No, it’s not because your dog is suddenly terrified of his food bowl, or that he’d rather have a blue bowl than a red one, or that he just likes to make a mess. However, even researchers and dog behaviorists can’t say with absolutely certainty why some dogs exhibit this carrying-food-to-another-place behavior. The best these experts can offer are theories about why some dogs prefer to eat their food somewhere other than their food bowl.

As with so many dog peculiarities like digging, or licking, or circling before lying down, there’s general agreement that part of the answer lies in the domestic dog’s wolf ancestry. When the pack made a kill, the parents would feed first, after which the juveniles would have to compete for the best pieces, then drag them away to avoid having to fight the rest of the pack for them. “Fighting is obviously very risky,” explains Dr. Julie Albright-Keck with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, “so most animals, especially subordinate ones, will go to great lengths to avoid an altercation.”

A slightly different take comes from some experts who think that dogs who feel chronically vulnerable or who exhibit a lower social status could be more motivated to carry their food to a different place so no other dog can get to it—even if they’re the only dog in the home. Again, this could be related to the tendency among the dog’s wild ancestors for young or more passive members of the pack to grab their share of the kill, then take it somewhere else to guard it from competitors. “Even though a domestic dog may not be in danger when eating, it may be that instincts override everything else,” explains veterinary health expert Dr. Gary Richter.

This food-moving behavior doesn’t appear to be associated with specific breeds. While some studies show that smaller dogs do this more than larger dogs—many going so far as to carry their entire food bowl elsewhere—other experts have found that more wolf-like dogs such as Siberian Huskies, Malamutes, and Great Pyrenees also tend to take their food to other places to eat it.

Another theory is that some dogs may take their food to another place to eat it because of the desire for companionship. We know that wolves hunt and eat in a pack, and there’s a chance that your dog wants its “human pack” with him while he eats. “By nature, dogs are social creatures and the company can motivate them to eat,” says canine behavior expert and trainer Shelby Semel.

Dr. Liz Stelow of the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine echoes this sentiment, explaining that the reason some dogs want companionship at mealtime may be because they receive an emotional reward for eating. “Some owners create a relationship with the dog around food,” she says, “especially if he has a history of being a picky eater.” Over time, the dog has come to expect—and enjoy—his caretaker’s verbal encouragement, possible hand-feeding, and general attention. This can lead to the dog feeling more rewarded by eating in the caretaker’s presence than alone.

Another possible reason your dog might be taking food from his bowl is the bowl itself. “If you’re feeding your dog from a metal bowl,“ explains Dr. Holly Ahlgrim, Urgent Care veterinarian at the Animal Medical Center of Seattle, ”it’s possible that the clinking sound created by food being pushed around, or a dangling collar tag, may be irritating or upsetting your dog. They may be chewing their food away from the bowl to avoid the sound.”

A related issue is the dog who, contrary to taking his food somewhere else to eat it, won’t let anyone near it. It’s a perfectly normal canine behavior to protect a food source, since in the wild, food protection behavior evolved to keep other dogs away from a meal. Even though in most cases the modern family dog doesn’t really need to protect his food from a scavenger, this behavior is innate, harkening back to the dog’s past as a wild animal. This is related to a behavior called caching, where an animal hides or buries a food resource to save it for the future.

But even in wolves, food guarding is less often actual aggression than it is a threat display. This can include growling, baring of teeth, or snapping and while this kind of behavior can be disturbing to us, it seldom results in a bite. In a study of 3,226 dogs, 41 percent of the dogs showed vocal behaviors towards humans during resource guarding, but only 15 percent escalated to biting, and of those, less than 10 percent caused an injury. Regardless, any time a dog exhibits this type of threat display, you need to be extremely careful in your approach to avoid being bitten. If you are at all uncertain of how to address this issue, consult with a qualified behaviorist.

One other strange behavior some dogs exhibit around food is covering the food bowl. Veterinary researcher Dr. Myrna Milani explains that most of the time, the dog that tries to hide their food—whether with a blanket, a pair of socks, or anything else they can find—is uncomfortable with something in their immediate environment that makes them not want to eat at that specific time or in that specific place. “If an animal doesn’t feel secure in its space it won’t eat, no matter how tempting the food you offer it,” she says.  Any number of things can spark that insecurity, including an unfamiliar human or other animal nearby, unusual activity in the home, or even a change in where the dog is being fed. If this behavior happens often, it’s worth doing some detective work to figure out what’s bugging your pup.

In the end, if your dog decides to transport his kibble to the living room to eat it, the worst case scenario is that you step on an errant pellet and have to clean it up. But other than that, there’s nothing to worry about: it’s perfectly normal, if a little exasperating, dog behavior!

The post Why Do Dogs Take Their Food to Different Places? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Free feeding is the practice of making food available to your dog at all times. Some people who free feed offer the dog’s full daily ration at the start of the day, while others make sure the bowl is never empty, adding more food whenever it starts to look low. It’s the canine version of a Vegas buffet – there is always something being served, at any time of day or night, and the dog can eat whenever he chooses.

Convenience is typically cited as the reason some owners choose the free-feeding method. Others believe that constant access to food can prevent food guarding, particularly with adopted dogs who might have come from a situation where food was limited. In reality, constant access to food can create ongoing stress in a guarding-prone dog, as he potentially feels he must always be “on guard” to protect his buffet.

Choosing to be a responsible dog owner means doing what’s best for your dog, even if it’s not always the most convenient option. Most animal professionals agree that meals versus free-feeding is the better option for our dogs, for many reasons, most importantly, the following:

1. Meals help teach and maintain clean house habits.

Simply put, if you don’t know when food is going into the dog, it’s much harder to know when it will need to come out of the dog! This is especially important when initially housetraining a puppy or newly adopted dog, but it holds true throughout the dog’s life.

When a dog is fed on a reasonably consistent schedule, it’s easy to determine his bathroom needs and develop a routine that is easy to follow. Even better than a set routine is to feed your dog in a “window of time.” This helps prevent stressing an anxious dog when life throws a curve ball and he can’t be fed at the exact time he’s used to; it also helps prevent the creation of a clock-watching, demanding, reminding dog.

2. Appetite is an important indicator of health.

Lack of appetite is often the first sign that a dog is not feeling well. If your dog has a habit of grazing throughout the day, it’s harder to know if he hasn’t eaten yet because he’s preoccupied by life or his stomach is bothering him.

In contrast, if your dog has been conditioned to exhibit signs of being hungry within a certain time frame, and readily eats when his meal is presented, you’ll have a reliable sign that he’s not feeling well if he turns up his nose at the bowl. At that point, the owner knows to be on the lookout for other signs of illness, and can decide if a vet appointment is warranted. Plus, if you do visit the vet, you’ll be able to accurately report how long your dog has been off his food.

3. Meal manners for multi-dog households.

In homes with multiple dogs, free feeding can make it nearly impossible to monitor each individual dog’s daily intake. It can also create situations where more assertive dogs are allowed to intimidate housemates into surrendering their portions. This often happens without the owners realizing. They may not intervene until the problem has persisted long enough that it’s noticeable due to a change in the dog’s weight. The longer a dog rehearses an unwanted behavior, the more challenging it can be to modify.

When feeding multiple dogs, it’s wise to teach them to mind their own business when it comes to food bowls. We all deserve to eat in peace. Even when a dog doesn’t seem to mind the intrusion of a visiting housemate under normal circumstances (say he responds by calmly switching to the un-manned bowl, instead), the stress of the other dog invading his territory may lead to snarky behavior – especially if the intrusion occurs on a day he isn’t feeling well or when there are other stressful things going on in the household.

When dogs are fed meals, it’s easier for the responsible humans to gently remind everyone to stay at their own bowl and not interfere with housemates. Adopting this routine also simplifies things when different dogs are on different diets.

4. Meals are more hygienic and prevent unwanted pests.

Ants are cunning little creatures. If you’ve never lived in a place where the very thought of a dropped morsel of food would lead to an invasion, consider yourself lucky – and don’t tempt the immortal insect gods! Food left in bowls is an open invitation for ants and other insects.

5. Meals can be used as valuable training opportunities for life skills.

Unfortunately, the Internet is rife with bad advice when it comes to feeding rituals for dogs. Much of it centers on the ill-conceived idea that humans must somehow assert their status over their dogs by demonstrating control over food and eating. Suggestions typically range from making sure owners eat first, while the dog watches, to ridiculous – even dangerous – ideas, such as spitting in a dog’s food or randomly taking it away as he eats, in an attempt to communicate the idea that it’s really your food and you’re kind enough to share it with him.

At best, such ideas are silly and unnecessary and, at worst, they can erode a dog’s trust in the owners and create the very guarding problems people think they will prevent.

My goal is not to achieve status over my dog. My goal is to teach my dog how to handle himself, as a dog, in the human world. When a dog is motivated to eat a meal, I can use feeding time to help teach several valuable behaviors, such as:

Come When Called.

Coming when called is the most valuable skill any dog will learn. It’s a behavior that might literally save his life. While I use several techniques to teach and maintain a strong recall behavior, simple classical conditioning is always on my list, and is something I practice during every meal.

Classical conditioning is about creating strong associations in a dog’s mind. When I know a dog loves food, and is excited about mealtime, I can easily transfer some of that love and excitement onto my recall word by saying the word a split second before reaching for and feeding a bite of food.

It doesn’t matter what the dog is doing at the time. He can be sitting, standing, etc. What matters is that he hears his recall word and food magically lands in his mouth no more than two seconds later. I can easily rapid-fire my way through 25 rounds of “Saber, here!” in about a minute, and consider this a valuable piece of our recall maintenance training.

Impulse Control.

Some dogs really love mealtime, and, as a result, quickly become over-excited, working themselves into a barking, spinning, jumping frenzy. This often prompts the owners to work faster in an effort to hurry up and deliver the food so as to quiet the chaos.

Unfortunately, delivering the bowl to an out-of-control dog rewards the out-of-control behavior! There are many ways to ask your dog to exhibit self-control in anticipation of receiving his meal, from expecting that he simply wait calmly and quietly, to requiring that he hold a formal stay. At the very least, I teach my dogs that overly excited behavior will backfire, causing me to put food away and walk out of the kitchen!

Formal Stay.

When a dog is motivated to eat, earning a bowl of food is a powerful reinforcer. After my young dogs have learned that remaining calm is the key to keeping me on-task with meal prep, I use feeding time as a prime opportunity for teaching the sit-stay.

Start small, by asking for just five seconds of self-control via a sit-stay as you hold your dog’s bowl of food. If the dog breaks position – including calmly lying down or standing up (since you specifically asked for a sit-stay) – simply set the bowl on the counter and disengage from your dog for 30 seconds or so. It’s wise to busy yourself during this time so that it’s easier to remain disengaged from a dog who might try and pester you as he works to figure out what just happened.

Also, there’s no need to reprimand or otherwise correct the dog when he breaks position. The goal is for your dog to realize that his action (breaking position) is what’s causing the dinner delay.

