Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 4/28/2008

Question
We adopted a 4 year old neutered Boston terrier from the local small town pound 1 1/2 years ago.  We were told the owners were “druggies” and wouldn’t pay to get the dog out of the pound.  He is very sweet and affectionate around people.  Since my Pug is my "baby" , we made sure he knew my Pug was the boss, - ie only the pug is allowed on the bed, the pug is fed first and the B.T is very respectful and submissive to the Pug.  A week after we got him, we let our German Shorthair pointer out (intact male) and the BT with no warning,  no growl, no fuzzing, no obvious signs of agression, jumped on the GSP who was wagging his tail and being a normal friendly dog.  The BT as some put it, went into a "red zone" attack and we had to pull the 2 apart.  The GSP tucked tail and left.  The BT did this again about a month ago to the same GSP.  About 6 months ago, the BT was at our small office with me and the pug and one of the guys brought his 8 month old lab female in, she was acting friendly and rather submissive and again the BT with no warning jumped on her to kill her.  This past weekend, we went camping with friends and when we got to the primitive campsite, my husband, against my wishes, let the BT out of the truck and he immediately beelined for a 6 month old boxer female that was on a long tether and attacked her - red zone.  I grabbed his back legs and was able to pull him off the young boxer.  We put him on a leash under our camper and went for a trail ride, when we got back he was off his leash and had not attacked any of the other dogs in the camp.  The next day, he was on his leash and a young lab approached and as before  no growl, no agressive stance, the BT just attacked and my brother in law threw his body on top of the two and broke up the fight.  The BT is my husband's favorite and is about to cause a divorce because I want the dangerous dog put down.  AFter each of this past weekends attacks, my husband picks up the BT and speaks lovingly to him and puts him in the camper. I would like to roll the dog on its back, expose its neck and grab it by the neck to show him I'm dominant.
Interestingly, we got a coon dog pup - walker female a year ago and the BT has never fought with her.
What do we do, besides buy this dog a muzzle?.  How do we teach him tht dog fighting is not tolerated?  Also, why does he not growl or show any other warnings?
Thank you for your time and I look forward to your advice.  I cannot tolerate a dog that is such a liability and mentally unstable.  I also am infuriated at my husbands almost "proud" attitude towards this dogs behavior.  I"m ready to get rid of the two of them!

Answer
Hi, Karen,

Thanks for the question.

Since you describe the dog going into a "red zone," this suggests that he's expressing some very primal emotions when he attacks. I don't know how much help I can be on the internet. You probably need to speak to a local trainer or behaviorist.

I will say that there's no such thing as dominance and submission in dogs. In fact it might interest you to know that there's no such thing as a "pack leader" in wild wolf packs. That animal doesn't exist in nature, so it's not really possible that dogs could have inherited an instinct from wolves that wolves don't even have themselves! Dominant behavior in dogs (and captive wolves) is really just a symptom of anxiety and stress. In real wolf packs these kinds of behaviors don't exist. The pack is about hunting together as a team.

Here's a link that explains this: http://tinyurl.com/2q2esp

If you want to put a dent in his aggression toward the pointer, you could take the two dogs on long walks together. That can sometimes create the same feeling that wolves have when they travel together while on a hunt. (It's also why the military has their troops march together during basic training: it creates feelings of camaraderie.)

Also, does your Boston ever play tug-of-war? If so, you can often reduce a lot of a dog's nervous tension and stress by playing tug, letting him win, and praising him for winning. But you should only play with an aggressive dog as long as the dog "knows it's just a game."

That's about the best I can do over the internet. Talk to a local trainer, preferably someone who's up to date on this "pack leader" nonsense.

Let me know if you have any further questions or problems.

LCK