Aggressive Behavior in 2 year old Shiba

[vince mietlicki]

I recently posted about aggressive behavior in my 2 year old Shiba. It started with him attacking dogs, the Pillsbury doughboy, and the Michellin man on TV. Then, he carried to the outside, where he wants to take on every dog he sees. He seems to be in a trance when he gets close to other dogs, growling and showing all of his teeth, ready to attack. I have tried distracting him, but that only worked temporarily. Now, I am going to try something different. I am going to use a 2 foot pvc pipe with peanut butter at the end and see if I can redirect his pursuit to his favorite snack of peanut butter.

Has anyone else tried something differently? He has been to obedience school and focused bootcamp twice. We have him enrolled in a refresher manners class where, hopefully, he will begin to re-socialize with other dogs.

Vince Mietlicki

[sozel]

I HAVE A 6-MONTH-OLD SHIBA AND SHE'S UNCONTROLLABLE. SHE'S CHEWED UP "5" HARNESSES, MY KITCHEN WALL, MY CLOTHES, & SHE TRIES TO CHEW ON MY CAT. SHE IS CURRENTLY IN OBEDIENCE TRAINING BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE HELPING. I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH A HYPERACTIVE PUPPY. SHE'S ONLY 14LBS.
BUT SHE'S SO STRONG. SHE SNAPS AT MY FACE WITH ALL HER TEETH SHOWING & SHE BITES ME ALL OVER. WHEN I TRY TO DISCIPLINE HER, SHE GETS FURIOUS & COMES AT ME WITH ALL 4 PAWS & TEETH. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE! IT'S EMBARASSING THAT SHE'S SO IN CONTROL. I THINK I NEED
"THE DOG WHISPERER". UNFORTUNATELY I CAN'T AFFORD HIM. IS YOUR SHIBA SPAYED OR NEUTERED? I WONDER IF THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. MY SHEBA
IS JUST OLD ENOUGH NOW BUT MY TRAINER WANTS TO WAIT A FEW MORE WEEKS UNTIL THE TRAINING CLASSES ARE OVER. (WE FLUNKED!) SHE ALREADY TOLD US WE WILL BE RETURNING FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF CLASSES. I THINK WE'LL BE GOING FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES! I WISH I COULD OFFER YOU SOME ADVICE BUT I'M A NEW SHIBA "MOM" & I'M JUST BEGINNING. GOOD LUCK!

[Spice]

My gal ten years old and never has been mean or have aggressive behavior. I will tell you that in her first year with us you do have to watch or they will chew on anything. My cabinet cabinet leg was the biggest thing had to watch and we made her sleep in a kennel at night until she a year old. Any time in the day I could not keep a really close eye I would put her on a long lead in the house were she could not eat anything or get into a mess. I will say this that they really are not the best ever in there lifetime about doing as you ask all of the time and to this day we do not left our's into the front yard without a leash. When we got our shiba the lady we brought her from gave you a book and it was one she made and the title said it all. The Dog From Hell. We may have been lucky but Spice is great and so gentle. Walk you dog in the evening and make it tired then does not get into as much trouble. We have had akita's and still have one and Spice our shiba and now a basenji now there is trouble. Give your baby lots of love and time and it will come around just do not give up. Would you give up on a two year old child?

Spice

[janavere]

I am in the same boat with my shiba mixes. They are feral so they have some fear issues with people.
I would say with the 6 month old- spay or neuter! I watched my female of another breed get so much worse when she was in heat that she nearly killed her chihuahua companion twice. Do it as soon as possible. It is worth it.
We have been making progress with flower essenses. I know it sounds crazy but they work. FES has animal formulas online and it is amazing how well they work.
With the six month old...time helps...my sheba's chewed atleast 1000$ worth of stuff- crazy! We gave them a mineral supplement which really helped, but hitting the 1 year mark made all the difference.
Also, I think positive training works great with these dogs. Always having treats on you and rewarding while they focus on you when their primary destractor is around. Only letting them be close enough to their primary distractor where they can focus on you and eat treats -otherwise you are too close. I know now if I am uncomfortable, they are 100 times more uncomfortable and it is time to move away.

[zStarrGazerz]

