It is Dog Bite Prevention week, and I am inspired to repeat a post I wrote last year about that topic. I don’t usually repeat blogs, but I’ve seen so much pain and suffering (and I don’t mean physical) over this issue that I am inspired to put it out into the universe once again. Several of you responded with some extremely thoughtful comments and interesting cases: It would be great to hear if you have any updates. Meanwhile, here’s my piece on preventing dog bites, a bit different from the standard advice:
From May 18, 2012:
A million years ago, my first Border Collie Drift lept up and nipped a man’s nose at the Wisconsin State Fair. Even though the man was clearly not injured, with virtually not even a red spot on his nose, I was shook up and appalled. He was furious. “Your dog attacked me!”
Well, he did. Just because the man wasn’t injured didn’t mean he didn’t feel attacked. And it didn’t mean that I didn’t feel horrible. Drift and I were about to perform in front of huge crowd by doing a sheep herding demo, and found ourselves jammed into a crowd against the building wall. The gentlemen in question charged up to Drift, grabbed his face in his hands, and yes, you guessed it, bent down to kiss Drift on the nose. It was the same exact context in which newscaster Kyle Dyer was bitten by a Dogo a few months ago. In some ways, everything was different: Kyle was badly injured and it was recorded on video tape for all the world to see. And in one way, everything was the same: A stranger holds a dog’s head in his/her hands and looms over to kiss a dog on the nose. Just like David Letterman was bitten on camera years ago. Just like how many people are bitten every year?
I find myself thinking of this before the beginning of Dog Bite Prevention Week, which runs from May 20 to May 26. It’s an important topic and I’m in complete support of efforts to raise awareness and prevent dog bites. The figures bandied about are that there are almost 5 million dog bites every year in the US (but see Dogs Bite but Balloons and Slippers are More Dangerous…). Given that that figure appears to include events in which there was no injury whatsoever, the number is undoubtedly on the high side, but no matter how many there are, we all should be working to decrease them.
There is lots of good, standard information out there about preventing dog bites. The AVMA has a good website on bite prevention, as does the ASPCA and HSUS. There is lots of good advice on all these sites, especially related to keeping children from being bitten (the most common recipient of a dog bite appears to be a child from the ages of 5 to 9). However, much of it is general: pick a good puppy, train your dog, have a fenced yard, teach children to ask first, etc.
This is all good information, but we all know that no list is enough to prevent many of the bites that occur. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep up our efforts. Here’s my list, which builds on the standard advice and adds my own observations and experience, I’m counting on you to add to it:
1. Leashes Aren’t Muzzles. (Neither are muzzles for that matter.) In other words, keeping your dog on a leash won’t prevent him from biting someone. Sometimes leashes can precipitate bites if a dog is nervous and feels trapped. I’ve been overwhelmed by clients who believed that if their dog was attached by a leash, or even if they were close to their dog, that they could prevent a bite. We can prevent lots of bites from happening, but not always with leashes and proximity. When people miss signals of discomfort or tension in their dogs, they end up trying to stop a bite after it has begun. Stopping a dog in mid-air, within the micro-second required, to observe, evaluate and respond is far beyond the skill level of most people. People rarely say or think “I”m being bitten.” By the time you figure out what’s happened, it’s over. Far better to understand both context and behavior to prevent a bite long before your dog even thinks about it. And my comment about muzzles? Dogs can still hurt people, even with a muzzle on. There are lots of ways to lower the risk, but there’s no magic out there. Based on all this, you can predict my next point:
2. Learn to Read Dogs, and Teach Others What You Know. Recall Michele Wan’s research that showed the dog owning public is not very good at reading signs of negative emotions in dogs (fear, anxiety, etc.). Thus, we all need to do what we can to help educate everyone around us. It’s not helpful for us to pull our hair and roll our eyes about how bad people are at reading dogs, and how often they behave in ways that simply beg a dog to bite them. That just makes us right, and being right gets us one thing and one thing only: Being Right. That’s not going to decrease the number of dog bites out there, so we need to use our knowledge to help others. If you’re a trainer, get yourself on television, give out handouts, refer people to materials and websites that will help them translate dog. There are tons of them. Needless to say I have my own at my Website, (which has a DVD titled “Lost in Translation,” that has a substantial section on reading dogs) and there are many other great books and DVDs available through Dogwise and Tawzer Videos.
3. Understand Context: This contains a vast range of issues, from what in general scares dogs (like strangers grabbing their heads and trying to kiss their noses, surely a problem we can all understand–want a strange man to grab your head and smash his face into your own?), what scares each dog as an individual, and how the context itself can add risk. My Border Collie Drift was trapped and overwhelmed, as was the Dogo that bit Ms. Dyer. I’ve had numerous clients whose dogs bit someone after a long, exhausting day. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard about dogs who were “just wonderful” with all the children at the picnic all afternoon and evening long until … In hind sight the owner’s tell me “They should have known how tired their dog was…”. Yes, they should have, but we need to help spread the word that even good dogs can get grumpy too when they are exhausted. And when they are overwhelmed. Or scared. Or a tad tweaked about life at the moment.
4. Practice Interventions and Use Them When Necessary. This is where I went wrong all those years ago. If I was in that same situation now I would have never have allowed that man get that close to Drift. I would have moved between him and Drift before he could have grabbed Drift’s face and leaned down to kiss him. Body Blocks work really, really well on people, and can be used to avoid a great many risky situations.
Just a few days ago I was at a pet store that allows dogs and saw an owner use one perfectly. He had an adult Rottie, a lovely, happy-faced dog, who was approached by a squiggly, squirmy Golden Retriever puppy. The puppies’ owner let her dog dash toward the Rottie until they sniffed nose to nose. We were in tight quarters at the check out line. The Rottie had no where to back up into, and the enthusiastic puppy was about to jump onto his head. Wisely, the owner stepped quickly between the dogs, moved toward the puppy a step or two to move him away and then turned and smooched to his dog to follow him.
I turned to the pup’s owner, who had appeared surprised at what had happened and seemed a little bit put out. I thought perhaps I could use this as a teaching moment, and explained “I think the Rottie might have been a tad bit uncomfortable with your pup.” I hope she understood my point, but I can’t say, because the Rottie’s other owner turned to me and said, defensively, “He is a LOVELY dog, he is NOT aggressive.” Ah, and I thought he was a lovely dog myself, but I also noted that owner number one was wise enough to know that any trouble might react to a rude pup in that context, and quick as a wink did a body block. Huzzah! and Yeah! for him I say. Even lovely dogs have contexts in which they are uncomfortable, and more power to us when we know what they are.
5. The World’s Most Dangerous Words Are “I Think It’ll Be Okay.” I asked a salesman once if the hardware I was about to buy would stay attached to a wall if a 150 pound dog lunged against it with all his power. “I think so,” the guy said. This is when red flags should fly and noises generated by the security systems of nuclear power plants should start pounding into your ears. “Think it’s okay” is just not good enough when you are talking about a potential dog bite. I tell clients whose dogs are at risk of biting that we first, before talking about treatment, need to create the kind of risk management system included in submarines and power plants. If your not sure if your dog is 100% stable in a situation and you find yourself saying “I think it’ll be okay” without a careful and thoughtful risk analysis, I want you to hear AH OOOGA, AH OOOGA blasting in your ear. You want to hear “I KNOW it will be okay,” or given that life is never 100% predictable, “The probability of my dog hurting or scaring someone is less than .01 of one percent, and I’m willing to take that risk.” Whatever you decide, it should be very thoughtful, based on a lot of knowledge and be very, very conservative. Bites can be horrible for everyone, including the dog, and once they happen you’re in a entirely different context, and it’s not a good one.
And you? Last year’s post had a great many thoughtful and useful comments, don’t hesitate to go back and read them if you are interested. I’d love to hear what you have to say this week, especially from any of you who were working with a “problem dog” last year and would like to give us a progress report, whether it is good new, bad news or neutral.
MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE FARM: Feed the lambs, feed the lambs, feed the lambs… Momma Spot has completely dried up, so her triplets are now being bottle fed full time. That makes 5 lambs as 100% bottle lambs, and they go through 1.25 gallons of milk a day. Ralphie and Goat Girl are old enough to get only 3 to 4 feedings a day, but I’ve got Spot and her lambs in the barn now so that I can feed them as often as possible. I’m trying to train them to a self-feeder, but they are not aware that I am a Certified Applied Behaviorist with years of training under my belt, and have yet to transfer their lust for milk to a self feeder. In my defense, it is harder the older they get (and they are over 4 weeks old) and these 3 seemed not to have read the memo about how to nurse from anything. They FINALLY just started vigorous sucking; up until a few days ago they would nibble at the nipple and ingest tiny quantities compared to what they needed. As a result they are quite thin, but since I’ve brought them into the barn and moved the, to an ALL-MILK-ALL-THE-TIME schedule, they are beginning to look much better. Soon I’ll let Spot out of the pen, so she can eventually start grazing with the rest of the flock, but still be able to lie down beside her babies when in the barn at night. She is a good mother, very attentive, she just doesn’t have any milk. Next year there will be a very tall fence between her and the ram– no lambing for her anymore.
I’m actually going to take 5 ewes out of production next year. They all have some kind of physical issue that makes them less than ideal breeders, but I don’t cull ewes just because they can no longer lamb, and Jim and I guarantee them a good home for life at the farm. That leaves only 2 breeding adult ewes, Barbie and Lady Godiva, but each had both a male and female lamb this spring, so I will keep their ewe lambs for breeding next year. Then I’ll have 4 breeding ewes for spring lambing and 5 non-breeders for Willie to work when the others are busy having their babies. Speaking of babies, I call your attention Lady Godiva and her ewe lamb, with whom I admit to being smitten.
