Interesting thoughts on dog to dog aggression

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/4_12/features/5417-1.html?s...

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

That was interesting. Boy am I glad I don't have to worry about this though. it must be really tough to have an agressive dog. :(

[F, Calla & Luca]

This was interesting. I may keep treats handy for when Luca spots an animal on TV. Usually I reprimand him but maybe I can jolly him out of attacking the TV.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Very interesting for me, too. I am going to start packing tasty treats on our walks and give this a try.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Did not work for JD. When he was in the reactive zone, I could have held a filet mignon in front of his face and it wouldn't have made any difference. There was nothing in the world except that other dog.

 

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Jordan is the same, when she gets going its on! It's ok, she doesn't need to go to the disease ridden dog parks.
Thank goodness she is a great walker!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think there are some good points in this article, but rewards-only based training did not help us with this issue. The article is also 12 years old, and like anything else, philosophies and fashions go in and out of style with training as more research is done on various aspects.

What was especially interesting for me was the part about the "Jolly Routine". I discovered that by accident on a walk with JD about a year ago and had no idea that this was an actual "technique" developed by some dog behaviorist.

We were approaching a house where there is a dog that always pushes JD's buttons for some reason. He has hated this dog from the first moment he saw him. As we approached the house, I saw JD actually getting excited in the same way that he would if he saw a friend, and it seemed as if he was actually hoping to see this other dog out in the yard so that he could do his reactive routine, like he was looking forward to it. That struck me as funny, and I laughed out loud. The effect that laugh had on JD was amazing! His whole body immediately relaxed, his breathing calmed down, he got a happy  little spring in his step and we walked past the house without incident. I really learned that day just how much our emotional states affect our dogs' behaviors. Of course, JD and I have been working on his reactiveness to other dogs on-leash for years and years, so I'm not sure the "Jolly Routine" would have helped before we'd done all the work we had up to that point.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This is very close to the program that Murph has been on for the past several months, and we've had some really positive results.  Of course, he's also on anti-anxiety meds although we've been able to significantly lower the dosage.   He goes to Daycare two days a week which is to help him to understand behavior queues and to relax around all different kinds of dogs.  Once we learned that Murphy's extreme reactiveness was fear based we did eliminate corrections.  Now if there is any body language that indicates he's uncomfortable with an approaching dog (even a slight movement of his ears) we turn and go the other way.  Sometimes the other dog ends up walking beside us and then passing which seems to be fine with Murph.   Another key with him is that the leash always has to be loose...if I tighten it even slightly I cause a reaction.  He has to feel that he is not "trapped" around the approaching dog that is making him uncomfortable.   I use affection to reward him...the logistics of using treats is distracting and doesn't help us.  Last week we walked through the center of town and passed seven or eight dogs on the sidewalk (very narrow) and he never reacted or even showed any discomfort.  We have adjusted his "heel" so he is slightly behind me and that also seems to work better for us.  Based on our experience I think there are lots of valid points here for dogs with issues.  That said If I were training a dog who was not dog aggressive I would be inclined to just teach a solid heel with distractions.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Jane, Love how you have adjusted the heel.  This makes so much sense and we did that ( just back of the handler)  heel also with Starlit when she was very afraid.  Sadly, Spud has  trouble adjusting his heel in familiar territory, although he will adjust it in a strange place  ~ he likes to walk a foot ahead on his walks.  In public, he will be nose to knee.

As for reward training. I did this with dog vs human.   I did this so much I bet I used $2,000 in treats. 

The caution here though,  a dog such as this it is certainly not full proof. The handler has to pay attention~ forever to the dogs cues. 

A reward one day will not work the next.   A reward for thirty days, and still, a violent reaction out of the blue.  But conditioning is a great training tool

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree with you Joanne....even when we have several great days in a row with Murph I never let down my guard.  We've had experience with him going weeks with totally appropriate behavior on leash around other dogs, only to have a serious "meltdown".  I also agree that the exact same reward may work one day and not another.  I've pretty much given up on rewards as a motivator...I was playing the game of having to get higher and higher value rewards to drive the behavior I wanted.  Now he just gets a "good boy" and a pat on the head.

[Adina P]

The 'old way' described isn't a very accurate description of non-treat based ways to train.  Since I train in an 'old way' of sorts, I'll explain.  My 'old way' teaches the dog about proximity to me first and foremost when on leash.  The dog learns that leash corrections have nothing to do with 'outside forces' as much as his choice to wander away or stay close and pay attention to me.  Within the first two weeks, he 'gets' that so then as distractions are introduced along the way, there's no chance to mistake the leash correction for what Ian Dunbar says in the article.  He won't mistake the leash correction for 'what happens when I see another dog.'  He's already had 10+ hours of repetition in the benefit of staying close and paying attention to me vs. not.   And he already begins to look at distractions with suspicion before I even utter the word 'heel'.  By suspicion I mean that he learns that distractions are a reason to pay closer attention because I might change course immediately if he's not paying attention. 

Not saying that some 'old school' trainers don't teach by immediately correcting a newbie dog for getting excited at seeing another dog.  But it's a bit of a strawman argument against a mythical 'old way.'

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

You don't just "happen" to own an aggressive dog, as this article states.  This dog is aggressive because of something you or someone else did or did not do (or continue to do or not do).  If you adopted an aggressive dog without figuring out that it was aggressive and having a plan for rehabilitation, well ... you have worse problems.  If you are inadvertently causing the dog to be aggressive through your good intentions, start by getting educated and learning to really understand the dog and the situation - not by blindly picking someone else's technique because it appeals to your human sensibilities and then hoping it works.  With aggression, for example, fear-based aggression, territorial aggression, food-based aggression and dominance-based aggression are all different things and need to be approached differently.  For what it's worth, I think Dunbar knows this as well as anyone - but in addition to being a dog trainer, he is also a smart and successful psychologist, academic and writer who knows how to sell to people.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think the article was interesting.

If the only reason that a dog is aggressive is because something was done to it,  it totally negates genetics.  Much of our behavior is caused by our genetic predispositions.  Genetics plays a huge part in how one reacts to stimuli. Watch a litter of pups develop and notice specific personality traits in each pup from birth.  However, I do agree that when a puppy misses a key step in development, major problems can arise.

I think for the 'average' dog, whatever training you choose to do works 'good enough.' I don't think there is only one correct way to help a dog with serious behavior problems. Identifying the specific issue is key to developing an appropriate plan of action for dogs with serious behavioral problems. Most of us can't do this ourselves and do often inadvertently make matters worse.

I have average dogs. When they express their bits of aggression, I have used the old 'pop' technique.  It has worked especially well for Clancy.  He badly wants to please and just needs to know what isn't acceptable. Ned's aggression (i.e. leash lunge) occurs only when he is being pack protector.  I haven't ever tried distracting with treats since I don't carry them around. What has worked best for us is to put the dogs in a sit/stay and they watch the other dog(s)  go by.  It has worked for us every time even if the other dogs might be barking and growling. Do I say that this is the sure fire cure? Absolutely not.