Aggression in Dogs

Seminar update!

In training we ask our dogs to perform an action. When retraining aggression, we are instead asking our dogs to control an emotion such as fear or hatred to another dog. The complexity of the task explains the additional amount of time required, and means that compromise is necessary from you. Your dog may sit slowly, but please do not correct that. Instead, realize what your training objective is, to reduce aggression, and focus on that. Below are some suggested training objectives.

Compromise: Your first training objective might be that you don't want your dog to bark at other dogs. This is a good goal, as we need to stop the habit from becoming more ingrained in his neural pathways (this emotion activates the Hind Brain, or the Reacting part of his Brain. And every time your dog uses this, the neural pathways get bigger and wider, making him less of a thinker (Front Brain) and more of a Reactor).

So how do we compromise? Well, get him to wear a halti on his head, and your job will be to TURN HIM away from the other dog, thus breaking his eye contact and helping him to succeed. As soon as you have him turned away, start feeding him, to reward the appropriate behaviour, and to stop him from becoming adrenalized and ready to fight.

By doing this you will have made the wrong thing hard to do, and the right thing easy. If you negotiate now, you will make the task easier for the dog. It is not to say that the negotiation is permanent - but a little compromise now when the work it just too much to ask of him will make training down the road much easier. Rome was not built in a day. We cannot expect poor Cujo to behave perfectly - we must realize that we need to give and help him while we attemtp to modify his behaviour.

Band-Aids: I know you bark at other dogs that approach you, so I shall cross the road or turn and go the other way to avoid dogs for you (for now!). -Here we are just going to take away the cause for the unwanted behaviour. We are literally applying a band-aid to the problem and not addressing it at this point. In this case, the behaviour is barking at dogs and is something that will eventually be addressed. But we can do that with Systematic Desensitization (described below).

However, I must caution that most owners are very good at band-aiding and have been trained perfectly to flee at the sight of another dog. If you are working at systematic desensitization, please walk by the other dogs to the level that your dog can handle, and take this opportunity to train and help your dog. Band-aids will fix nothing; only training will.

Please never block your dog's view so that he cannot see another dog. There are many reasons why this is wrong so trust me, and don't do it.

Systematic Desensitization; I know you are afraid of dogs, so I shall introduce them to you slowly and at a safe distance, and eventually I will decrease the distance of the dogs, until you feel comfortable with a strange dog standing next to you. At each step, I will be careful to make sure that I do not move too fast by bringing the dogs too close, too soon. (ALWAYS AIM FOR SUCCESS). This is the most important step.

Take away the Benefits: Your dog states "Normally if I bark at dogs, you pull me away and I look really tough". Pulling on a leash, and aggressing with your owner behind you to back you up can be a very exciting and reinforcing thing to do. It actually uses opposition reflex to make your dog more aggressive. Instead, don't allow the dog to pull on the leash. In many cases, the elimination of the tight leash is all that it takes to remove dog aggression. Now, not holding a leash tight does not mean give the dog freedom to lunge! There is a very fine difference in the two. When I have a dog that is about to aggress, I ask them to sit and will hold their leash very close to their heads (almost all aggressive dogs should be wearing haltis), then give them slack. That way, I still have control and they do not have tension.

This step is exceptionally important. No behaviour will continue unless it is being reinforced. You as the owner have to find the reinforcement and remove it (it could be attention given for aggressive behaviour, a tight leash, or anything else! You know your dog- what could it be!) Sounds simple doesn't it.

Familiarity: This can also be called habituation. "You really dislike _______ (think of a particular person or animal), so here is his blanket, and it is going to be placed underneath you food bowl. Whenever you eat, (your favourite pastime) you will think of this person. Eventually, you will associate his scent with supper, and through counter conditioning will like him and not be fearful". -Habituation is especially helpful for fearful dogs. All it means is getting used to it. The dog should not be rewarded or punished. Rather, through the calm and neutral environment, the frightened dog discovers there is nothing to fear. Be careful to watch for signs of stress. If you see them, stop the program and contact me.

Change The Thought Process - Counter-Conditioning: "If I give you treats each time we see a dog, I bet you will change your mind about dogs that walk towards you because you will realize that the other dogs get you cookies". -Help our dog to change his thought process. You are going to teach the dog a new acceptable response to replace the fearful behaviour. You are going to pair something of high value to the dog (favourite morsel) with the scary dog. Begging and drooling for a piece of cheese is much more acceptable than lunging at the strange dog. The reward MUST be strong enough to overcome the problem. You must also be feeding your dog before he gets excited by the aversive stimuli, namely, the other dog. Once he is excited, he will refuse food. This means that your timing was too late.

