I think Docline and I will just have to agree to disagree on this one, but it doesn't really matter—that's not what this thread is about. I don't want this post to turn into a row between members... there's just no point to it.
