Recently a blog reader wrote in after one of her dogs snapped at her. The incident generated a lively conversation in the comment section, and I thought it was worth writing a post about it. So many of us have been in a similar situation that I thought it would be a valuable discussion for lots of dog owners. The reader (thank you TK!) graciously agreed to let the incident serve as a case study, and I am grateful to her for providing us a jumping off point for a good discussion about how to handle an aggression-related behavioral problem.
I’ll describe the incident, but before I go any further I should be clear that I am summarizing for the sake of brevity. If the dog’s owner was a client I would spend at least forty-five minutes interviewing her and working with the dogs (preferably in her home) before saying much of anything. Then we’d work together for several sessions until I was confident that things were going in the right direction and the owner had the resources she needed to continue. But here’s the bottom line:
There are two adult humans and two young dogs in the house. I’m going to call the dogs Betty and Sheldon and the owner who wrote in TK. Both dogs are about 18 months of age, both are Border Collies crosses who are fixed, and get a good two hours of exercise and training every day. They play together well, although every once in a while Betty gets “moody,” and looks at Sheldon with a cold, hard stare. Immediately afterward she will either snap out of it or Sheldon snaps at her and she exhibits appeasement behavior. Both dogs appear to be healthy and have no medical issues.
THE INCIDENT: The dogs and TK were returning home after having been away all weekend together. TK and Betty entered the house, and Betty turned and gave a hard stare to Sheldon, who was still outside. He stopped and stayed outside the door. TK began to get their food ready while Sheldon was still outside of the house, and Betty continued to stare intensely at Sheldon. TK tried to change Betty’s behavior by standing between the dogs and perhaps moving her hand in front of Betty’s face to distract her. That’s when Betty snapped at her hand. Betty clearly made a choice to warn TK away rather than biting her, but having one’s dog threaten you with the weapons in its mouth can still be shocking. It feels like a betrayal, not to mention being concerned that you might have been be injured. There’s nothing like canine teeth to remind us that our skin is fragile stuff. Even though I am a biologist I only think of myself as being covered in “flesh” after a dog attempted to bite me.
NOW WHAT? The incident ended there, but what should TK do in the future? Here are some of my thoughts, but I encourage you to add in your own experience and thoughts about how best to handle this. (Or how you handled it and wish you hadn’t… mistakes often teach us more than success, yes?)
FIRST, LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENT & CONTEXT: I’d start by asking about the internal environment of the dog. Is it possible it’s in pain? Old and losing it’s eyesight? Old age is not relevant here, but both dogs are not quite adults, and adolescent dogs often change their behavior, even if they’ve been spayed or neutered (although there’s nothing like a female about to go into heat to remind us why the word “bitch” is a dirty word). Both Betty and Sheldon are fixed and appear to be healthy, but it never hurts to confirm with your vet that the dogs really are fine.
At the same time, look carefully at the external environment and the context of the event. In this case, the dogs were coming back into the house after being away with the owner all weekend. I’ve seen numerous examples of what can only be described as “resource guarding” when dogs were away and came back home. My sweet and docile Lassie used to walk back into the house like an especially arrogant runway model if just she and I had been away together, and the other dogs had stayed home. It was as though she’d “copped an attitude” for a couple of days. That’s a context that’s always good to be aware of, I’ve seen it cause no end of problems. It never hurts in that case to let Sheldon in the house first for a few minutes, then bring Betty in later. Secondly, and equally importantly, it sounds as though the food was kept close to the door, so that entering the house also meant walking toward dinner itself, which set up even more resource guarding. I’d do what I could to move where the food is stored, although I know that isn’t always possible.
DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM BEHAVIOR AND THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE: Obviously, the most serious problem behavior was that Betty snapped at TK’s hand, but the initial problem was Betty’s cold, hard stare toward Sheldon. I’d say both behaviors are the ones TK needs to change, and replace with something far more patient and polite. What if TK taught Betty that if she sits and waits while Sheldon gets food, she gets something just as good or better? The same for entering the house; what if Betty learns to love it when Sheldon comes in, because when he does she gets whatever it is she wants, whether it is food or access to TK?
“Patient and Polite” is the driving force of the booklet I wrote, Feeling Outnumbered, in which dogs learn that they don’t get what they want by being pushy or competitive, but by being polite. Here, briefly, are some things I’d suggest for TK related to that:
TEACH NEW BEHAVIORS: Teach what I call “Belle of the Ball:” Once both dogs have good sit/stays, ask Betty to sit down beside you when you have a handful of treats. Ask husband (or friend) to bring Sheldon forward toward you (on leash if necessary) and stop long before Betty goes stiff and begins to stare. As Sheldon approaches, Betty gets treats while she sits beside you. As Sheldon moves backward, withdraw the treats. Rinse and repeat, gradually coming closer and closer over a series of sessions, but never going too far too fast. In other words, Betty learns that “Sheldon coming toward me, my owner and food means that I get the food, while Sheldon moving away means I don’t get any. Eventually we want Betty to be thinking: “Sheldon…. Come Back!” Right now she is probably worried about losing what she wants because Sheldon is competition, but she could learn that the approach of Sheldon means even better things will happen. Oh boy.
Outside of the context of any competition, I’d also teach the following, being sure to spend lots of time with each dog by him or herself. It is so easy to try to work two dogs at the same time when they live with us and we are busy, but I believe (no data, just a belief) that is it critical to ensure that trust, communication and mutual respect flows between each one of us and each one of our dogs, rather than letting the world sort into “us” and “them.” Of course this takes more time. . . aren’t we glad that TK likes to train her dogs?
Get Back, or Back Up. This is one of my favorite cues, because you can use it in so many contexts—back up so I can open the door, back up because you are being pushy and I want to reinforce patience not pushiness, back up because it’s a really fun trick, back up because what is in front of you might be dangerous, and/or: back up because you are starting to get that rude, “moody” look on your face and I want you to back up on your own so that I can keep you out of trouble. The key is to teach this as a fun trick when you and the dog are alone, using lots of positive reinforcement.