After 30 to 60 seconds, return to the kitchen, pick up his bowl, ask him to “sit” and “stay” and try again. Chances are good that his “Ah-ha!” moment will come within three tries. When he’s successful, and you reach your five-second count, be sure to use a clear release word (I like, “OK!”) before inviting him to eat. The release word lets him know that this time, getting up won’t result in you removing the bowl.

As he gets the hang of things, be sure to change up how long you ask him to stay, sometimes asking for more, sometimes surprising him with an easy, short stay, but always ending with the release word.

Prevent Guarding.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I much prefer to prevent food guarding problems than to fix them. Mealtime is the perfect opportunity to condition a dog to enjoy his owner’s presence while he’s eating. It’s easier when a dog eats at a reasonable pace, rather than inhaling his food at warp speed (which, in some dogs, is an early sign of guarding).

To buy yourself some time with an enthusiastic eater, try spreading his kibble onto a cookie sheet, adding a large obstacle to his bowl (a small, upside down terra cotta pot works well) to create a “kibble moat” of sorts, or try one of the commercially available bowls designed to slow a dog down by making it harder to inhale large mouthfuls at a time.

As the dog is eating, stand a few feet away and toss several pieces of a high-value treat on the floor near the bowl. He might not even notice at first, and that’s fine. You want to be far enough away so as not to disturb the dog.

Repeat this process during every meal. If there’s room, sometimes walk by, dropping the treat as you pass the dog. Don’t say anything. Just toss or drop the high-value treat. Eventually, he will realize that the “good stuff” is coming from you, and you’ll likely see him pause, in eager anticipation of the treat, as you walk by.

The idea is to build a positive association with a human near the dog and his food. We want our dogs to want us nearby when they’re eating – our presence becomes a predictor of good things. As he eagerly looks to you for the treat, sometimes ask him to “sit” and hand him the treat, then release him back to his bowl of food.

This method works well to prevent food-bowl guarding, or help reverse mild cases when caught early. If your dog is growling or snapping, or has already bitten somebody in proximity of his bowl, please consult a qualified, positive-reinforcement trainer before attempting to modify the behavior on your own.

Say “Bye-bye!” to the buffet

A little tough love is often all that’s needed to transform a dog accustomed to grazing throughout the day into a dog who readily eats meals when they are offered. To begin, make sure you have a solid idea of how much food your dog actually needs. Remember that what’s printed on the dog food bag is only a guide – and is usually significantly more than most dogs need. Plus, it doesn’t take into consideration the calories consumed throughout the day via training treats and special chews. Your dog’s individual metabolism will also greatly affect how much food he needs. For example, my previous dogs included a 30-pound Whippet and a small, 40-pound Golden Retriever who ate the same amount of food thanks to the Whippet’s fast metabolism.

Once you’ve decided on a quantity, split it into as many portions as you plan to feed meals. In general, puppies should be fed three (or even four) times per day until they are about 4 months old, at which time they can be fed twice a day. Most adult dogs seem to do best on two meals per day, but some people find that their dogs do better on one meal a day.

When it’s time for a meal, present the food and set a timer for five minutes. Your dog now has five minutes to eat his meal. If he eats a bite or two and walks away, that’s his choice, but you’ll pick up the bowl at the five-minute mark, and he won’t be offered food again until the next meal. (The only exception here is for young puppies or underweight dogs, in which case I will offer food again in an hour – but only for five minutes. You want the dog to understand that the buffet has closed and he needs to eats when food is offered, or it will disappear.) You can usually safely store what wasn’t eaten after only five minutes, but wet food should be refrigerated or thrown away.

When the adult dog chooses to walk away from the food bowl, he has effectively made the choice to skip a meal. That is his choice. If you have a second dog who is an eager eater, try letting your picky dog watch the eager eater happily eat his left-overs! (Then cut back on the eager eater’s next meal so as not to over-feed him.)

When dealing with a picky eater, it’s tempting to try hand feeding or augmenting the food with table scraps or other toppers, but that can actually encourage pickiness. A little warm water can often jump-start a picky eater by enhancing the smell, and it’s OK to decide on a healthy additive such as a little plain yogurt, but you don’t want to keep changing things up in an attempt to entice your dog to eat. Now is when you need to be strong in your commitment to some necessary tough love. No healthy dog will starve himself when you are offering food at regular intervals.

While a healthy dog won’t starve himself, some take longer than others to understand the new game plan and decide to eat when you offer a meal. The longest I’ve seen it take is three days. Yes, three days! Thankfully the owner hung in there, resisting the temptation to offer training treats and other snacks throughout the day (or caving in all together), and we were all excited to see the dog finally choose to eat dinner on that third day – and all offered meals that followed. Her dog wasn’t being stubborn when he walked away from an offered meal – he was just getting used to the new routine. Just like any new behavior, learning to eat at a specific time, when the dog is used to free feeding, can take time.

After you’ve gained your dog’s cooperation when it comes to meals versus free feeding, how you fine-tune the feeding routine is up to you. Some people stick with the five-minute mark, allowing the dog to come and go from the bowl as he pleases, but only for a set amount of time.

I prefer that my dog stays on-task when at the bowl, so if something catches his attention and he leaves the kitchen, I pick up the bowl right then. So, as long as you’ve established a willingness to eat when a meal is presented, we see no harm in making minor adjustments to fit your lifestyle with your dog’s.

If you find that your dog isn’t consistently finishing a portion, you might be offering more food than he needs. Remember to factor in training treats or portions of kibble that are delivered throughout the day. Try reducing his meal portion by 25 percent and see what happens. If he mows through a meal and seems like he’s starving, its wise to observe for a couple of weeks to see if he’s losing weight – in which case, maybe he needs more food, or a different food – or if the hunger is all in his head.

With a little patience and persistence, your dog should soon understand that his buffet lifestyle has ended, and you’ll both begin to enjoy the benefits of daily meals.

Stephanie Colman is a writer and dog trainer in Los Angeles.

The post 5 Reasons NOT to Free-Feed Your Dog appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

It’s a safe bet we all agree that a dog who snaps at or bites a human when near the food bowl is saying, “Get away from my food!” But fortunately, most dogs are willing to employ a variety of communication tactics prior to the flash of teeth. They include:

Eating faster.

Some dogs always eat fast – it’s just part of their personalities. But a dog who feels threatened when a human approaches his bowl will start eating even faster. “This is MY food! I’m going to eat it all before you can get it!” Some dogs will also try to position themselves between the owner and the bowl, attempting to body-block the owner’s access.

Freezing up.

If the perceived threat persists, a dog will typically change tactics. Now, rather than eating faster, he often freezes. In his mind, there’s definitely something to be concerned about, and he’s trying to decide how best to proceed. The freeze is typically accompanied by what trainers call a “hard eye.” It’s a dirty look that means business. “No, really. This is MY food. I’m not messing around.”

Growl and lip curl.

If the dog still feels threatened, he may decide it’s time to escalate his behavior to include threats of violence. This usually includes a lip-curl and/or growl. Mentally sound dogs do not choose to engage in violent behavior when threats of violence will do. Aggression is costly. It requires extreme amounts of energy and puts the animal at risk. When a dog curls his lip or growls, understand that he’s doing so in an effort to keep from having to escalate further.

Snap or bite.

If the early communication is ignored, and the dog still feels threatened, a snap or bite is next in the communication protocol. The previous three tactics can happen quickly and are easily missed when you don’t know to look for them. This makes it more likely that people believe the snap or bite has happened “out of the blue.” For this reason, it’s important that people learn to read dog body language. The earlier we can accurately interpret a dog’s attempt to communicate with us, the better the prognosis when it comes to modifying behavior problems.

A final note: Remember that growling, while undesirable, is an important piece of information. It’s a dog’s way of telling us he’s uncomfortable with something. Many people are quick to punish a dog for growling. Such actions address the symptom (the growl – which is communication), rather than the problem (what’s causing the dog to feel concerned enough to growl).

Unfortunately, punishment can teach a dog not to growl, but does nothing to change his underlying emotional state. As a result, these dogs sometimes do bite without warning (“out of the blue!”) because the warning has been punished out of them. This creates a much more dangerous and difficult behavior to modify.

For more information, see “Resource Guarding and What to Do About it,” WDJ August 2015, and “Understanding Why Your Dog Growls,” October 2005.

The post The Resource-Guarding Warning Signs appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Resource guarding is, in fact, a natural, normal canine behavior, and an important survival strategy. For a wild animal, loss of important resources can mean death. If they allowed other dogs – or any other animal who happened along as they were eating – to take their food away, they wouldn’t live long enough for the species to survive! So how did a natural, normal behavior come to be so demonized that countless dogs have lost their lives as a result?

Resource Guarding Assessment Protocols

Prior to the 1990s, assessments of canine behavior were conducted at shelters on a haphazard basis, if at all. At the time, when some 18 million homeless dogs and cats were euthanized at shelters annually, any presentation of aggression, including resource-guarding, was enough reason to land a dog on the euthanasia list.

As spay and neuter efforts and other education programs became increasingly effective, shelter numbers started to decline, and many animal protection professionals were able to begin making more thoughtful and measured decisions through more standardized assessment processes. Still, the often-dramatic responses dogs can offer when protecting their valuables continued to make it highly likely that a dog who guarded was selected for euthanasia. And since “resource-guarding” had a bad name as an easily identifiable trigger for aggression, even less intense guarding responses were still likely to result in the dog’s death.

In the 1990s, a couple of standardized assessment protocols became popular among animal shelter staffers. One was developed by dog training professional Sue Sternberg, who was at one time employed by the ASPCA in New York City, where one of her responsibilities was assessing dogs for adoption. In 1993, Sternberg established a private animal shelter, the Roundout Valley Animals for Adoption, in upstate New York. In the same time frame, she became a popular presenter in dog training and animal sheltering circles on the value of using a standardized assessment protocol to evaluate dogs for adoption, in order to protect the public and help make better adoption matches. She offered her own protocol as a model that other professionals could use as-is, or as a starting place for development of their own protocol.

Part of Sternberg’s “Assess-A-Pet” protocol was a resource-guarding assessment, using a tool she called the “Assess-A-Hand” – a fake rubber hand mounted at the end of a stick (to put a bit of distance between the dog’s teeth and the person doing the assessing). The fake hand would be used near the canine assessment subject, to determine his response if approached by a human while in possession of a valuable resource.

Another popular protocol was developed and promoted by Dr. Emily Weiss, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and the Senior Director of Research and Development for the ASPCA. Her protocol, the Safety Assessment For Evaluating Rehoming (SAFER Test), includes Sternberg’s Assess-A-Hand resource-guarding test.

As animal protection professionals became convinced of the value and importance of assessing adoption dogs in order to ensure public safety, it seemed logical to refrain from placing dogs who demonstrated overt, identifiable aggressive behaviors, including guarding. The overreaction – euthanasia of all dogs who displayed any signs of resource-guarding, stemmed from a well-meaning desire to not put adopters at risk. But it was, in fact, an overreaction.

For eight years, I volunteered at the nearby Humane Society of Washington County. We assessed dogs using a modified version of a protocol developed by Kelly Bollen for her master’s thesis. Bollen’s protocol was a modified version of Sue Sternberg’s, and also included the resource-guarding test.

