Dobie's story
Dobie started growling at children while on walks. On a recommendation by his vet, his concerned owner brought him to see a trainer who followed traditional training methods. Here she was taught to correct Dobie's growling by giving a short, quick yank on a choke collar and saying "No!" After a week or so of following this advice, she was very happy to see that Dobie had stopped growling at children.
And then a while later, a child ran up to the dog while on a walk and reached out her hand to pet him. Because Dobie didn't growl, the child was not hesitant and the owner was not concerned. Suddenly Dobie turned and bit the child's hand. His owner described this incident later as "It happened out of nowhere!"
Growling is a valuable warning signal
Did it really come out of nowhere? Not at all. Dobie's growling was a way of telling his owner, "I am afraid of these children who come by while we are on a walk." It was also his way of telling the children, "Please get away from me." For whatever reason, Dobie had begun to perceive children as a threat. Correcting his growling forced him to inhibit his warnings, but his feelings about children did not change. Therefore it was only a matter of time that some child would step over his fear threshhold, and without the warning growl Dobie's only way to cope was to escalate to a bite.
Correcting a growl, snarl, or even a lunge/snap is like putting a bandage on an infected wound. It will disguise the problem for a period of time, but not solve it - in fact, it will fester and get worse. Aggressive acts are simply reactions to a fearful stimulus. Like humans, when dogs become fearful they have the choice of fight or flight. Some dogs hide behind their owners' legs. Others act out in an aggressive manner.
When a warning display is inhibited and escape is not an option, the dog (or human) who feels helpless will shut down. Though Dobie appeared to be in no distress, one experienced in reading dog body language would have seen his signals. His head was down, his ears were tensely held close to his head, the whites were showing in his eyes, and his tail was held clamped down. Feeling cornered and with no way to express it, he panicked and bit the hand that he perceived as attacking him.
Not only does correction inhibit the dog's way of communicating his discomfort, the owner's tone and body language exacerbate it. To the dog, the child's approach not only makes him nervous, it causes his owner to tense up and yell. This is powerful confirmation to the dog whose owner is his whole world that his fears are well-founded.
Heal the cause, not the symptom
Fortunately, due to modern research in behavioral science, more humane and effective ways of dealing with aggressive acts have been developed. These methods are grounded in the use of desensitization and counter conditioning. On the Clicker Train USA website, it states: "We want to counter condition our fearful dog to accept other dogs. By combining counter conditioning and desensitization we can accomplish that. We will start exposing our dog to other dogs at a very low level - in this case a far enough distance (that's the densensitization part). In addition, we will give the dog very tasty treats when he sees the other dogs (that's the counter conditioning part). Gradually, we can convince the dog that other dogs mean good treats."
Leslie McDevitt, MLA, CDBC, CPDT took this concept one step further when she developed the Look At That (LAT) game detailed in her book, "Control Unleashed." Previously counter conditioning protocols required the dog to look away from the aversive stimuli (person or dog that frightened him). With this method, the dog is actually rewarded for looking AT the object of fear. The result is that the dog starts to seek opportunities to look at, and even eventually approach, the object that used to cause him to growl, lunge, or snap. Instead of thinking, "uh oh, here comes something scary," his response changes to "oh yay, here comes something that makes GOOD things happen!"
Kellie Snider, MS, the Manager of Animal Behavior Programs at the SPCA of Texas, developed Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT) as her graduate thesis under the direction of behavior analyst Jesus Rosales-Ruiz, PhD. In this revolutionary treatment, the dog is rewarded for calm behavior by allowing him to increase his distance from the feared object. Since it's very important that the dog be kept below his fear threshhold at all times, the procedure requires that the initial distance be easy for the dog to handle, therefore helping to increase his feeling of safety when in the vicinity of the person or dog that frightens him.
On her website Kellie states, "In the CAT procedure we use the reinforcer the dog is already working for. It is usually distance from the aversive stimuli. In our treatment we provide the outcome he wants only when he behaves in safe, friendly ways." As with the LAT method, there is an additional benefit that is not a result of procedures using corrections. "But a funny thing happens in the treatment," she continues. "He learns to like other people and dogs."
