Dog behaviour & health
Aggression
Though we cannot legally give help with those involving aggression remotely because it is impossible to offer advice without a one-to-one consultation to establish the often complicated cause for the behaviour. Advice given from an inaccurate diagnosis could prove harmful to yourself, your dog or other people and is not a risk that should be taken.
Please seek the advice of your vet initially to ensure that the problem is not being caused by a medical condition and then ask for a referral to a reputable local pet behaviourist.
In the meantime please read our factsheet and follow the steps below.
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Avoid any situation that may provoke any aggressive outburst. The more the dog is successful in any confrontation the more the behaviour is reinforced.
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Calmness, confidence and patience are extremely important when dealing with aggression. The dog will only learn how to carry out appropriate behaviours with successful training, experience and repetition.
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Do not allow your dog into any environment or situation in the home where there are triggers that may cause your dog to become aggressive.
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Do not allow the trigger (family/people/other dogs) to interact with your dog at any time if aggression may arise.
Retrieve and relinquish of objects
The following exercises are designed to teach your dog to relinquish and enjoy giving up valued objects such as food, bones and toys when asked.
Sharing is not a normal behaviour in dogs and resource guarding is an entirely natural behaviour based on survival. Dogs similar to many animals naturally defend their resources, whether it's a bowl of food, sleeping area, territory or a favourite toy. The behaviour will be further enhanced if certain resources are limited. Many people consider this behaviour to be linked to dominance and the dog trying to take over the family home however many of these behaviours are based on anxiety and fear – the fear of loss.
Many dogs can become possessive over a bone or “pigs ear” changing from a normally placid dog into what some describe as a “snarling fiend”. This out of character behaviour occurs as this important resource is not a common occurrence, with the dog only acquiring this delicious item possibly only once a week. This rare resource must then be protected.
Try to think how many situations turn into conflict in a normal day within a family environment. Many of these situations will involve conflicts involving privilege and resource, whether it is over what television program everyone wants to watch or whose turn is it to play on the games console.
When teaching a dog to relinquish objects is not about who is “boss” or who is “dominant” it is about training and reinforcing the appropriate behaviours. Using force or turning a resource guarding situation into a confrontation can be extremely dangerous. Your dog must associate that when you are around important resources such as food, treats or toys are associated with the arrival of something more valuable.
Jean Donaldson in her excellent book “Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs” lists a few falsehoods that have been linked to resource guarding:
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Resource guarding is an unusual and abnormal behaviour.
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Resource guarding is driven by the need to dominate.
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Owners treating their dog as a child and spoiling them cause resource guarding.
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Resource guarding cannot be cured as it is genetically driven.
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Ensuring there is an abundance of resources will solve the problem.
By using simple procedures we can condition our dogs to feel happy and relaxed when people approach and to happily relinquishing an object instead of feeling worried or having to resort to aggressive behaviour.
There are two situations in the home where resource guarding is likely to occur:
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Around food bowls, bones, pig’s ears or rawhides.
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Stealing highly treasured items or what the dog perceives as his or what he can gain your attention with (which can include your underwear, socks, table napkins or tissues from the rubbish bin).
With resource guarding it is important to carry out the following procedures throughout the dogs life. All family members must be involved, as the dog should have a positive association with everyone.
Initial training requirements:
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Teach the dog to say please when receiving. This will help in three ways. Firstly the dog will begin to associate that people are the providers of all things important and that carrying out a requested behaviour will enable those things to be obtained. The say please behaviour can be a simple sit position, eye contact for 2 - 5 seconds, down position, walk back 5 steps or simply give a paw. Secondly these interactions ensure that all family members take part in training that is positively associated by the dog (and person). And thirdly, this will help in building impulse control, as the dog has to think and listen to what is required instead of demanding the desired object.
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If you have a problem with the dog guarding furniture then teach your dog the get off cue. Even if the dog is not an area guarder it is a useful exercise and will help in the long term. Start by inviting the dog up on the furniture then give the cue that will tell the dog that you want him off. As soon as you give the cue to get off throw a piece of tasty food onto the floor in full view of the dog. The food should be of sufficient value to create the behaviour of jumping off. When the dog jumps off and eats the piece of food, reinforce with another piece of food for remaining off the furniture then ask the dog to jump back up. Repeat the whole training procedure several times.
Do not start teaching the off cue when your dog is already settled down on the couch. Work up to that level.
