Offensive Dog Aggression

January 9, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Dog Aggression

Offensive Aggression — This Spaniel warns not to proceed forward with a direct stare.

You reach for the dog nail trimmers. As you’re approaching your dog, he freezes, lowers his head and growls. His warning growl says, “Don’t do it.” You stop in your tracks, sigh and feel defeated so you put the nail trimmers back in the cabinet and watch TV instead. Sound familiar?

Learn how to identify and successfully manage offensive dog aggression. The solution is probably not what you’re thinking. 🙂

What is Offensive Dog Aggression?

Offensive means to stop something before it happens. Aggression means “hostile or violent behavior toward something.” When paired together, offensive aggression means to threaten violence toward someone before something bad happens. Usually, this is a learned behavior; a dog learns how to successfully stop a perceived threat before it happens.

Offensive aggression exists in the human world too. People usually stare threateningly at past enemies, freeze when an opponent walks into a room or verbally threaten attackers to prevent them from approaching.

When I say “learned,” it takes practice to figure out what aggressive displays work best to prevent a perceived attack. Direct eye contact may work, but what if it doesn’t? Offensive aggression is a fine line. Push too hard, then violent fights break out. Immediate physical attack can cause a fight, which dogs want to prevent. That’s why they’re learning to warn instead.

Prevention

Prevention means listening to your dog. If he is uncomfortable, stop. Offensive aggression stems from past negative experiences. Dogs learn that “x” equals “y” so they better stop “x (dog, person, whatever)” from “y (hurting them again).”

Instead of forcing nails trims or body handling, teach dogs to allow it. As much as we want dogs to be “little humans,” they’re not. So instead of grabbing your dog’s toenail and trimming, touch his nail, click and give a treat. The same goes for body handling. Most dogs dislike restraint so teach them it’s fun and they will not be harmed.

Never force a dog or puppy to meet strange dogs. This can create a dog aggressive dog in seconds. Dogs, which are scared of other dogs, will display offensive aggressive body language when they see another dog. It’s almost like they’re saying, “I’ll get you before you get me!” Yikes!

Still don’t believe me? Remember when Great Aunt Emma would grab and hug you until your eyes popped out at Christmas dinner? Soon you learned to avoid her by hiding under the table. But what if Great Aunt Emma gave you candy, as she hugged you, it wouldn’t be so bad, huh?

What Does Not Work?

For some reason, we feel that forcing a dog to deal with negative things is part of life. Have you looked into your dog’s mouth? Do you see those big teeth? Yeah, they can and will use them. Dogs are not fuzzy humans. Force means threats in their world and dogs will learn to fend off threats. Would you force a silverback gorilla to trim his nails? You probably wouldn’t because they’re bigger and stronger, and can cause serious harm — same with dogs. Dogs will never enjoy nail trims, but they will learn to tolerate. They trust you to not harm them and you will stop when they need a break. Plus, they earn yummy treats (their paycheck).

Management

If your dog already displays offensive aggression when her nails are being trimmed or when a strange dog approaches, then it’s time to teach her fun things happen instead.

To begin, you’ll need a clicker and yummy treats.

Nail Trims

Practice each step 5 times a day for 3 days. If your dog becomes confused, take a step back. I’ve found restraint of the paw usually causes a dog to become uncomfortable so practice often.

Touch a front paw with your hand and click/treat.
Touch a back paw with your hand and click/treat.
Touch a front toenail with your finger.
Now practice touching a back toenail with your finger.
Show your dog the nail trimmer (dog does not need to touch nail trimmer). Just pair a click/treat with the presence of the nail trimmer.
Touch nail trimmer to paw.
Now, touch nail trimmer to front toenail (Don’t trim a nail yet. If you do, you’ll most likely have to start back at step 1).
Touch trimmer to back toenail.
Hold front foot in your hand for 1 second.
Hold back foot in your hand for 1 second.
Trim a tiny tip off one toenail and end session.
Continue to practice until each toenail can be easily trimmed.