Lie Down and Stay. An oldie but a goodie, such a useful cue! I had a female who looked daggers at another female on occasion. When she did I’d say “Get Back” and then “Lie Down,” all in a friendly, upbeat voice. I’d keep her there until her face softened, and then release her and off we’d go to do something fun, or at least, neutral. I am confident that this kept her and the other female out of some serious trouble. Misty was just hard-wired as the kind of dog who got very intense sometimes about her “stuff,” and had to be managed on occasion.
New Tricks, like Spin, or Play Bow or High Five can be great ways to prevent or release tension. It’s hard to look like an intimidating gang member when you’re looking playful. Both of those movements are associated with play, and we know that postures can influence internal emotions, so I’ve used them to disperse tension if it appears. Also useful are simple phrases like “Wanna go on a walk?” or even “Okay!” Most dogs are classically conditioned to feel happy anticipation when they hear those words. Sometimes it helps to say “Stay” first to a dog who is tense, (using a low, quiet voice) and then “Okay!” in an upbeat tone. It’s like fooling their limbic system into another state, from tense and on guard, to relaxed and happily excited.
DAMP DOWN AROUSAL: One key in situations like the one TK found herself in is to ask what level of emotionality you want in your dogs, and mimic it in your voice. If I’d been with Betty and Sheldon I would have kept my voice very quiet, perhaps even sing-song, in order to keep the tension from escalating. This is sometimes a lot easier to write about than to do (I speak from experience) but it is a skill well worth mastering.
LOVE THAT YOU CAN USE THEIR CRATES: Just last week I was tired and in a hurry. I don’t remember what my adolescent dog, Maggie, did, but she was driving me beyond crazy. I had to stop and take a breath, and remember that I could put her in her crate for both our sakes. I knew perfectly well that I wasn’t going to be able to be who I wanted to be at the moment, so I took a breath and said, “Maggie, crate up!” Problem not solved, but a bigger one prevented. Whew. Gotta love those crates sometimes.
Argh, so much more I want to say! But I’ve gone on too long, and it’s your turn. Have you been in this situation? What have you found most useful? What have you tried that you now wish you hadn’t? (Don’t be shy, and remember that wonderful saying I heard years ago: “We train by regret”. Decades ago, before I learned what I know now, I am sure that I would have done little but yell at Betty. Sigh.) I should add that there are some excellent suggestions for TK comments in the recent post, Subliminal.
MEANWHILE, not back on the farm: Jim is still holding down the fort, I fly home tomorrow after a lovely day in New Hampshire with a dear, family friend. I was lucky to catch the tail end of fall in New England. Sweet.
Laceyh says
Many years ago I had a very difficult little dog, an ‘only’ pet because her attitude was so bad, especially with other dogs but also with people at times. Once I told her to go to bed, as usual, and instead she snapped at me. Since I’d had her for several years without that, I was startled, and initially pulled back. Then I concluded that she was just testing me. I picked her up and put her in her bed. I continued to work with her on aggression in general, sometimes trying foolish recommended paths and sometimes having some success. She never snapped at me again.
Kathleen Bullard says
Occasionally our dog, Blake, exhibits resource guarding with my husband. This is especially true at night as we are all going to bed (so we are all tired). It is has been my practice to take off his collar and give him an antler to chew on while I read in bed. If it is a while before my husband comes in, he’ll sometimes bark and growl at him. Then it’s as though he snaps out of it and feels embarrassed since he’ll walk over with head down and tail wagging. But its disturbing. So I have gotten us in the habit of making sure my husband walks in and out a few times without paying attention to him (don’t look him in the eyes!) while Blake sits next to me and chews on the antler. Since he’s a rescue and was about 2 years old with no clue as to his history, we don’t know if this is some kind of trigger from his previous home. The walking around and paying no attention to him seems to do the trick, including at other times when he’s exhibited this behavior.
Kristen Sukalac says
Your mentioning the low, quiet voice triggers a question I’ve been meaning to ask. I know your doctoral research explored the “meanings” of different tones and sound patterns. I’d be curious to know what kind of deviations and exceptions you witnessed. We have a fear aggressive Cane Corso who was probably not socialised promptly (he’s a rescue dog picked up by the dog catcher, so our knowledge about his first 18 months is conjecture). Anyway, during the rehabilitation process, it became clear that he misinterprets the low, quiet voice as a sign of worry or nervousness (as if we were growling) and contributes to his reactivity. Only that manic Happy Voice seems to work. Based on your research, I’d be interested to hear what you think, but I realise it’s a bit off-topic and might be better handled in a separate blog post.
Frances says
I brought Poppy (Toy Poodle) home when Sophy (Papillon) was about 10 months old, after a lot of thought and discussion with an excellent local dog trainer and behaviourist. I had intended to wait until Sophy was older, but she very much wanted to play with other dogs, and most of those that were young enough to play were also too big and too silly to play safely! I had read a great deal about how badly things can go wrong between two bitches, so worked on good manners from the first – lots and lots of polite turn taking, minimising opportunities for resource guarding and policing any that occur (I accept a certain degree of food protection, but don’t encourage Sophy’s game of keeping Poppy out of half the sitting room with half an evil eye!), and encouraging happy play while intervening if it gets too heated. I am with my dogs most of the time, so they don’t have many opportunities to develop unwanted habits.
Sophy has been known to snap at humans, and even make skin contact – always when someone has inadvertently caught her tail under a foot, or sat on it. That HURTS! And she also turned into a whirling, snarling dervish with teeth when she slipped a disc and the vet ran his hands down her back – that was when I realised just how much pain she as in, and how forgiving she had been of my hands. The lesson I learned is that our dogs will often trust us enough to let us do things that hurt with barely a murmur, but will warn off someone they trust less – that murmur for me could turn into a snap or bite for someone else, so I take notice of it!
Lisa L says
Excellent post, I learned a lot.
Mireille says
I have two brothers (Siberians) at home. Shadow can ben very touchy. He is also a resuorce guarder. And reactive to other dogs (in a way we still haven’t quite figured out what exactly goes wrong). Highly strung would be a good way to describe him, driven in all he does. He used to guard stuff from Spot to the extend that a Look from him was enough to let Spot disappear into his crate with tail tucked down or sometimes attacking Spot if both had a stuffed Kong or chew bone and claiming Spot’s bone. When he was very much aroused, he would snap at anything or anyone touching him or getting in his way.