When I started volunteering there in 2004, any sign of resource-guarding resulted in euthanasia for the dog. By the time I left in 2012, we had created a range of outcomes for dogs who displayed any amount of guarding on the continuum of guarding behavior, and only the most extreme cases were euthanized (see table on page 23).

Because resource-guarding behaviors can often be managed or modified, thoughtful placement on the continuum, paired with appropriate options for dogs of each designation, helped determine positive outcomes for more dogs. Some of the options included careful placement in an experienced home without small children, behavior-modification work in a foster home prior to placement, and transfer to a rescue group with the resources to manage and modify the behavior.

Of course, each shelter and rescue organization has its own tolerance for risk, and has to make its own decisions about what level of guarding they feel is suitable for placement.

Managing a Dog’s Guarding Behavior

Three of my four current dogs (all adopted from shelters) will readily guard resources, both from other dogs and humans. Because we have no small children in our home, and because my husband Paul and I are knowledgeable and capable canine caretakers, we choose to mostly manage rather than modify our dogs’ behaviors.

Our management of the dogs’ guarding behavior includes feeding Scooter, our Pomeranian, in a separate room with the door closed, and monitoring the other three while they eat. We also separate the dogs when we give them high-value chews, using crates, baby gates, and closed doors. Also, we always ask them to trade for a treat when we need to take something from them, as opposed to trying to grab it from their mouths – a good idea even if your dog doesn’t guard.

If you are considering the management option for your resource-guarder, critically evaluate your home environment to determine if management is truly a realistic long-term solution. Here are some of the factors that would suggest behavior modification might be needed in addition to management:

– Children live in or regularly visit the home.

– One of more adults living in the home will not dependably adhere to management protocols.

– Dog’s guarding behavior is fierce and unpredictable (will guard random dropped/found objects, not just food).

If you decide that your dog needs some behavior modification, remember that for at least the short term, you will also need to put stringent management measures in place. While management always carries the possibility of failure, the more you do to reduce that possibility, the safer everyone in the home, canine and human, will be.

Modifying Your Dog’s Resource Guarding

Dogs guard resources because they fear losing them. Sometimes the fear is learned through experience; someone has been taking valuable resources away from the dog. Some silly humans seem to think they have an absolute right to take anything away from their dogs at anytime, and their dogs should let them, without protest. That’s a terrific way to create a resource-guarding behavior. It’s rude to grab something from someone; we learned that in kindergarten, right? I would no more rudely grab something from a dog than I would from another human. (However, I teach all of my dogs to politely give up valued food or toys, by trading them for even better ones.

Other dogs are “guardy” from a very early age, even absent known encounters with rude, resource-grabbing humans. Even six- to eight-week-old puppies can show resource-guarding behavior to their littermates and to humans.

Either way, our goal is to convince dogs that a human approaching them when they are in possession of a resource is not a threat to their resource, but rather, predicts the arrival of more good stuff!

Caveat: If your dog has caused serious injury to a person or another animal, or you are not comfortable implementing this protocol on your own, please seek the assistance of a qualified positive behavior professional.

Here is my favorite protocol for modifying resource-guarding behavior. If at any time as you work through these steps, your dog growls or exhibits any other guarding behavior, you are too close and/or have proceeded too quickly.

How to Modifying a Dog’s Resource-Guarding Behavior:

1. Prepare an ample supply of high-value treats that you can toss. Small bits of cheese or meat work well.

2. Tether your dog to an eye bolt affixed to the wall for that purpose, or to a solid, heavy object. Give him a valuable chew object (not a Kong – it will roll out of his reach!), or a small bowl of food.

3. As your dog chews or eats, walk past him, taking care to stay at a safe distance from him. This may be six to eight feet beyond the end of the tether, or it may be closer. As you pass, toss several treats where he can easily reach them, near the bowl or chewie. Keep walking; do not pause to toss the treats. If your dog growls, lunges, or shows other obvious guarding behavior, you are too close.

4. Repeat Step 3 until, as you approach, you see your dog starting to look up in happy anticipation of the treats you are going to toss. When he does this consistently, decrease the distance between you by a few inches on your next passes.

5. Continue passing by and dropping treats, gradually decreasing the distance between you and your dog when you see that he is consistently happy (not showing any stiffness or signs of guarding) at each new distance.

6. When he is happy with you walking past at a distance close enough to touch him, pause as you pass, feed him a treat from your hand, then walk on.

7. When he stays happy with your pause-and-feed, gradually increase the length of time you pause and feed him. The increase should be no more than 1-2 seconds. As you increase the length of your pause, start talking to him in a happy voice as you feed him.

8. When you can pause for 10 seconds and he stays happy, occasionally bend slightly and drop a treat into his bowl or next to his chewie, then feed some more from your hand and walk on.

9. Repeat, gradually increasing the number of times you bend and drop treats for him.

10. Now gradually increase how much you bend over until you can touch the bowl or chewie. Remember, if you see any sign of tension you have moved too quickly. Back up a few steps and continue more slowly from there.

11. Finally, as you are pausing, bending, and feeding him, occasionally play the “trade game” (see “Teaching Trade”), always returning the bowl or object to him after he has happily allowed you to take it.

12. Now start the protocol over again at Step 1, with another person in your family serving as the passerby. Choose only an adult (or near-adult) who can follow your explicit instructions. Continue until your dog is comfortable with all family members approaching him, then repeat with trustworthy visitors, again starting with Step 1.

Most important, if you see guarding behavior in your dog, or you’re considering adopting a shelter dog who may have some resource-guarding behaviors, don’t panic. Your dog isn’t evil, he’s just expressing his desire to maintain possession of something he finds valuable. In fact, recent studies indicate that resource-guarding behavior identified in behavior assessments is less of a problem in adoptive homes than shelter workers have feared for decades. So relax, consider the behavior from your dog’s perspective, empathize, and start teaching him that you’re not a threat to his good stuff.

The post Resource-Guarding And What To Do About It appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

But it’s important that I not allow my irritation to show, because frequently, despite the fact that the problem took months or even years to develop, the people really are on the verge of giving up on the dog. Sometimes, whatever has been going on with the dog has tipped the scales significantly enough to prompt the client to ask for help right then and there. I want to harness that motivation! I want to seize that moment and get everyone working together on a solution, finally.

I received such a call on a Saturday afternoon from an exasperated woman whose 4-year-old miniature Poodle had a housetraining issue. The dog had never been successfully housetrained, she said, and now she and her husband were desperate.

They wanted this problem solved now, immediately. “You have to help us!” On learning how long the problem had existed, I asked what compelled them to seek help at this time.  “It’s gross,” she said. “It has to stop.”

People don’t generally book a behavior consultation because they suddenly consider their dog’s behavior gross after tolerating it for four years. I prodded a bit more. “Well, nothing’s worked. We must be doing something wrong!” Aha! It made me very happy that she hadn’t put the blame on the dog and that she appeared to recognize that there was something she and her husband should be doing differently. I figured I would get more details when I got there, and I booked them for that evening. Yes, it was a Saturday evening, but I kept thinking of all the fabulous training and practice opportunities they would get the very next day, Sunday, when they were both home all day. The timing was perfect.

I kept in mind that addressing a long-existing housetraining issue can be tricky, and it’s stressful for everyone involved, for a number of reasons, including:

– The humans are at the end of their rope (even though they’ve let it go on for several years).

– The dog is stressed because everyone seems to be so angry with her all the time.

– The humans are about to learn that the problem won’t be fixed overnight, and that they’ll have to significantly change their routine in order to make any progress.

– The dog is about to have the only toilet facilities she’s ever known, taken away from her . . . just try to imagine how confusing that must be, for anyone!

Logical Developments of Dog Behavior Problems

At the clients’ house, I was greeted at the door by a very enthusiastic, friendly little female poodle named “Silly.” I learned that the couple mostly worked on opposing shifts, and, to make matters more complicated, their schedules were unpredictable and irregular. This meant that a routine was difficult for them to stick to, and also explained why it was important that we meet “right now,” as it was one of the rare times they were both at home.

We quickly ruled out any medical issues as a potential cause for Silly’s “accidents,” as she had very recently  received a clean bill of health from her veterinarian at an annual health visit.

My attention was drawn to a couple of training “puppy” pads on the floor – one in the kitchen and another in the bathroom. I asked if Silly had ever been trained to use the pads; the answer was “Yes, sometimes she uses them.” Sometimes means that the answer was actually no; she had never been trained specifically to use the pads – she just managed to hit them sometimes when she eliminated in the spots in the house that she preferred for elimination.

I asked if they had ever attempted to train her to relieve herself outside. They said, “Not really, but sometimes if we’re outside, she’ll go potty there and she knows we’re happy about it.” Again, I surmised that no formal training had actually taken place.

I also learned that the husband had, on several occasions and on the advice of several well-meaning friends, resorted to spanking Silly if she was caught in the act of relieving herself in a location other than on the pad. He had also “rubbed her nose in it” if a mess was discovered after the fact. As a result, Silly now only relieved herself in a corner of the basement when no humans were around, or in the living room during the night when everyone was asleep.

The owners also mentioned that Silly was free-fed, and while she used to nibble throughout the day, she now ate and drank only after the owners had gone to bed. They said she often emptied her water bowl completely during this time.

The Behavior Modification Plan

We began by removing the training pads and establishing scheduled feeding times, in order to promote regular digestion and elimination.

We also devised a plan that would allow Silly the opportunity to go outside every 30 minutes for the next several days, always accompanied by someone who could reward her immediately if she relieved herself outside. This plan might prove difficult for some owners, but I learned that the owners’ next-door neighbors (in a duplex) were actually the husband’s parents, fond of Silly, retired, and readily available. I quickly recruited them to help handle this task.

Silly is not crate-trained and is not comfortable being confined, so we established a large area in the kitchen that could be closed off, where she could be left alone for short periods between visits from the parents. When the owners were home, she was to be either actively supervised or tethered to them at all times. They were to continue the frequent visits outside, with the intention of gradually stretching the time between outdoor trips as Silly became more successful with her outdoor potty breaks.

I explained to Silly’s owners that punishing her, whether in the act of eliminating in the house or upon finding evidence of a previous “accident” indoors, would discourage Silly from eliminating in front of them. In order to help Silly feel comfortable eliminating – outside! – the owners agreed to stop punishing her for any “mistakes” that she made.

Immediate Progress

During my visit, I took several opportunities to step into the backyard with Silly on a long leash and was lucky enough to be able to reward her – not once, but twice! – for relieving herself outside. When asked if they were up for the task of doing this all day on Sunday, with the aim of creating opportunities to reward Silly outside, both owners were extremely enthusiastic.

After one week, with the help of the parents and the urgent commitment of the owners, Silly had slipped up only once during the day when left alone for longer than planned and not confined to the kitchen area. And now that she was routinely praised and rewarded for eliminating outdoors, she also began scratching at the back door when she wanted to go outside!

The couple is now optimistic that their problem will finally be resolved. Best of all, the relationship between themselves and their darling little dog – a relationship that had been damaged by the punishment and mutual distrust – is well on its way to being repaired.

