When your dog is unpredictably aggressive
Our dog is unpredictably aggressive. Sometimes it is directed toward people and other times he attacks dogs in our home. During the last incident, we were preparing food in the kitchen. That is when he went after one of the other dogs, injuring her. We have put the effort into teaching him to wait for food so he knows his place in the pack. What is going on and how can we start to address this?
Few dogs are unpredictably aggressive. Some dogs have triggers that are difficult to spot.
One of the most difficult to sort out is called resource guarding. Owners often describe their dog has having a Jekyll and Hyde personality.
Resource guarding manifests in many forms. The crux of the problem is that the dog is defending or protecting a resource that it values. Guarding can be directed toward other animals, or people. Some dogs react toward both.
Typically, dogs will guard food and bones. Anything is fair game. Some dogs will guard sleeping areas and others will guard people. It can extend to unusual objects such as dish rags, garbage or forbidden items like shoes.
Resources are additive. This means that a dog, on a bed, with a bone, next to their person has many things worth guarding. Dogs will be more reactive, more aggressive, if they have many things to guard instead of just one.
Resource guarders are prone to being touch-sensitive. They often struggle with grooming, being petted or having their personal space invaded.
Finally, guarding can spread. For example, dogs may begin to guard the kitchen if they learn that the kitchen predicts meals. For this reason, it’s important to address the root of the problem and not just the symptoms. Waiting for meals is not enough.
Resource guarding is a survival skill. Animals that can hold onto valuable resources have a better chance of surviving. It becomes a problem when it escalates. Imagine the reaction we might have if someone reaches for our wallet without permission. That is understandable. Hitting people passing by would not be.
Address the problem by changing the dog’s emotional response. Convince them that there is no threat of loss. Taking the purse example further, it would be like realizing that people are putting money into your wallet. Suddenly, you want people reaching for your handbag.
Owners are doing this type of exercise when they touch a puppy’s bowl and drop in a special treat. Puppies learn that humans bring good things.
Once resource guarding has escalated to the point where harm is being done, it is imperative that families obtain coaching. The exercises are similar, but the execution needs to be controlled with safety in mind.
When we ask our dog to sit, she often lies down. We really don’t mind because it is good enough. Is it wrong to reward her for trying?
Reinforcing a dog for trying is what I call a sympathy cookie. Lying down isn’t bad but it is not what was requested. Some owners may be happy with good enough.
Rewarding wrong answers is like putting check marks on incorrect answers on a math test. The answer is clearly incorrect. Confusion is created. Next time, we can expect more errors. That is a problem.
Sometimes, “sit” means “sit.” It is unrealistic to expect the right responses in real life when we accept wrong responses in training. When owners train to a low bar, it’s unfair to become frustrated with incorrect answers. Drilling and training to a higher bar is well worth the effort. Yvette Van Veen is an animal behaviour consultant. Write her at advice@awesomedogs.ca.