Local Orlando area help
If your dog is displaying aggressive behavior, you need to see a trainer/behaviorist who is both a practitioner of dog-friendly methods based in modern behavioral science and also experienced with aggression issues.
If these issues aren't addressed, it could result in a human or other dog receiving a serious bite. One of our local behaviorists is Belinda DeLaby, CBC, CPDT, the owner of Canine Action, Inc. in Oviedo. Belinda has been training dogs for 15 years and has extensive experience dealing with aggression.
Other resources for finding a good trainer who has the necessary experience and education in modern methods for aggression issues can be found at the bottom of the page of the Helpful Links page of the Dog Willing website. These listings include Orlando area trainers and behaviorists, but also list international resources.
What can you do?
Meanwhile there are several important things that you, the owner, should do if your dog is displaying aggressive behaviors towards a human or other dog:
- Avoid contact with whatever it is your dog fears. If you usually walk him in a heavily populated area and he's reactive to strange people, choose another more quiet place to walk him. The more exposure he has without therapy, the worse his fears are likely to get.
- If you suddenly come upon an aversive stimuli (something that makes your dog react aggressively), STAY CALM. He will be taking his cues from you. Keep breathing, keep your voice calm and cheerful, and take him out of the situation as quickly and nonchalantly as you can. If possible, don't put any tension on his leash - that tension travels right through him.
- Call your local experienced behaviorist as soon as possible and make an appointment for evaluation.
Lastly, don't assume that just because your dog is displaying aggressive behaviors, you have an aggressive dog. He is not a bad dog, he is a dog with a problem that can very often be resolved with the right behavioral modification therapy.
Comments
This is a very educational article. There are a lot of revolutionary training methods out there; that help us to work with our animals instead of against them.
Terrific article and one which parents, especially, should read and heed. The way to keep kids safe from dog bites is to keep the dogs safe, too.
Once again, thank you for your work. You are touching interesting, relevant subjects, have clearly done your research, and manage to put it together in clear terms. This article is no exception.
great article!
Very interesting. My dog exhibits such behaviors as described in this article. We've never really treated the problem - I didn't know how - but will try the techniques you describe. Usually I just try to remove him from the "threatening" situation as soon as possible. He's always been this way but now is 14 yrs old and it seems the issue is worse at times. I think it may be a hearing or vision issue now - cause it usually happens when someone approaches from behind him without speaking. I usually tell strangers to approach from the front and with caution - if the tail is wagging you're good to go! :)
Great article! I tell people that punishing their dogs for growling is like throwing rocks at the smoke alarm -- they are disarming a critical early warning device.
This is an excellent article. Thanks, I'll be sharing it!
"This is pretty bad advice."
Quoted by Leah Roberts!
I agree, totally bad advice, its a typical positibe reinforce trainer ignoring the issues, "Avoid contact with whatever it is your dog fears."....
WHAT? thats insane, your not addressing the issue your ignoring it and THAT my fellow readers is why it happens, becuase you have not addressed the issue at hand, you have let it sit there and manifest. Of course we don't know the whole story, why does the dog fear children in the first place? How did the child approach the dog? did it ask permission?
This is an oversimplification of what positive reinforcement trainers actually suggest - or at least, what the ones we've worked with have suggested (I adopted two "special needs" dogs over the years). You aren't supposed to avoid the trigger always and forever, what you are supposed to do is manage the exposure until you can address the underlying issue.
If your dog is afraid of strange men (as our first rescue was), for example, you don't stop ever talking to men in the neighborhood, but you don't let guys approach or try to pet the dog until you've done a lot of work counter-conditioning. We worked with our dog until he was comfortable walking past men at a distance, then walking closer, then stopping to talk...
And THAT is a typical traditional trainer. Deliberately refusing to understand how it works.