Lady Godiva is one of my absolute favorite ewes of all time. She is benevolent around the other sheep, which is not true of all sheep by any means — sheep not being the peaceful, passive animals often imagined in literature. She is also a wonderful mother and milker: She had triplets this year and all 3 are glowing with health and growing like weeds. In addition, I think she’s quite lovely, although that is the least of my attraction to her. Another ewe, Solo, is perhaps the ugliest sheep I’ve ever seen, but I love her dearly after helping her through an almost fatal lambing session.
It’s time to name the two ewe lambs who we will be keeping. Any ideas on names for Lady Godiva’s little girl? She is exceptionally curious and I think super sweet… (and fyi, I already have one named Oreo!) I’m starting a “Name the Ewe” contest on Facebook, the winner gets a prize from the McConnell library, so jump in if you’d like to.
I’m not sure that “sweet” would describe her brother, shown here trying to climb the Everest of Barbie, the oldest ewe of the flock. He is always starting something, and he and his sister above are often the leaders of the “lamb gang” romps, in which all the lambs tear around in circles. They do this not for any reason related to their health or development, but simply to remind me why I go through all the trouble of lambing every year. Watching the lambs race in circles makes my heart sing, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to watch them every evening.
Spring is as much about plants as it is animals: here are some colors of springtime in the front yard.
JJ says
I remember this post! I liked it then and it is just as good now. No need to re-invent the wheel. Good idea to re-post.
Daniel says
Thanks for the article!
I was at the dog park yesterday with our rescued 18 month old, kind of nervous but friendly Lab/Golden R mix.
A woman was there with a boy about 6 or 7 years old and he started playing with our dog with slapping type hand gestures…talk about alarm bells. Will he bite? I don’t think so…
I always feel like I am playing roulette with trips to the dog park and do not go very often anymore. When I do it’s armed with a pocket knife for cutting off webbed collars, a pair of lineman’s side cutters for chain or prong collars…leash in hand, a pea whistle, water, doggie bags….and still feel unprepared for all eventualities.
I feel like my number is up at the dog park. I think I will heed the alarm bells and avoid the dog parks.
What about BeeCee for a name? She looks like a Border Collie in a lambs body!
Vicki in Michigan says
Most people are exceptionally clueless about dog signals. “No, your standing-high-on-his toes, head-up, hackles-up dog is NOT acting friendly, nevermind his stiffly wagging tail”…………………….
How about Matilda (a la Roald Dahl) for your lamb?
Frances says
Excellent article! We have a friend with 2 small boys who had to get rid of their female Rottie because they got a little too rough playing with her. Granted, these boys have grown up with her, but because it happened so fast they felt they couldn’t trust her anymore. Luckily they found a relative that took her to keep her male Rottie company…
Wendy says
I think Lady Godiva’s baby girl should be called Truffle!
Love all the info. Thanks very much.
Sara says
Daniel, we stopped going to dog parks too. Too many dog owners don’t know their dog’s own signs of stress, fear or what NOT to do at a dog park. Woman picked up her dog when she saw my dog coming toward her and what did he do? Of course, jumped on her. Nothing I could do 25 feet away but yell at her to not pick up her dog. Unfortunately she got hurt. We stopped going. Wish I heard the alarm the week before when another dog postured up toward my husband and I at the same park and my boy didn’t like it.
Mary K. says
It is always great to be reminded of Dog Bite Prevention week. Because children are the most common victims of dog bites I thought it might be worth mentioning that your local area Humane Society probably has a Humane Educator on staff and one of his/her functions is to educate children about dogs and safety. Often they will go out into the field and visit local schools to address children about the proper protocol involved in approaching and greeting a dog, what to do if you see a dog off leash, what to do if, heaven forbide, a dog starts to chase you, etc. They do a lovely job and it is an often underused resource available to the public :).
That darling little ewe looks like a Fiona to me!
Beth with the Corgis says
Last summer, I was reminded of the seriousness of even minor bites when my mother spent 5 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics after being bitten on the hand by a loose dog she tried to catch. He just gave a warning snap— didn’t latch on— but he caught her hand good and despite being on oral antibiotics, she got a major infection.
A few weeks ago, myself and a nice young woman I never met spent an hour catching a loose dog in the park. He kept hanging around our dogs, but was clearly afraid of us and would not allow us to leash him. We finally got a lasso around him. I thought he was a nice dog who just got spooked when he got away and he’d settle down when we got the leash on him, but nope: turns out he was a totally unsocialized dog from a few blocks away who had wandered in. Even with a leash on him, he would not allow us to touch him.
We were able to creatively read the number on his tag and I called his owner (who didn’t even know he’d gone missing).
While I was waiting for her to come claim her dog, it slowly dawned on me how much I’ve come to take for granted my well-socialized non-spooky dogs. Luckily the day was damp and chilly and the park was not that busy, but every dog-walker and every child was suddenly a source of mild anxiety for me as I stood there with a totally not-bombproof spooky dog on a slip lead.
At one point, a toddler spied the dog (he was cute and small, like a Pom with long legs), and giggling, started jogging towards us, leaving his smiling father behind.
I took two giant steps forward, positioned myself squarely between the approaching child and the dog, and called out “He’s not mine, he was running loose, he’s scared and he MIGHT BITE!”
The father’s expression turned to one of fear and he rushed forward to grab his child. They were both still a safe distance away, but I was grateful that he reacted the way he did. He thanked me profusely for warning him. I explained that if it were my own dogs, his son could come say hi, but not this one.
The dog was not aggressive in the least, but a scared dog is a bite risk. If only people realized how important it is to socialize their dogs; I think this one never left his own backyard.
With my own, any time they interact with children especially, I watch them carefully for any stress signals. Yawns, look-aways, or tongue-flicks tell me it’s time to end the meet-and-greet. Really little kids are not often good with dogs; their motor skills are just not developed enough yet. My dogs genuinely like kids, and are very tolerant, but I figure if I consistently let them know at the first sign of discomfort that I’ll set the situation straight, they are less inclined to feel like THEY need to act out to protect themselves. They might show mild stress in one interaction with a child out of a hundred, but stress means the situation is changed by me so the dogs don’t need to continue to feel pressure.
Lynn says
Patricia,
Thanks for reposting the article. So many valuable things to remember and practice!
I’d like to ask your advice about a almost 4 year old German Shepherd. I work at an animal clinic and the client called about putting this dog to sleep. She has lunged at people, at least 4-5, and hasn’t actually put the person (or they’re clothing) in her mouth, but has scraped people with her teeth. It appears to me (after speaking with the owner) that the dog is protecting the family’s two boys (about 8 and 10). If the husband is there, the dog is ok and he can call the dog back. When the wife is with the dog and kids, you better not even try to enter their home.
It breaks my heart to think of this young dog being euthanized. I feel that the dog is under the understanding (via human behavior) that it is her job to protect the family. I have done some work with training dogs and think there is a chance I could make her see the rules of life a little differently.
What are your thoughts about trying to establish a new life for this dog? I realize this could cause me to have a “potential” time bomb.
Jen says
Dog bite prevention is something that we dog owners think about a lot, I think, and non dog people think about not at all.
I have a “scary breed” (Doberman) so I don’t tend to have to worry about people coming and jumping on her, but you can be sure I’m on my wares regardless. No matter what happens to her first, it’s her reaction that’s judged the most strictly because of her breed, and I try very hard to be a “breed ambassador” when we’re out. So, even years later, I kind of “get” the Rottweiler owner’s defensiveness!
Karen says
Snickers?
Karen says
Or Coco
Frances says
Beth – as the owner of tiny dogs, I have learned to do exactly as you say, and step in at the first sign of discomfort. I taught them that they would always be protected in the space between my feet, whether the scary thing was a child, an adult, or another dog. As an aside, I’ve always been uneasy about the sort of puppy classes that encourage small pups to learn to “stand up for themselves” against bigger breeds – I was very lucky to have extremely well socialised, puppy aware adult Italian Spinones next door when mine were tiny, who taught them that big dogs can be perfectly safe and lovely to play with, as long as they are standing still or lying down! Pushed hard enough, I’m sure my dogs would snap, but their first reaction is to look to me or someone else they know for protection.
Sara – I think there needs to be much more education about the way dogs react to an animal being held. It seems to trigger an immediate prey drive response,, even in dogs who don’t usually show a high prey drive. If I pick Sophy up, Poppy will instinctively jump and catch at her, and both dogs do it if I am carrying one of the cats. They stop at a word, but the reaction is immediate and obvious.
mungobrick says
I think it’s worth reposting that every year – it’s an invaluable reminder. Any dog will bite if the conditions align that way – and it amazes me how often dogs DON’T bite when people do idiotic things to them…
Two suggestions for Lady Godiva’s daughter – Phoebe (Phoebe Thomas played Lady Godiva in a movie, which is probably highly forgettable, but still), or Lauren, after the first Lady Godiva Program honoree, she sounds like a very worthy namesake! http://ladygodivaprogram.com/pages/national-lady-godiva-honoree
Michelle says
Great article! We have a rescue pit bull that is extremely loving to us but presumably missed the chance to be socialized as a puppy based on the condition she was found in when rescued. I needed to hear what was said in this article so I can become wiser and more proactive and even though I know she’s an amazing dog, I need to not allow myself to get in to the “I think it will be ok” spot. When we are walking and there are other pedestrians, I am going to keep having her sit a short distance away and not have so much slack in the leash so that she doesn’t lunge towards the walkers and potentially scare them. I will also do better at keeping our distance from other leashed dogs who, at this time, create anxiety in my dog which I now know is just not a good situation for anyone. And I will incorporate body blocks as needed! Thank you again for the article, the posts and allowing me to honestly state my own challenges!