Body Handling

Take a peek at this video, which provides great tips on teaching body handling. Same principles apply when teaching your dog to allow nail trims too!

Coming Out of Crate

Move away from the crate opening. Better yet, stand next to the side of the crate. Toss a super yummy treat about 6 feet outside the crate opening. Bingo!

Strange Dog Approaching

This Dog Socialization Tips article covers prevention and management in detail.

Prevention is key!

Resource Guarding

January 9, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Resource Guarding in Dogs

How do you feel when someone leans or sits on your new car? Mercy! You’ve worked hard to pay for that shiny new car. Folks need to show respect, right? Now, you understand why dogs guard their new toys.

What is Resource Guarding?

Every dog possesses the need to guard objects. Guarding resources is a primitive survival instinct. You can’t survive without shelter, food and water so it behooves you to protect valuable resources.

Aggression is a learned behavior. If you threaten someone, as he approaches your food, and he retreats, you’ve learned that aggression works. The dog world lists material, territorial, protective, possessive and sex-related aggression as different types of aggression, but when you peel back the layers, the cause is usually due to guarding babies, territory or mates. So I lump these terms into resource guarding.

What Does Resource Guarding Look Like?

Dogs will warn before biting. It’s up to us to notice the telltale signs. As another dog or person approaches, most dogs will:

Freeze or stiffen their bodies
Lower their heads over their prized object
Widen their eyes with the whites showing (whale eye)

If a threat continues approaching, dogs will increase their warning by:

Making direct eye contact (“Um, this is mine!”)
Growling
Showing teeth
Snapping
Lunging
Biting

VIDEO: Resource Guarding

Stella (Mini Bull Terrier) guards an antler. Sobek (Rottweiler) is asking for it, but Stella says “No.” Sobek takes the hint and relaxes. Sobek is dealing with his frustration and Stella never becomes aggressive. Her body language told the story.

Prevention

One ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold and this is so true for resource guarding.

Play the Trade Game

Instead of taking away a prized chew toy, play the trade game. Offer your puppy or dog a piece of hot dog for his chew toy. As he drops the chew toy, pick it up and give him a piece of hot dog. Hey, if you try to take away my cheesecake because you think I’ve had enough, I just might growl at you too! But if you give me a $100 bill for my cheesecake, then we’re cool. 🙂

Good Things Happen

Approach your dog, as he’s eating, and toss something really yummy into his food bowl. Dogs will learn to back away from their bowl so you can toss delicious chunks of roast beef or a huge scoop of canned food into their bowls. Basically, they’re learning that “approaching” does not mean you’re taking away their food, but adding to it.

RELATED: Prevent Resource Guarding

Separation is Good

For multiple dog households, separate dogs to prevent resource guarding behavior. It never fails; one dog finds the nylabone that has not been chewed on in years. Suddenly, the forgotten nylabone becomes a hot commodity. Every dogs wants to chew it right this minute. Or, you hand each dog a bully stick. They don’t want their stick. They want the bully stick being chewed by the other dog, oi vay.

Ask dogs to go in their crates and reward with a bully stick or scheduled meal. It’s best to add visual barriers (see no evil :)), such as sheets or blankets, to prevent crate guarding opportunities. Once all dogs have finished their chews or dinner, open crate doors, pick up food bowls and release dogs from crates.

Management for Dogs Already Resource Guarding

Food Bowl, Chew Toys and Food Stuffed Kongs

Practice sharing games and teach the trade cue. I promise, it will get better! If not, seek professional help.

That’s My Spot

Some dogs will guard their favorite napping spots, usually the sofa or bed, from dogs and even people. My general rule: If you act rude, you lose privileges. If a dog is guarding a spot on the sofa (or bed), toss a treat on the ground while saying “off.” You are not rewarding your dog for guarding; you’re rewarding him for getting off the sofa. Don’t make this a standoff because then you’re reinforcing guarding behavior. They’re getting to practice it.

RELATED: Offensive Dog Aggression

If she jumps right back on the sofa, say “off” while tossing a piece of treat on the ground. Usually, by the second or third time, your dog takes the hint and finds another spot to rest.

