How to trust my dog in public?

Question

I have a 8 month old siberian husky. She had really bad aggression with both dogs and people i have been working on it with her by having friends and family come with their dogs and i would have them meet threw a fence their are still some dogs that she shows aggression too but other she will play with. As with people she doesn't bother with while they are outside she wont get near them she will growl if they put their hand down to let her sniff but she will run away after and if someone gets near me she shows the most aggression as for inside she has full aggression towards people i have to put her in a cage so they can get in its horrible because i want her to be apart of my family i want her to be able to interact with our guests i have 2 german shepherds that don't show any aggression to anyone so i don't know how she learned it.i would love to take her out to lakes and dog parks and fun stuff like that but i cant trust her with her aggression is their anything i could do to help this situation i tried a personal trainer and i found that she responds to my training alot better plus she bite the trainer anyways. If you had my dog would you trust to take her out in public?

Answer 1

If I had your dog, I would first consult with my vet for a thorough evaluation to rule out any medical reasons for her behavior. Then consult with a professional animal behaviorist, a vet behavior specialist and/or a certified pet dog trainer (positive methods ONLY). Your dog is obviously not responding to your training very well if she is continuing to be aggressive and is not responding to training.

There are ways to work with aggressive dogs, but it takes time and a real commitment (it's a lifestyle change, not just a temporary training period).

You will need to use both management and training to be the most successful. This also requires some education on the part of your guests and visitors (they have to follow certain rules about how to interact, or not, with her).

In addition, if you are asking your reactive dog to interact with dogs and people that make her uncomfortable, you are setting her up for failure. I prefer to set my dog up for success.

Many good books are available as guides and resources for aggressive/reactive dogs:

Scaredy Dog by Ali Brown

Click to Calm by Emma Parsons

Feisty Fido by Patricia McConnell

Bringing Light to Shadow by Pamela Dennison

Answer 2

Dogs don't always learn aggression, fear-aggression is almost always genetic.  I wouldn't trust this dog in public, especially as her aggression is worse towards people.

Find a good trainer/behaviorist that has worked with fear-aggressive dogs.  At 8 months old she could possibly make some improvement, but someone who is experienced with this could give you some insight.

Answer 3

I wouldn't take her out in public and put people and other dogs at risk. You should find a good trainer this time and get help with this problem. Someone is going to get hurt, and it's going to cost you a whole lot of money and probably your dog her life.