Kellen says
I wish parents would be more aware of their children too – your kid is near a busy street, you teach them not to step into it, hold onto their hand if they seem to get too close. With dogs, a lot of parents teach their kids to ask if they can pet the dog. But they don’t stay alert around their dog-kid interactions. So I have had a kid before start patting my dog WHILE asking whether he could pet her – he didn’t understand you have to wait for the answer first…
When I was a kid, our family dog never ever bit us, but she would be grumpy and growl at us if we were behaving inappropriately. We learned pretty quickly not to bother her too much. But it sounds like many family dogs will let the kids go way beyond normal limits (my colleagues 1-year-old likes to poke their beagle in her eyeballs.)
My problems with this are twofold:
1) These same parents seem to assume strange dogs will also allow children to abuse them this way. And I can only imagine the children also assume this.
2) I don’t have little kids, but I imagine even little kids can learn which rules MUST be followed, and how to act around the family dog hould be one of them. Playing in the dog’s food bowl and poking the dog in the eyes seems beyond what this limit should be.
Nic1 says
Thanks for the article Trisha. Some great advice – I love the ‘AH OOGA, AH OOGA’. It’s the clanging chime of doom that comes from instinct. Unfortunately, people can sometimes react negatively when you assert your dog’s personal space. Has anyone else experienced that? I have immediately wondered if I have perhaps offended the person with my manner, but then again when you have a reactive dog and an out of control toddler or an out of control adolescent dog charging towards you, sometimes you have simply got to turn on your heel and get the heck out of there!
The predatory instinct can be easily aroused in reactive dogs when toddlers are in full fun mode – running, screaming with their funny little jaunty movements and of course having no understanding of a dog’s personal space. Any incidents will morally and legally weigh negatively against the dog and owner, understandably. It’s just unfortunate that the dog is in danger of an ‘aggressive’ label when on occasion it can actually be a quick snap or a nip related to the arousal of the predatory sequence as opposed to emotional arousal related to stress.
It’s safer for me to have zero expectations of my dog’s behavior when around very small children. No matter how well socialized my dog was, I’d never 100% trust her.
How about Lady Gaga for Lady Godiva? Does she have a ‘Poker Face’?! 🙂
Marjorie says
I wish how to properly approach and pet a dog was compulsary education for all elementary age children. With so many dogs in our society all children need to be properly educated.
Laceyh says
@ Lynn:
Please, please be very cautious about taking on training of a borderline aggressive dog. “Having done some training” is probably not going to be enough to turn her around, and the liability could be severe. I’ve had to take three foster dogs to euthanasia because they couldn’t be turned around from aggressive tendencies; one of them was one of the best I’ve ever seen with other dogs, but none of these could be trusted with strange people.
Laura says
To Beth with the Corgis: I couldn’t agree more with this statement: “but I figure if I consistently let them know at the first sign of discomfort that I’ll set the situation straight, they are less inclined to feel like THEY need to act out to protect themselves.” Thank you for saying that and bringing up this point. I personally don’t feel that this point is emphasized enough or recognized, often even by people that are pretty dog-experienced and had many different dogs. I have been an instructor for quite a few years now, lately limited to agility where I no longer see the complete dog novice, but regardless I still see so many people that passively stand by while their dogs are approached by other people or dogs and miss their dog’s signs of anxiety, and then be surprised and irritated at their dog when it acts to protect itself. Common reactions are to yank the dog back with a tight leash and scold it and then apologize that their dog is not always “nice” to other dogs. But in reality, the dog was only acting to protect itself because its owner had failed to do the job.
In my opinion, it is our responsibility as dog owners to also be our dog’s protectors. After all, WE are the ones that are leashing them up and taking them out in public to places of our choosing, putting them into situations where they sometimes encounter the unexpected and unwelcome. Most of those outings are generally enjoyable for the dogs as well as ourselves (training classes, walks, parks, etc.) but by its very nature, the unexpected will happen, well . . . . unexpectedly. That is when it is our job to be prepared to take the PROACTIVE initiative and step between the approaching offender, throw up a hand to say STOP, or some other intervention so that our dogs are not left with needing to take an action (that WE, society, deem inappropriate) in order to feel safe. That is our job! Trust is a two-way street — we want to be able to trust our dogs to be good citizens and “nice” in polite society; but our dogs need to be able to trust us to ensure their safety. We earn their trust by having a history of watching out for their best interest and demonstrating that through our actions.
Meanwhile, I will continue to try to help more people understand this and learn better techniques for dealing with the unexpected encounters. My job is to repeat, say it a little differently, repeat, find a different way to say it, repeat, and hope that I am finally able to effectively communicate the message — and remain patient while doing so 🙂 Teachers shouldn’t bite either. Fortunately, I generally have a great group of students that are willing to listen and learn so I have lots of hope! Thanks to Kellen for the analogy to protecting a child — I’m going to use that one!!
Thanks for re-posting, Patricia. It was great last year and still as great this year!
Jessica Ross says
Thank you for this! Excellent insight and advice. My only question is as the owner of a breed that is often unjustly feared I completely understand the response of the second owner of the Rottie. How do those of us with big dogs, particularly of breeds like Rotties, Dobermans, bully breeds, etc. that are often feared and misunderstood explain to the other owner effectively that we aren’t blocking because our dogs are mean but because they allowed their dog to get too close? Most folks just do not understand and see us as just being defensive or assume we’re blocking off our aggressive dog.
Kat says
@Lynn, Having personally taken on the job of rehabilitating a dog with ‘issues’ I’d say two things to you, 1) this is a HUGE commitment of time, energy, and resources and 2) do it ONLY if you have very very good help for a behaviorist or trainer that is highly experienced in working with dogs like the one you describe. 18 months into our adventure in dog rehabilitation I can say that my fear aggressive Finna who wants to guard me as her most precious resource has made huge strides she’s a far different, far better dog today than she was 18 months ago. However, she is not a safe dog. No one is allowed to enter our yard unless she is securely contained. We do not have friends over, ever. And any walk she takes she’s wearing a muzzle. One nice benefit to teaching her to wear a muzzle is that even the most clueless member of JQ Public avoids her and making sure she has enough space to learn appropriate ways of interacting with her world is what it’s all about. Good luck with your decision.
Beth with the Corgis says
Laura, I agree with everything you say. I also see a lot of the flip side: owners who are so protective that they don’t let their dogs learn to cope with anything on their own.
Because of where we live, we see tons of other dogs all the time. Jack is the closest thing to bomb-proof with other dogs as you can get. Madison is more typical of most dogs in that there are dogs she really likes and others she does not.
Very often, we meet people out walking pups. A very common scenario is this: we meet someone with an exuberant 18-week-old pup, in the 20-35 pound range, meaning close enough in size to my dogs that there is no obvious reason to fear an interaction.
The puppy starts out greeting nicely then gets excited and starts bouncing. Mine might play a little, or not, depending on how they feel and how self-controlled the pup is. The owner immediately starts to apologize. I proactively remark to the owner (who is by now already looking worried), “Mine are good with pups. They’ll be fine. If he’s too rough they’ll tell him.”
The owner starts tugging a little at the puppy, and now seems embarrassed.
I laugh a little and say “Oh, he’s just puppy-bouncing. He’s fine. Mine are used to lots of dogs and will let him know if he’s too rough, but they won’t hurt him.” (All this time, the dogs are having a perfectly 100% normal adult dog/puppy interaction). Sometimes I might throw out there that Jack used to jump on every dog’s head til he was almost 6 months old, to show I understand how they feel.
Usually at some point, the pup (as most puppies do) goes a little too far and one of mine might vocally correct him in an appropriate, stress-free way. Jack might put a paw over the top of the pup. Either of mine might simply turn away and ignore the puppy. The puppy usually licks the corners of the mouth of the dog he offended and proceeds to show very nice manners….
….at which point the owner is already hauling the puppy away, either horrified at what he sees as his pup somehow angering my dogs (which never happened) or horrified at my dogs correcting the puppy.
I do my best to educate gently, but it is so hard to get people to recognize normal dog behavior for what it is. They miss a golden opportunity to have their pup shown boundaries by well-socialized adult dogs. Their pup would learn way more by a few interactions like this than a hundred leash corrections.
Less frequently, we will have the interaction described above but when the pup gets too rough and gets corrected, the owner chuckles and says “He had that coming” or “You tell him!” and that makes me happy.
But so often, people either fail to step in when it’s clear the dog is stressed, or force their dog to say “hi” when it is clearly terrified (this happens a lot with small dogs), or goes to the other extreme and jumps in when the dog was doing just fine on its own, thereby confusing the dog and short-curcuiting his normal de-escalation of the situation.
We were all total novices at one time. I remind myself of that a lot and do my best to try to give people some tidbits of information without bruising anyone’s pride. Confident dogs know when they are handling things and when they need to turn to their owners for a helping hand. Less confident dogs need us to watch all their interactions more carefully so we can spot situations they can’t handle before they are in a jam. As you said, we are the ones who put them in situations where tensions might arise, so it is up to us to make sure they don’t ever get overwhelmed enough to feel they have to bite.
Tamara says
Two nights ago Baby Dog growled and backed up from a woman who tried to pet him. I told him it was okay in a sweet voice so he approached and sniffed her. What did she do? You guessed it! She bent over and grabbed his face and put her face close to his and talked baby talk. I about had a heart attack. Luckily he just looked at her like she was crazy. If i dog growled at me I certainly wouldn’t put my face a couple of inches in front of his. Sometimes people who love dog aren’t necessarily smart about their interactions. I know I have made stupid mistakes before and been bitten. I always admit it is my fault and tell the owner “no hard feelings”. Luckily it has only been on the hand and on the thigh (both times getting between a dog and it’s goodie).