Plus, play sharing games. Resource guarding dogs will usually protect other prized possessions too.

That’s My Human

If someone gave me free access to car rides, cheesecakes and donuts, I would totally guard him too! Most resource guarding dogs practice this behavior while sitting in your lap. The moment you notice the first sign of resource guarding, which is usually body stiffening or hard stare, I say “off” and toss a piece of food on the ground. The person being resource guarded should put the dog on the ground.

Secondly, change your dog’s perspective by playing sharing games.

Don’t Touch My Puppies

Maternal instincts are hardwired for a reason so listen to the momma dog. If she doesn’t want other dogs around her puppies, place barriers around the whelping box to prevent visitors from gawking at her puppies.

Get Off My Lawn

Knock knock. Who’s there? Why do dogs bark when the doorbell rings? Because it announces someone is there!

Your dog is not dominant. He’s saying , “Hey mom, someone is here.” So what do you want your dog to do instead? Lay on a mat? Run to you when they hear the doorbell ring? Sit quietly at the door?

Once you figured out polite guest announcement behavior, get busy teaching with yummy treats and a clicker. Start by attaching a leash to your dog.

Teach her to sit by the door (or lay on the mat). Practice 5 times a day for a week.
Ring doorbell (or knock), then lure your dog into “sit” or “lay on mat.” Continue to practice daily for a week.
Ring doorbell (or knock) and wait for dog to offer “sit” or “lay on mat” behavior.
Now the doorbell (or knock) is the cue to sit quietly or lay on a mat.

Get Your Own Girlfriend

Does your house resemble the nightclub on a Saturday night? This happens when dogs are intact (not spayed or neutered) and a female dog goes into season (heat cycle). It seems all the boys fall madly in love with her and will defend her honor. If altering a dog is not an option, separate using multiple barriers. Give the poor boy a break and have him sleep over at a friend’s house until your girl has completed her season (about 3 weeks from start to finish).

Resource guarding is normal, but you don’t have to live with it!

Prevent Resource Guarding

January 9, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Use Sharing Exercises to Prevent Resource Guarding

Does your dog guard his food, toy or you? This is normal dog behavior, but it can be corrected. Use these sharing exercises for preventing and managing resource guarding.

Note:

For multi-dog households, feed other dogs in their crates while practicing sharing exercises with your guarder. This keeps everyone safe and ensures success.
If you, a family member or other dogs have been bitten or resource guarding worsens, seek professional help.
Between meals, keep empty food bowl in a cabinet or behind a closed door. At times, some dogs will guard an empty food bowl.

Approach-Toss-Retreat Move

Before beginning the process, it’s vital to learn the move. This resembles a bowling move:

Step forward.
Crouch down as you toss the treats.
Step back.

Week One

While your dog is eating a meal (or chewing a high value treat), take one or two steps toward your dog while tossing hot dogs or cheese toward his bowl.
The yummy treat does not need to land in his bowl, just near the dog.
Back up one or two steps away from your dog, turn away and ignore him.
Repeat 2-4 times per meal at each meal time.

If your dog growls or freezes, you’ve moved too close to his food bowl. Next time, try taking only one step forward while tossing food. Or try tossing treats from across the room. Treats should land near your dog. If he scatters about, that’s okay too.

Week Two

By now, you’ve practiced your bowling moves during your dog’s meals. Now, your dog will lift his head up and away from his food bowl as you approach. Some dogs will even take a few steps away, as they’ve learned your approach means treats. Good job!

As your dog is eating a meal or chewing on a bone, approach closer. Try to approach within 2-4 feet of your dog. Toss treats and retreat. Since you’re moving closer, try tossing treats in the food bowl or at a chew toy.
Practice twice per meal or during chewing session.

If your dog begins growling as you approach, increase distance. You’ve moved too far too fast.

Week Three

Usually, this is the homestretch. Your dog has learned to step back from his bowl or move his head away from the chew toy. It’s time to add a cue.