Crises as Opportunities

President John F. Kennedy once noted that when written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters, one that represents danger and one that represents opportunity. Perhaps that’s what Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel had in mind when he was more recently quoted as saying that one should “never let a serious crisis go to waste,” because  “it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

Even life-threatening crises, such as when an owner considers surrendering or even euthanizing his dog due to serious behavior problems, can be seen as an opportunity for a trainer  – or even just a friend with a better dog education or more dog experience –  to help encourage and redirect the owner toward a smarter and more positive solution.

Not all conversations that begin with “You need to fix this right now!” grow into easy success stories like this one, and yet I can’t help but think that my having responded immediately, while the iron was hot, had a lot to do with fueling – and reinforcing! – the couple’s determination to address their problem in a new and better way.

The post Solving Your Dog’s Behavior Problem Crisis appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

To teach “trade,” give your dog a toy or other object that he likes to play with. When he’s happily holding it in his mouth, offer him a high-value treat and as he drops the toy to take the treat, click the clicker (or use a verbal marker, such as the word “Yes!”) and feed him the treat. Then give him back the toy or object. If he is reluctant to give up his toy at first, use a higher-value treat, and/or scatter-drop several treats on the floor.

Note: This is a two-handed exercise. Be sure to keep your dog’s mouth busy eating treats from your hand while you pick up the toy with your other hand.
When you know he’ll drop the toy as you present the treat, start giving the “Trade!” cue just before you offer the treat.

Vary the length of time between giving the cue and offering the treat, until your dog starts dropping the toy on cue even before you present the trade treat. (Continue to give him the treat after you click, even if he drops the toy on cue.) Do lots of repetitions until he drops the toy on cue every time.

Now do this with higher-value items, such as stuffed Kongs, hoof chews, and raw meaty bones. Slowly work your way up to very high-value objects. Because your dog has learned you will give the valuable object back each time, he should continue to be willing to trade even very high-value items in exchange for a treat, followed by the return of the item.

Of course, when he grabs a bag of chicken bones on the street you won’t give it back, but that will happen so infrequently that he’ll learn to happily give you things when you ask.

Note: If your dog shows any signs of resource-guarding when you try to teach him “Trade” (unwillingness to give up object, tension, hard stare, growl, snap, or hovering over or moving away with the object) we recommend you seek the assistance of a qualified positive-behavior professional.

Do not try to forcibly take the object from him.

The post Trading With Your Dog to Combat Resource Guarding appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

1. Manage. We cannot stress strongly enough the importance of managing your dogs’ behaviors to prevent the triggering of over-threshold guarding behavior.

2. Be observant. Watch your dog’s behavior around other dogs in the presence of valuable resources to determine if everyone is being appropriate or if intervention is needed.

3. Remember that it’s natural for dogs to guard their valuables. If appropriate “go away” signals are being given and the approaching dog defers, don’t interfere. That’s how it’s supposed to work!

Resource guarding is a natural, normal canine behavior. In fact it’s a natural behavior for most warm-blooded animals. Even we humans guard our resources – sometimes quite fiercely. Think about it. We lock our doors. Store clerks have loaded .22 rifles under checkout counters, while homeowners keep shotguns and baseball bats leaning in the corner by the back door. Companies hire security guards. Banks keep valuables in vaults. Some of us get insanely jealous if someone pays too much attention to our significant other. I could go on…

Dogs guard their resources as well, sometimes quite fiercely. This is most troublesome when they guard from humans, but can also get them in hot water when they guard from other dogs. That said, some dog-dog guarding behavior is quite appropriate and acceptable. The wise dog owner not only knows the difference between appropriate and inappropriate guarding, she also knows when and how to intervene, manage, and modify.

Resource Guarding Scenarios

If dogs didn’t guard their resources from other dogs they’d be in danger of starving – both in the wild and in multi-dog households. It’s this survival instinct that triggers everything from the canine dirty look known as a “hard stare” to the ferocious blood-letting, sometimes fatal battles that can occur when dogs fight over valuable, mutually-coveted resources: food, toys, objects, locations, beds, and human attention.

There are several different scenarios that can occur when one dog chooses to guard something from another dog, ranging from a very healthy, normal interaction, to those that risk the very lives of one or more of the combatants:

1) Ideal: Dog A and Dog B are both appropriate

The ideal resource-guarding scenario probably plays itself out frequently in multi-dog households, dog parks, doggie daycares, and anyplace dogs randomly gather. It looks something like this: Dog A is chewing happily on a (insert any valuable resource here). Curious, Dog B approaches. Dog A gives Dog B “the look.” Dog B quickly defers, saying, “Oh, excuse me!” by calmly turning and walking away. No harm done. Much of the time the dogs’ owner isn’t even aware that this occurred.

2) Second Best: Dog B is inappropriate but Dog A defers

Dog A is chewing on (insert resource). Dog B approaches. Dog A gives Dog B “the look.” Dog B gives Dog A “the look” back. Dog A defers, “Oops, sorry!” by dropping the resource and leaving. Dog B was inappropriate, but Dog A didn’t want to argue about it. The danger here is that somewhere along the line Dog A may get fed up with Dog B’s inappropriate behavior and decide not to defer.

3) Now We’re in Trouble, Part I: Dog A is inappropriate

Dog A is chewing on (insert valuable resource). Dog B approaches. Dog B would defer if warned, but rather than giving “the look,” Dog A leaps into action and attacks without giving Dog B the opportunity to defer.

4) Now We’re in Trouble, Part II: Dog B is socially inept

Dog A is chewing on (insert valuable resource). Dog B approaches. Dog A gives “the look.” Dog B is oblivious, and keeps blundering forward, until Dog A feels compelled to escalate the intensity of his message, to aggression if necessary, to get his point across.

5) Now We’re in Trouble, Part III: Dog B is inappropriate and Dog A doesn’t defer

Dog A is chewing on (insert valuable resource). Dog B approaches. Dog A gives “the look.” Dog B gives Dog A “the look” back. Instead of deferring, Dog A takes offense and escalates his aggressive behavior to maintain possession of his resource. Dog B reciprocates with increased aggression, and a serious fight ensues.

The same five scenarios can apply to other guarding situations – the dog who doesn’t want to share his sticks or toys; who becomes tense if another dog approaches him on his bed; or who claims his owner’s total and undivided attention. So whether it’s food or some other valuable possession your dog is guarding, what do you do about it?

Be Aware of Tension Between Dogs

First, you have to be aware of the guarding tension. It’s hard to miss in Scenarios 3, 4, and 5, but if you have dogs engaged in one of the first two you may have overlooked it. Time to sit up and take notice! With Scenario 1, where both dogs respond appropriately, all you need to do is keep an eye on things and breathe a sigh of relief. As long as the pattern repeats itself, you needn’t worry. You just need to stay calmly observant and take note if the pattern changes – if, for example, Dog B is slower to defer over time, which may cause an increase in Dog A’s tension and possibly escalate to higher-intensity guarding. Many dogs live happily together their entire lives politely signaling and deferring in relation to valuable resources. That’s how it’s supposed to work – perfectly appropriate and normal.

If you see subtle signs of increasing tension, however, or if you see Scenario 2 behavior, where Dog B is bullying Dog A into giving up the resource, you have potential trouble brewing. It’s possible that Dog B will calmly defer for the rest of the dogs’ lives together. You could continue to observe, and intervene only if things start to escalate. Maybe it never will. Or you could intervene with management and/or modification now, before you have significant relationship damage to repair, and a more difficult behavior modification challenge.

Of course, anything more dramatic than  Scenario 2 behavior requires immediate action in the form of management and, if you choose to do so, modification.

You Can Manage Resource Guarding

I’m a huge fan of management. If your dogs’ list of guardable items is relatively short and the dog-dog guarding interactions are reasonably predictable, then management may be a realistic option. Feed meals to your dogs or give them pig ears only when they are safely crated or closed in separate rooms. If you have a toy guarder, do toy-play with the dogs separately, and put coveted toys away when the dogs are together. Case closed.

Modification is in order, however, if battles grow increasing likely to erupt unexpectedly over an ever-growing list of miniscule triggers, such as a crumb dropped on the floor, a preferred resting spot on the rug, the hallway to the kitchen, equitably delivered treats to both dogs, or a rapidly growing radius around a valued human. Of course you’ll manage in the meantime, but since management always carriers a risk of failure and guarding battles can be fierce, the more generalized the guarding, the more critically important it becomes to convince your dogs to act appropriately with other dogs in the presence of high-value resources.

Modify Your Dogs’ Behavior

Aggression is caused by cumulative stress that pushes a dog over his aggression threshold. We’re all grumpier when we’re stressed. (See “Understanding Aggression in Dogs,” WDJ October 2010). Begin your modification program by minimizing as many other stressors as possible in your dogs’ world. That includes creating structure and predictability in their lives; exploring and treating any possible medical conditions that may cause pain or distress; and eliminating the use of any coercive or pain-causing training tools and methods (shock, choke and prong collars, physical or harsh verbal punishment).

At the same time, incorporate calmness-inducing products and procedures such as increased aerobic exercise, the “Through a Dog’s Ear” recordings, Thundershirts or Anxiety Wraps, calming massage, and TTouch.

There are a few different options for modifying resource-guarding behavior between dogs. You can classically condition Dog A (the guarder) to love having another dog around him even in the presence of valuable resources; you can operantly condition Dog A to perform a different response when he’s in possession of a valuable resource and another dog approaches; and you can operantly condition Dog B to avoid the guarder when he has a valuable resource. Here’s how each of these work.

Counter-Condition Dog A

The point of counter-conditioning is to change Dog A’s emotional response to the proximity of Dog B in the presence of a guardable resource. This procedure will require dogs with very solid sit-stays and down-stays. Alternatively, you can use tethers. It’s critically important that Dog A not be triggered to guard during these training sessions; awareness of threshold distance and the dogs’ proximity to each other is paramount.

Step 1: Start with the two dogs sitting a few feet from each other – farther, if necessary to avoid guarding behavior. Have a bowl of pea-sized, high-value treats. Give a treat to Dog B (the non-guarder), and then give one to Dog A, accompanied by happy-voice praise. If the dogs are so far apart you have to walk some distance to get to Dog A, start praising as you walk. Repeat until you see Dog A brighten noticeably when Dog B gets his treat; this tells you he’s made the association between Dog B getting a treat and the next delicious treat coming to him. This is a “conditioned emotional response” (CER) – the physical manifestation of the emotional change that happens because of the pairing between the presence of the other dog and the arrival of a high-value treat.

If you start with the dogs far apart, when you have established a consistent CER with Dog A, gradually move them closer together, continuing with the counter-conditioning and achieving CERs at each new distance until the dogs are happily taking treats a few feet apart. Depending on your dogs, this could take one session or many.

Step 2: Have a bowl of high-value treats. Hang out with Dog A in a good-sized quiet room with the door closed – watch TV, read a book, work on the computer – but don’t feed him any treats. In fact, ignore him completely. After 20 to 30 minutes, bring Dog B into the room on leash and have him sit. Feed him a treat, then spend 20-30 seconds giving generous treats and praise to Dog A. Then remove Dog B from the room.

At varying intervals, bring Dog B back into the room and repeat the procedure – always bringing Dog B into the room before you make any move to reach for the treats in the bowl. Repeat until Dog A looks consistently happy – the CER – as you move to bring in Dog B.