So let's do it YOUR way. Dog is giving you all kinds of signs that it is stressed. Ignore all of those signals that the dog is getting scared, or stressed, or crazy happy excited. Just keep going until the dog freaks out. Then punish the dog. Oh no! Dog is "bad" when it sees kids! Punish Dog! To me, THAT'S ignoring the issue.
Letting a dog react and then punishing it whenever it sees kids (or dogs or men or skateboards or whatever) is NOT going to help it relax around it's triggers.
Or you can STOP ignoring those early signals and start working as soon as your dog is showing the slightest sign of stress, using a gradual approach of desensitization and counter conditioning. You get a little closer each time until your dog's "trigger" is not a trigger anymore. Dog and human are BOTH less freaked out by the training process.
To me, that is much more proactive than punishing a dog after it's already reacting.
Bad advice??? I found everything in the article made sense to me. The entire article talks about all the things you and/or a trainer can do to help. To take one sentence out of context - "avoid contact" - is silly. The author is not saying to always avoid contact or that avoiding contact is the solution. She is saying, START lining up a training plan and IN THE MEANTIME avoid contact with scary stuff.
"Meanwhile...: "
1) "Avoid contact with whatever it is your dog fears... The more exposure he has **without therapy**, the worse his fears are likely to get."
2) "If you suddenly come upon something that makes your dog react aggressively, STAY CALM."
3) "Call your local experienced behaviorist **as soon as possible** and make an appointment for evaluation."
I thought that the article was very good and the advice sound. I would observe that some dogs like children and some do not. It is unlikely that this could be changed and in this instance avoidance is the best solution. That being said, adults and children are responsible not to approach/touch a dog without permission.
It is too bad that Ms. Roberts can't write an article without bashing a form of training with which she doesn't agree. It is too simplistic to blame everything bad on "traditional" training when such training has a long history of rehabilitation dogs and keeping them from the shelter or euthanasia.
Every dog I know that has been euthed due to behavior was trained using traditional methods. Your argument doesn't hold up.
Great article and am passing along as it is important for people to read their animals' body language
and act accordingly. If our pets are to be part of our families, then we most certainly need to socialize
them with our environment, children, adults other pets, etc.
Very good article !!!
Thank you for this article. The last sentences helped a lot because my dog is a Pomeranian and was attacked by a big dog when he was 5 months old and was trampled by a German Shepard when he was 4 months old. He does not like big dogs, but today with my clicker in hand we saw two big dogs and walked RIGHT PAST THEM! However I felt persoanlly hurt when he snapped at me when I was trying to get him downstairs when another person suddenly came into the house... I wanted to give up and I must admit I cried for hours.
This shows me that it's okay to have a dog that is not perfect because it's not my, nor the dog's fault.
I'm also ready to see my positive clicker trainer on the 6th! The clicker is the only thing he responds to =]
why did YOU allow all this to happen to your dog?
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I can not tell you how many times I hear people tell me that they have had a dog that growles but they corrected him for it. I have a shy dog and I want him to growl so I know what makes him nervous and give me the opportunity to teach him that it isn't scary. I wish more people would open their eyes and ears to what our dogs are trying to tell us.
Deal with the issue.
Horrible article.
She IS saying deal with the issue. Did you even read the article? I think not.
A GOOD traditional trainer would not have CORRECTED a growl, they would have started by redirecting the focus, using good old obedience commands... sit stay! And while I am at it, what the hell is a traditional trainer?? What is a trainer that uses all 4 quadrants to train a dog? What is a trainer that uses food, toys, prong collars, chain collars called? What is a trainer that uses food, toys, prong collars, chain collars, martingales, e-collars called? What is a trainer called that after 5 months can not still control a dog? What is a trainer called that has a dog that will no NOTHING without food in its face?
"What is a trainer that uses food, toys, prong collars, chain collars called? What is a trainer that uses food, toys, prong collars, chain collars, martingales, e-collars called? What is a trainer called that after 5 months can not still control a dog? What is a trainer called that has a dog that will no NOTHING without food in its face?"
A shitty trainer.