Mireille says
We had a discussion on a Dutch dog forum whether agressive behaviour was acceptable and to what level. A substantial number of dog owners stated that they found that in any dog in any circumstance, no agression was accetable. Dogs should have no agression in them, not towards dogs, not towards people,not towards kids or prey, several said. I found thata very dangerous point of view, because I think every dog has the potential towards agression. By denying that, by saying my dogs will never act agressively, I am also denying myself the possibility to predict trouble (the pink glasses outlook, everything rosy glow). And if a dog acts agressively then, people feel betrayed in their trust in the dog. They feel the dog betrayed them, whereas they may have betrayed the dogs trust in keeping him out of trouble…
My first Siberian, Chenak, was rock solid with kids, especially small ones. We learned that one day when a visiting toddler fell on top of him and he only looked at me ‘please can you get that off me?”. But the other reason nothing happened that day was because my then young dog, Janouk, was in the garden, playing with a toy. Since he did not like being chased by the little kid wanting to pet him, we separated kid and dog. Later on, he was also a good dog with kids, he actually taught my niece she did not have to be scared of dogs, so getting a young dog out of an uncomfortable situation does not mean he will not learn to deal with situations like that. (Or, said in another way, management is fine, but it’s also quite nice if a dog can then be taught that he or she does not have to be scared) .
I can also relate to the parents not watching kids, a couple of days ago I was talking to a colleague when her son suddenly started to shout in Spot’s face and clap his hands right in front of his nose. There I also intervened, actually I was pretty upset. Spot is still young and not that comfortable around kids after being chased by them as a puppy (there I also intervened, but these things happen so,quickly sometimes) so I gave him a big cuddle for staying next to me and not reacting. The mother was not even aware of what her son was doing…
Nic1 says
There has to be an acceptable level of species-normal aggression surely? Aggression is normal behaviour after all. It’s just we have decided that canine aggression seems to be absolutely unacceptable or inappropriate in all circumstances.
Dogs are social animals, like ourselves. Not expecting a dog to ever be aggressive is the equivalent to asking you to never disagree with a person, write a letter of complaint or take legal action. Ever. Unrealistic IMO. As Trisha said, Dogs use their teeth to resolve conflict. And that is never going to change.
Because dogs are so familiar to people, the danger is that people think that familiarity enables them to understand their behaviour and the way they see the world. Correcting a dog for growling or barking when he is feeling threatened or uncomfortable is just removing the ticker from time bomb…..
Rebecca Rice says
@Beth with Corgis – It’s a difficult situation, sometimes, trying to decide how much interaction to allow your dog to have with other dogs. Knowing how little the general public, and some of the dog-owning public, understands dogs and dog body language, I am not generally going to trust a stranger saying “Mine are good with dogs.” I will watch the dog/owner interaction, and try to see how well I think that they are doing with their dog, and then I MAY ask to greet their dog. My problem is that I have a miniature Rat Terrier, and she is very good about reflecting the energy level of the dog that she is greeting. A nice calm dog gets a nice calm greeting. A dog that gets excited during the greeting gets her excited, and then you can get a feedback loop going where things spiral out of control. And, since I know that she is also a very dominant, territorial dog, that can result in her suddenly trying to correct the other dog, which can be scary to the other dog, especially one close to her size. It’s also made difficult by the fact that as a miniature (11 inches tall and under 10 pounds), greeting larger dogs is problematic because even happy exuberance can result in injury, and dogs close to her size are often not well-socialized, stable dogs. But I know that not allowing her to interact with dogs at all is likely to result in her becoming more reactive to them, so I do try, when I see well-mannered dogs, for a brief interaction.
It’s the fine line, as you say, between protecting your dog and preventing positive interactions. I probably err too much on the protecting side, but with such a small dog, I just see the possibilities for things to go wrong being pretty big. Surprisingly, I am not as protective of my shy greyhound, but also do not have as many people trying to approach her or allowing their dogs to run up to her.
Chris from Boise says
Trisha – Thank you for re-posting this. What happened after Drift nipped the man’s nose? What did you, Drift, the man, and any bystanders do? Please walk us through the next five minutes of the story.
Beth with the Corgis says
Rebecca, I totally understand the need to protect our dogs when we are uncertain of the dogs they are meeting, especially when there is a size difference. My dogs are sturdy but short, and there are dogs that are just too big for me to let them play with, no matter how friendly the dogs in question may be.
What I see with a lot of puppy owners is a combination of unneeded embarrassment at normal puppy behavior (puppies after all don’t have very good self-control yet, and even a relatively well-behaved puppy can get over-exuberant when it’s meeting new people or dogs) and a lack of understanding of the difference between the well-controlled correction of a socialized adult dog and an actual aggressive act. “Puppy kindergarten” and puppy play dates are great, but puppies learn lots of important lessons from interactions with ADULT dogs who are able to set boundaries. Quite a few of the puppy owners I see are afraid to let their puppies have those interactions at all.
My dogs give very clear body language that they are comfortable with puppies (I do keep Jack mostly away from the tiniest puppies because he looks puzzled by them to my eyes and I am not sure what he is thinking, so I avoid the risk; Maddie is beautiful with puppies). I clearly communicate to people we meet that mine are good with puppies (as opposed to the more generic “he likes other dogs”). They also wear very prominent Therapy Dogs International tags, which are large and taxi-cab yellow and say “I am a Therapy Dog” in bold, clear type. I realize there is risk in any interaction. I do understand people’s desire to protect themselves from risk. Still, as far as meeting and greeting, my two are about as low-risk in appearance and manner as you will get. If someone is afraid to let their 30 pound boxer pup interact with my two, chances are they are afraid to let them interact with anyone.
And what’s interesting is that most of the time, the people don’t seem to be afraid of what might happen TO their puppy as they are afraid of what their puppy is actually doing. So many people seem just mortified.
We help create stable adult dogs by letting our pups have a wide range of interactions that get increasingly more complicated as the puppy matures and learns to cope, just as we do with children. We don’t expect grade-schoolers to balance a checkbook, but we also don’t shelter kids from everything til they are adults and then expect them to just figure it out on their own magically when they turn 18 or 22.
But with puppies, so many of us DO expect the dogs to just mature into adults who can cope without giving them them opportunity to learn in small pieces. I know with Jack, I started out socializing him with people who knew dogs, and with very patient adult dogs and other puppies. Then gradually I started exposing him to kids who shouted and adult humans who loomed over him or patted the top of his head, and to dogs who were a little less patient. I tried to do it in very small doses so he learned to cope. Of course I was blessed with a puppy who was confident and bold and that makes it easy.
I don’t at all blame people for their own uncertainties, their own desires to protect their dogs from harm. It’s human nature. I do think that helping more people learn to read some basic dog body language so they don’t feel so unsure in reading situations goes a long way in making things better for both people and dogs.
Beth with the Corgis says
I wanted to add that interestingly, almost all people are perfectly ok letting their human children play with my dogs, even if the tiny little tots are clearly not good with dogs yet. When I tell the parents that my dogs are good with kids (especially if I add they are therapy dogs) they almost universally relax and smile and help me coach the kids on how to pet the nice doggies.
Yet puppy “parents” are just the opposite.
This is another indication to me that it’s not so much that people are disinclined to trust my dogs as that they are disinclined to trust their own interpretations of their puppies’ behavior. Since they can read their little kids very well, they trust themselves to know if the kids are ok with the interactions, and since I seem to know what I’m talking about and clearly communicate my dogs’ child-friendliness, they trust the dogs. Since they can’t read their puppies well at all, they are instantly on edge about the situation, and hesitant to believe my interpretation of what they are seeing, even though there are strong parallels between the two scenarios.
Emily says
I’m the Behavior Program Coordinator of a small shelter, plus I train in a private practice, and there’re two things on this subject I sure wish researchers would take a crack at. The first is… what is it about us, especially the “dog lovers” us, that just can’t seem to bear giving a shy or fearful dog the requested space? I have a hunch that the problem isn’t just ignorance of canine body language; it’s almost like… the urge to “help” the poor dog “get over it” is so overwhelming that it overshadows the human’s ability to process the information: they can’t seem to get that the dog’s “No” really does mean “No.” Does the sight of a critter in distress trigger some nurturing mechanism in us, like the dog is a crying child and we HAVE to make him/her feel better or we feel like failures on some primal level? I always wonder… when ordinarily smart people–and I’ve seen plenty of extremely smart people not get this–act no-so-smart around dogs, well, I wonder if it’s not a problem of lack of cognitive brain information but the emotional brain taking over the show….?
The second is… we all talk about people not reading dogs very well, but the more I bang my head against fear/shyness issues in dogs, the more I’m wondering if these dogs aren’t (for whatever reasons) having their own troubles in the social signal reading department. It seems to me that a highly social animal that’s supposedly aces at understanding our gestures, etc., ought to be able to figure out (and pretty quickly) that, “There, there, dear” and a handful of hotdog really does mean, “The human is friendly and means me no harm.” But golly, they seem to have a heck of a time figuring it out… So… is there any research on what prat of the brain in dogs processes the reception of human social signals? And if there are brain processing deficits in that area in shy/fearful dogs? I’m betting something’s up there that’s making it harder for these dogs to get the friendly social signals we’re trying to convey…???? Any thoughts?
Kat says
@Emily, YES! Thank you!! What does cause otherwise sensible people to become so stupid around dogs that just want to be left alone? My elderly neighbor has moved and her family is trying to clean out the house and get it ready to rent this weekend. I have the sane, sensible, wonderful Ranger and the fearful, unsocialized Finna. What part of Finna standing with her paws on the fence barking fiercely at them to get away made them think calling Ranger over so they could reach through the fence and pet him was a good idea? Thank God, Ranger is way smarter than the people and stayed far away from the fence. If he’d gone up to the fence and they’d reached in Finna very likely would have interpreted it as an attack on *her* Ranger and *her* yard and taken matters into her own teeth. How can I keep people safe from my rehabilitation project when they persist in such stupid acts? We were out playing ball with Finna when the ex-neighbor’s family pulled into their driveway and instead of going into the house to get started came to the fence to call Ranger. It isn’t as if we haven’t warned them repeatedly that Finna is a work in progress and not to be trusted, ever. And simply to reinforce the message that she needs space Finna wears a muzzle whenever we’re out for a walk because everyone seems to grasp the idea that a dog wearing a muzzle needs space and not cuddles. By the way, we leashed Finna and took her into the house and Ranger trotted over to the fence to accept his petting.