Step 3: Repeat Step 2, but this time Dog A is in possession of a guardable resource – a bone, a toy, a favorite bed. If there are things he guards less intensely than others, start with a lower-value resource.

Tether Dog A with his resource as far from the door as possible, and hang out for another 20 to 30 minutes before bringing in Dog B. Step in the door with Dog B, have him sit, feed him a treat, and then do your 20- to 30-second praise-and-treat routine with Dog A. Repeat until you have a consistent CER – Dog A brightens happily when you enter the room with Dog B.

As you do these repetitions, occasionally encourage brief eye contact between the dogs several times at each distance, so that trigger gets built into the procedure. If eye contact triggers significantly greater intensity from Dog A, stay at the door until that intensity goes away and you are getting consistent CERs even with eye contact.

Gradually move closer with Dog B, obtaining consistent CERs from Dog A at each new distance before moving closer again. Remember to look for and reward  some eye contact between the dogs.

When you have closed the distance by half, mark that spot and start over again at the full distance, but this time with Dog A untethered. This should not trigger any tension from Dog A, and you should be able to move closer to him with Dog B more quickly than before.

Step 4: Repeat Step 3 with the same value resource, in all the rooms in the house, until Dog A displays consistent CERs everywhere.

If you have multiple dogs who Dog A guards from, repeat Steps 1 to 4 with each of the dogs. Then do the same thing with multiple dogs in the presence of Dog A and a low-value guardable resource.

Step 5: Go back to Step 3, again with Dog A tethered, but now in possession of a somewhat more valuable resource. Repeat all steps with all dogs, individually at first, then in larger groups, until Dog A offers consistent CERs regardless of what dog or what room. Continue up the resource-value ladder until Dog A shows no sign of tension

Step 6: Do occasional “cold trials” without the set-up and repetition – a deliberate “management failure” in which counter-conditioning meets real life. Do at least one cold trial per day, and if you see tension reappearing, go back and do repetitions of the procedure at whatever step is necessary for your dog to regain his equilibrium. Then move through the steps to completion – probably much more quickly than the first time through.

Operantly Condition Dog A

Resource-guarding behavior lends itself beautifully to the “Constructional Aggression Treatment” (CAT) operant conditioning protocol developed by Dr. Jesus Rosales Ruiz and Kellie Snider, MA, a few years ago at the University of North Texas. (See “Build Better Behavior,” WDJ May 2008). Our Dog A gets tense and eventually aggressive because he is concerned that the approaching dog is a threat to his valuable resource. These aggressive distance-increasing signals are often successful in making the other dog go away, hence they are reinforced, and behaviors that are reinforced are repeated.

To use the CAT procedure, tether Dog A with a low-to-moderate-value guardable resource, and approach from a distance with Dog B. If you know that Dog A begins showing signs of guarding at a distance of 15 feet, start at 25 feet. As you approach, watch Dog A for any small sign of tension. The instant you see it, stop with Dog B, mark the spot, and wait. As soon as you see any decrease in Dog A’s tension, any sign of relaxation, quickly turn and walk away with Dog B, back to the 25-foot distance.

Pause there for at least 15 seconds (longer, if you think Dog A needs more recovery time), and then repeat, returning to the marker at the spot where you stopped before. Continue these repetitions until you see no sign of tension from Dog A when you arrive at the marker with Dog B.

On your next approach move four to six inches closer and mark that spot. You will likely see Dog A display signs of tension again at this distance. Repeat approaches and departures at this distance until the tension is gone, then decrease distance slightly again.

What you are doing with this procedure is teaching Dog A that a new behavior – acting calm and relaxed – makes the threat to his resource go away. As he continues to deliberately act calm and relaxed, he actually becomes calm and relaxed, and eventually no longer feels threatened by the approach of Dog B. Ideally you will see “crossover” behavior, where he acts very friendly and affiliative as Dog B approaches, offering distance-decreasing signals instead of his previous repertoire of distance-increasing signals. When you’ve worked through the procedure with low-to-moderate-value resources, repeat with high-value resources.

With counter-conditioning, you change your dog’s emotional response, and as a result his behavior changes. With operant conditioning (CAT), you change your dog’s behavioral response, and as a result his emotional response changes.

Operantly Condition Dog B

You can also operantly teach Dog B a new behavior in the presence of Dog A and a valuable resource. This is a useful second line of defense, in combination with modifying the behavior of the guarder. You can teach Dog B to withdraw on your cue; you can also teach Dog B to withdraw in response to any noticeable warnings from Dog A, such as a hard stare or a lip curl. The advantage of a cue from Dog A is that it happens, and Dog B responds by leaving, even if you’re not there to give your cue.

Eventually you may find that the mere presence of Dog A-with-resource becomes the cue for Dog B to leave, which is just fine and dandy. If you see Dog B leaving the room before the cue, go ahead and reinforce that – it’s a good thing!

When the cue is given (yours, or Dog A’s), guide (lure or prompt) Dog B to a specified target, ideally in another room. Throw a treat-and-praise fest there for Dog B, and hang out with him there for several minutes before returning to Dog A’s room and repeating the process. Dog B should soon be dashing to the other room when the cue is given – either yours, or Dog A’s lip curl.

So what happens if Dog A is in the designated target room with a valuable resource? Great question! It’s a good idea to operantly condition Dog B to a second target location in a different room. When Dog A is in Room X, Dog B learns to target to the spot in Room Y. But if Dog A is in Room Y, Dog B learns to target to a spot in Room X.

It’s Worth the Work

Keep in mind that you are likely to always need some degree of management, even with your successful modification programs. For example, even if you’ve done a great job of modifying the behavior of a dog who tends to guard toys, the high-arousal of a dog-to-dog game of tug carries a high likelihood of retriggering guarding aggression. Reserve his tug playing for games with you, and limit his play time with his canine pals to romping and running games. Be smart. Manage as needed, keep your eyes open for signs of returning tension, and be prepared to do a little remedial modification as needed.

So there you have it. Select the method(s) that appeal to you and get started. It will do your heart good to see the decreasing tension between your canine family members. It will also be gratifying to see your guarder gain new associations and learn new behaviors without fear of losing his valuables to his four-legged siblings.

Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ’s Training Editor. Author of numerous books on positive dog training, she lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center, where she offers dog training classes and courses for trainers.

Thanks to Sarah Richardson, CPDT-KA, CDBC, of The Canine Connection in Chico, California, for modeling with Otto and Peanut.

The post How to Manage Your Resource-Guarding Dog appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

1) Stop. Whatever you did that caused your dog to growl, stop doing it. Immediately. If you were walking toward him, stand still. If you were reaching toward him, stop reaching. If you were trying to take the toy or bone away from him, stop trying.

2) Analyze. Your next action depends on your lightning-fast analysis of the situation. If your dog is about to bite you, retreat. Quickly. If you’re confident he won’t escalate, stay still. If you aren’t sure, retreat. Err on the side of caution. Complete your analysis by identifying what resource he had that was valuable enough to guard, and what you were doing that caused him to guard.

3) Retreat. If you already retreated because you feared a bite, go on to #4. If you stayed still, wait for some lessening of his tension and then retreat. Here’s the dilemma: dogs give off guarding signals – a freeze, a hard stare, stiffening of the body, a growl, snarl, snap, or bite – to make you go away and leave them alone with their valuable objects.

Your safety is the number one priority, so if a bite is imminent, it’s appropriate to skedaddle. However, by doing so you reinforce the guarding behavior. “Yes!” says Dog. “That freeze worked; it made my human go away.” Reinforced behaviors are likely to repeat or increase, so you can expect more guarding next time.

If, instead, you are safe to stay still and wait for some relaxation of tension and then leave, you reinforce calmer behavior. “Hmmmmm,” says Dog. “Relaxing made my human go away.” If you can do this safely, you increase his relaxation when you are near him and decrease his guarding behavior.

4) Manage. Give your dog guardable things only when you won’t have to take them away. Crates are good places for a resource guarder to enjoy his valuable objects. When he’s crated with good stuff, don’t mess with him, and don’t let anyone else mess with him. When small children are around, put him away – for his sake and theirs – since you may not always know what he’ll decide to guard, especially when kids bring their own toys to play with.

5) Train. Work with a good, positive behavior professional to modify your dog’s guarding behavior so he no longer feels stressed when humans are around his good stuff. Teach him to “trade” on verbal cue for a high value treat such as chicken, starting with low value objects and working up to high value, so he’ll happily give you his things on cue when you need him to. (See “On Guard,” WDJ October 2007.) Out-think your dog. Resource guarding behavior is not a good place for a battle of wills.

Pat Miller, CPDT, is WDJ’s Training Editor. Miller lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center. Pat is also author of The Power of Positive Dog Training; Positive Perspectives: Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog; Positive Perspectives II: Know Your Dog, Train Your Dog; and Play with Your Dog. See page 24 for more information.

The post Unwanted Dog Food Guarding Behavior appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

It’s quite common for people to punish their dogs for growling. Unfortunately, this often suppresses the growl—eliminating the dog’s ability to warn us that he’s about to snap, literally and figuratively. On other occasions, punishing a growling, uncomfortable dog can induce him to escalate into full-on aggression.

So, if you’re not supposed to punish dog growling, what are you supposed to do? The next time your dog growls at you, try this:

1. Don’t push your dog over his tolerance threshold. Whatever you’re doing, just stop.

If your dog’s growl threshold is near his bite threshold – that is, if there’s not much time between his growl and his bite, get safe. If his growl doesn’t mean a bite is imminent, stop what you’re doing but stay where you are. Wait until he relaxes, then move away, so you’re rewarding the relaxed behavior rather than the growl.

2. Analyze the reason for dog growling

Why is your dog growling? Does he growl when you touch or groom him? Growling when restrained? Does your dog growl when making direct eye contact? How about when you take something away from him? Or making him do something? If your dog is growling at you all of a sudden, try to determine what has changed in your shared environment.

3. Explore ways to get your dog to do something that does not elicit aggressive communication.

Try to get your dog to behave without eliciting a growl. Lure him rather than physically pushing or pulling him. Have someone else feed him treats or use a Licki Mat while you touch, groom, or restrain him. If you don’t have to do whatever it was that elicited the growl, don’t – until you can convince him that the activity in question is a good thing rather than a bad thing.

4. Evaluate the stressors in your dog’s world and reduce or eliminate as many of them as possible.

For example, if your dog is unaccustomed to strangers, then having your sister and her husband and three kids as houseguests for  a week would undoubtedly stress your dog. Noise-phobic dogs might be under a strain if city crews have been digging up a nearby street with heavy equipment or there was a thunderstorm last night. The vacuum cleaner is a common stressor for dogs. A loud argument between you and your spouse could stress your dog as well as you, and your stress is stressful to your dog. Harsh verbal or physical punishment, an outburst of aroused barking at the mail carrier, fence fighting with another dog. The list could go on and on.