A GOOD traditional trainer would not have CORRECTED a growl, they would have started by redirecting the focus, using good old obedience commands... sit stay! And while I am at it, what the hell is a traditional trainer?? What is a trainer that uses all 4 quadrants to train a dog? What is a trainer that uses food, toys, prong collars, chain collars called? What is a trainer that uses food, toys, prong collars, chain collars, martingales, e-collars called? What is a trainer called that after 5 months can not still control a dog? What is a trainer called that has a dog that will no NOTHING without food in its face?
Clicker training is not meant for dogs that dislike squeaky toys or the clicker so please do not force it on your dog.
Clicker training is marker training, so if your dog is afraid of the click you can replace it with a word such as "Yes!"
We get dogs every day whose owners have spent thousands of dollars on "dog friendly" trainers with minimal or no results. This type of training is a sham. You might as well invest your money with Bernie Madoff.
Except that positive reinforcement is the SCIENCE based method. Your clients have just been to unqualified people.
Seriously? Your dog doesn't like crowded areas so you avoid all together? What a joke. Talk about letting your dog control your life. Dog needs to be de-sensitized and there are effective methods to doing that.
It's funny because Leah isn't saying keep your dog out of crowded areas, she's saying desensitize your dog SLOWLY and if necessary, with professional help. Don't be stupid and over stimulate and freak out your dog.
Excellent article!! We need to stop thinking dogs think like humans, they think like dogs as humans we need to understand, accept, and go from there.
Fantastic article, Leah.
"Lastly, don't assume that just because your dog is displaying aggressive behaviors, you have an aggressive dog. He is not a bad dog, he is a dog with a problem that can very often be resolved with the right behavioral modification therapy. "
This is too true!
The "leave it" que, works best FOR ME, but, also knowing your dog and children's behavior will keep handler errors from occuring. I use a combination of "old" and "new" as no one size fits all.
The bottom line is: Know your dog. Not all dog growls are bad. Know the difference between a "talking growl" and a "warning growl". Some dogs, like my rottweiler, are talkers. She does the "rottie purr", giving a low growl when being petted, giving kisses, or just content playing with a toy. This "purr" is a far cry from the growl heard when a stranger approaches the house or when faced with a less-than-friendly dog or clueless child.
I'm curious: Were there any consequences because of the dog having bit the child?
Everyone is drawing judgment without knowing the whole story. Every trainer trains... one way or another. If you don’t like the method yours is using change trainers. But I happen to agree with this one.
If my kid is scared of clowns I don’t take him to the circus until he has been exposed to them in a method that is not over loading to them. So why would I do it to my dog.
As far as rewarding the animal for doing good with food, toy ECT. If I (and you) do good at your job, don’t you like to be rewarded (raises bonuses ECT)
Nice article - now if ever dog owner could learn these methods and understand the difference! LOVE - Clicker Training best thing I ever learned!
I Have A little dog That will not let My Dad Touch It!! It gowles at him a=sometimes When he goes to the bath room next to my room!! I an=m a Sickly Person , So I think He Is Protecting Me!! Never seen a Dog like him!! He Was in a kenel for his 1st. two years!! Next door to me!! That is the only Man His Loves!!! My 2 Friends Next Door!! My Dad Is 82 and He Dose Talk Loud at times!! But I ,m Not Sure That Is It!! He Loves It When I Say Its Time For Daddy!! And He Runs & waites On Him!! Oh Yea He Sleeps On My Bed On Baby Blankets, And I Can Say Here Comes Daddy If You Want A Patt Patt!!! And He Will Roll Over And Let Him Rub His Belly!! Crazy Little Dod My Dad Saids!!! But He Tells Him He,s A Good Bot At Bed Time When He Rubs his Belly!! Well What You Think? I Know He Is Spoilt!! But Every Dog We,ve Had Has Been Spoiled!!!
It's not ALWAYS the dog who's wrong! Dogs-just like people-have population preferences-and sometimes they just don't care for children. (If the DOG ran up to the CHILD in the same circumstance without invitation, I'm sure the mother would have been all beside herself). Sometimes I want to bite screaming, pushy kids & their mothers who think they're dipped in gold, too.
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