And yes, I do think Finna has problems interpreting human social signals. In her case it seems to be a failure to generalize and that her emotional fear response overwhelms any ability to ‘think’ rationally. She’s also terribly conflicted. She’s still reacting negatively to my husband quite often (vs all the time when we first adopted her) when he’ll move suddenly (the man moves quickly by nature) or accidentally drops something, or … yet at the same time when he’s sitting on the couch she’ll jump up beside him, curl up and lay her head on his leg. If he dares try to pet her though she leaps up and barks at him. The message seems to be that she wants to be close to him but doesn’t trust him to not hurt her if he touches her.
Frances says
One thing that strikes me is how much out expectations of dogs have changed – and in how few years. Read James Thurber, or practically any book about dogs from the first part of the 20th century, and a dog’s ability to bite those he does not know/does not like/ is fearful of is not only accepted as the norm, but is frequently celebrated as whet makes the dog a dog. My generation grew up knowing not to disturb a dog when it was eating, sleeping or chewing on a bone – the mantra was “You’ve been told – if you get hurt it is your fault, not the dog’s”. Injuries were rarely more than a small scrape and bruise, which got scant sympathy, and the lesson was learned. If a dog snapped at us, the first question would be “Were you teasing her?”
Now people seem to expect dogs to be angelic around adults, children, dogs, cats, livestock, and all other animals and vehicles, and because angelic is seen as the norm, any dog that falls short is not “normal”, or their owner has failed in some way. The surprising thing is probably not how many people get bitten by dogs, but how few – in the UK it has been estimated at 75 bites requiring treatment each year per 10,000 dogs owned – 75 too many, of course, but still a tiny number, especially as hospital records do not differentiate between bite injuries and other dog related injuries such as fractures caused by tripping or being knocked over by a dog.
liz says
In terms of increasing the collective education about dogs and their body language, and also related to the consideration that perhaps something internal is at play with fearful dogs, I think the wonderful Dog Researchers out there have the potential to make huge contributions to the world of dog bite prevention.
Studies, and generally more information, on the types of defense reflexes would be phenomenal! Primarily categorized as Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Frantic, dogs sometimes cope with stress in ways that arc between distinctions.
Individual tolerances for stress vary, but even among the fearful dogs, there are those whom I’ve heard others jokingly describe as “being able to hit with a 2 x 4” and do nothing more than roll over. Then there are dogs who begin to display stress in one way (look away, lilt/shrink/become lower) then change to another way (pacing) when the threat/stimuli hasn’t gone away. Some dogs therefore seem to repeat a coping mechanism whether or not it affects their outward environment, while others appear to switch technique.
Do passive defense reflexes have self-soothing properties, so that it is less about changing the external and more about the internal? What internal processes take place in dogs who can be pushed to a limit of biting vs. dogs who will continue to cope passively?
Many thanks to all holding curiosity and respect for the mysteries of dogs, and may the questions be as fulfilling as any answers!
Chris from Boise says
Emily and Kat, I had an interesting – and humbling – lesson this weekend. I met an acquaintance walking a black Newfoundland, rather than her Landseer, so stopped and inquired. It turned out that her Landseer had died, and this was her new 9-month-old pup. As he was sending happy puppy signals, I asked “May I pet him?”, and before she could say yes or no, stepped toward him. As he cheerfully lunged his hundred-pound self toward my shoulders to give me a big wet kiss, she warned “He still likes to jump!” OOPS!
Rather surprisingly, both she and I stayed upright, and after the young lad had settled down and was sitting calmly we had a proper introduction, and I apologized profusely to the owner. Having a dog that reacts poorly to children, I know how much I appreciate the child that asks “May I pet your dog” then WAITS for an answer. It was shocking how easily I was subverted by ‘cute puppy syndrome’, which switched off the thinking part of my brain and dropped me right into the limbic, emotional, hole that I’ve spent years helping my own dog climb out of.
I am very sensitive to discomfort signals from dogs, and if an interaction is in order am very respectful of their owners’ instructions. But having just “walked a few steps in their shoes”, I can now understand how an ignorant dog lover can blunder in, drawn by their strictly emotional response to a dog.
Frances – YES! I completely agree. Well stated.
liz says
I forgot to add a great example of a study that increases awareness of body language. The work of Vallortigara et al, entitled “Asymmetric tail-wagging responses by dogs to different emotive stimuli,” is the type of study that hopefully increases awareness … thus decreasing bites. Who would’ve thought that right-sided wags reflect a happier state than left-sided ones?!
A review can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/science/24wag.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
And perhaps more on point with decreasing bites is the study that Trisha just wrote about in the last post “Confrontational Techniques Elicit Aggression” 🙂 (I came close to overlooking the obvious.)
LisaH says
I too have dogs that have learned that I will handle situations for us, such as strange people or dogs coming at us when out and about, and they will stand between my legs or behind me, which is perfect, and I’m sure the result of effectively using body blocks. Especially since the older one will deal with things in his own dog manner if I am not around or someone else is “in charge” such as in agility class twice when some one else was running him and not paying attention to his stress at another dog coming RIGHT into his face while on a short LEASH. Unfairly she leash popped him and grabbed his muzzle when he was doing what she should have been doing for him (still not happy about that occurring, and it all happened in seconds). He was more shocked and confused than anything and this individual knows now that with my dogs there is absolutely no acceptable level of physical correction allowed in the guise of training.
The observation I wanted to add to this thread is that I have run into people who are confident that their dog (or mine, or dogs in general I suppose) will be their protector in an unknown situation, which is not based on any actual training or evidence. And I have had people think its funny that my dogs aren’t “brave” when they are actually showing great sense in letting me handle the unpredictable.
Sandy says
The figures I have seen say that a dog bite will cost your insurance almost $30,000, and they count for one third of all claims. Of course if someone grabs a dog and tries to kiss it on the nose, who’s really to blame?
Mary K. says
Emily-in response to your inquiry as to whether there might be a “brain processing deficit” in some or perhaps even many, fearful/shy dogs, I would have to agree. I think some shy/fearful behaviors most definitely can be traced back to a pup’s early socialization phase and whether or not it was exposed to the many wonders of the world and all the different types of people in it. If a puppy has been deprived of early and essential socialization then perhaps there is a shift in the way in which the brain is able to process incoming stimuli and the pathways in which to do it just have not been properly developed. A deficit that in turn is very difficult to treat behaviorally. I also would gather that similar to people, some dogs are simply genetically predisposed to having a more shy demeanor. Some dogs may be more outgoing and social naturally while others tend towards shyness and fearful in new situations. I’m sure we have all met lots of dogs that would fall into these categories.
I find that fearful/shy dogs (and this is especially true of the ones who have not had a great early socialization period) are the most challenging dogs to work with in terms of gaining their trust. It takes great dedication and devotion and lots of time to help these types of dogs. I think alot of the dog loving public’s experience with the highly social species we call canine is so used to interacting with friendly, well socialized dogs, that they think with more “love” they can “cure” a shy/fearful dog. Perhaps they don’t understand that forcing a dog that is shy or fearful is not helpful at all but in many cases just causes more problems. There is a pair of puppy mill seized chihuahuas at the shelter were I volunteer that have been there for three months running. They had very little human contact or experiences in the world and they are truly shy/fearful little fellows. It is taking an extraordinary amount of time to help these dogs realize that people can be not only trusted but are the source of all things good. They are certainly a work in progress but it is my contention that they will never be outgoing, social dogs. I’m guessing that the primitive part of their brain that has been shaped from their early experiences to believe that the world is a scary, unpredictable place is very hardwired to react to things with their earliest coping mechanism which is primarily avoidance. Such a shame-they really are cute and sweet little guys.
LunaGrace says
While I agree that early socialization has a great deal of influence over how a young dog will percieve and react to the world, I also know that genetics does play a role as well.
I raised and successfully exhibited three generations of Siberian Huskies before getting a “potential breeding bitch” from a well-known kennel across the USA. When the 4 month old puppy arrived, she was covered with fleas and cowering in the back of her airline crate. The breeder seemed to think that the puppy had experienced some awful trauma while in transit. However, after 6 months of training classes and socialization to prepare her for the show ring, it was clear that she was pretty unstable. At her very first show, when the judge bent down to examine her, she snapped at him and jumped back. So did the judge. Reporting her “progress” to her breeder and inquiring if her parents had suffered from shyness, I was told there was nothing wrong with her pedigree or parentage, it was simply that I “didn’t know how to raise a dog” !
As time went by, this female turned out to have Hair Follicle Dystrophy, an inherited disease which has also been tied to temperamental abnormalities, but not before I had been coerced into breeding her to “bring her around”! Thankfully, her litter consisted of one pup only which I (as co-owner of this bitch) was allowed to keep. As her offspring grew up, it was pretty obvious that HE suffered from excessive shyness as well. And eventually was diagnosed with HFD too. He became a Fear Biter …….. “Leave me alone! I’ll bite you if I have to!” I couldn’t bring myself to put him down but my conscience wouldn’t allow me to foist him off to another home either, so I learned how to obedience train the dog out of sheer desperation. He got a healthy dose of self-confidence and learned how to manage his world, earning his CD with scores in the 190’s though he never was what I would have considered a “normal” temperament for a Siberian.