We have done similar things as what Trish described. I let them lick out a bowl in turns, have Spot solve a puzzle while Shad sits beside me and give him treats to reward calm behaviour f.i.
Apart from that we also worked on selfcontrol with Shad.
When the tension got high, we diffused it or used crates.
We also started to read his “arousal level”. I can imagine that that also plays a role in the situation described above. I am also more cranky when tired and I snap more often. So after an exciting weekend, we have a calm “rest’ day with familiair walks and not much new stuff.
When the dogs were young, they would start to fight after their last meal at night, so I sterted to feed them in their crates. At first I closed the doors and kept them apart for at least 10 min. Nowadays I do not have to do that anymore, but feeding time = means racing to their seperate crates. Sometimes that went wrong: one time I had two sibes stuffed into one crate and I literally had to drag one out of there. I was so funny ;-).
Anyway, they are fine together now. I only have one problem at the moment and I would like your advice. Both are intact males and … well… hormones?! Currently there are two bitches in heat in the neighbourhood and the dogs are pretty hyper. Shad mounts Spot (who does not seem to mind it all that much, but I do, especially on walks in the middle of town), they scent mark the yard frequently, are a tad more touchy towards each other, restless at night (occasionally howling LOUDLY) and last monday Spot was schmoozing with a female visitor: solliciting cuddles = ok but he started to nibble her sleeve and then tried to mount her. Which was off course not ok (blushes). Now I am thinking of castrating them since this mus be pretty darn frustrating for them too. Spot is not “breeding material” anyway (too big, too leggy) and although Shad is physically near perfect I find his character towards other dogs a bit to fierce for a siberian. But I am hesistant because they are getting along fine now, it has only gotten better in these past 3 years and I fear of turning all that upside down. So I am thinking about a chemical castration with a chip, which would last 6-12 months to see how it turns out. What do you think?
Mireille says
as an addition to teh above post some info about chemical castration
Steur, E.R.
source Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Theses (2011)
full text [Full text]
document type Doctoral thesis
discipline Diergeneeskunde
abstract Chemical castration using GnRH agonists has proven to be an effective method of rendering dogs infertile as a reversible alternative to orchiectomy. However, little is known about the behavioral effects of chemical castration. In this study, the effects of surgical and chemical castration on aggression, sexual behavior, play behavior and fear/insecurity in male dogs were assessed. In order to do so, twenty-three dogs where chemically castrated using implants which slowly release the GnRH agonist Deslorelin (Suprelorin®), and 18 dogs were surgically castrated. Their behavior was assessed on the day of, but prior to treatment and 4-5 months after treatment by means of a behavior test and a questionnaire that was filled out by the dog-owners. No significant changes in fear/insecurity and aggression were seen after treatment using the behavior tests in both groups. However, many owners did observe a decrease in aggressive behavior towards other male dogs (suprelorin implant group: 43.5%, surgical castration group: 47.0%). Moreover, no significant differences could be found between groups concerning the individual results of the behavior test and the results of the perceptive questions concerning aggressive behavior and fear/insecurity. Play behavior increased significantly in the suprelorin group as well as the surgical castration group, both groups showed a similar increase (p=0.008 and p= 0.041 respectively). Additionally, the owners of the dogs in both groups observed a decrease of sexual behavior towards estrus bitches. However, significantly more owners of the surgical castration group noticed this decrease, compared to the owners of the suprelorin implant group (p=0.018). A decrease in sexual behavior was not observed during the behavior tests. Overall, this study shows that surgical and chemical castration in dogs induce similar effects with regard to aggression, fear/insecurity and play behavior. However, according to our study, a greater effect on sexual behavior can be expected following orchiectomy compared to the changes after chemical castration. Although this study provides some interesting information about the behavioral effects of surgical and chemical castration, more research is needed in order to make a clear statement about the degree in which surgical castration and chemical castration lead to similar results.
Amanda says
Thank you SOooo much for taking the time and trouble to write this case history up for us – reading your approach and ‘take’ on the situation is so so useful as a learning tool and a revision of how to approach the situation in terms of how you think out the problem and then seek to resolve it. THANK YOU!!!
Blue says
Oh I know that hard stare! My Aussie is reactive to other dogs when she’s on a leash and that stare is the first sign that she’s about to go over her threshold. I use hand targeting with her as a way of interrupting the hard stare. If I ask her to sit or down, she can continue staring, but if I ask her to touch my hand, she has to turn her head. I also vary where I hold my hand (high, low, to her left, to her right) so she has to search for it, hopefully getting to thinking about something besides the other dog! It’s a great way to keep her from getting fixated.
Kathleen Walsh says
” They play together well, although every once in a while Betty gets “moody,” and looks at Sheldon with a cold, hard stare. Immediately afterward she will either snap out of it or Sheldon snaps at her and she exhibits appeasement behavior.”
Just my opinon but seems that Betty’s ‘moody’ behavior had been going on for a while but not addressed by owner. I’m kind of a believer in ‘nip it in the bud’ w dogs- distract before it becomes habitual. Your solutions are great but much easier if, when noticed 1st or 2nd time- address that behavior w solutions ASAP.
Melissa Ossanna says
We are having issues with two of our dogs now. They have developed a dislike for one another, so the aggression is directed dog on dog, not at people. But several fights have broken out, so us people have to get involved. I have been working with the larger dog (who gets the upper hand in the fights) to get him to be calm around stimuli. But the dog that triggers the issues is another story. He barks excessively, and growls every time the other dog comes near him. This all started when we had a foster dog who also barked excessively, and Homer (the larger dog) lost his temper with all the barking, and went after Tobin (our barker) because the foster was in a crate while barking. The timing also coincided with Homer reaching maturity….about two years old. We moved the foster, but then Tobin had a chip on his shoulder about Homer, and would get even more excitable when Homer was around. I now keep them separate at all times if anything exciting might occur to make Tobin bark and freak out, which is just about all the time until after dark, when my husband is home, and the UPS man has come and gone, and anything that I think may happen has happened. Tobin is an Eskie and they are wound up anyway, and Homer is a pittie/catahoula mix, who really does NOT like crazy, high energy stuff. We have another dog who both dogs get along with. I’m trying now to figure out how to get Tobin to calm down more, since Homer is very zen around anything I can do to trigger him. Can you work against a breed characteristic like overly exhuberant racing back and forth and barking over everything? I sure hope I can figure it out! I connect with Homer, and my husband connects with Tobin….so we need to find a way to make this work. Some of what you said here may be useful for us.
