Hello all, I've perused these forums before but finally signed up to get some advice on this situation.

For years I have taken my Siberian Husky to the dog park. He has always been great and played with other dogs with no problems. He is just over 2 years old. We also have another 11 month old Husky who he plays with all the time with no problems.

Recently however he has been getting into fights at the dog park. Mostly it is small dogs that shouldn't be in the big dog side that nip at him when he wants to play, and then he fights back. He used to just fight back a little,but now he won't stop. And yesterday he attacked a normal sized dog that did nothing but sniff his crotch, like any normal dog.

I'm really sad and upset that I don't know why this is suddenly happening and can no longer bring him to the dog park until I figure it out. He plays fine with our 11 month old Husky, they play all day long, but really upsetting that he has become aggressive with other dogs.

I won't take him to the park anymore. It's too risky now. Does anyone have advice or suggestions on why he could be exhibiting this behavior suddenly, and how to fix it?

Is he neutered?

Yes, he was neutered at 6 months.

Link is like that with larger dogs. If a dog sniffs him, he's snapping at it. If a big dog looks intimidating, and he's right in it's face ready to fight, and usually lunges at the dog even if the other dog turns away. I have no idea what triggers it as he used to play perfectly fine with other dogs, but somewhere along the line something happened that caused him to regress so at the moment am trying to understand the behavior and get it under control. Now since my cars broken I don't go to the dog park anyway, but when I went the last time the only honest thing that helped was muzzling him and praising him when he approached dogs without growling and encouraging him to play normally. It was hit and miss knowing which dogs he was going to fight with and get along with, but at least the muzzle prevented him from causing any damage to another dog. Which, just to clarify, the muzzle is not meant as a permanent solution but I will not allow my dog to harm another dog when he is showing clearly aggressive behavior. Hopefully others can chime in, that's just been my experience so far and I hope to see what other replies come along.

I will not muzzle him. The behavior needs to be fixed.

Honestly I would suggest finding a behaviorist that can come with you and either muzzle him or keep him out of the park. If he's attacking other dogs unprovoked, it's not cool to take him into the park. It's not safe for the other dogs and could end up costing you not only money, but also his life. Mobezilla is right to muzzle Link until she can sort out the cause. In a reaction like this, there are so many nuances in a dogs body language that happen that there is no way to describe them with text or for us to really understand what's happening.

This is the first time I've seen it unprovoked, and the last time he'll be at the park until it's figured out.

Your situation sounds a lot like mine. Kato is very aggressive with other dogs of all sizes, even after being neutered.
I haven't tried the muzzle thing, but I think it's definitely worth a try. From now on I just avoid going to places where there's a lot of dogs. I'm just like you not wanting to do a muzzle, because I agree the behavior needs to be corrected.
Please keep me posted on what you decide on doing.

More curious if anyone else has noticed something like this with their Husky and what the solution is/was.

I feel like I need Cesar, or his equivalent.

Is he neutered?

Jennet&Embry wrote:

Is he neutered?

He said he was done at 6 months

Ahh, didn't see that. He honestly just sounds like he's being a brat. Embry gets growly with other dogs that come up in his face at the park. When he does that he gets leashed up for the rest of our time there. He hasn't done it in about a year thank god, I think he outgrew it.

He's totally being a brat. The problem is being a brat means biting other dogs and at the dog park where I'm well known (and everyone loves our dogs!), and I can't have him getting that reputation, let alone the possibility of hurting someone else's dog. It's really upsetting, he's the sweetest big boy ever ( as I'm sure we all feel about our Huskies)

Kaia gets like this sometimes at the park. She gets overwhelmed when too many dogs come over or if she doesn't want a dog to sniff her she may turn and nip at them and if they other dog fights back it can get a little ugly at times. I just try to stay close to her and break it up as soon as possible. I put her on her leash and walk her away from the situation to diffuse it. It's hard to predict sometimes.

Has he gotten worse since you got your other husky? I work at a doggie daycare and sometimes dogs from the same family have a tendency to stick together and get "mad" if another dog comes near their "brother".. does that make sense? Anyways, I would recommend taking him to the dog park when there aren't a lot of dogs there- or even when it's completely empty and practicing his recall. If you can read his body language and see when he's about to get aggressive/defensive- aka he stiffens or raises his hair, gives another dog "a look" etc- you can call him to you and reward him for coming rather than avoiding the situation completely. You just have to be on top of him to step in and redirect him before he takes charge for the other dog. Obviously you have to be really good at reading body language and be willing to put the time in to change the behavior! But it's not impossible! Good Luck and keep us posted!

Are there any other sections of the park you can take him to? There was a husky at our park who would go after small dogs... the owner somewhat quarantined her in the forest section or the agility section of the dog park and would warn people coming in that his dog had issues they were dealing with. Ultimately, they ended up getting a shock collar for her, but the quarantining thing might work.

Also, I don't think the muzzle is a be-all end-all to this situation. If you are open to trying it out, you would be able to notice what your dog's issues are while still protecting the other dog's health. Eg, if a dog comes up to your dog and sniffs a certain part (face, ears, arms, legs, or butt), you'll get to see all of that happen and can keep a close eye on any potential triggers. If anything does trigger him, you'll be able to point it out and the other dog wouldn't get hurt/bit/scared. If you're open to that idea, I personally think it would definitely be worth a shot.

I go to the park OFTEN with my sib.. he plays with everyone and he has fairly good manners and leaves well enough alone when other dogs give him the warning growls.

I have done alot of research about dog behavior because i frequent the park so much i want to make sure i understand why a dog is acting the way it is so i can protect my dog as well. Mine has never started fights and is not aggressive but i have recalled him away from situations that happen near him. I see the intensity building up between dogs and i call him away.
I have helped other owners grab there dogs in fights or i have broken up fights because the owners are not close enough. Its a risk i take but i understand im at the park everything is a risk.

a muzzle is a great idea, you can get softer ones so it does not seem so much as a punishment to him. I would do this just to see what is triggering him. Unless you know the trigger it will be hard to correct the behavior.

Also get a yellow ribbon for your leash, this is a symbol that your dog needs distance. Not many people know that and there dogs just run up to every other dog there. If you keep him on leash and make the other owners aware that he needs space then it may relax him as well and hopefully get him back to his old self and be happy at the park.

Go when there is not very many dogs there, again make everyone aware you are working on issues. I would find the most social dog there and ask the owner if it is ok to try and re socialize your dog with him. Again this will help you figure out triggers for him.

and my last resort would be to maybe take him to the park alone a few times. Dont bring your other dog because like someone posted above he may be trying to make his status the alpha of the park to protect

**im no expert, these are just methods i have seen work with some people**

My experience has been that, once they mature (usually around 2 years old), things change. I used to take my dogs to the dog park 7 days a week (literally), but once they matured, something triggered a change, and their guarding/dominance side came out, that NEVER came out while they were still puppies. Needless to say, I stopped going to dog parks. I remember getting upset when others would bring their aggressive dogs in the dog park. Now I was "that owner" and I haven't been back since. I had to find other ways to exercise my dogs, which is why I now bikejor 6 days a week, 6 miles a day, and it's way more fun (and more of what a Sibe was bred to do) than dog parks. Also, I now know that my pack does not need daily interactions/socialization with strange dogs. As long as they are good with each other and with the humans in this family, they don't need any outside interaction. It was difficult to come to the conclusion that I would no longer be going to dog parks, because I loved being around other dog lovers talking about our dogs while they played. Oh well, now I'm involved in sled dog groups full of fellow dog lovers!