My dog shows aggression to strangers but not to me or my children. How likely is it that he can turn on us?

My friends and fellow dog lovers constantly tell me to get rid of him because he is an aggressive breed: a rott and chow mix. They say that he might turn on my children, yet he has always been gentle with them. However, he is very apprehensive with…

    My dog shows aggression to strangers but not to me or my children. How likely is it that he can turn on us?

    My friends and fellow dog lovers constantly tell me to get rid of him because he is an aggressive breed: a rott and chow mix. They say that he might turn on my children, yet he has always been gentle with them. However, he is very apprehensive with…...
    Dogs Training Discussions : My dog shows aggression to strangers but not to me or my children. How likely is it that he can turn on us?...

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    • My dog shows aggression to strangers but not to me or my children. How likely is it that he can turn on us?

      My dog shows aggression to strangers but not to me or my children. How likely is it that he can turn on us? Dogs Training Discussions
      My friends and fellow dog lovers constantly tell me to get rid of him because he is an aggressive breed: a rott and chow mix. They say that he might turn on my children, yet he has always been gentle with them. However, he is very apprehensive with strangers and extremely protective of our home. He is only 8 months old and also gets along well with our other dog - a female lab, but does play very rough with her at times.

      My dog shows aggression to strangers but not to me or my children. How likely is it that he can turn on us?

      My dog shows aggression to strangers but not to me or my children. How likely is it that he can turn on us? Dogs Training Discussions
    • You need to take him for group obedience classes - that will teach you how to train him and help socialize him with other dogs and new people.It really works.Doesn't sound like an aggressive dog at all, just a very unsocialized one. You need to work on socializing him.

    • 8 months old is the prime time to be socializing a dog, and it doesn't sound like you're encouraging positive behavior in your dog by socializing.Take the suggestion of above member-- obedience classes. It's the first step in the right direction.

    • It isn't about the breed, it's about the behaviours. It depends on exactly what behaviour you are interpreting as 'aggression'. As he is still a puppy perhaps he hasn't been well socialised and is simply fearful of new situations, or maybe he hasn't learned what is and isn't acceptable behaviour around people. If he is genuinely 'people aggressive' (i.e has a problem with people and/or doesn't have clear boundaries about not hurting people) then he probably isn't trustworthy around your children. He may seem gentle, but what is he going to do if a child hurts him accidentally? Take him to a dog behaviour expert and get them to assess whether he has an aggression problem.

    • The two breeds - Rottweiler and Chow are both very protective breeds. They are not aggressive. From your description of how he is with your family, I sincerely doubt he would ever turn on you unless severely abused and mistreated.That said, you need to get this boy socialized for so many reasons! You need to do it soon. He is making up his own rules about what to do about strangers. This is never good. There is a book by Patricia McConnell that addresses this specifically. You can't go wrong purchasing her training books. They are short and to the point. The more you know, the more you can help your dog around strangers. Training your dog will never replace your dog's natural instinct to protect you should you or your family ever be in real danger. You do need the boy to understand that having friends over is not a dangerous thing - for their sake as well as his.Best wishes.

    • Member, please do not recommend obediance for treating dogs with aggression, it does not help, and is dangerous advise. The first thing that needs to be done is to isolate the dog from its triggers, in this case, people.To answer your question, yes, if left untreated it will likely escalate. You need to take pup to a behaviorist and get it evaluated, asap. Only after this can the pup be properly diagnosed as to WHY the pup behaves that way and then come up with the proper plan of redirecting the behavior. My pup had severe fear aggression of other dogs and after 9 months of hard work with positive reinforcement its nearly all gone now.