okay I already know your all going to tear me apart like a piece of meat for this question and answers. well here it goes...I have a shiba inu male hes 2yrs old this end of July and has all his male bits. Well he decided today was a good day to go all mental and attack my inlaws dog that he has never done anything but growl at before. We thought the issue had resolved itself a while back because they were okay walking beside each other and everything! we thought we had fixed his aggression towards her and we could all let the dogs live happily, well today while we were outside nothing was being said in my dogs body language that he was tense and upset at her, he was wagging his tail and everything then all of a sudden SNAP! he was lunging at her so fast, I just screamed and tried to grab him not knowing what to do, luckily Eva the other dog was faster than me and jerked back with a yelp and got away with only a few scratches to her face from his nails. my dog Reu has tried to maul her. I was told he would need to find another home due to my in laws have more than just one dog and we all live on the same land and everything like that. I don't have a problem with finding Reu a new home as long as I can see him every once in a while. but what do you ask for a dog like this? any money, no money? and obviously it will be posted that he is to be the only dog in the family due to this out burst. I just don't understand he has always gone to dog parks and never has been this way and now all of a sudden SNAP! even my vets said we couldn't fix this with him being fixed or even try to fix it with Eva and Reu because Reu has made his mind up that shes a threat and must die...well I guess all I can say is what would you do? I mean he has gone to a very highly professional trainer who has showed and trained shiba inus and even she says she has never seen this behavior along with how my vet has said she also has not seen this behavior. They also feel getting him fixed wont help anything and even the trainer is saying he has it in his mind that this is an enemy and it wont change. My in laws have asked me to find him a new home and I don't blame them!! he has been a nuisance ever since we have moved here! hurting there mini dachshunds by pouncing on them hard and trying to attack them to attacking there older dog and younger big dog to just jumping up and clawing them to death and trying to nip at them...I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! I already knew how this breed was but my female I use to have was never aggressive just overly barked and I could deal with that but she passed on and I got Reu...I am so shocked at the difference. I suppose my question is should it be put down or just be relocated to a home were its, its own dog of the family?

[janavere]

I wrote earlier about my aggressive black mouth cur. I ended up finding her a new home with a person experienced with her breed. Sometimes a different dynamic can improve the situation with dog temperments. It might be difficult to find him a new home, but persist and make sure you put in writing the bad behavior and have them sign it and release your liability. I think it is important to not pass on these traits and fixing should be part of the going away package. That is my two cents. Good luck!

[jtanguay]

I adopted a beautiful female Shiba pup in January. I have had standard doxies for over 15 years and she joined our pack of 6 dachshunds. Even though I thought we had done our home work, Sachiko is unlike any other dog I've ever had. She is food agressive. Very alpha female – so she constantly puts the other dogs in their place.

She is almost over her first heat and it's been a nightmare. She has become a complete psycho. All the doxies want to steer clear of her. She has started fights, and injured the other dogs. She has to be separated for everyones safety.

I see a lot of people telling similar stories on this list. But does anyone have answers or suggestions?

Thanks.

Julie in MI

[jtanguay]

So after posting yesterday, I got home and it's like someone flipped a switch. Demon-dog gone, happy puppy back. I'm perplexed.

[ShibaJindoMom]

The Shiba Inu and Korean Jindo are an different breed of dog. As such they should be handled carefully, watched continuously and not let off leash.
I own both breeds and rescue others that are dumped by their owners because they do not conform to their expectations. They are adoreable puppies, loveable dogs and I would have none other than my two.
That said - you should not trust them to be completely "off guard" at anytime. Crate training is the best for this breed. I crate my pup to keep him out of the face of my older Jindo and this works very well and also keeps my cats safe. I use positive reinforcement all the times as the Shiba and Jindo love to please. There has been a time or two when I have had to make him "submit" (lay on his side and let all other critters walk by him) and he gets the idea very fast.
It does not matter that they are loveable towards dogs one minute because of their breed characteristics they "may" snap at anytime. Usually friendship between these breeds takes a long time to foster, upwards to a year. Don't think this does not happen because once it does they will be lost without each other.
With time, respect and lots of love they become the best companions ever. The Shiba's and Jindo's will always be my dog of choice.

[RC4U12]

Have you tried any obediance traning?? I do know lovey lovey does not work..If you have a problem you should have it corrected in 3 tries or much progress..or you are to lovey...if they dont remember the punishment.you are not teaching..i have had dogs since i cant remember as i was small....training i started with my first Shepard..i remember first day in class, this Samyoed{spelling} snapped at a few people.. The training Instructer went by the dog and it snapped and he pulled the leash from the owner in one swipe and held the dog in the air for long time..THAT WAS IT ,,,he never snapped again!! just like the first step in leash training if your dog see's something and goes for it you let out the 15 foot leash and dash the oppisite direction and when he hits the end he flips...Three time and he quits..now if a dog bites then you or snaps at yuor face you get a 2 inch pvc pipe and knock it on the head for him to remember he does not want to be that way...if you think this is cruel then when yuo are making excuses for some child getting bit you wont....Your dog does not know you hit him he knows the punishment ...or when he hits the end of the leash he sees you over there and does not associate it with you at all...in the house i use a can with penny's in it for my shaker..and if he is doing something consistent then i throw it at him and this also takes two or three times and he quits.....Now most smart dogs dont have to get to leashes end more than once but some need it or you problem for life ..here is link to this type of training if needed.http://www.koehlerdogtraining.com/..here is a good Quote

When it comes to raising a confident well-adjusted puppy, an ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure. By socializing one's puppy early on with a variety of new and unfamiliar people (including calm and gentle children), on a regular and ongoing basis (for at least the first two years of the dog's life), you can help prevent serious behavioral problems such as shyness, timidity, and aggression from developing as the puppy matures. later Jeff