Behavior Changes

[Laura and Angus]

It feels like the training/issues never end in our house. Angus is currently 2.5 years old FYI. So, a couple months ago our dog was attacked while on a walk and had some issues at his daycare for a while due to fear. We worked for weeks with the trainer/person in charge at the daycare to slowly re-acclimate our pup to daycare. After a few weeks of carefully increasing his stimuli and working with a private trainer for 2 private sessions to the tune of $300, our was much better and by month or so later he was back to his "old self" per the daycare staff.

Well it seems we're having issues again. The strange thing is, we don't see any strange behavior at home EXCEPT lately he has begun to startle more easily to noises and even barks/growls at noises outside more frequently. For example, if a loud truck goes by when we're walking he will startle like crazy and dart around/panic. We've seen no aggressive behaviors toward us or other dogs, but we have been working on decreasing his "staring" behavior when passing dogs on the street. 

Some additional background information is that he spent 5 days at the kennel over the holiday break and they insist that "nothing happened," but we're getting more of a picture because they were seeing some weird behavior that was almost food-guarding with another dog.

So here's what happened at daycare: today he wouldn't step out of his harness and so when a staff member approached him, he growled/lunged at her. This is VERY out of character for him and he absolutely has never done this toward humans and the only time we saw any type of "lunging" or growling behaviors is when he is playing and jumping. This does not sound like it was the case. He has also been acting strange around other dogs...even his buddies who he sees everyday. 

Before you ask, we have left a message with our trainer because this very well might require the daycare to either video him or allow our trainer to observe (which I think they veto-d in the past).

However, what the heck?? Does anyone have any insight or suggestions here? I'm thinking we need to do some training where we can reinforce appropriate play and correct his inappropriate behaviors while interacting with other dogs. 

Thanks in advance!

[Deborah Brown]

I think your professional trainer is going to give you more insight that anyone here can.  However, I'm going to jump in and say that he clearly does not want to be at day care.  You are correct that growling at the staff is very out of character.  He is sending a clear message. He did not want to remove his harness and join the dog group.  Please take him home.

Sometimes a dog can be trained to not react and not show that he is afraid.  This is a bad situation because eventually he is going to snap. You might think that after a couple months he should be over the trauma of the attack.  For some it can take much longer.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I would also suggest a visit to the vet. Sometimes radically different behavior has a health component.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I also think you need more information about the incident at the boarding facility. There should be no opportunity at a boarding kennel for dogs to be guarding food from other dogs. That should be true at a well run daycare as well, but especially at a boarding kennel. Aren't they fed in their own crates, with doors closed? I am wondering if something could have happened there, some type of chaotic situation with unsupervised dogs that made him fearful of being around other dogs at daycare as well. I think you need more info about the incident when he was being boarded. 

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

https://www.udemy.com/dunbar-growl-class/?utm_campaign=NEW-FB-PROS-...I agree with Karen that something probably happened at the kennel where he was boarded.  It is unlikely that they are going to tell you.  I would proceed as if something increase his fearfulness again and work with a good trainer.  Also as Nancy suggested get a work up with blood work from a good vet.

  It is better to crate him for 8 hours at 2and1/2, than keep up the heavy load of stimuli that day care causes. 

The beginning of decreasing his fearfulness is to help him understand that you are always in charge.  Out walking and see a dog coming?  Stop move a little out of the incoming dog's path and stand close to, facing, and  in front of your sitting dog with his eyes on you, use treats if you have to keep his attention.  Repeat as often as possible.  Gradually, work you way around to having him sit or down beside you.

Work at home constantly on sit, stay, down, watch.  Never be loud, only firm. 

Find a better trainer, two sessions for $300, even in Los Angeles is ridiculous and a "good" trainer would never tell you that two sessions was enough.

I am attaching I hope the net address for Growl Class, it may give you some insight into what is going on. It came out at the top of this.

