Possible to tame an aggressive dog???

[Tony Soprano]

My folks have this little dog, a westie, who is about 2 1/2 now, and is VERY hostile/aggressive toward people. He will attack small children. In fact they are lucky they weren't sued, because the little ****er attacked a small girl who was going door to door.

Anyways, my sister came over from the up north with her daughter who is 4. They have to keep that stupid dog away from her because he did attempt to attack her. I don't get it. They used to have two of the same kind of dog before(they passed away) and they loved people and were friendly. This dog has the WORST temperment I've ever seen

Is he a victim of bad breeding and can he be turned into a "friendly" dog?

[Gitterdun-HS5]

it will be hard as hell because it is already 2 and a half years old, best thing to do is take it to a school man or keep it caged up.

[1badcamaro]

agree with that, a school is probably your best bet cause he isnt a pup anymore and they can be really difficult to train when they're older

[BOUNCER]

Have it castrated, it cured bdtr, lol..

[SMYL_GR8]

I've bred pit bulls before and when a dog has "game", it cannot be trained out. It can be enhanced, but not subdued. Muzzle or cage the dog and if a little child is visiting for a while, keep the dog mildly sedated during the stay. Sounds inhumane, but better safe than sorry.

[Elysium]

yea, have him de-balled it calms them down

[Psychotron]

meh they arent lucky. the dog in court would be considered self defense by your parents. unless they invited the girl onto the property. the most that would have happened was the dog put down.

but to your answer your question, i found good success in changing a dogs attitude through the use of a shock collar. it can be used to discourage a certain type of action. like saying No!, but the dog probably doesnt care, but when you shock it, will learn not to do it. all dogs after 8 weeks have the same learning capabilities.

[Tony Soprano]

thanks for the replies

[bigol'legs]

A ZAP collar... swellin knows.. lol

LEVEL 3 THAT LITTLE F_ER

[Psychotron]

A ZAP collar... swellin knows.. lol

LEVEL 3 THAT LITTLE F_ER

mine goes to 10. it works good for yard training. a choke collar works fine for walking around, commanding obedience and healing and such, but when you want to teach him/her where they can and cant go it works fairly well. but i generally used it to discourage bad behaviour. the one i have also has a beep, i use that to get the attention.

id start out only using it when the dog barks, you can buy a seperate unit that activates when the dog barks.

[bigol'legs]

does level 10 make the dog go prone and start pissin uncontrollably?? LOL

[Psychotron]

no, and it wont stop them dead in their tracks either, but it sure does get their attention. I only used it once on my old Golden who when he got to maturity stopped listenign to people, i had no other choice. I used it to teach him the yard boundaries. but one time the button got stuck and he just flipped out starting running till i was out of range haha. ive tried it on myself on level four, man that sh!t hurts.

[bigol'legs]

lol

you must not be using the good ones. Swellin said he can stop em dead in the tracks with a zap on lvl3.. and they loose control of bodily functions... LOL

[Psychotron]

well my golden had a huge neck, i suppose it would be different if the collar when it was on him was tight to his throat, but the skin would start to fold over. when i start it on my new puppy in about 12 months i will let ya know what happens to him at level 10. ask swellin what brand his is, i got some professional industrial one.

[Tock]

My folks have this little dog, a westie, who is about 2 1/2 now, and is VERY hostile/aggressive toward people. He will attack small children. In fact they are lucky they weren't sued, because the little ****er attacked a small girl who was going door to door.

Anyways, my sister came over from the up north with her daughter who is 4. They have to keep that stupid dog away from her because he did attempt to attack her. I don't get it. They used to have two of the same kind of dog before(they passed away) and they loved people and were friendly. This dog has the WORST temperment I've ever seen

Is he a victim of bad breeding and can he be turned into a "friendly" dog?

I trained a Cairn Terrier for narcotics in the military, they're closely related to Westies. 4 other guys had Cairns, too, and they were all pretty mellow, but mine was aggressive. Bit me twice, and 19 other people in the year I had him. It took six people, a muzzle, and a towel around his head (to keep him from biting) so the vet could get a blood sample. Ya, he was a feisty little dog. Every now and then he'd take an instant dislike to someone, and he'd strain at the leash trying to tear into 'em. Crazy little dog, but excellent sniffer.
I can't say I like the idea of an electronic shock collar . . . probably the best thing would be to acknowledge you have a potential biter and take precautions. The best suggestion I've seen here is to get him neutered--it'll help some. If you decide the dog is too hard to handle, before putting him to sleep, contact a Westie Rescue group near you. They might be able to help with the agression problems, or find a more suitable home for him . . .

http://www.westierescue.com/
http://www.westieclubamerica.com/rescue/
http://www.capitalpaws.com/westierescue/

. . . a Yahoo search will turn up lots more . . .

Good luck,
-Tock

[Mart651]

I had a aggressive dog a few years ago. Tried everything because I realy loved the dog. Finally bit a kid and I had to put a bullet in his head. If I knew then what i know now I would have put the bullet in his head long before that. Agressive dogs stay agressive.