Dear Cathy, We rescued our Flossie six years ago from South Carolina. She was rescued from a hoarder's house in Georgia. She had puppies at 10 months old.
She is house-trained, but eats extremely fast and is aggressive towards other dogs. She growls when she sees other dogs, especially large dogs. She is getting a bad rep in our complex.
She looks for humans and wants to be petted and even rolls over so they can rub her belly. Any way to get her to be less aggressive with dogs? — Michael, Port Jefferson Station, NY Dear Michael, Flossie’s early experiences likely formed her current habits and behaviors. For Flossie's fast eating, get a slow-feed bowl.
These bowls slow a dog's eating and can help prevent the health issues associated with eating too quickly. Regarding her aggression, it's a positive sign that she is friendly with humans. Therefore, her aggression toward dogs could stem from being overly protective of you, which would manifest as assertiveness (pulling or positioning herself between you and other dogs), or fear (pulling back and away) of other dogs.
Since this happens mostly with larger dogs, I suspect she may be fearful. In this case, slow, gradual exposure to other dogs can help desensitize her. Start with environments where other dogs are present but keep at a distance where Flossie doesn't feel threatened.
Avoid dog parks, and instead frequent parks where you see dogs in the distance with their owners, but they remain far away. Or hang out in a pet store.