Aggressive St. Bernard

by Terry
(Lander, WY)

Aggressive St. Bernard

Aggressive St. Bernard

I have always wanted a St. Bernard so when my co-worker's St.Bernard had a litter I was so excited to be able to have one.

At the time we had 3 other dogs and Mozart(St.Bernard) was raised my the the other dogs in the house but this summer was a hard one for this family. One dog had to be put down due to kidney failure and cancer, one died from his stomach turning and another one our smallest went on vacation with us and we think she found decon and we lost her. I have been falling apart, and Mozart is really starting to play rough with us.

We have thought that he needs a new play mate but anytime we get him close to another dog he gets very aggressive. Mozart is a 8 month fixed male and I would like him to be able to get along with other dogs.

Last night my husband let him out of the back yard he went to our next door neighbors house to bark at their dogs through the fence, our neighbor went to pet Mozart and he bit her.

He has been raised around people and children and is usually very good with them but this scared me I want to have a dog I can trust with other dogs and people. Can someone help me with some ideas and training tech. Thank you

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Nov 12, 2022
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Saint Bernard Aggression
by: Anonymous

Seeing all these comments are so helpful. I shave two Saint Bernards; Tank (M/2 years) and BlueBelle (F/1 year). BlueBelle is an angel and loves everyone, but Tank has recently started showing aggression. To be fair, we haven’t really been able to take him to places because of his size and our location. We live in the country and have no neighbors and he is extremely large being a Pure Saint Bernard. We is loving to us, but if someone he hasn’t met or does not see often comes to our house, he hasn’t recently become aggressive and was unfortunately able to buy someone on the hand, before I was able to take control and take him away. He is extremely protective of my family and me, and I had informed of the friend of the risks if she decided to come into our home to which she accepted and said she understood. It just makes me sick to my stomach because I know he means well and he is protecting us, but he has grown too large to control and now I am confined to my home not allowed to bring others over. Any advice? Should I hire a dog trainer and see if there is something we can do?
Oct 31, 2022
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Bubba the aggressor
by: Anonymous

I got Bubba at 8 weeks old. Perfect boy, cute as a button and very lovable around people and other animals. I have 3 cats and a rescue K9. Bubba is now 1 year and a monster. He is very aggressive with other dogs, even the k9. He picks fights, steals food off the table. He has become so aggressive that I'm afraid to take him out in public. He already dragged me and got 2nd degree burns on my arm from the concrete burns and hair line fracture on my shoulder. He tries to attack dogs when going on walks. No one wants to help me walk him and the trainer that I had said Bubba was very powerful for him. I don't know what to do. Gentle Giant my !!!
May 07, 2021
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Saint Bernard not so saintly
by: Anonymous

Our friend’s Saint Bernard is sweet with people, but he hates our completely non aggressive golden retriever. He not only barks, but has cornered him against the fence growling and it looked like it was about to get ugly when his owners stepped in. Scared the hell out of me. We know two other friend’s dogs that he also does not like. Not all saint bernard’s are friendly! And since they are so big, make sure you can handle it.
Dec 26, 2020
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		What??
by: Anonymous

Reading these comments make me wonder what the heck happened. My Saint is a gentle giant. Kind to everyone and everything. He is gentle with my three cats and children and small dogs. Even raising him through a quarantine..... it’s so hard for me to believe and I’m just floored. We go to stores and dog parks. I even puppy sit my friends dog that started coming at 8 weeks old. He is a pleasure to have around and I just can’t imagine anything like what I am reading. I’m so sad that everyone doesn’t get to experience the love in those deep soulful eyes.
May 11, 2020
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		My st. Bernard
by: Anonymous

Well my st. Bernard jas never acted like this and we resently got a new pitbull and we have to separate them because they always get agrasive whenever they see echother WHAT CAN I do I really dont want to get rid of her but I think I might have to she even got agrasive with the kids the other day
Oct 14, 2019
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Saints are the best
by: Stewart shipp

We have 3 Saint Bernards 2 female 1 male and they are the big teddy bears they should be. They are completely trustworthy around our 4 young children. Two of these are rescues from people who don’t have a cue when it comes to look after giant breed dogs.
You can blame the breed as much as you like but it’s alway the owners who let the breed down. Aggressive bad people make aggressive bad dogs.
Aug 13, 2019
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Killed Bichon
by: Anonymous

I no longer believe that the Saint is the gentle giant everyone says they are after reading all of these comments. My 2 year old saint killed my bichon last week. They have lived together over a year. My Saint was a rescue. Previous owners were afraid of him. I couldn’t find any reason why they would be until last Saturday.
Apr 05, 2018
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		How To Stop Aggression
by: Robert

How To Stop Dog Aggression

If you want to understand how to stop dog aggression let me start by asking you two rhetorical questions!

Firstly do YOU start the aggression with your dog simply joining in?
Secondly does your dog listen to you just before it behaves the way it does when you try show it another way to behave?
The answer will of course be the following:

At the point your dog starts to become aggressive he is taking no notice at all of you.