[Laura and Angus]

Totally agree and I have no idea what the deal is. I need to speak at length with the person in charge cuz I'm getting things second-hand from different workers and my fiancé who doesn't always give all the best details. I want her to give me a more specific account of who was where and what is going on. I hate to limit daycare because he really loves going to play there. However, I also know that we can't have them reinforcing bad behavior either. May have the trainer observe him at the daycare if possible or even have him at the daycare facility they partner with to see him around other dogs. His pushy behavior AND strong-willed personality suggests there's a larger chain-of-command issue going on and we need to get back to constant leadership work at home.

[Laura and Angus]

Thank you all for your replies!! Here's the update: went to the vet who shared that his health looks good across the board. I mentioned blood work for hypothyroidism, which she said she's happy to do, but that it's very unlikely for Angus given his young age and complete lack of any other symptoms. The vet's suggestion was to treat this like a behavior issue (as I really suspect it is) and consult with the trainer.

The trainer gave us a bunch of options. She said she's happy to do an observation at the daycare, but suggested that we currently stop the daycare visits to work on leadership training, so that he doesn't get the pushy/growling behavior reinforced any longer. Based on the descriptions (and our knowledge of Angus) the trainer also felt that The growling/lunging behavior is related to Angus not knowing his place in the totem pole. This is something we've been working on with Angus, but admittedly had relaxed our training in the last couple months due to his improvement. We're going to tighten up training in our home and maybe do some additional training with a trainer in their home and with their dogs, so they can give us insight into his dominant behaviors.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think this sounds like a great plan!  It sounds to me like he's "pushy" and really testing right now.  It may be due to fear from something that occurred at Daycare or even stemming from his attack, but the key to whether it's fear-based or just him being pushy is leadership.  He needs to know that you have "got his back", so he doesn't need to react....and that the lunging behavior isn't going to be tolerated.  I know from experience what the "staring behavior" with other dogs on walks leads to....it sends a message to the other dog that could easily result in an aggressive response.  For now I agree that it's best to move him off to the side and have hi focus on you while the dog passes....it's fine to reward with treats.  I would go back to basics at home..."nothing in life is free"....no bed or furniture time unless earned, specific rules at mealtime, making him wait until you release him before going outside, using toys as a reward for good behavior.  His "startle" behavior when he hears noises seems tied into this general "insecurity" that he has been displaying.  I have a very sensitive Doodle who has been through extensive training and he is also like this.  I have taught him to come to me immediately when he hears a noise outside....that is my way of reinforcing that he doesn't have to be on guard...I'm in control of the situation.  I really think you're on top of this and with consistency and training you should see improvement.  One thing I have learned about Daycare is that with dogs like ours you need to bring them where the owner/staff really know what they're doing.  There are lots of rules at our Daycare, especially with drop off and pick up, and that keeps all the dogs under control and relaxed.  Good luck.

[Laura and Angus]

You are totally right! We are working with him pretty much daily again at this point and are really focusing on the leadership activities. Angus is definitely a pushy dog and he has not returned to daycare since the most recent lunging incident. We are disappointed but we just can't take the chance that they are accidentally reinforcing his bad behavior rather than helping. So he has a midday dog walker everyday at this point and long walks/hikes/training to burn energy. 

I'm sad about this, but he just can't be at daycare until we figure out a plan for improving his interactions with other dogs. Our trainer suggested a 10-day stay and train that costs thousands and we just don't have that kind of money right now. We're thinking that a better option might be less frequent visits to a training daycare facility, but we haven't found a good one yet. Thank you so much for your insight and experiences! We really appreciate the support/ideas.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Sounds like you are on the right track.  Just stay with it.  To some extent, dogs like humans are always "in training" and need good behavior reinforced and bad behavior prevented.

[Laura and Angus]

Thank you! It seems that Angus more than others may be a forever training pup. He's smart enough to obey boundaries at home, but to push them with new people - it's hard to trust him with other people watching him for this reason :-/