Carol says
We live with two mid aged GSD’s who take turn giving the hard eye and other blocking/herding maneuvers. I have to be careful of doorways – their high conflict zone as well as the top of stairs. One needs to know each dog’s subtle signals that precede that hard eye. Remember the trouble zones and situations guaranteed to start a yap-fest. Love them but they keep us working hard.
Andrea Mauer says
I love your post. I really like the idea of moving the food away from the entry to the house, as a trigger, as it was the first thing that I thought of. Also, I would replace coming to home and delay the meal anticipation directed by good behavior as well. I would start as you stated with having Sheldon eat first, but this may increase her anxiety. So, I would start a new routine where they come home, wait for good behavior from Betty before they gain extrance and work on the “back up” and then when inside and preparing the meal, have Betty lay and stay until it is served. Have her go into the back room and feed Sheldon in the front room where the food is kept. This way she can have her meal, but not obsess about where it is coming from. By all means praise Sheldon for staying out of the fray and reinforce how happy we are to be home and come in politely! Also, like you stated, remove the positive reinforcement if she begins to exhibit the undesirable hard stare, or showing too much “forward” behavior towards him. Adapt the variable interval schedule when they get used to the polite waiting behavior so it becomes more reliable. I also had a blue heeler cocker cross who wanted to herd and control
the dogs. She was snappy. I worked with her when she showed her teeth to pet and calm her with a lower “its ok, no biting… You’re ok, give kisses” I did this with her and she would lay on her back and with her teeth bared would kiss at me and get a treat and praise. Naughty smart girl quickly learned the food was received for licks not bites and I would take away the praise and treat if she barred her teeth, etc. but fade until she would just lick at the air and then my fingers and then my face. I think she had been in bad placements and had bitten as a fear and survivalist “someone has to take control here” type of environment. She never nipped or bit anyone and actually was very social and friendly otherwise. I also fed her away from the other dogs as she would take their food. Eventually she could eat in the same area, but I still had to keep an eye on her and remind her to leave them alone. She still would try to herd the dogs into a room and not let them out until I told her to move and go to “her corner” and she would complain bitterly the whole way but she would go. No punishment ever, just slow but sure progress to the goal. The last piece is my rude Isac a Carloina Dog who wa placed for two years and brought back because they were moving andblah blah blah. I alreadyhas his sister and she is swell. He clearly had little or no socialization and was afriad but wnat pushy and loud and they did npt like him. He wnated all my attention and was sweet but would nip at times at the opther dogs and once at me for greeting the other dogs first. We worked on this and he gets attention for good behavior. After almost a year, he is still loud and rude, but fun and happy and they like him and he gets along well. He still “flea bites” their cheeks a little too vigorously at times, but has come so far, I am so proud of him and the other two dogs. The older Pit Bull is so accomodating and self-handicaps when they play. Isac still doesn’t play as much as they do, but runs around outside, or lays dreamily in the yard looking off contently. He is funny and hilarious and when he barks we know he is saying “Hey! I love you! I love you too!” I think we will start learning “back up” as he does need it and seems to do it somewhat naturally when he is in front of me like dancing when I move forward. Very much a foodie, he was boney when I got him and now is a little chubby, he will “work for food”.
Kate says
I have a rescue dog, Mickey, who has a bite history. While he has never bitten me, he growls at me twice a day, breakfast and dinner, as I’m approaching with his food. I’ve tried different approaches, singing, speaking softly and while some have worked once or twice, none have stuck. My latest attempt is playing keep away with his food and if I act goofy enough, it’s been working. I guess I’m more responding to Kristen. Sorry.
Amy says
I didn’t read the comment, but based on your description, I’m wondering if it’s just behavioral? Wondering if there isn’t a biological component – seizures, brain tumor causing hallucinations, etc.
Although at 18 months, it is likely behavioral!
Erin says
We adopted our Boston almost two years ago, and he was about 7 at the time. We don’t know much about his previous life – we know he was bounced around shelters and adopted several times before we got him, and as such we searched and found an old petfinder profile with his old name saying he’d had an elderly owner who took him to be put down and the vet kept him and gave him to a rescue. It’s obvious that he was trained well, as far as sit, waiting to go up the stairs, etc. I read your book, For The Love of A Dog, and now I am certain that he was not socialized as a puppy. I’m pretty sure he was brought home from the breeder and never had any canine friends, and that he also got most his exercise romping in a yard and chasing critters, because while he can walk perfectly on a loose leash with no distractions, he loses it when he sees another animal.
When we first brought him home, he played with his doggie cousins a few times, chasing each other around the house, sniffing, stopping for a few minutes, definitely animated but not dangerous. Then, after a few months of limited doggie interactions with it being winter, dog park being knee deep in snow, no doggie friends, his little rat terrier cousin came to visit and he lost it. We met them downstairs and all went up to our apartment together, and I thought he would attack her.
I’ve decided that he’s just being a terrier (not that he’s not obnoxious about it!) when he sees squirrels and rabbits. But when we see another dog, I am now 99% sure that he is being protective. He’s got an Easy Walk harness, so he can’t charge forward, so he “spins” and jumps and barks. I do click and treat, and we’ve made progress here and there. There are definitely times when I can see a light bulb go off and he looks at me much more easily, so I think there is hope! I have a friend with the most patient corgi in the world, and she’s volunteered to have us practice with her – I think that “Belle of the Ball” exercise is just right.
He has nipped at us and sometimes bit more times than we care to admit, and that we now know the situations that make him anxious enough to do that, incidents have been cut down drastically. Sometimes he redirects when he’s barking at another dog towards our ankles, then will look at us with a “I can’t believe I just did that!” face. We also think he might have been getting hit in his past life, because when anyone picks up a shoe, or raises their arm in any way, he kind of charges at you, but doesn’t do anything. He protected me from his “dad” for a month or two after we brought him home, snapping at him when he would lean over for a kiss. He is definitely more mouthy with dad, but dad needs work on reading the dog’s emotions.