He is making his own decisions and will not listen to you if you try to show him a different way to behave. What he is doing is simply too important to him and is the right thing to do. Dog aggression is nearly always done in order to protect, their pack and their own lives.

Firstly there is of course a whole range of different types of aggression from dominant to fearful and everything in between. Then there is aggression that occurs the whole time and other aggression, which is very erratic, and random depending on a number of differing factors. We could also look at what your dog is aggressive towards; it could be people, animals, other dogs or objects.

The way to stop dog aggression however is very much the same, or at least the cause of the problem is the same. Your dog thinks that it is the pack leader, becomes fearful and attacks to protect, you and himself. Dominant dogs will be more proactive, often attacking when they still have the option of running away, fearful dogs will only attack if they have no place to run. All the other factors pale into insignificance compared to this.

The most important concept to grasp if you want to understand how to stop dog aggression is that your dog must first look to you as the pack leader in the home. (This is the easiest place to convince him you are the decision maker.) Only then can you convince him that you are the pack leader on the walk. There are some fantastic video sites now that show you exactly how to become the pack leader.

Once you have convinced your dog that you are the pack leader outside then upon reaching the point where he usually is aggressive you will find that he will actually start to take notice of how you are behaving! If you aren’t then your dog will probably continue to ignore what you are doing at this point forever.

Just remember, dogs are pack animals and they follow the pack leader.

One of the best examples of a professional dog trainer putting this all into practice is The Online Dog Trainer. The site has live videos of this method being demonstrated and explains exactly how to stop dog aggression by simply convincing your dog that you are the pack leader.

CLICK HERE:

The Online Dog Trainer here.
Apr 03, 2018
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Sophie
by: Mackenzie

Our Saint Bernard (Sophie 3-4 years old) has never tried to bite anyone, but when my boyfriend and his 4 year old son moved in she had become aggressive. When ever my daughter and my stepson run around and chase each other she tries to bite him. She knows better, and we usually smack her when she does things she isn't supposed to, like when she jumps up on the table and snatches food. We don't know what is wrong with her, she gets a lot food but she only tries to bite my stepson but no one else? We are seriously thinking about putting her down unless we get help.
May 08, 2017
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Chihuahua attacked and killed
by: Anonymous

on Friday, May 6, 2017 as my friends were walking into their building, their chihuahua met face to face with an exiting St Bernard. It happened so fast, the St Betnard bit into that tiny dog, he was rushed to the animal hospital and there wasn't any hope. This is a nightmare . I thought St Betnards were gentle. It's a nightmare.
Sep 09, 2016
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Bullying
by: Anonymous

Our St Bernard puppy is 3/4 months old. We have two young spaniels also who are past puppyhood but smaller than he is. He is growing so rapidly! He has begun pushing these female spaniels around. Muscling up to them, barking at them etc. his new favorite thing to do is to drag them - helpless - around the yard by their collars to their obvious distress.

What can we do?
Jan 26, 2015
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		aggressive
by: mick

We have recently rescued a saint. She is 2 years old. We have 3 cavaliers and 3 chihuahua all female ranging from 2 to 4 years. All was well until the saint had a puppy. We were not aware she was pregnant. Since the birth she has bitten out daughter and grand daughter who is 3 months old and stalks the other dogs attempting to bite them. The saint has learnt how to open the door to the room we allocated so isolation is not really working. She is constantly on edge. What can we do?
Aug 14, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		my bullie
by: wendy

When are St Bernard became about 14 months he became a bully. At first we thought how cute he is protecting us. Now Leo is in aggressive training because he has bite a little girl, a woman and the k-9 trainer. I am so afraid to have Leo around my grandchildren. They are 5 and under. Will it get better, or will life with Leo always be this way?
Sep 06, 2012
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Similar problem
by: Kenzie

I have a year and a half year old st bernard. I adopted him a year ago and was told how good he was with other dogs and that he was submissive to there other male in the house.

When he came to my house he immediately had problems with the other male in the house and became quite aggressive. He had no other problems with other dogs we came across walking or hiking. As he has spent more time with me the area's in which he is territorial about are increasing. He has had altercations with one other dog on a trail we frequently hike and don't usually see other dogs on. In total he has now fought with 5 dogs. Although none have been seriously hurt. I am no longer feeling like I can take him out and be in control of him and he is quite difficult to hold back when he gets his mind on something. I am getting to the point that I might have to rehome him which breaks my heart but I dont know what else to do.
Nov 28, 2011
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Territorial Aggression
by: Adam G. Katz

Hi, Terry:

Territorial aggression is completely different from regular aggression. He may be perfectly fine, in all other contexts.

- Get him started on an obedience training regimen.

- Learn to identify his aggression cues. Correct him, before he bites, if it's inappropriate.

However, territorial aggression is something that just comes with owning this type of breed, so it would be best to fence the yard in such a way that nobody can stick there hands in. In other words: It's not really abnormal behavior.

Adam G. Katz is the author of, "Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!" -- which you can find at DogProblems.com.

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