Keep in mind that stress causes aggression, and stressors are cumulative; it’s not just the immediate stimulus that caused  your dog to growl, but a combination of all the stressors he’s experienced in the past few days. This explains why he may growl at you today when you do something, but he didn’t growl last week when you did the exact same thing. The more stressors you can remove overall, the less likely he is to growl the next time you do whatever it was that elicited the growl this time.

5. Institute a behavior modification program for your dog to change his opinion about the thing that made him growl.

One way to do this is to use counter-conditioning and desensitization to convince him the bad thing is a good thing (see “Reducing Your Dog’s Anxieties,” April 2007 WDJ).

Another way is through the careful use of negative reinforcement as in a Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT) program to teach him a new behavioral strategy when presented with the discomfort-causing stimulus. (For much more detail about CAT programs, see “Modifying Aggressive Behavior,” May 2008 WDJ.)

If you need help to create and implement a behavior modification protocol, contact a qualified behavior professional who is experienced and successful in modifying aggressive behavior with positive, dog-friendly techniques. Good places to start your search are https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/Zip-Code-Search, ccpdt.org, or my own trainer referral lists at peaceablepaws.com.

The post Dog Growling: 5 Steps to Help Your Dog appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Thus his behavior at a Tennessee trainers’ meeting some 16 months later came as a complete shock to me. I arrived early at the Knoxville location, and was sitting on the far side of the training room when fellow trainer Claire Moxim entered with her Labrador Retriever, Pete. Dubhy knew Pete well; they had played happily together at my training center on several occasions.

Dubhy looked up as Claire and Pete entered, then went nuclear, raging and snarling at the end of his leash.

My trainer brain immediately leaped to the obvious “restraint frustration-aggression” conclusion. Here was a dog that Dubhy knew from prior positive play experiences. Dubhy was excited to see Pete, and his frustration at not being able to greet his friend was manifested in a display of aggression. Or so I thought.

“Let’s have them meet on loose leashes,” I suggested to Claire. “Once Dubhy gets to say hi to his pal, he should be okay.”

Fat chance. As Dubhy and I approached Pete on a loose leash, Dubhy did, indeed, seem to settle down. I mistook his controlled behavior for calm behavior. As we came near the big black dog, Dubhy redoubled his hostilities. When I reached down and touched my dog’s hip in an attempt to interrupt his attack, he whirled around and punctured my hand with his teeth in a classic display of redirected aggression. Yikes! Overnight, seemingly without warning, Dubhy had turned into a reactive dog.

Talkin’ ’bout excitation
“Reactive” is a term gaining popularity in dog training circles – but what is it, exactly? In her book Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals, Applied Animal Behaviorist Karen Overall, M.A., V.M.D., Ph.D., uses the term to describe animals who respond to normal stimuli with an abnormal (higher-than-normal) level of intensity. The behaviors she uses to ascertain reactivity (or arousal) are:

• Alertness (hypervigilence)
• Restlessness (motor activity)
• Vocalization (whining, barking, howling)
• Systemic effects (vomiting, urination, defecation)
• Displacement or stereotypic behaviors (spinning, tail- or shadow-chasing)
• Changes in content or quantity of solicitous behaviors

The key to Dr. Overall’s definition is the word “abnormal.” Lots of dogs get excited when their owners come home, when they see other dogs, when a cat walks by the window, when someone knocks at the door, and so on. The reactive dog doesn’t just get excited; he spins out of control to a degree that can harm himself or others around him. In his maniacal response to the stimulus that has set him off, he is oblivious to anyone’s efforts to intercede. He goes nuclear.

Dubhy has demonstrated reactive behavior in other situations as well. Our neighbor’s black and white cat, Barney, has appointed himself Official Rat Patrol in our barn. Barney’s casual strolls outside our fence send our Scottie into a frenzy; Dubhy runs the fence line like a maniac, barking hysterically and doing stereotypic spins at each corner. When I place myself in Dubhy’s path and wave liver treats in his face I might as well be invisible; he darts around me and continues on his mission. If I let him, he would run himself into heat stroke.

Causes of reactive behavior in dogs

There is definitely a genetic component to Dubhy’s out-of-control level of excitation. If I had researched Scottish Terriers before I decided to keep him, I would have learned that this behavior is actually a desired trait for that breed (see sidebar).

The excuse is that good breeding maintains the original temperament and behaviors of purpose-bred dogs. Labrador Retrievers should be able to retrieve ducks, for example, Border Collies should be able to herd sheep, and Scotties and other terriers should display the pugnacious behavior that makes them good vermin-killers. I had heard this all my life, and was quite familiar with the terrier reputation for feistiness. I now have an intimate understanding of what that really means.

As with most behaviors, environment also plays a role in the responses of reactive dogs. With careful handling, a dog with reactive tendencies may never exhibit the abnormally intense reaction to stimuli that lies dormant in his genes. A dog who could have been a reasonably self-controlled canine in normal conditions, might be induced into reactivity if kept in a highly stimulating environment.

Had I been smarter and realized Dubhy’s propensities earlier, I might not have taken him to doggie daycare, where he experienced a heightened level of stimulation in the presence of other dogs that might have contributed to his Jekyll and Hyde reaction to Pete. He might never have been able to “play well with others,” which he did nicely for over a year, but we might also have avoided the “can’t even control himself in the presence of other dogs” behavior that I found myself dealing with in Knoxville.

Managing your dog’s reactive behavior

Even if you have a highly reactive dog, all is not lost. A reactive dog may be a challenge, but there are things you can do that will help you cope with the stress of living with a dog who tends to flip out. Let’s start with management:

1. Identify his triggers. Make a complete list of all the environmental stimuli that set off your dog’s nuclear reactions. Be specific. For Dubhy that would be: A) the neighbor’s cat flaunting himself on the other side of the fence; and B) some other dogs – mostly those who are taller than Dubhy. Since I can’t successfully predict which dogs will set Dubhy off, I assume all dogs will, and act accordingly.

2. Prevent his access to the stimuli. Change your dog’s environment so his reactive behavior isn’t frequently triggered. For example, you can block his visual access with barriers, control it with training tools, or simply move your dog to another environment when the stimulus is likely to be present.

For Dubhy that might mean: A) asking the neighbor to keep his cat home (which probably won’t happen), or erecting a solid wood privacy fence so Dubhy can’t see the cat, and B) using a head halter when I walk Dubhy in public so I can easily turn him away from other dogs, breaking the visual contact that triggers his reactive behavior.

Modifying reactive behavior in dogs

If you are particularly successful at managing your dog’s environment, that may be all you need to do. Lots of dog owners get by on management without ever retraining the dog. If, however, you’d prefer to change your dog’s behaviors in case your precautions should slip, or if you’d like to be able to relax when you take him out, you can learn to put a behavior modification program in place.

The most powerful tools you can use to reprogram your dog’s reactive responses are classical and operant conditioning. Don’t be frightened off by the technical terms; these behavior modification tools are easy to put into practice.

Say your dog is reactive to people walking their dogs past your house when she is inside, and she barks hysterically and scratches at the windows whenever she sees a dog walking past. You can manage the behavior by closing your drapes, moving the sofa to the other side of the room so she can’t jump up and see out, or putting up a baby gate to prevent her access to the front room. But if you really like having the drapes open, the sofa fits perfectly under the front window, and you enjoy your dog’s company when you are watching TV, you might be more motivated to undertake a behavior modification program to change your dog’s annoying response for the long term.

Think of it this way: There’s a little switch in your dog’s brain that gets flipped whenever she sees a dog outside your window. She likely sees each dog-human pair as a trespassing threat. The instant one appears, her brain kicks into overdrive and she goes nuclear. This is a classically conditioned behavior. She is not thinking, “If I bark hysterically and run in circles, climb the walls and claw the curtains, something good might happen.” Her brain is screaming, “Alert! Alert! Intruders!” and her body reacts accordingly.

Of course, her behavior is reinforced by the fact that every time she does this, the intruders leave. Her canine brain doesn’t comprehend that they would’ve left anyway; she may well think she made it happen. This negative reinforcement (the dog’s behavior made a bad thing go away) only increases the likelihood that the behavior will continue, or even escalate.

This is operant conditioning. In reality, classical and operant conditioning work together all the time to mold our dogs’ behaviors. We use food to operantly condition our dogs to respond to our cues with a desired behavior. At the same time we give our dogs a very positive classical association with the whole training experience because they love food (and playing with us), so they come to love training, too.

To change your dog’s classical association with the presence of a dog walking by from negative to positive, you need to convince her brain (the automatic response part, not the thinking part) that the presence of dogs walking by makes something wonderful happen. This is called counter-conditioning.

Build an unconscious positive association

To succeed at counter-conditioning, begin by preventing your dog’s access to the windows when you are not there so she can’t practice the undesirable behavior. Plan your training sessions for a time of day when you’ll have high traffic past your window. If there is no such time, convince several of your dog-friends to leash their canine companions and – at different times – march back and forth past your window for 15 to 20 minutes. You can take them all out to dinner afterward as a reward!

Be sure your friends know they need to march out of sight in each direction before they turn around. Mark the place on the sidewalk where you want them to turn, just to be sure.

Meanwhile, back at the house, have your dog on leash, using a head halter if necessary. As soon as the marchers come into view, start feeding your dog something totally irresistible, such as tiny morsels of canned chicken. Be sure your dog has noticed the pair before you begin feeding, but don’t wait for her to work herself up into a frenzy. The instant she notices them, begin feeding her. Feed the morsels nonstop as long as the marchers are in view – treats raining from the heavens! As soon as the dog and human passersby are gone, stop feeding your dog. When they reappear and your dog notices them, start feeding her again.

Your goal is to convince your dog that a dog walking by makes chicken happen. You will know you’re making progress when you see your dog notice the walkers and, instead of getting tense and barking, she turns to you with a smile and a “Where’s my chicken?” expression. When she realizes that chicken only happens in the presence of a dog outside the window, she’ll want them to be there, rather than wanting to chase them away.

Build a conscious positive association

When you have successfully changed your dog’s automatic or unconscious association with the stimulus, you can start using operant conditioning to teach her that the presence of the previously offensive stimulus is a cue to sit and look at you.

It’s easier than you might think; just ask her to sit when she gives you the “Where’s my chicken?” look, before you feed her a treat. Slow your rate of reinforcement (how fast you feed treats), and reward her only for the desired behavior, rather than shoveling treats nonstop.

Eventually you can fade the verbal “sit” cue; the mere appearance of a dog walking by your house will become the operant cue for your dog to sit and look at you.

All is calm

Counter-conditioning is definitely more challenging with a reactive dog than with one who responds to stimuli with a normal level of intensity. It may take you longer than it would with a “normal” dog, but it does work. Don’t give up! The more you can saturate the reactive dog’s environment with the concept of “calm,” the more successful you will be at managing and modifying her nuclear reactions.

Help your dog understand that calm behavior is universally rewarded (see “Practiced Calm,” WDJ February 2002). Keep your own interactions with her calm and cool, even when you are tempted to scream at her to startle her out of the high-intensity behavior pattern. Your own intense behaviors are more likely to elevate her energy level than tone it down.

Learn about calming massage, acupressure, and T-Touch techniques to help your dog relax. Research herbal, homeopathic, and flower essence remedies to see which ones might be appropriate for your dog. (You may need a holistic veterinarian to help you with this; go to the Web site of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association at ahvma.org for a directory of holistic vets in the United States, listed by state, to find one near you.)