As you approach, say “food” while tossing treats about two feet from his bowl. Try to toss treats toward the right of the dog bowl or chew toy. “Food” means “move away from your bowl.” For toys, say “give.”
Once your dog walks over to eat the treats, pick up his bowl (or toy).
After your dog eats the treats, ask him to “sit.” Once he’s sitting and there’s still food in the bowl, put the bowl down again. If all food has been eaten, pick up the bowl and place on a shelf.

Maintenance

Your dog understands that the “food” cue means you’re approaching and picking up his food bowl. To maintain this polite behavior, practice makes perfect!

Meals:
- Once or twice a week, walk over and toss something super yummy in your dog’s food bowl like a spoon full of canned food or hot dogs.
- Say the “food” cue while picking up his food bowl.

If, at anytime, your dog reverts back to guarding his bowl, start back at Week One. Setbacks happen, so don’t fret and get back to dog training. 🙂

How to Stop a Male Dog From Marking

December 31, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Dog Marking Behavior

Tired of yellow spots and stains in your home? Are you irritated by frequent stops, so your male dog can mark everything? Before preventing dog marking behavior, it’s important to understand the cause.

Why Dogs Mark

Leaving small amounts of urine behind is normal. It’s like leaving a message for other dogs to read. I joke, but watching dogs sniff urine markings is like reading their Facebook pages. They may choose to “post back” or not. Intact males and females mark more often, as they’re usually trying to find a mate (you can say the same thing for single humans on their Facebook page too). Usually, males mark more often than females, but I’ve watched some intact females that can give the boys a run for their money!

Health

Anytime you notice a change, either heath or behavioral, bring your dog to a vet. As a dog trainer, I’ve personally witnessed an “un-potty trainable” dog that couldn’t hold his urine. This went on for a year, and this poor boy was only a year old. After a thorough vet exam, he had a congenital issue (born with it), which prevented him from holding his urine. After a quick surgery, he’s completely potty trained. Never assume. Always rule out health issues first.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a cause of marking behavior and frequent urination. Plus, if you notice your dog drinking and urinating more, this is cause for alarm. Health issues should be ruled out first before starting any training.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a cause of excessive marking. I’ve encountered this behavior with many stressed male dogs. Usually, anxiety-induced marking is accompanied with other abnormal behaviors, such as hyper vigilance (constant scanning of their environment for threats), suspicious behavior, pacing, moving slowly and/or an inability to relax.

If anxiety is suspected, contact a professional dog trainer or animal behaviorist. He can point you in the right direction. Punishing or expecting an anxious dog to get over it will not work. Just like people, some dogs are unable to calm themselves. In the meantime, try DAP therapy, soft music and Thundershirts. For maximum effectiveness, it’s best to use a combination approach while seeking professional help.

Is He Truly Potty Trained?

It’s a valid question and worth taking a day or two to incorporate potty training tips. If dog marking stops, then he wasn’t really potty trained, which is a relief. You found the cause and can easily move forward. 🙂

Clean the Marked Area

Most pet owners clean urine stains using everyday house cleaning products. While they remove the stain, they don’t remove the urine odor. Have you ever noticed your dog pees in the same place, outside or on pee pads? This is normal dog behavior, and we use it to our advantage when potty training a dog.

Dog have an intense sense of smell. As an example, if you walk into someone’s house and they’re cooking soup, you smell soup. But dogs smell each specific ingredient in the soup, such as onions, carrots, beef, noodles and so on.

Back to cleaning, clean and then re-clean the marked areas using recommended enzyme cleaners.

Dog Marks in One Spot

If your boy marks in one specific spot, keep it simple. Block the area with a gate or close the door. Most pet parents balk at these suggestions. They’re convinced that the door will remain closed or the item will be removed permanently. Actually, by removing the marked object, you’re removing the temptation to mark. When a dog practices a behavior, it gets stronger. Same goes with dog marking. Plus, it can become a learned behavior, which is tougher to manage. Trust me, remove it or close the door, clean the area using recommended enzyme cleaners (multiple cleanings are recommended) and, in six months, your dog will forget about it.