Food does a fascinating thing. We all know that you cannot pump adrenalin and digest food at the same time. Therefore, by eating food you stop the impending adrenalization necessary to aggress. A salivating dog is not a dog ready to aggress. My goal in counter conditioning it to teach all canine-students that a dog approaching is the cue for being fed - and ultimately, a dog approaching will induce salivation. Just like Pavlov's bell, our dogs will salivate when they see dogs approaching.

Consequences: (These will be used ONLY once the boundaries of acceptability are very clear to your dog). If you decide to bark at a person, I am going to take your muzzle and calmly push it towards the person that you are scared of. -Because our dog is fearful, the only consequence that can be used is the one mentioned above. Otherwise, we could increase his fear and worsen the problem. This negative must ALWAYS be delivered in a calm but assertive voice, and should be a push away from you. It should never be a shove, or done in an angry voice. By doing this in a calm, controlled manner we break up the dogs body language, and offer a really pleasant alternative-food. However, it is pivotal that you reduce situations where consequences are needed.

An incompatible behaviour should be taught so as to reduce/ eliminate the need for consequences and to give the dog a chance to succeed. Success builds self-esteem, and self-esteem is what most aggressive dogs are lacking.

Reward an Incompatible behaviour: Here comes a dog. Where Is The Dog! Sit! Watch me! You can't bark at the dog when you are looking at me!

-This is the next most important step. Instead of punishing the bad behaviour, we are rewarding an appropriate one. Instead of "bad dog" for barking, it is "good dog" for watching. Instead of pairing the strange dog with a correction, the stranger is paired with the "good dog" and reward. This will begin to make the strange dog less and less scary, and give the dog an opportunity to build up some much needed confidence. To do this you need to put a hot-dog on your dog's nose as soon as he locks onto the trigger, and then turn his head around using the hot-dog as a lure, until your dog is now focusing you. Once he is there tell him he is brilliant, and feed him about ten hot-dogs or special treats.

Additional Thoughts and Help

Body posture is very important and tells us everything about aggression. If you are struggling with your dog, your first goal needs to be to learn what he is saying by the way he stands. First, look at where his weight balance is. Is he leaning into pressure (forwards) or away from pressure, with his weight on his rear? Or, is he neutral, which is ideal? If your dog is leaning forwards, it is because that is where he intends to go. You need to change this and shift his weight balance by moving him.

Your aggressive dog, pre-lunge, will also tense his neck and have an intense focus with his eyes. It seems like a miracle, but as soon as the focus is broken and the head lowered, they no longer feel aggressive. A halti head collar can help you achieve this, because it allows you to turn his head. Our posture alters how we feel. Yours too will be affected by your dog. Next time you see a dog, imagine a string on your head pulling you towards the sky. This will give you the assertive body-language that you need for leadership. Both of you need to alter your posture to break the cycle of aggression.

T-touch is a wonderful tool for bringing an adrenalized dog back to a calm place. T-touch has a variety of massage moves, all used to help dogs deal with their emotional states better. If you are struggling with dog to dog aggression, please take the time to learn some of these techniques.

All behavioural problems create stress that the dog has to live with every day. This stress, unless dealt with, will build up and may eventually create illness. There are many ways that owners can help their pets remove this stress. One method is t-touch that I just mentioned, and another are Bach Flowers.

Bach Flowers: These are flower essences that effect the energy level around the body. By working on the energy level, they are able to help the emotions gain balance and control. While not scientifically proven, they have managed to serve people and animals very effectively since their creation. Different flower essences have different uses and definitions. Some are very general, whilst others are more specific.

When choosing essences, click on bach flowers and read the list. Pick 3 - 6 that match your dog's personality. The entire definition for the flower does not have to fit. Just one of the uses needs to match your dog's personality. You are best to choose flowers on your gut instinct, and not with your brain. If it feels right, it probably is. Once you have selected the essences you need, apply three drops of each into a 100 ml brown glass bottle filled with distilled water. When the essences are combined in such a way they work together in harmony. The easiest comparison to show how they work individually as compared to combined is the beauty of a musical instrument, versus the power and beauty of a symphony.

Copyright by Monique Anstee. May be reprinted without permission 1) if used in its entirety without editing; and 2) provided copyright notice remains in place.