Basically, we haven’t figured out how to deal with this. He’s finally past a number of health issues- thyroid problems, seizures, and luxating patella, so we are thinking about seeing the behaviorist again soon. He is also extremely food motivated to the point that it is hard for him to focus past staring at the treat/kibble/carrot. Nothing else motivates him – how do you handle that?
Tressie Dutchyn says
Very timely topic. I adopted a St. Bernard in March, age guestimate around 2 years of age. She was severely emaciated when found as a stray. Unknown history. Reactive to dogs and people, and major food guarding issues at shelter to the point their ER vet had recommended euthanasia. Because I was interested in adopting her, the shelter did not kill her. Did the research, and opted to feed her undisturbed in a separate room with closed door and that worked perfectly. While I never saw food guarding – she did display the odd resource guarding behaviours. Each time I removed the object of guarding and she was not given access to it again.
More of a challenge was that fairly recently she had started resource guarding my bedroom, which we both shared. This was trickier to deal with and didn’t happen all the time, so back to researching strategies. Found one that suggested giving her a treat every time I went into bedroom – worked at times, sometimes not.
I moved last weekend into a new house and given the layout, ‘her room’ had to be the kitchen and adjoining small side room. (I have other animal companions i.e., ferrets and cats) so she has never had access to entire house. Well she started guarding the kitchen area! Her typical pattern – stare, lunge, air snap, graze me with her teeth or nose butt me. So I have relegated her to the off the kitchen side room and she appears content and happy.
Only thing I can figure is that the kitchen was a source of food (highly prized). The little room (8’x 10′) is her room only. I only go in there to get her for walks and to feed her. She can look over the gate into the kitchen anytime she wants. As to how I handle her when she is displaying resource guarding – I casually back away and leave her to calm down, then distract her with a food treat if I need her to leave the area, or if I have to enter it.
Everything I’ve read indicates resource guarding is genetic and a perfectly normal behaviour, more ingrained in some dogs than others. And that insecure or anxious dogs are more prone to it. And before you recommend a behaviorist, I looked into finding one before I brought her home. The closest positive reinforcement behaviorist is a a 3 hour one way drive from me, and she recommended that I NOT adopt the dog after I described her resource guarding behaviors.
Rebecca says
My 6 month old foster puppy came to me with no manners and a short fuse. The house she came from had no rules, no boundaries and no crate. Naturally this made her a bit of a diva and during her first few weeks she would frequently snap at my two dogs in an effort to take control of my entire household. She has snapped/barked at my human guests, but has never come at me with teeth drawn. With no training “down/stays” were not an option so we went the crate route. You lose your cool? Instant crate sentence. There would be no discussion, or lecture, or angry voice, no amount of sad eyes or droopy ears – you snap, you get a time out. She has learned well that “I” wear the teeth around here and she’s made huge improvements in her attitude. (lots of lessons here for me, too!)
With three high energy dogs I *try* to stay in the thick of playtime. If things look (or sound) like they’re escalating beyond play I call a “time out” and everyone takes a break. I try to keep them focused on something else like “sits for treats” or “quiet time” (which they know means everyone grabs a bone/antler from the toy box, noisy play is over!) but sometimes they’re so wound up it takes a turkey call to get their attention and then “crate” is the only salvation.
I think “crate” is probably the single most important word in my house.
Angela says
Hmmm, I think I’d really like to know a lot more about prior episiodes actully. However, going on what we have here I’d say I would NOT rule out something medical going on. (I know one has to be careful comparing behavior across species but with that said) This is EXACTLY like what my cat does with me. She is now 10 years old and has had issues since a small kitten. One of the issues is sometimes in the a.m getting up from bed as usual and her running ahead of me as I had for the bath room or sometimes if I”m just walking to the kitchen and she may run ahead of me stop, freeze and stare. It’s very clear to look at her that she’s switched. At that point nothing I do is going to avoid an aggressive outburst. I found the best thing to do is to freeze and stay very calm and quiet myself and wait it out until she moves on her own. Anything else and she will come at me. I worked 9 years with a CAAB behaviorist with her. We used target training, which often helps to move her or redirect her BEFORE she gets to the hyper aroused or frozen state. Finally though she referred be to a vet and I’ve ended up putting my cat on meds. She still has issues but she’s tremendously better. Again I know you have to be careful comparing species but my point is even if blood work came back normal on both dogs I would still consider the possibility of something medical going on. It’s interesting that sometimes the other dog snaps at her and brings her out of it. it just feels like we really don’ t have the full picture at all., something is being missed.
Sue Houston says
Love this post. I can totally see this event happening in my household too. Our female setter throws “eye darts” at our male setter on occasion and it is difficult to diffuse her behavior. (the “pointing” gene really locks her up more than normal!) Although she has never shown any aggression to us at these times, I’ve instinctively known that redirection might be possible.
Judy Guillot says
The re-entry phenomenon is very real. When returning from trial weekends, we always give our re-entering dogs a cooling off period before recombining the pack. Thanks for sharing your case.
Emily says
I have two 18 month old saint/border mixes (litter mates) with very different personalities. The male is very laid back and confident while the female is extremely high strung, active, and anxious. As we got them as rescues at 10 weeks, I was lucky enough to work on things like food/toy/space aggression and separation anxiety as puppies. They have a very solid routine now, and I give some special directed attention at our nervous girl to make sure that she’s stimulated with new commands.
Only a few small behaviors bother me, and they’re not ones we encounter on a daily or even weekly basis. My biggest concern is regarding play with other dogs. Because they were parvo-puppies, we delayed their meeting other dogs until they were well and fully vaccinated – thus, the two of them learned to play alone together. Their play with each other is very rough – he pushes her back using his chest while she’ll nip at his jowls and legs – but this is what they love and are comfortable with. They mimic this behavior with other dogs and, because they’re so attached to each other, they often overwhelm the dogs that they have play dates with pretty quickly. Neither gets jealous of the other, but they’ll both fixate on the newcomer in tandem in their excitement for a new friend. I know to limit initial meetings to less than 10 seconds and to monitor following meetings with careful release of control (on vs off-leash, meeting in a neutral place rather than one personal to the dogs) and to always keep them supervised. I guess my problem is in assessing other dogs for their potential to be aggressive or, alternatively, anxious likely to lash out in violence, as well as what my reaction should be in the case that there’s an incident whether it’s instigated by my dogs or others. Blue commented earlier talking about the “touch” command, which is a new one for them and one which I love. I hope that they catch on to that one ardently, as I plan to use it when they’re focused a bit too much on other dogs.
