My Jazz was a fearful puppy and was terrified of other dogs and puppies when I got her from the rescue group. She warmed up to my old dog fast and my parents and brothers dogs, But puppy class was difficult as she was terrified. The instructor told me not to sooth her when she is afraid as it only makes it worse but rather ignore her pleading to be picked up and soothed.
She went into day care and did well but each day she would hang back and watch the other dogs for an hour or two then she would take control of the group! She made sure everyone played by her rules as any good herding breed would do!
During her first two years she got attacked 3 different times by leash free dogs and while she was terrified she was never hurt but quickly learned that by acting as the aggressor she could prevent other dogs she did not know from coming near her
We had to work on that issue with a guy that had a PHD in Behavior ( not so easy to find 11-12 yrs ago) . In our case he was also a Vet. All the books were not out there yet either as behavior was just starting to catch on, most people took dogs with issues to dog trainers and got alot of bad advice.
After each attack I would put her back in daycare and she would do well .It wasn't until the 3rd one that she never made a full recovery as that one happened when she was about 1.5 yrs and happened at agility where she had always felt safe. One of the older dogs standing by its owner near a tunnel attacked Jazz as she came out of the tunnel. Jazz ran off and when I caught up she was behind some bushes and her teeth were chattering!
The nice thing was any dog that had been her friend before the attacks were still considered a friend and she would get all excited to see them, even dogs we had only met once or twice before so the fear did not transfer to dogs she knew but was just towards unknown dogs. She did well at dog parks when her group of friends were there .She would let them check out any new dog and if all went well she would go check it out. If it was a dog she liked she would boss it around like she does if she did not like it she would just avoid it.
She still does not like dogs she does not know getting in her face so I have to be careful as she will go at them and jump them if they race up to her.On the bright side is she does not set out to injure a dog but rather to frighten it away so she has never so much as left a tooth mark on another dog. It is the leash free dogs with the owners that give me the " Its ok he likes other dogs" reply when I tell them to call their dog as it is rushing at her on walks that cause the problems for her. Sometimes the crazy ones that do not seem to read her reaction as aggression but consider it play and act all goofy seem to get it through to her they mean no harm and like a switch is being flipped she switches into play mode and has a new life long friend. We even have run into dogs she met as a puppy but has not seen for 11 yrs and she remembers them as friends and is fine.
I would say when your dog has recovered reintroduce her to dogs by doing so with dogs she knows as friends. And do not get too protective and sooth her when she is afraid or you will teach her to be that way as you are rewarding that behavior.
While we do not like to think that aggression is a normal part of our lives it is a normal part of a dogs life so they do not see it as we do.Once again we are trying to force dogs to live as humans and deny them what is normal behavior for their species. Growls, curled lips and snaps have meaning and most dogs understand them it is just a shame most people do not and thus react by flipping out. People need to learn to read dogs body language and can prevent lot of aggressive events by stopping it at the first little sign. If you own a dog remember that TO A DOG one of the most aggressive behaviors is direct eye contact and staring so if your dog gets attacked often but you claim he or she is not aggressive better take a good look as often these are the dogs that start it with the eye contact. So watch for it and redirect your dog when it focuses on another dog. It may not seem like aggression to you but it is and most dogs take it as such.
I am sorry if I am rambling but having dealt with Jazz and her fear aggression and read everybook and worked with the behavior vet this is an area I have alot of experience with.My pet peeve is people that think dogs are people and should behave like one despite the hard drive that says you are a dog this is how dogs behave. And people that assume their dog is the innocent victim all the time when it is their dog that started it all with the direct eye contact. Stay focused on your dog and refocus them when they stare at other dogs. Our Agility club had to deal with this issue a few years back and it was interesting how much less aggression there was when people stayed focused on what their dog was doing and refocused their dog instead of being too busy chatting with some one,ignoring their dog until another dog roared at it.
Remember ANY dog can act in an aggresive manner. My best moments were when a club member that got upset with any aggressive behavior got a new border collie with fear aggression so then she suddenly began to understand that does not mean the dog is evil but that it has issues and she was not going to be able to just let it run free like the other two she owns. The 2nd was with a person in our club with a very sweet aussie that got along with other dogs and had always claimed that her dog would never behave in an aggressive way thus she would get very upset when one of the other dogs would act in an aggressive way. She felt they should be kicked out for that. One day she came to me after we had had all these discussions on how to handle aggression at practice and said " Oh my God you were right any dog can act aggressive." She had been at the dog park that day and her sweet boy went at another dog and attacked it. Is he a mean aggressive dog NO but can things make him react in an aggressive fashion yes. We do not like everyone we meet and neither do dogs. Alot of dogs are rude and will be dealt with in an aggressive manner for that behavior. We our selves do it all the time when we yell at some one for something like cutting us off as we drive so yes we are aggressive beings too we just do not like to believe we are.
Dogs do the same but they do not use our words they use a language that they understand and there is nothing wrong about it we just need to be aware of it and jump in to stop it before it becomes a problem.
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