Now I have a Karelian Bear Dog, a “dog-aggressive breed” used to track and “haze” dangerous prey like bear, moose, and boar. I got him to keep the mountain lions away from me while we hiked together and have trained him through his Rally titles as well as his CD and basic level Search & Rescue. He has been immersed in all kinds of socialization since I got him at 10 weeks of age, but he always has required a special alertness on my part due to his high level of self-confidence and his eagerness to join the dogpiles when they erupt at the dog parks. I don’t know if it’s his respect for me or the obedience I have insisted upon from him when I see him racing towards the dog fight and can still, at a distance of 40 feet away, tell him to “SIT!” and (with great reluctance — “Aw Mom, you’re just no fun”) he does. Long enough so I can get to him, put a leash on him, and lead him away from the mayhem.
Even though I have explained over and over to all who know “Yogi” that he is much more friendly and sociable than a typical KBD and he is, underneath his cheerful and charming demeanor, still of a dog-aggressive breed, people still insist on leaning over and giving him a hug! Maybe it’s his black velvet coat that just looks so inviting to touch, I don’t know. But I’ve taken to telling people now that he is simply NOT a dog that cares to be touched or petted. I love him too much to have to kill him, but if they insist on looming over him to hug him or pet him when HE doesn’t want them to do so, AND HE BITES THEIR FACE, Animal Control is going to come and take him away and kill him. So, Look But Don’t Touch! And it’s not that he is a Dangerous Dog, I just don’t want him to become one as defined by The Law.
Yogi’s been a wonderful ambassador for the Karelian Bear Dog breed, perhaps TOO wonderful. And, like every famous person who others seem to think they are entitled to have a piece of, Yogi’s space has been invaded far too often and too rudely. So, I have to think of the papparazzi harassing Princess Diana literally to death and tell people “No”, that they cannot harass my dog, whose life I am responsible for, to death.
Emily says
For sure there can be genetics afoot… I gotta say two things, though. First, we changed our approach to puppies at the shelter a few years ago. Used to be, someone would have a litter, find homes for most of them, and then show up with the 2-3 ten or twelve week old pups they couldn’t place. The pups would already be showing socialization deficits. So… I shot my mouth off and told all our local ACO’s and other groups that if they came across an unwanted litter of puppies, I wanted them in our shelter THAT DAY. As long as they were weaned–5-6 weeks old, we’d take the entire litter. The first year, we did over 130 pups; now we average about 150 a year. And what I’ve noticed–just anecdotal–is that when we get them in at 5-6 weeks and start pouring the socialization on, we rarely ever get shy. By the time they’re old enough to adopt out or transport, they’ve met tons of strangers, been handled by hoards of kids, met cats, select adult dogs, been carted around our thrift store, etc. etc. and the range of shy/bold is usually bang-dead average in the whole litter. So I suspect that the best window for socialization is Earlier is Better, and likely Earlier is WAY Better for pups with a tendency toward shyness. Genetic-tendency bold pups, we can probably get away with later; genetic-tendency shy, though, seems like 5-6 weeks is golden.
Second, hmmm… I have to think that if behavior is, essentially, the product of brain activity and processing, what originally produced that brain activity–nature or nurture or both–is less a point than the activity in the brain now. Which is to say, I don’t care if it’s Nature or Nurture–I have an adult shelter dog in the kennels I need to fix NOW. So, how do we access/alter/get to the brain of an adult dog? How do we re-wire, or re-build, or regress back to the Inner Puppy and lay down the neural pathways they missed?
Needless to say, I have no clue on that one 🙂 but the question nags at me. Brains are plastic, darn it–we know they are. Fear/shyness is my bugaboo issue with these dogs, and I joke that that’s my mission: finding a viable, effective “cure” for fear and shyness that’s shelter-friendly and cost/time doable. Dang it dang it, brains are plastic. Heck, genes can be plastic in their expression. I’m bugged that we can do better, somehow, and extremely excited by the growing breakthroughs in neuroscience and the potential for that leading to new rehab ideas…. Thoughts?
Laceyh says
@ Emily:
As one who has done this for a number of moderately shy adult foster dogs, it’s doable but not instant. It helps a lot if you have one who isn’t totally shy with other dogs and everything else; a good example set by a dog who isn’t shy can help the process along. It will take at least a month of gradual work, one controlled positive experience at a time, to make a serious dent in the shyness. Strong food motivation (when secure from stress) is twice helpful: it gives a reason to work slowly closer to the “scary” person, and when the dog is feeling too stressed to eat you know you’ve moved too fast. There are still some dogs who are too shy to adapt much in a month or two, and those may not be salvageable pets.
@LunaGrace:
Did you see the comment above about a muzzle worn just to keep people off? Sounds like a wise plan to me.
Beth with the Corgis says
Without a doubt, shyness, aggression, and the tendency to bite (or not) have strong genetic components. Socialization is so important, but no amount of socialization will “fix” a genetically shy or aggressive dog. Any dog is physically capable of biting, but I know plenty of dogs who would never in a million years bite anyone (barring something like a seizure where they lose control of their faculties).
We must all be wise in teaching people where we can how to avoid bites. The flip side of this is I see a surprising number of people with dogs in busy public places that simply should not be there; if your dog is prone to biting with little provocation, you should not have it at a busy park.
I also see people trying to go on with dogs that, in all fairness, should probably be euthanized. I know it’s not always popular to say this, but if your dog is so dog-aggressive he wants to kill every dog he sees, or so human-aggressive that he’ll carry an attack or correction to people who are not invading his space, then the safety of the public has to be the overriding factor. So often when we hear of people getting badly bitten, it was not the first or even second or third time the dog went after someone.
Roberta says
Several years ago, at our local spring home show, our dogs were out and about for adoption. I had the pleasure of a very young girl coming up to me, stopping, then asking, “May I pet your dog?” She WAITED. Smiling, I said “Please do.” She and Margie had a wonderful time.
At the same show, I noticed Margie (a Border Terrier mix – best guess) look at a senior Pit Bull a ways away. She stopped, lay down, and showed her belly. A nearby trainer suggested since the Pittie was staring at her (perhaps – I later found out his eyesight was very impaired), she responded to his stare. Margie, now passed, was always very appropriate with new/other dogs – always submitting – “hey, I’m not a threat! I’m a friend!” I so miss her.
This is a wonderful discussion which I will revisit, share, and keep. Thank you ALL.
Kat says
@Emily, one thing our trainer has had us do is to expose Finna to things exactly as we would if she was a young puppy being socialized. For things that are new to her (no previous negative associations) this has worked great. I taught her to use the treadmill for exercise in less than a week that way. For some ‘poisoned’ items like her collar it has also worked well. She was afraid to have her collar touched and would refuse to cooperate with a leash on her collar–nice leash manners pretty quickly with the front clip harness but that was new. To teach collar responsiveness we were to sit on the floor and I’d touch the collar click and treat on the side I touched. We progressed from touching to gripping to gently tugging to gently tug and treat a few steps away. We both still prefer her in harness for a walk or lesson but I can attach a leash to her collar and have her cooperate–I’d say she has minimum level of acceptable manners with a leash to her collar and good manners with a leash on the front attach harness. But I do find it helps to think “how would I treat her in this situation if she was a young puppy.” For some things that doesn’t work. She’d already made up her mind that people are a threat to her very existence so for that we use BAT which is working wonders. She’s able to approach groups of people without concern and we’ve recently added a moving dog to work off in addition to the laughing and joking people. People and other dogs are just too darn unpredictable for her to anticipate what they’re going to do and for her at least she likes to be able to predict. In fact the more confident she is that she can predict what’s going to happen the more relaxed she is. I can relate, I really prefer to have some idea what’s going to happen than to go into something with no idea what to expect. I suspect that’s true for a lot of us and a lot of our dogs but when the dog was denied good socialization as they grew they have no foundation for making educated guesses about what will happen. As a quote I have on my refrigerator puts it Finna and dogs like her must feel “as if (they) showed up after all the rules were explained and have no idea how the game is played.”
Emily says
@Kat… golly, I love that quote at the end, that’s exactly how so many of the dogs I see behave… and I remember feeling the same as a kid, just wanting to be able to predict my environment 🙂 @Laceyh, too… we do all the tried and true at the shelter and we do get progress. It’s just slow and tedious and I’m greedy in my aspirations–I want fear/shyness fixes that are faster, easier in a shelter setting… more effective for all dogs. Maybe not Fairy Godmother with a magic wand–Poof!–instant Happy Dog–but… better and faster than we’ve got. I’m just always asking: “What are we missing that could improve our work?”
Rebecca Rice says
@Emily: Just curious, but do you use medicines along with what you are doing at the shelter? Putting my spook, Katie, on Prozac has helped immensely. Which is something to consider… if their brains are simply not making enough happy chemicals, they are always going to be more stressed and fearful, which is going to slow down learning.
I hang out on the Yahoo shy-k9 group since I got Katie. And one thing that we need to be careful of when discussing shy/fearful dogs is that there is a huge range in there. One of the dogs that Katie’s rescue currently has is described as “shy”, but he will walk up to some strangers at the meet-and-greet, and let some strangers pet him. He will probably come around well with consistency, some training, and socialization. Katie, on the other hand, wouldn’t leave her safe spot in the house for weeks unless forced to, wouldn’t potty outside (heck, wouldn’t step foot outside without being forced to!), was scared of everything, noise phobic, etc. I’ve had her 3 years, and she is now, with the Prozac, about where the other dog currently is. I am, for example, still working on getting her to be comfortable with just hanging out in the living room, even after all this time. So, what works on a mildly shy dog is not even go to make a dent in a true spook. And feral dogs are another issue altogether. But there is a tendency to describe all this spectrum as “shy” or “fearful”, which can be frustrating when someone says “all you need to do is get the dog out and socialized more” when you are currently trying to just get them to be brave enough to go to a new room in your house!
On the shy k9s list, a true spook is often likened to an autistic child: they don’t interact appropriately with others, find comfort in routines, are often helped by swaddling, often exhibit repetitive behavior (I can tell when Katie is stressed because she does a lot of “step out, step back inside” before actually coming out), etc. Maybe there is something that can be applied from research being done on treating autism that will help these dogs?