Does anyone have advice on how to approach situations in which we may be surprised by others’ dogs and not have total control over a situation? Our dogs have never showed aggression toward other dogs or toward humans, but I want to avoid any possible situation down the road as they’re only going to become more attached to each other and it’s not possible to work/play with them separately the majority of the time.
Diana says
I am a veterinarian, and I had a client who was having some aggression problems with their border collie puppy. He was brought to me at 4 months for castration in hopes that it would help. They brought the puppy back at 5 months for euthanasia because he was biting various family members. He lived in a household with 2 adults (husband and wife) and their two grammar school age sons. They had taken him to a “traditional” trainer who had used a shock collar to try to correct his behavior. After working with him, the trainer told the owners that he couldn’t help the puppy, so they felt euthanasia was their only option.
When the puppy was at my clinic, he appeared to be a moderately well adjusted juvenile puppy without any serious behavioral problems that I could observe. My guess was that the two sons were probably pushing the puppy to the point where he felt uncomfortable, and that he learned that biting made the children go away (negative reinforcement.) He then transferred this behavior to any situation that he didn’t like.
The owners agreed to let me take the puppy. I gave the puppy a lot of structure, requiring to sit before going outside, getting his dinner, etc., so that he learned that he could not be the one in charge. Only once did he look like he was thinking about biting my hand, and I told him in a firm voice, “Don’t even think about it.” That was the first and last time I saw any hint of him wanting to bite.
Kerry M. says
I brought about aggression years ago with the first dog I had as an adult. I was very into the Monks of New Skete pack leader theory and was definitely doing some stuff I would never repeat today. Especially this part. Not sure if this came from them or somewhere else. This was pre-internet for me so we sadly can’t blame the internet for this one.
We have probably all heard the advice stick your hand into your dogs food to prevent issues. Well, I have a pretty clear example on how that doesn’t work. Ayla was probably about 2 at the time. I’d had her since she was a 6 week old baby and we had no food issues. No idea why I went on this binge of messing with her food. Maybe I was in a class? Maybe I’d read something? But I was very diligent and to make up for lost time, I messed with her food every day for a week or so. This dog that had never growled at me in her whole life growled and snapped. Fortunately I wasn’t that good of a student. Her snapping scared me into leaving her food alone and we never had another guarding issue for the sixteen years that I had her.
Definitely not the way I’d recommend preventing or dealing with food issues. Ignoring it likely wasn’t a great solution but it was probably better than any other idea I would have followed at the time. But I was lucky that she really had no interest in guarding and that it was only my extremely annoying behavior that ever brought the problem about.
gail says
I have a pekingese and a rescue dog (Looks like a blue heeler). The peke is 8 and has been with me since a puppy. I married my husband in 2009 but Alex was and is still “mine.” We got Bella from a shelter in 2011. She is much larger than Alex but also much more loving. Peke’s are “snippy” by nature sometimes and that describes Alex perfectly and he was that way before Bella came along. I didn’t know what it was called but the “resource guarding” is what he does. I am his resource. I have found that if I raise my voice like I am “yelling” at Bella, he goes after her. So I have learned to use a calmer tone of voice. Then lately he had an infection that we realized was going on for a while, this was after we realized he was getting worse with his antagonizm. Once that was treated he became somewhat nicer. If he starts getting snippy, I take his toy away… he fixates on one toy so this shows him that the behavior is no accepted. This article is helpful as it confirms that some of the things I do enforce the good behavior. Thank you
Jana says
I’ve had 2 dogs exhibit, well, I’ll call it snapping at me, rather than labeling it aggression. Since I have competition conformation and obedience mastiffs, it’s a big deal, as it should be for anyone. I didn’t know any better for my 1st mastiff and went to police dog trainers back in the 80’s so we used ‘force’. I got wonderful obedience and was never worried I’d get bit, but he never stopped growling and strongly objecting to anything he didn’t want to do. I’ll never go that route again.
I now have a mastiff suffering from cervical instability. as he’s in more and more pain and less mobile, he’s quietly lifted his lip and growled at me and my other mastiff. To me, I understand this and don’t want to eliminate the vocalization of pain and fear, but at the same time, he has to let me help him even when it hurts.
I’m puzzled by the happy voice rationale, as mine has always been more effective to be matter of fact and firm. Not correcting, not cheering or happying them out, but more redirecting and clarifying. More of an “I’m sorry you don’t like this but this is how it is now.” And if he’s being inappropriately snarly and grumpy to my other dog, and granted, I have to look closely to make sure it isn’t warranted or reaction to my other guy pushing him, then it’s a quick, “knock it off and go lay on your bed if needed”.
Is it wrong to be firm and just not permit unacceptable behavior? By having positively trained a good “go lay down” or “go to bed” that’s a desirable behavior and not a punishment? I teach both behaviors as a game with a release to play and/or meals or food reward so they know it well.
Jim Crosby says
PERFECT! Interrupt-redirect-reinforce. Dogs are terrible multitaskers. Reinforce doing anything that is incompatible with the problem behavior and you are pretty much there.
Gayla says
I’m curious what others think TK’s initial response to Betty’s snap should have been? An unacceptable behavior has already occurred. Do you give a verbal correction? A time out? Or try to appear unfazed by her ‘warning?’ (I think the dog has already read our involuntary reaction so the latter isn’t fooling anyone.)
Sherry Appelman says
I would like to ask Patricia some questions about one of our dog’s behavior. We have since had to put her down, her name was Penny and she was a Boxer/possible Pit Bull mix. Penny had attacked and killed our other dog named Baby, who was a Lhasa Apso. Penny grabbed her by her neck and shook her. My husband had to pull Penny away. We rushed Baby to the vet and found that her spinal cord had been severed and she was becoming paralyzed and she died a few hours later that same day. It was horrible to say the least and I and my family still do not understand what happened and still have difficulty talking about it. We would just like more info into what was happening that day and previously as well. There were a lot of factors that I can see but I would really like to talk to someone about it to help the healing process.