It is possible to make progress with a reactive dog. While my Scottie is not yet ready to show off his piano-playing technique at the next big dog trainer conference I attend, I am much more comfortable taking him to relatively small gatherings where other dogs might be present.

We recently helped staff a booth at a fair. Our two-hour stint was uneventful despite dozens of dogs walking by on leash – except for the bad moment when a thoughtless lady allowed her dog to run 25 feet to the end of her retractable leash and get right in Dubhy’s face. I did a quick about-turn with Dubhy to avoid disaster and a setback to his modification program, and then proceeded to explain to the lady why retractable leashes weren’t a good idea in a crowd. She was offended and indignant. I was just thrilled that Dubhy had come so far with his reactive behavior.

The post Causes of Reactive Dog Behavior and How to Train A Reactive Dog appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

“I was asked to leave my agility class because my dog kept barking and lunging at the other dogs. We have to channel her energy somehow. What are we going to do now?”

“I just don’t know if I should keep him. He’s a great dog with us, but he’s so wild around other animals and people. I’m afraid he’ll hurt someone or get into a serious dog fight.”

Does this sound like your dog? Every dog gets “wild” sometimes. But some of us live with dogs who exhibit difficult or wild behaviors every day!

It might help you to learn that many dogs who exhibit “difficult” behaviors such as hyperactivity, aggression, and destructive separation anxiety do so as a result of stress. The behaviors that we find so troublesome – barking, overenthusiastic greetings, dragging us around on leash, destructiveness, etc. – are all efforts by the dog to relieve his stress.

By your own standards, your dog’s life may not seem all that stressful – after all, he doesn’t have bills to pay, does he? But when you apply the more scientific definition of the word – anything that alarms or excites him, triggering his sympathetic nervous system into action and flooding him with the “fight or flight” chemicals adrenaline and noradrenaline – you may be able to see how many seemingly unrelated things in his environment actually contribute to his “misbehavior.”

Again, the triggers could be anything the dog sees as exciting or threatening. For some dogs, this may be strange people or dogs. For others, visual stimulation such as the sight of squirrels or cars going by out the window could trigger stress. Auditory cues such as trains, sirens, or garbage trucks might set off their internal alarms. For emotionally needy dogs, being left home alone might trigger a stress reaction.

And imagine how difficult it must be to not act out in some physical way while being flooded with adrenaline! (For a long discussion of the physiology of stress, see “Stressed Out?” WDJ January 2000.)

There is hope
Dogs whose stress results in behavior issues like nonstop barking or even aggression are often labeled “difficult” dogs. Living with a difficult dog can be unpredictable and sometimes even frightening. Simple things – like friends or family coming to dinner, going for a walk in the neighborhood, even taking him to the vet – can be an ordeal.

I know, because I live with a “difficult” dog. My Jesse is sweet, sensitive, playful, and a great companion. She is also, to put it mildly, difficult in many day-to-day situations. My family has dealt with typical stress issues such as separation anxiety, hyperactivity, and jumping, as well as more serious stress-related problems, like dog to dog aggression. Jesse’s natural response to stress manifests in fight rather than flight.

Yet today life with Jesse is so easy and enjoyable that I sometimes forget that she is a difficult dog. What has made the difference? It hasn’t been one single change, but rather a holistic approach. By integrating a positive attitude, lifestyle changes, training, and behavior modification, life with our difficult dog has become much easier than I ever thought possible.

I am what I am
Changing your attitude about your dog is the first and possibly the most difficult step in developing a saner life together. It probably seems obvious that a positive outlook can make a huge difference. But when you live with a dog who sometimes behaves in a frightening way (like snarling at other dogs), it’s hard to remember his wonderful qualities. It’s also hard to have faith that things can and will get better.

Focus on your dog’s good traits. Every dog has traits we see as positive and some we see as negative. By identifying your dog’s good traits, you’ll begin laying a foundation for strengthening those traits and bringing out the best in your dog. Try writing down all of your dog’s good qualities. Post them on the refrigerator or somewhere else where you will see them often.

Take some time to re-frame the negative traits, too. I used to think about Jesse’s protectiveness and aggression toward other dogs as a “problem.” Like many trainers, I assumed her behavior issues were because of a lack of something – like not enough early socialization or not enough training.

Then, one day, I challenged myself to think about what Jesse, a cattle dog mix, would be like on a working ranch. In the city, her ushering other dogs away from her home and family is seen as aggressiveness. On a ranch, her protectiveness over her “flock” would help keep predators away. Her hyperactive nature, which is difficult to cope with in a small home with a small yard, would lend itself to endless hours of herding. Even her relentless hunting of small furry creatures (like rats, gophers, and squirrels) would most likely be appreciated in a rural setting where it is important to control the vermin population. On a ranch, she would not be seen as a difficult dog. She might even be a prized dog!

Identifying the aspects of your dog’s nature that are natural and normal can help you understand that your dog is not being bad – or even difficult – but just being true to her genetically inherited nature. Many of the qualities that I think of as “difficult” in Jesse would actually be desirable under the right circumstances.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I can just ignore Jesse’s natural behavior traits. After all, I don’t live on a ranch. But by looking at your dog’s positive qualities, and re-framing the challenging behaviors, it may be easier to appreciate who your dog is, and not expect her to be someone she isn’t.

Prevent emotional overload
Before implementing any training or behavior program with a difficult dog, you will need to figure out a short-term management plan to help prevent the emotional overload that leads to stressful outbursts. A stressed dog can’t learn and a stressed person can’t teach.

Management means controlling your dog’s environment to the extent that he doesn’t have the opportunity to become hyperreactive, anxious, or aggressive – at least long enough for you to help him learn new coping skills. Management may involve confinement, head halters, changing routines – anything to help prevent the dog from acting out. Remember, each time a dog has the opportunity to act out, he stands a good chance of being rewarded for doing so, increasing the likelihood that he will act out again in the future.

Consider this example: Muffin and her human companion are walking down the street. Muffin sees another dog coming her way. Perhaps Muffin is worried and unsure how to behave. She barks and lunges in hopes that the other dog will move away. The human companions of both dogs cooperate, by moving the dogs to opposite sides of the street. For Muffin, her barking and lunging just successfully resulted in the other dog moving out of her space. While she may not have been given a single treat, Muffin was definitely rewarded for her behavior.

Of course, from the human perspective, if a dog is acting aggressively toward another dog while on a walk, crossing the street is a perfectly reasonable solution. So how can you avoid rewarding a dog like Muffin for aggressive behavior?

If possible, do not give her the opportunity or place her in a situation where she is likely to be aggressive. Hyper-vigilance on the part of Muffin’s human companion could be the initial management strategy. By turning corners, walking the other way, or crossing the street when another dog came into sight, before Muffin had a chance to bark or lunge, Muffin’s human could successfully prevent Muffin’s angry outbursts. Walking her earlier in the day, before the prime dog walking hours, could also help.

In addition, it would help to use a head halter on Muffin for all her walks so that her head could easily be turned away when she did see other dogs.

Train for the brain
According to James O’Heare, executive director of the Academy of Canine Behavioral Theory, the best strategy to get a dog through a stressful event is to focus the dog’s attention on a specific cognitive task. In other words, give him something to do – engage his brain. A dog whose brain is engaged is much less likely to react emotionally in any given situation. (Conversely, a dog who is in an emotional state generally cannot think or focus on a specific task. In our home, we say that the dog has “lost his brain” when emotions take over.)

Teaching a dog an incompatible behavior is one of the first courses of action and will help both in physically managing the dog and with gradually desensitizing him to the stimuli that sets him off. For example, teaching your dog to watch you while heeling can be a terrific management tool for dogs with compulsive greeting problems or on-leash aggression. If the dog is watching you, he can’t lunge at that other dog!

In addition, develop a repertoire of fun and engaging behaviors to help your dog de-stress. These should not be control exercises, but rather, active behaviors that are strictly for fun and play. For some dogs, catch games with a ball or toy work very well to de-stress. Use these fun activities to help your dog unwind after a stressful event.

For example, if you are walking down the street and pass a strange dog, have your dog heel and watch you, keeping her engaged and offering plenty of great treats until you are well past the other dog. Then, let loose with a few fun games to help you both let go of any residual stress. Are there specific behaviors your dog does well and enjoys doing? Make the behaviors you love in your dog the highlight of your training. This can, in and of itself, help defuse stress-related behavior.

Improving, one treat at a time
I am a huge fan of classical conditioning. In Jesse’s case, classical conditioning is what tipped the scale, shifting her from a well-behaved stress case, to a mostly relaxed, engaged, and happy dog.

Classical conditioning shifts a dog’s emotional response from a negative one to a positive one. For example, you can use classical conditioning to help a dog who is stressed or afraid of kids, other dogs, or even scary sounds, to learn to love the very things that used to scare him. While training a dog can help him behave in stressful situations, behavior modification can shift the very way the dog views those same situations.

Classical conditioning works best when you can expose your dog to specific stress producers at very low levels of intensity, simultaneously pairing this with something that is purely positive and enjoyable. If your dog gets overexcited or stressed when he sees kids, exposing him to children at a great distance while feeding him wonderful treats can help him learn that children make good things happen. As he becomes more comfortable with kids in the distance, you gradually position yourself and your dog ever closer to the children, all the while pouring on the treats.

This technique is not an immediate solution to most stress-related behavior problems, however. It takes time and commitment. (For in-depth information about this powerful behavior-altering tool, see “Classical Conditioning” in the June 2001 issue.)

Solutions abound
The above strategies are just a few of the many available to those of us living with difficult dogs. Many others tools are also available, including visualization, TTouch, massage, and homeopathic remedies. But perhaps the best tools we have are our positive outlook, and faith in our dogs.

The journey we travel with our difficult dogs can be a gift (though admittedly, it is sometimes disguised as a curse). My difficult dog has taught me to evaluate what is important in my relationships with my dog friends and to change my expectations of both my dog and myself. But possibly the most important thing she has taught me is that living with a difficult dog doesn’t really have to be all that difficult.

Also With This Article

Click here to view “Reforming a Reactionary Dog”

Click here to view “Dog Rehoming: When is the Right Decision?”

-by Mardi Richmond

Mardi Richmond is a freelance writer and trainer living in Santa Cruz, California, with her two wonderful dogs, Jesse and Blue. She is also the co-author of Ruffing It: The Complete Guide to Camping with Dogs.

The post Living with a Difficult Dog appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

“How do I stop him from going to the bathroom on the carpet?”

“How do I keep her from chewing up my shoes? (or books or furniture)?”

“How do I make him stop stealing food from the counter?”

I normally answer these questions with an explanation of how to resolve the presented behavior problem, but every once in a while I am sorely tempted just to answer the question with a succinct, “Don’t let him do it!”

As absurdly simple as this seems, behavior management is, in fact, the appropriate answer in probably better than 75 percent of the questions I am asked by dog owners. Management is the key to resolving the vast majority of behavior problems people face with their dogs, and even more important, it is key to preventing those behaviors from ever occurring in the first place!