Just some thoughts.
Laura says
At Beth,
I love the puppy discussion. I’m sure others who are raisers for service dog schools who comment on this blog can attest, service dogs are generally bomb-proof to most bad social behavior because they were so well socialized as puppies. They go everywhere with the raiser. They see so much in their time with the raisers that things like loud machineary or loud, startling people don’t bother them, but what I’ve noticed more often with all three of my dogs are the things Joe-on-the-street doesn’t even think about. A great example is Tricia’s drift reacting to the man grabbing his face. It’s not that I don’t think my dogs, or any service dog for that matter, wouldn’t ever react aggressively to that approach, but because they’re so used to strange interactions like that, they simply tolerate it better. It isn’t that they like it, or that another dog’s growl and or snap isn’t a normal reaction, it’s just that, like Beth’s Jack and Kat’s Ranger, they can cope with it. Also, I’ve noticed how amazing all my dogs are with puppies. Marlin was definately the grumpy old man, giving a warning growl and a woof is a pup got too excited and started nipping at his ears and chin, and Torpedo would give a good bark, but the pup always got it and the corrections were controled and valid. Seamus doesn’t make a sound, but his body language shows the pup or any other over excited dog that the behavior better stop and again, dogs get it. It’s facenating to me how much dogs communicate with each other without us humans being aware of it. Lastly, in response to Tricia’s request for names, how about Sundey, or Callua? Or, competing brands, Hershey?
Kendra says
Poor Drift!
It used to drive me crazy when the former trainer at the doggy daycare I work at would try to pet my dog. For some reason, he’s always been scared of heads. I’m not sure why… I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a dog specifically frightened of heads before (usually if they’re nervous, ANY body part moving closer can trigger the anxiety, at least in my experience? Maybe he gets uncomfortable when people’s eyes are so close to him, since stares can be threatening?). But anyway, he’s scared of heads, so when she would loom over him cooing loudly, he would flop over on his back, exposing his belly. And then she would try and give him a belly rub (her head moving closer), and he would end up wiggling and whining and growling because he was so uncomfortable with her invading his space. She would push him to the point where he was bearing his teeth and growling (perhaps he offering an appeasement grin kind of like the dog Denver in the video that was posted in another blog post?) and she was completely oblivious to this (or she didn’t care… its been a while so I’m not sure why she kept petting him now. But I wouldn’t put it past her to try and “force” him to accept her petting either). Fortunately, he never bit her, but I was absolutely horrified the few times this happened. I’ve had total strangers pay more attention to his body language than this dog-trainer!
Nic1 says
@Beth – when you say you know several dogs who will never bite anyone in a million years, how can you be 100% sure about that? You may speculate that it may be in their nature to react passively in defence, but any dog is capable of resorting to using it’s teeth and always keeping that in mind would be a safer expectation in my opinion. Shyness is an advantage in nature, so it’s highly selective. Being too laid back in novel situations as opposed to displaying caution may mean you don’t stand a good chance of passing your genes on to the next generation. Active and passive defence responses help to explain whether a dog may react aggressively or not when aroused or is neophobic. When you add fear or shyness to the mix in a dog with active defence responses, that can be where it gets troublesome or downright dangerous in the wrong hands. I think that a lot of people, particularly non-og owners, are not aware that some dogs are proximity sensitive – they need quite a lot of personal space in order to feel comfortable. SpaceDogs advocate tieing a yellow ribbon to the dog’s leash to advertise this. But, perhaps a busy public park for a dog like this would certainly not be a relaxing experience. As for euthanising dogs, surely only the owner can come to that decision as only they knw the true nature and circumstances? My colleague accounted a story of a farmer who euthanised two of his black labs for attacking and killing some of his sheep. I don’t know the exact details, but my colleague accounted that his justification was that ‘they may do the same to children’. He interpreted predatory behaviour as aggression. This seemed a very unreasonable assumption to my mind – if these dogs hadn’t been trained or conditions otherwise, how can they make a decision that overrides their predatory nature? Perhaps the farm was simply an unsuitable environment for those particular dogs? Also, sheep aren’t children……the dogs didn’t deserve to be executed in my opinion. They could have been rehomed.
@Kat – BAT is wonderful for helping some dogs isn’t it? Watching them develop confidence when they start to make their own, appropriate behavioural responses in situations where they were previously floundering is a very rewarding experience.
Beth with the Corgis says
@Laura, Jack actually HATES being petted on the head, or having people loom over him (if I do either he huffs at me and crab-walks backwards). What amazes me is when he’s out meeting and greeting (a favorite activity) he will frequently willingly put himself in the position where either or both happen. I sometimes see him tongue-flick or yawn while people are fussing him if they loom too much, hug him, or come at the top of his head, but since he waltzed into the situation on his own I let him be (with adults— with very young children I intervene at stress signals). I do try to point out to people how he prefers to be petted, and he always has the option of walking away. It seems that he finds the joy of greeting worth putting up with things he does not naturally like. I attribute it equally to the fabulous personality he has thanks to his genetics (great job breeder!) and the extensive socialization he had, both before and after we brought him home.
I frequently have people with puppies asking what they should train their puppy if they want to do therapy work, and I tell them there are three things they need to focus on: socialize, socialize, socialize. A dog who has had only very carefully controlled interactions with the world is likely to greet unusual actions as threatening. A dog who has a basically kind, confident personality and has seen tons of different people and places, and learned to accept less-than-ideal handling at a young age, is more inclined to see something new as “just one more thing.” (of course if the puppy is naturally fearful or shy or jumpy, they need very different handling).
We can’t train dogs for situations like the time Jack got picked up by his head by an over-zealous man who just wanted to pet him (I was reminded of Lennie in “Of Mice and Men”). But if they have had hundreds of interactions with people and they realized early that they can cope with them all, this becomes just one more thing they cope with. When that situation happened, I just cooed at Jack to wait and told him “good boy” while the kind woman in charge of the men talked him into putting Jack down (I was actually terrified, but no point in letting the dog see that). Once Jack was put down, he walked away, did a “shake off”, and then smiled up at me as if to say “I did pretty good, didn’t I?” (actually he was probably looking for a treat, but still…) It didn’t have a perfect ending: Jack is now a little wary of adults who have mannerisms indicating developmental issues. But he was not overly stressed either.
Emily says
@Rebecca, we have (rarely) tried Prozac in consultation with a vet, also herbal supplements, body wraps and anything else I think won’t hurt and may help. Mixed results… every dog is so different, as you say.
I do have a distinction that I use between Shy and Fearful that I find helpful in getting it across to folks. For what it’s worth, I define “shy” kind of like our (well, my :)) high school dance experience: shy is a dog that really wants to be affiliative but is nervous about how an approach will be received. My analogy is that anxiety of really wishing someone would ask you to dance, or wishing you had the nerve to ask them, but feeling socially awkward, unsure if you’re reading the situation right, worried about rejection, etc. The core impulse is toward sociability with nerves in the way. My experience with what I call shy dogs is–once you get ’em over that hurdle by making it clear that their approach is welcome, they goo up and do fine. This is just my working distinction, mind–for sure not everyone will agree. But I consider a shy dog a sociable dog with varying degrees of social anxiety (and distinguish social shyness from environmental sensitivities.)
Fearful, for me, means a dog that has no interest in becoming social. The dog’s core concern is getting more distance, thanks, and treats the object of fear as some kind of giant hairy spider they really, really don’t want to be friends with. Getting them to come around requires a change in emotional state waaay farther than a shy dog.
So with that, if a dog shows aggression, I don’t call ’em a shy dog–for me, that’s a fearful dog. Of course, a dog can be both shy (in some contexts) and fearful (in others) but as a shelter person, I really really don’t like using “shy” as a euphemism for “fearful”–totally different kettles of fish in my book. I do love your term “spook”–right on, that catches it beautifully.
Beth with the Corgis says
Nic1, no we can never say with certainty that a dog is not capable of biting, but the fact is many are very reluctant to use their teeth at all and others are not nearly as concerned about doing so.
Besides the situation I described where Jack was picked up by his head, he also had a case where a man in a wheelchair grabbed him by the neck and physically dragged him closer, a situation where a woman on a bench squeezed his lips and shook his draw and yelled “Drop it, drop it!!” with no warning, and an instance at the vet where they were trying to perform a procedure and could not keep him still. They tried standard methods to hold him (two people, me out of the room) and he screamed and was so terrified he released his anal glands….. In none of these circumstances has he tried to bite. So what, exactly, might make him bite? If people who he thinks are trying to kill hiim are not the object of his using teeth, then I’m not sure what would be. He is NOT a passive dog. He is a bossy, pushy dog but using his teeth on people is not in his behavioral repertoire.
Re: euthanasia: I’ve known enough dogs that were truly scary who their owners lived in fear of for years do to repeated threats and bites. It IS up to the owner to make that decision, unless the law intervenes. It is my own feeling that dogs who are that aggressive and whose behavior does not respond well to behavior modification are a danger to everyone. I’ve also known one or two people who put dogs down for behavior issues. It’s always traumatic. As far as the sheep… that’s a whole other topic.
Beth with the Corgis says
“jaw” not “draw.” Silly typos.
Beth with the Corgis says
I’m sorry, Nic1, but I made my last response on a work break so I was in a hurry.
You are correct that we can never be 100% sure a dog won’t bite. I also cannot be 100% sure my neighbor won’t punch me in the face. But knowing my neighbor, I’d be frankly stunned if he did so and assume something horrible was wrong. I’ve known other people that would punch someone with little provocation. The same is true of dogs.
I’ve owned or lived with dogs who would have bitten when Drift did. I’ve owned or lived with dogs who would not have even tolerated being at the Fair to begin with. I now own two that I’m quite confident would not have bitten for being grabbed and smooched, and that is very little to do with me and a whole lot to do with a breeder (bless her) who thinks that all her dogs should be safe family dogs and tolerate kids doing the things kids will do. She breeds accordingly.