If Patricia can, can she either email me or call me, I would be very glad to pay for time to talk with her. I can email her the situation and the back history too.
Trisha says
A few comments to add to the mix: Good question, Gayla, about what TK should have done immediately after the snap. I’ll bet you can predict my answer: “It depends.” (Sorry.) IF a dog snapped and then “snapped out of it” (pardon the pun) and was socially sensitive, I would have responded with my “appalled” reaction. I’d back up one step, turn my head to the side and say, in an appalled voice, “What did you do?” All the while looking stunned and appalled. This works incredibly well on sensitive dogs, would have no effect on others. With some dogs, I might tell the dog, in a quiet low voice, to lie down and stay. Or to go into their crate (as long as one could accomplish that with grabbing a collar. I would want the dog to know that there are consequences, but I would work very hard to calm and quiet. No yelling, no anger (not always so easy, I know). With some “harder” but trained dogs I might say “No” in a very low voice, turn my head and ignore the dog for a few hours. On the other hand, once a dog snapped at me and I yelped as if I’d been mutiliated, then sat down and pretended to sob. This ONLY worked because I knew the dog very well, knew that a loud yelp would not increase its arousal, and that it was a sensitive dog who would be upset by my yelp and subsequent crying. Would love to hear what others have to say…
Trisha says
Oh Sherry, I have to leave the office but I just read your story and I am so very sorry about what happened to your Lhasa. What a trauma for you. There’s no way that I could guess what exactly happened, and right now I’m slammed trying to finish a book and get a big talk ready for next week. But I do ask others who read the comments to join in, to add their sympathy and support. Time will help you get through this, along with the knowledge that bad things happen to other good people that aren’t necessarily their fault. So sorry that you are dealing with this…
Greta says
Sherry, what a sad and upsetting experience for you. We need some more information before we can hazard a guess at “what went wrong.” First, how old were each of the dogs at the time of the incident, and how long had you had each? Was there any history of the little dog barking or snapping at, or harassing, Penny?
Any big dog can easily kill a small dog as you describe. Normally this does not happen spontaneously. Usually, one of the following things is going on: (1) An ongoing history of conflict; the big dog finally “snaps” (loses its temper or patience) and retaliates. (2) The big dog is exhibiting predatory behavior and responds to the small dog as if it were a rabbit instead of a dog. This can happen even between dogs who are socially friendly. (3) Less often, there can be something like interbitch aggression (this is a specific phenomenon, and not all aggression between two females qualifies); a fight triggered by something else (e.g. teeth get tangled in a collar and the dogs panic); or some other situation. I would bet we are looking at one of the first two options in your case.
I just consulted on a case where a family was planning to euthanize their 5 year old German Shepherd. Why? Because on two occasions in the prior week, the Shepherd had bitten one of the Shih Tzus in the house (the second bite was quite bad). After two minutes I determined that the Tzu had been charging, barking at and harassing the Shepherd… several times a day, every day, for FIVE YEARS. I told them their Shepherd was a saint and deserved another chance! Sometimes people just don’t see it because the small dog seems so ineffectual.
Kerry M. says
Sherry, So sorry. I’ve never lived through such an event but I’ve thought about as friends and colleagues have shared stories like that with me. I’ve wondered, how do you live with the dog after that? How could you rehome him? Tons of sympathy and full respect for the choice you had to make. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy one.
Mireille says
Hello Sherry, I am so sorry to hear about the tragedy in your household. It is very difficult to guess what happened, but maybe it helps when I share an ‘almost tragedy’ that happened to us. When we got our first two sibes, one was four years old and the other a nine week old puppy. With puppy Janouk we went to puppy class and afterwards we had a lesson with older dog Chenak. Chenak always came and watched the puppies. He was a nice gentle dog with the little ones, interested but calm. One day he was sitting next to my hubby, the pups were moving from play area to the training field but one owner arrived late. She opened the gate, let her yokie run into the playing area. The little guy, terribly excited, raced yapping past Chenak to join his friends. In a fraction of a second Chenak grabbed him. It was only because hubby was standing so close that tragedy was avertedm he grabbed Chenak’s collar an he released the little dog. We think it was a case of ‘mistaken identity’ and Chenak’s prey drive had kicked in. The little guy was startled and a bit sore in one paw, but had Chenak had more time / space he might have started shaking his prey and we might have had a tragedy similar to yours. Since then we have been very carefull with large and big dogs mingling. We have recently had an incident with Shadow and a JRT on the beach. He was very excited to be there, I unleashed the, thinking there was no one near. Then the JRT came along. They stood nose to nose and sniffed, it was a female so I felt that nothing would happen since Shad had always been gentle with smaller dogs, esp female. But then she snapped and ran away yelping and then Shad grabbed her. He luckily released her when I yelled and – very helpfull a friends Riesenschnauzer started blocking Shad and protecting the JRT. It turned out the JRT had some fear-agression issues and we think that the running away may have triggered his prey drive in a situation where he was highly strung. Off course this means no more off leash time on the beach – alas – since I do not want anymore incidents now that I know it can happen, but you cannot always reliably forsee these things….
Jody Bearman says
I am so sorry for your loss Sherry. I have seen many aggression problems that I have treated with Chinese medicine, homeopathy and chiropractic(I am a veterinarian). One recent patient was the aggressor against another dog in the household sending that dog to the Emergency Clinic on 2 occasions. The aggressor (3 year old) had seen the regular vet and no problems were diagnosed, but I found multiple chiropractic abnormalities and on Chinese exam found multiple abnormalities also. I have seen this dog 3 times now, treating chiropractically, with laser acupuncture and Chinese herbs and having the human do Chinese massage and diet change at home. They said she is a new dog, showing no aggression, having no g.i. problems(these can be very uncomfortable), and acting relaxed which she had never done before. I did also see the dog who had been attacked, which is also important because in some cases that animal may be ill or sore; in this case she was quite healthy. Of course in your case this was not possible. I am just posting this to let other people know that the problem can still be medical even if a non holistic vet says that it is not.
Gayla says
Sherry, I’d like to echo what Kerry M said. You have my heartfelt sympathy for your double tragedy… Please understand that even the most educated and experienced people “in the room” will still just be guessing what was actually going on in Penny’s mind. But if it’s important to you to try to understand it, the best place to start is for you to relate those things that you say, “were a lot of factors that you can see.” If you can, please share. Because your own intuitive sense will likely be our best clues.