He’s a Multiple Spot Marker

This can be a bit tougher, so I’ll make a few recommendations. Usually, these boys have an underlying anxiety issue. To prevent, seek professional assistance, employ potty training techniques (crate when left alone) and try a belly band. While belly bands prevent urine from touching precious items, it doesn’t really teach a dog not to mark. Belly bands wrap around a dog’s waist, covering his private area, which acts as a protective barrier between urine and furniture.

Punishment

I know you were thinking about it, so let’s discuss it. In my 22 years of dog training, punishment has never worked for urine marking. What ends up happening is your dog will learn to mark when you’re not present. When this happens, you have a real challenge. For anxious dogs, the problem will worsen.

Prevention

Spaying and neutering will reduce dog marking behavior, especially if done before sexual maturity. If you want to dive further into this topic, take a peek at Anneke E. Lisberg’s article about the effects of neutering and scent marking.

How to Calm an Anxious Dog

December 29, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Dealing With Dog Anxiety

Anxiety in Dogs — mexitographer/Deposit Photos

Dealing with an anxious dog can be stressful. As his owner, you’re probably always looking for the next best solution to calm your anxious dog. Allow me to introduce you to DAP therapy, which stands for Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP). I was a bit skeptical in the beginning. Then, I witnessed the calming effect pretty quickly during private lessons and group classes.

What is Dog Appeasing Pheromone Therapy?

DAP mimics a mother dog’s pheromones, which she produces while nursing her puppies. This pheromone has a calming effect for most dogs. There’s a version for cats too, which is especially useful for urine marking or pottying outside their litter box.

How Should I Use It?

DAP is produced by many different companies. Personally, I’ve had the best luck with Comfort Systems. However, try different brands to find the right one for your dog. Choose from diffusors, sprays or towelettes. Each form of DAP emits pheromones into the air.

Diffusers: They work best in a small room. Plug it in next to your dog’s crate.
Sprays: Mist in air before leaving, spray on a cloth toy/ bedding in dog’s crate, or spritz on a bandana and tie around your dog’s neck.
Towelettes: Wipe along your dog’s bed or carry during car rides.

Will it Help My Dog?

Yes. I’ve noticed a decent improvement for most dogs. Many vets, who are board-certified in animal behavior, recommend DAP as part of their behavior protocols. Some will mist the air during consultations.

DAP works well for separation anxiety, chronic stress, fearfulness, aggression (symptom of anxiety), thunderstorm phobia, reactivity to loud sounds and so on. Keep an eye on your dog. Sometimes–it’s very rare–it can make things worse. As with any treatment, there are side effects.

Now, this is not a miracle product. It’s always best to use DAP with a combination of products for maximum effectiveness with anxious dogs. DAP works really well with music therapy, Thundershirt and supplements. It’s definitely a great product and worth the money.

Dog Aggression

What is Offensive Dog Aggression?

Prevention

What Does Not Work?

Management

Nail Trims

Body Handling

Coming Out of Crate

Strange Dog Approaching

Resource Guarding in Dogs

What is Resource Guarding?

What Does Resource Guarding Look Like?

Prevention

Play the Trade Game

Good Things Happen

Separation is Good

Management for Dogs Already Resource Guarding

Food Bowl, Chew Toys and Food Stuffed Kongs

That’s My Spot

That’s My Human

Don’t Touch My Puppies

Get Off My Lawn

Get Your Own Girlfriend

Use Sharing Exercises to Prevent Resource Guarding

Approach-Toss-Retreat Move

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Dog Marking Behavior

Why Dogs Mark

Health

Anxiety

Is He Truly Potty Trained?

Clean the Marked Area

Dog Marks in One Spot

He’s a Multiple Spot Marker

Punishment

Prevention

Dealing With Dog Anxiety

What is Dog Appeasing Pheromone Therapy?

How Should I Use It?

Will it Help My Dog?

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