Nothing in life is 100% sure, but some things are pretty close to it. Jack would have been stressed by the situation where Drift nipped, but would probably have done his best to back up, turn his head, grumble, run to me, or any of a long list of things before he dreamed of biting. Maddie would not have even been stressed; she is a dog who will lie down with her chin on the table in the middle of a vet exam.
My parents Chessie would quite likely have bitten and indeed has snapped for being forced into difficult situations. I had a dog growing up who would bite if you went to grab her. None of these dogs are “dangerous” dogs. I don’t expect any dog to never ever bite. They are average dogs who behaved in predictable ways to certain triggers.
Maddie would never bite a person in correction or aggression, but she might get your hand going for a treat or toy; the act is not aggressive but the pain is the same.
The tendency to bite, the pressure the dog must feel before biting, seems to be strongly genetic; most people I’ve known who have dogs who bite noticed aggressive behavior from puppyhood. On the flip side, my parents had a lab when I was a teen who lived to be 16. By the time he was old he was in a fair amount of pain all the time and struggled to stand some days. We never once heard him growl, even if someone accidentally bumped him (poor guy was always a klutz) and it clearly hurt. He would look with soft eyes and thump his tail. He was sweet and soft and kind. We all believed that someone could have killed this dog with their bare hands (not that anyone would) and he would never protest. He was that good.
I still try my best to monitor situations to avoid putting the dogs in a position where someone MIGHT bite (clearly, based on the examples I’ve given above, I pay too much attention to the dogs and not enough to the people, as I’ve been caught flat-footed a few times by adults doing bizarre things). I caution people with food or toys about Maddie being grabby. I avoid having high-value toys around Jack if there are other dogs milling about. But my dogs don’t require someone to let them sniff a hand in order to be petted (they look at you like you’re crazy if you try). They don’t require someone to turn sideways, or avoid eye contact. You can reach over and grab a collar or kiss them on the face without me worrying. If one of mine intentionally bit someone in relatively normal non-dog-savvy interactions, I would be truly shocked. I’ve owned and loved dogs in the past that this was not true of.
Diana in Md says
I haven’t read all the posted replies to this blog, but I wonder if anyone else has seen the YouTube video, “I Speak Doggie” – excellent teaching video for how children should behave around dogs. I came across it the a few days ago and it seems to be relevant to this discussion about kids and dogs.
Mary K. says
@Rebecca and @Emily- I love both of your observations about shy vs. fearful. They really are two different things, aren’t they? I think it is interesting to think of both of these traits as being on a spectrum or continuum. It is very true that dogs that fall into a more shy type of category seem to respond quicker to intervention. It’s as if the tools and desire are there but they just need the proper guidance on how to achieve that comfort level of being in social situations. Emily- I couldn’t agree more that fearful dogs present a much trickier challenge. Not sure what you could be doing differently-if you figure it out I bet a whole lot of dogs and people would benefit :).
@Beth- My dog abhors it when strangers reach to pet his head too! He does the two step back up all the while looking up with an engaging smile and laughing eyes. Usually, I just explain that if they would like to pet, a soft stroke to the chest works wonder and he will be your friend for life! I have noticed that many, many dogs would prefer not to be greeted by a pat to the head. Thank goodness that Fonzy, like Jack, is super social and goes with the flow. For some dogs, I imagine a hand reaching in to pet it’s head is an uncomfortable feeling and might warrant an unexpected reaction from the dog.
Kat says
@Diana, I love that video. I actually wrote several more verses for the class I teach on dogs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Z9RRjiQMA for anyone that’s unfamiliar with it.
JJ says
Kat: THANKS for including a link to that video. I LOVED!!!! it. So cool. It’s a great idea to put these best practices into song.
If it wouldn’t be giving anything away for your business, I’d like to know your other verses. (I’m just curious. 🙂 )
Kat says
@JJ: It was just expanded for my class so I have no problem sharing, however, it’s much too long to post here but I’ve tossed it into a post on my blog if you want to have a look.
http://rangerandhiskat.blogspot.com/2013/06/dog-safety.html
It was lots of fun going over the meaning of each verse with the kids, teaching them to be a tree (for jumping dogs) and a rock (for dogs that are mouthing/biting/being much too rough) and I wish I’d had permission to video the kids wagging like calm relaxed dogs and like hyper dogs. Too funny. Some of the kids reported back that they’d been watching how their dogs wag so one step in the right direction.
JJ says
Kat,
I just noticed you responded to me. Thanks! I like your additions. I can just imagine teaching this to a group of kids. How fun.
Thanks again.
Elizabeth says
Thank you for the post – I needed to read some of the ideas you have. I have a rock solid Pit Bull mix and a very skittish Border Collie. The BC was probably tethered for the first 10 months of her life and reactivity on leash is an issue for us. She’s come a long way and she gets lots of treats for paying attention to me and ignoring surrounding stimuli. She wears a head halter and an older gentleman approached asking if he could pet the dogs. I told him he could pet the Pit but not the BC. Before I could stop or body block he used an overhand gesture to pet the BC and he accidentally grabbed the back of the head halter. She lunged with her mouth open. Thank goodness I was quick enough to pull her away. That was an eye-opening moment for us. Scary as heck and, as you say Trisha, in one second it could have been a very different situation.
mhll53 says
I thought she was a Holstein calf!! No, wait, she’s a lamb!
Divya says
Patricia,
Thank you for posting this article! I’ve been doing a lot of research on dog biting/resource guarding of owners, and could use your advice, please.
I have a German Shepherd, “D” is ~3 and neutered. He had a great trainer. When he was 4mo old, he stared intensely and pounced at my sister to bite! Thankfully he missed. His trainer worked with them and he was fine with her then. (She’s too scared to be around him now – despite having grown up with big dogs and a German, bc she is not sure how it’d be without the trainer around). Also just before that incident, D was bit at a dog park by an Australian Cattle dog and that was the first time I ever saw him frantic and protective of himself and me (i was the one who pulled the other dog off of him and he literally jumped in my arms but was snarling and snapping at every dog or person that came by to see the commotion). At almost a year, he bit my neighbor. We were walking and stopped to chat. I asked her to ignore D, we talked…but she felt he was so well behaved that she leaned down to pet him. He bit her hand… hard and didn’t let go. I’ve had problems with biting. I put him in new training with a female trainer, Melissa, because he is like Cesar Millan dog with his old trainer- and I thought maybe bc I am female, he would do better with a female trainer. He was perfect with Melissa! I went abroad for awhile and D lived with my parents- again NO issues! People come and go from their home and he is great (though in fairness of evaluation- he is usually not on a leash with them, but the one time he was, he did viciously bark at my dad’s friend, but didn’t get close enough to bite). He knows his in-house commands, he’s been out of a crate since before he was a year and usually walks well on a leash, though he gets riled by dogs but is getting better. Every trainer (and even the Animal Control people) tell me if I want to get rid of him they all want him! I can’t imagine losing him. I realized he is a working dog and needs to burn energy so I hired a guy to run (not walk) with him 20min a day. He has lots of toys and puzzles too. His trainers want him in agility or search and rescue, but bc of his biting and lungeing – no class will let us in until he can behave confidently off leash. I am too nervous given the biting. When I got him, my dream was for him to be a therapy dog, as I live near a senior center and the nice folks there loved petting my dogs when I fostered for German Shepherd rescue. But now my dream is for him to stop “protecting me” from friends/strangers and to be the dog my family and close friends and I all know (and for him to control himself so he can be around my nephews, whose only interaction with him is on facetime even though they live 15min away!)
It’s been over two years since he bit anyone so I thought he learned. Recently, I was gardening and had him tied to a long lead as we have done many times while I’m out in the courtyard. (I live in a townhome with a common area courtyard so people do walk past us and I don’t want him to run off, though he has yet to do so). I garden with him outside often, and hadn’t had a problem…. until now. A different neighbor stopped to chat. D was sitting and she was standing about 5-6 ft away (which I thought was a safe distance that he could not reach her). I was parallel to D about 5-6 ft away (we formed a triangle). I noticed he was intensely watching her and before I could react, he barked viciously and lunged to attack her- all within seconds. He knocked her down but thankfully didn’t bite- not sure if the leash stopped him or because he heard me yell his name. He immediately ran inside to his “time out” spot. It was terrifying and that poor woman already had a fear of dogs I feel AWFUL. And I know she is terrified!
I was on the phone most of the evening with his old trainer – who says sometimes there’s just something about a person that can set a dog off and we can’t control that bc it’s their instinct- which I hate that it’s an “oh well can’t do anything so keep him home” statement. The dog behavioral consultant I spoke to over the phone told me it’s likely chemical and he needs medication. I hate that as well! My personal feeling is that it’s impulse control. I say this because I usually have a can of Pet Corrector handy just in case. I am kicking myself for not having it with me today. The sight of that can- without even pressing it- gets him to control himself. So I think he can control the lunging reaction, but on his own, he doesn’t break it. I’m afraid that even if I did catch the stare quick enough, my sudden movement to body block would have caused him to lunge anyway. I need to learn to “be the can”… Do you know anything I can do for this? Or do you recommend any trainer or service in the DC area? I’m having a tough time finding anyone to help. And I’m just devastated and so afraid my neighborhood will band together and tell me to get rid of him, or worse, he’ll really hurt someone someday. (He has one strike against him with county Animal Control in 2012 for jumping and scratching someone though they list it as a bite). Any advice/ thoughts/ suggestions are greatly welcome and appreciated!! It’s really killing me bc he is SUCH an awesome dog and really smart, but for these incidents. I feel that the training is more necessary for me than him, and that he needs to look to me for cues on how to behave.
Please help!