Aggressive chow puppy! help!

[chowNcharge]

A few days ago I got a chow (possibly chow mix) puppy. Someone on craigslist had adopted him at 8 weeks old. He is now 14 -16 weeks old. They gave him to be because they just had a baby and decided he was too much to handle.

His name is Rajah. They worked with him, he reliable sits, stays, and shakes. He also is house broken.

I have only had him a few days, and I am having some alarming issues with him.

Kids- The neighbors have three kids. 6, 8, and 12. They were oustide wrapped up in their winter gear playing in the snow. Rajah LOVES to play and so far has seemed to be great with people. So I took him out on a leash expecting him to play and have a great time! But... Rajah became tense and his fur stood up on his back. He was barking and backing away, sometimes lunging forward. I was in shock, and didnt know what to do! It was honestly the last thing I was expecting. I picked him up and put him in the house. I did not correct him or anything.

Play with other dogs- I have a border collie mix named Skyler, and two foster dogs. Rajah loves to play with them but if he gets too excited he turns aggressive. He plays rough anyway, sometimes he pinches the other dogs lips, and tries to mount them. If another dog plays rough with him, he gets aggressive.

How do I correct this? I have had dogs all my life (shelties and border collies) and I have never had problems like this.

I am willing to seek a professional trainer, but I do not have the money for it now, however when my tax refund comes in I am planning on taking him to obedience lessons anyway.

When do I correct him? and how should i correct him?

thank you so much!!! Its my first post here guys

[Ursa's daddy]

Play with other dogs- I have a border collie mix named Skyler, and two foster dogs. Rajah loves to play with them but if he gets too excited he turns aggressive. He plays rough anyway, sometimes he pinches the other dogs lips, and tries to mount them. If another dog plays rough with him, he gets aggressive.

Your dog is trying to dominate the other dogs. Dogs will try to establish their rank in the pack. That becomes a problem when it gets violent. Barking and shoving are one thing, and bloody lips and ears are a different matter. Since you are the alpha dog, you have to keep a lid of things. If Rajah is getting out of hand with the other dogs, a time out should be instituted. If you have a crate for him, you should put him in the crate for 5-15 minutes. If you don't have a crate, another room in the house with a closed door would work.

But... Rajah became tense and his fur stood up on his back. He was barking and backing away, sometimes lunging forward.

Something made Rajah feel threatened, and he went all out over it. Taking a shot in the dark, he probably has not been well socialized. My guess would be the craigslist folks did not devote a lot of time to him, and you are getting the results of their lack of work. Get ready for the need to spend a lot of time and effort with this dog. You will need to get this dog to accept you as the pack leader and to bond to you. You need to get the dog to look to you for guidance and direction in all situations. How do you do this? I am not really sure. I am hoping other forum members will jump in and give additional advice.
I am going to throw out this example of chows following my lead......New Years Eve, I am sleeping on the floor with the dogs. Both of my chows alert to fireworks and can get pretty loud and worked up. Boom....The dogs are up and barking, while I am still on the floor. "lie down dogs"....The dogs lie down. Boom! again the dogs are up and barking while I am still on the floor. "lie down dogs"... again the dogs lie down. I probably did this a dozen times or more, and finally the dogs caught on the the fact that the old man wasn't real excited about the noise, so maybe they didn't have to get real excited. Now this was not perfect, but they were better than on the 4th of July. When I am confronted by a situation where I am not sure how the dogs will react, I tell them to sit then lie down, and I will kneel right beside them. This is to signal to them that a defensive posture is not required.
Chows have a lot of personality, and you need to pay close attention to the small reactions that your dog exhibits so you can understand what he is thinking. I hope the other forum members will chime in.

[TyChowgirl]

I agree with Ursa's daddy on a lot of things. First off, it does seem like your puppy was not well socialized, but that may not entirely be the case. Some chows are a little more defensive and suspicious by nature perhaps getting the full guarding nature of its breed. He's right about needing to spend a lot more time with Raj to understand each other. Also the alerting and asking to sit or something is a good distraction and I do that with mine also. Speaking from experience with a more defensive personality chow, it's taken us a while to understand each other and he's becoming a lot more laid back and comfortable as time goes on (He'll be a year old on Valentine's Day, and we've had him since he was 3 1/2 months). A lot of consistancy and persistance and your chow will turn out fine. I suggest taking him to pet stores, parks, and places with some people. The daily walks help, and I think neutering helped Ty relax some more too. Since you have border collies you know the mental and physical challenges you have to put them through to keep them from getting bored. Do the same training and exercises with your chow, one on one and that will help you bond also. I take Ty to friend gatherings where they have other dogs that are well trained and socialized. Each time he gets better and better because it's all a part of desensitizing. He's also becoming more accepting of people touching him for the same reason. He's got an older dog as encouragement and saftey blanket; that helps him relax. So if Raj gets attached to one of your dogs in particular and seems to respect or look up to them, use them as a bridge or tool to get him to relax and become more calm and less defensive. He may not ever be a super socialable chow, but he may be trustworthy and calm around other people and kids. Praise the good experiences and behaviors. Encourage him. I think the puppy classes will help also. If you have a dog park, take him there and if he gets rowdy simply correct him and leave. There's so many things you can do to work with him, but it's going to take time and time spent with him. Goodluck!