D O G F U N . C O . U K the dog training pages with Jade the Doberman

Back to the training home page and menu

Aggressive dog.

Last page

E-mail received at dog fun on 31/01/01.

I have a 13 week Doberman and she seems to be very aggressive. I have two children who are 13 months and 5 years. My concern is that this dog gets along with my children and will not try to hurt them. I could understand if the child annoys or teases the dog but they aren't. My oldest will be walking past the dog and the dog will try to bite her. I yell at the dog but I don't want to hit her because I think that will make the dog dislike the children even more.

Thank You J Longo

Jade's reply.

Dear J Longo,

Thank you for your e-mail about your Doberman. This is a very tricky subject for me to comment about. This could stem from your Doberman trying to assert its dominance within the pack (your family). It could be trying to place itself in front of your child in the pecking order. This can be corrected with training and as Dobermans can be very dominant it is a good possibility. It could stem from an incident early on in its life or be a character flaw. This is very difficult as although I aim to help when ever possible I would not like to give you the wrong advice.
What I would suggest is that you take your dog along to a local training club so that they can give you face to face advice and work with the dog, you will find that they will be able to help. If things continue to deteriorate consider turning to an animal behaviourist arranged through your local vet. Please don't give up on your dog without investigating these avenues but obviously you must always put your children's safety first. Sorry that I can't be of any more help but I wish you and your dog lots of luck and will keep my paws crossed.

All the best, Jade the Doberman

As with the rest of Dog Fun we are only offering advice, we have learned a lot through our own experience and would like to further that knowledge with your help. If you have any good tips or advice that would help dog owners drop us a line to jade@dogfun.co.uk and we will display your advice and give you credit for your help!