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Teach your dog the leave it or drop cue. Begin initially with a toy or object of extremely low value to the dog (overtime progression onto high value items will be done). You may wish to keep the dog on a 6ft lead or house line (to ensure calm control or he doesn’t try to get away with the object). When he has the object in his mouth gently bring him closer to you using the line. Then give the cue to drop and then show him a piece of food. When he drops the toy, mark the appropriate behaviour with gentle praise and food treat him while taking the toy if safe to do so. Then immediately give the toy back to him, keeping the treats hidden. Use lower value (but not too low value) treats for this initial training as it is important to keep higher value treats for associating with higher value objects.
Repeat this several times until the dog is starting to pre-empt the arrival of the food by reacting to the drop cue. The dog will soon learn that not only does he obtain a tasty treat but also gets the object that he relinquished back. Children should only work on this step under strict adult supervision. It may also help to start with family members that the dog has shown the least or no aggression towards.
As success build start to introduce slightly higher value objects and exchange with a slightly more valuable treat. As you progress begin to touch the toy with your hand and say your chosen command for the dog to relinquish the object, reinforcing well with food.
Keep progressing by increasing criteria and difficulty by using more valuable objects. Remember the treats or item that you give in exchange should always be of higher value to the dog than the one that item he relinquishes.
Retrieve an Object
Begin this exercise with the dog on a 6 – 15ft. line. Throw one of your chosen toys a few feet away or just in front of where you are. Allow the dog to run out and grab the toy, now gently use the line to bring the dog back into you. Take hold of the toy and bring it in as close to your body as possible, this puts a stopper on any enjoyment from keeping hold of the toy. Now wait it out for the dog to release the toy. As soon as the dog releases the toy, praise and reward with a treat or simply immediately throw the toy again.
Once the dog gets the idea of chasing, picking up the object then returning and dropping the toy instantly then increase the distance you are throwing the toy. Also start to give your chosen command to release the toy when you take hold of the toy “leave”, “off”, “drop”.
As the dog progresses on distance start to move to different spots in the training area, attaching a longer line may also be appropriate to ensure the dog does not run off with the toy.
Continue to progress onto requesting that the dog sits when presenting the toy to you and waits for a command before allowing the dog to chase after the toy again.
Food Bowl Fun
This is an exercise is designed to help control any possible future resource guarding of the food bowl. This exercise is designed to teach the dog that hands coming near the food bowl have the possibility of producing something tastier.
Care must be taken with this exercise as it designed to be used when no aggression has been shown in the past.
Stage 1
Place the dog on a 6ft line and with you holding the food bowl and facing the dog. Ask the dog to sit and then give the food and allow the dog to start to eat. Now during the eating gently bring your dog away from the food bowl and scatter some really tasty treats on top of the food, grated cheese or tiny pieces of chicken. Repeat several times.
Stage 2
After several days the dog should now begin to look relaxed, happy and will step back in anticipation of something tasty being produced. A command can be associated to this during this stage.
Continue for 7 – 14 days during each mealtime.
Sit/Stay Food Control Game
This exercise is designed to help with impulse control during the giving of food treats. It is great exercise if you have children.
Care must be taken with this exercise as it designed to be used when no aggression has been shown in the past and frustration must be kept to a minimum.
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Have the dog on his lead or a line and have the dog across the front of you. Now keeping hold of the dog’s lead/line give the dog 3 – 4 free treats. After giving him a couple of freebies he is now motivated and will have to work for the next ones. So now hold a treat about 2 feet away from him. Do not move the treat away from the dog if the dog moves forward to get it simply close your hand around the food treat. Ok, now this is where observation and timing comes in. If your dog makes any movement (however small) away from the treat, immediately praise and give the command “ok” and give the food treat from the FLAT OF THE HAND ONLY. The food treat is taken to the dog, do not allow the dog to come forward. Give extra praise if the dog sits. Repeat, repeat. The dog should learn that moving away is the way to get a treat and food is only to be taken when offered from the flat of the hand.
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Once the dog is sitting every time you bring a treat forward then start to input your control command, “off”, “leave it” etc. Then start to practise dropping things on the floor. If it is food the dog must always obtain a part of that reward if safe or of higher value.
Children should be always be under close supervision when around dogs, regardless of what we think of our dogs temperament, training or background. Due to the excitability and a range of reactive behaviours shown by both children and dogs it is not possible to have a “child proof” dog. However by teaching the dog behaviours that are appropriate we can reduce many possible future issues.
For more information on resource guarding behaviours, read "Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs" by Jean Donaldson