In many cases, management is necessary while the dog learns a new, more appropriate behavior. In others, management simply replaces unrealistic training expectations. I offer my clients a three-step formula for reprogramming or preventing unwanted behaviors:

1. Rephrase. That is, identify what you want the dog to do instead of what you want him not to do. In all the behaviors described above, the owner is asking how to get the dog to stop doing something rather than how to get to dog to do something.

2. Manage. Figure out how to prevent the dog from being rewarded for the unwanted behavior. This is actually the easiest part! Behaviors that are rewarded are reinforced – in other words, the dog is more likely to do them again. Chasing a cat is very rewarding to a dog – he gets a big adrenaline rush, and the cat runs away – what fun! Every chance your dog gets to chase a cat increases the likelihood that he will chase (and maybe eventually catch) the next cat he sees. If you don’t want him to be rewarded by chasing cats, don’t let him do it.

3. Train. Figure out how to consistently reward the dog for the desired behavior identified in Step 1. This is often the hardest part. Each of the training programs for the behavior challenges listed above could be a full-length article of its own (and frequently, they have been; we’ll refer you to relevant articles as we proceed).

Let’s take a look at a number of problem behaviors and see how they can be addressed by our three-step formula, with particular focus on the management aspect:

• How do I make him stop stealing food from the counter or table?

Rephrase: “How do I get him to only eat things that are in his bowl or on the floor?” (By the way, dogs are opportunistic eaters by their very nature. They are morally incapable of “stealing” food. A dog in the wild who eats food when and where he finds it is smart – and much more likely to survive than one who passes food by just because it happens to be above eye level.)

Manage: Prevent him from being rewarded for counter surfing. Clearly, the food that he finds on counters tastes good and is very rewarding.

Management tools: A: Doors – If food must be left out, shut the dog in another room so he can’t have access to it. B: Cupboards and the refrigerator – Put food away. Never leave it out as an invitation to counter surf. C: Crates, pens, baby gates, leashes, and tethers – Use other reasonable means of restraint to prevent his inappropriate access to food.

Train: Teach him a positive “Off!” or “Leave It!“ cue and consistently reward him for ignoring food on the counter and for keeping all four feet on the floor around food-laden counters and tables.

• How do I stop him from peeing on the carpet?

Rephrase the question to: “How do I teach him to go to the bathroom outside?”

Manage: Prevent him from being rewarded for peeing on the carpet. A full bladder causes discomfort. Urinating relieves that discomfort. Urinating on the carpet is more rewarding for an unhousetrained dog than suffering the discomfort of “holding it” until he can go outside.

Management tools: A: Take the dog outside so frequently that his bladder is never full to the point of discomfort (every hour on the hour, at least at first). B: Keep the dog under close supervision so you can notice when he is acting restless (a sign that he has to eliminate) and take him outside quickly, before he has a chance to pee on the carpet. C: Keep the dog crated (see “Crate Training Made Easy,” WDJ August 2000), penned, or tethered (tether only if you are home – see “Tethered to Success,” WDJ April 2001) if you can’t supervise him closely to prevent him from being rewarded by peeing on the carpet when you’re not paying attention. Keeping his crate – his den, as it were – unsoiled is more rewarding to most dogs than relieving even a moderately full bladder.

Train: Implement a full housetraining program that includes going outside with him regularly and rewarding him with praise and a treat immediately after he goes to the bathroom in the appropriate toilet spot.

• How do I keep her from chewing up my shoes?

Rephrase: “How do I get her to chew on her own things and only her own things?”

Manage: Prevent her from being rewarded for chewing on inappropriate objects. (See “Challenged By a Chewer?”, WDJ March 1998.) Things like shoes, baby toys, and furniture have a nice firm-but-giving texture that feels good (is rewarding) to a dog’s teeth and gums, especially to a puppy or young dog who is teething.

Management tools: A: Pick up non-chew objects when the dog is in the room. B: Remove her from the room when non-chew objects must be left within dog-reach (put her in a crate or pen if necessary). C: Supervise the dog closely and distract her attention from inappropriate objects. D: Tether her in the room with you to prevent her access to non-chew objects. E: Exercise her a lot; tired dogs tend to be well-behaved dogs.

Train: Provide her with irresistible chew-objects and interactive toys such as stuffed Kongs (see “King Kongs,” WDJ October 2000), Buster Cubes, Roll-A-Treat Balls (See “Back to School,” WDJ September 1998), and other safe items. If she is given the opportunity to chew only acceptable items she will eventually develop a strong preference for chewing on these things and your personal possessions will be safe.

• How do I stop him from chasing deer (or cats or bicycles or joggers)?

Rephrase: “How do I teach him to ignore fast-moving objects?” or “How do I teach him to respond when I ask him to stop?”

Manage: Don’t let him have the opportunity to be rewarded for chasing, and don‘t have unrealistic training expectations, that is, don’t expect to be able to train a dog who has a strong prey/chase instinct to “not chase” in the absence of direct supervision. This includes many of the herding breeds, terriers, hounds, and sporting breeds.

Management tools: A: Fences – Solid physical fences of sufficient height are great tools for thwarting chasing behaviors. B: Doors – Keeping him safely confined indoors except when directly supervised can go a long way toward preventing rewards for chasing. C: Leashes and long lines (see “Long Distance Information,” WDJ February 2001) are ideal for preventing chase rewards. (Note: WDJ does not ever recommend tying/chaining a dog as a routine method of outdoor confinement. See “Fit to Be Tied,” WDJ June 1999.) D: Exercise – Tired dogs tend to be well-behaved dogs.

Train: Teach your dog a very reliable recall. Train him to drop to a “Down” at a distance. Teach him a solid “Wait” cue that will pause him in mid-stride, even when he is in chase mode (see “Wait a Bit, Stay a While,” WDJ May 2001).

• How do I stop him from roaming the neighborhood?

Rephrase: “How do I keep him safe at home?”

Manage: Use appropriate physical means to keep him safely confined at home and make sure he never experiences and reaps the rewards of the “joy” of running loose in the neighborhood. I occasionally have potential clients call and ask me how to boundary-train their dogs to stay on their property without a fence.

This is an unrealistic training expectation, and I never accept such a training assignment; I don’t believe it can be done reliably and humanely. For most, if not all dogs, there are stimuli that are strong enough to induce them to break through the shock of an electric fence collar (see “Visible Problems,” WDJ May 1999), to say nothing of a simple boundary-training program.

Management tools: A: Fences – Solid physical fences of sufficient height are great tools for thwarting roaming. B: Doors – Keeping him safely confined indoors except when directly supervised can go a long way towards preventing rewards for roaming. C: Leashes and long lines – Physical restraint tools are ideal for preventing roaming rewards. (Note: WDJ does not ever recommend tying/chaining a dog as a routine method of outdoor confinement.) D: Neutering – Lowering your dog’s testosterone level can be a very effective way of eliminating one very strong reward for roaming (see “A Stitch in Time,” WDJ June 2000). E: Exercise – Tired dogs tend to be well-behaved dogs.

Train: Teach your dog a very reliable recall. Train him to drop to a “Down” at a distance. Teach him a solid “Wait” cue that will pause him in mid-stride, even when he is in chase mode. And then never leave him outdoors alone, unfenced and unsupervised.

• How do I stop her from barking when she’s outside?

Rephrase: “How do I keep her quiet when she’s outside?”

Manage: Dogs usually become nuisance barkers because they are bored, lonely, overstimulated, or convinced that their job responsibilities include 24-hour sentry duty.

Management tools: A: House confinement – Most dogs who are nuisance barkers spend entirely too much time outdoors, which contributes to boredom, loneliness, overstimulation, and the perception that their job duties include constant sentry duty. B: Crates and pens indoors, if necessary, can help manage the dog’s behavior while indoors. C: Exercise – Tired dogs tend to be well-behaved dogs.

Train: Teach her a positive interrupt – a gentle “Thank you, quiet!” (followed by a reward) – to acknowledge her for notifying you of something you should be aware of, and to let her know that you have everything under control so she can stop barking. Use this judiciously – do not expect it to work for a bored, lonely, overstimulated dog who is kept outside in the backyard all day and/or all night.

• How do I stop him from jumping up to look out the windows?

Rephrase: “How do I teach him to be calm about outside stimuli at the windows?”

Manage: The easiest way to manage this behavior is either to block the dog’s view from the outside stimuli, or to provide him with the means to see out the window without having to jump up on the windowsill.

Management tools: A: Shades or drapes to block the dog’s view of the outside. B: Closed doors that keep him out of the room in question. C: Move the sofa up against the windows so he can look out to his heart’s content without having to jump up on the woodwork. (Of course, this isn’t an option if you are trying to keep him off the furniture, unless you put his own sofa next to the window . . .)

Train: Teach him a positive interrupt and consistently reward him for turning his attention to you when there is something happening outside his window.

• How do I keep him off the furniture?

Rephrase: “How do I teach him to sleep on his own bed?”

Manage: Control the environment to prevent him from being rewarded for getting on the furniture. The sofa is comfortable, so lying on it is its own reward.

Management tools: A: Place boxes or upside-down chairs on the furniture to prevent his access. B: Lift up sofa and chair cushions so there’s no flat surface for him to lie on. C: Close doors to prevent his access to rooms with forbidden furniture in your absence. D: Use crates and pens to prevent his access to forbidden furniture in your absence. E: Provide him with his own very comfortable furniture to lie on.

Train: Consistently reward him for lying on his own very comfortable furniture.

• How do I stop her from getting in the garbage?

Rephrase: “How do I convince her to keep her nose in appropriate places?”

Manage: This is one of those behaviors where management is critically important. You would be wise to never put extremely tempting garbage such as meat scraps, pork chop bones, or turkey carcasses in any garbage can that is easily accessible to your dog, no matter how well-mannered she is.

Management tools: A: Garbage cans with tightly closing lids that seal tempting odors in and curious noses out. B: Cupboards or cabinets (complete with baby-proof latches) that close securely and protect garbage cans from marauding moochers. C: Closed doors to prevent the dog’s access to rooms with raidable garbage cans. D: Exercise – Tired dogs tend to be well-behaved dogs.

Train: You can teach your dog a positive “Off!” or “Leave It!” with garbage cans, and for a dog who is very motivated by garbage, you will still want to use management to prevent him from being rewarded for garbage play in your absence.

Training yourself to manage
We could keep going – this list truly is endless – but you should be getting the idea by now. Any time you’re faced with a behavior challenge, just apply these three simple steps – rephrase, manage, and train – to design your action plan for managing and/or modifying the inappropriate behavior.

My all time favorite was the Peaceable Paws client in Carmel, California, who asked me to teach his Australian Shepherd-mix to stop drinking out of the toilet.

“It would be far easier,” I said, “to teach you (the supposedly more intelligent species) to close the toilet lid or shut the bathroom door, than it would be to train him not to take advantage of a constantly fresh water source. In fact, he’s probably trying to figure out how to train you to stop peeing in his water bowl!” This is one of those cases where it makes much more sense to implement a simple management technique than to expend the energy required to train the desired behavior.

He got the message. When I visited the house for our next appointment, the bathroom door was securely closed.

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