Paula says
We have an Aussie who we love dearly, and although both my husband and I grew up with dogs, this was our first time raising a puppy! We were surprised when he started resource guarding around our cat. He was about 6 months old when this behavior started, and I noticed it started after we changed the pup’s brand of food. The cat was smelling the new food and the pup was obviously worried the cat was going to get in on the good stuff! I wasn’t pleased with the attempts the puppy made to get the cat away from his food, by growling and snapping, but a couple days of this, combined with a sudden lunge for the cat when he wasn’t even interested in my cheese and crackers, encouraged me to nip it in the bud.
I was lucky enough to come across some great advice, very much like what Trisha posted! I bought some wet cat food and started setting a little in the pup’s food bowl for the cat, then sat by with the pup, holding his collar and putting him in a sit, while the cat ate the food out of his bowl. When the cat was done and I had moved him out of the room, I put more of the cat food in the bowl and let the pup devour it. I did this daily, as well as periodically offering other treats to the two of them, always treating the cat first and the pup second.
They do really well together now! But if the cat ever looks interested in the dog’s food, I usually give him a nudge with my foot to keep him going before releasing the dog from his sit/stay. As much as the dog needs to get along with the cat, the cat needs to know the food’s not for him, in my opinion.
Kristen says
Great topic… and so much more to say. But first Sherry – so much sympathy for your experience. Such a heart break.
I offer up my story to add to the others in the category of “this does happen” – my rescue Husky mix – no real background, but behavior I observed was that he doesn’t really speak dog. He appeared to want to meet other dogs but was very reactive as in hard stare, snap, snarl and then back away – causing the other dog to react aggressively. He could literally turn a good dog bad and it could happen in an instant.
We worked on lots of things – distance and avoidance while out on walks; pay attention to me activities (learn your name – look me in the eyes when you hear it, expect a command and a treat) then while on walks I (1) create distance (cross the street or vacate the sidewalk) (2) Get his attention; (3) have him sit facing me and away from the other dog; (4) when safely passed I say “go sniff” and he excitedly sniffs the other dog’s scent AWAY from the dog. SO that was/is my elaborate control mechanism while I try to teach him that he doesn’t live on the street any more and that every dog is not competition for resources. It is getting much better, but it is time consuming. He wasn’t even food motivated at first – but I took care of that in a hurry. Now treats and praise will work.
Then of course it happened – he was off lead – only because he was jumping out of the car into the garage. Instead he escaped and ran like shot to “greet” a brand new little dog that had just moved into the neighborhood. I ran after and hoped the owner would pick up the little dog but alas she was brand new to dog owning and didn’t recognize the difference between running to greet and running toward prey. My GUY picked up the little one by the neck and shook hard – just as you described. I finally arrived and intervened.
We proceeded to the vet for the little guy. Result: no skin broken, shaken up, rattled but nothing else out of place. But in the course of the exam the vet discovered an obstruction in the little guy’s lung – Cancer early detected.
I learned not to trust my dog cause his prey drive is just too strong right now. They are animals. As much as we love them and as much as they learn to live with us and love us. They are animals with instinctual drives.
Diana says
I also have been having problems with resource guarding in my 2 year old intact female Aussie, Vixen. Both of these incidents occurred on the same day and in the same location in the house near the door to the backyard. It made me wonder if she was beginning her heat cycle. The first incident happened when she was in the house and I let my 13 year old spayed female Aussie into the house. I had some smelly salmon treats in my pocket, and I’m pretty sure that’s what sparked the altercation. The younger dog attacked the older dog and bit her repeatedly on the foreleg while I was trying to pull her off. I was angry at this point and did something I know I shouldn’t have: I grabbed her by the collar and looked her straight in the eye and yelled and hit her (multiple times I think). As I was doing this, I knew it was inappropriate, but is hard for me to react calmly when I am angry. After that I put her in her crate and then checked the other dog.
Later the same day, I let Vixen and my 3 month old female Aussie puppy back in the house. I obviously was not managing the environment well as the puppy’s crate with a stuffed Kong was in the area near the door, and Vixen attacked the puppy. Fortunately, the puppy was not severely injured. My reaction this time was more extreme than after the earlier event, and I hit her multiple times and asked her—although I’m sure she didn’t understand—”Do you want to continue to live in this house?”
I know I can reduce these incidents by controlling he environment, but I think it would be much better to train the dog to control her aggression and also for me to learn to respond appropriately rather than with anger.
Trisha says
To Diana: I wrote a long blog about resource guarding that might be helpful. https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/resource-guarding-treatment-and-prevention. I hope it is–best of luck to you. And yes, it would have been much better if you had stayed calm and not hit Vixen, but we are all “only human” and every one of us has done things we regret around our dogs. Take this as a learning experience, and decide now how you want to handle it the next time you are angry at your dog. My favorite is to look disgusted, back them up in space a few feet (as long as there is no aggression toward you) and tell them how appalled you are at what they did. Then put the dog into a crate. This only works with relatively sensitive dogs though, so you might want to bring in a trainer/behaviorist to help you work through this. All paws crossed…
Amy says
Hello. Thanks for this post and others, very helpful. Do you think “Belle of the Ball” would work for general aggression/reactivity to dogs and humans that are outside of the home?
Trisha says
I’d suggest Feisty Fido and Cautious Canine as the most relevant.
Shannon says
I have been bitten 3 times by my Australian Shepard and with increasing clamp downs when we were cuddling and something triggered him… which starts as a growl then a snap and attacking me. I am becoming increasingly scarred and scared by my dog as he has torn into my flesh of my hands and arms.
I am not okay with his behavior and not sure how and when I am triggering his scary side when he is mostly loving and affectionate. Seriously frustrated and becoming more weary of being affectionate with him.
Rainelde Raymond says
I have a one and a half year old bulldog terrier pit mix who shows serious aggression to all the other dogs in my house only once in awhile she has bitten them when she gets aggressive always in the head and we don’t know why I think she’s the alpha dog. I have to use the kennel and keep the other dogs separated I can’t trust her. I’m fearing that this trait is ingrained in her and I don’t know if I can train it out of her or if I can control it