George's Story
George is an affectionate,
obedient and otherwise perfect neutered Boxer dog.
George's Story
His owner reports that his behaviour in the
home and off-lead obedience outside the home is flawless, however he is highly distracted and often aggressive around other dogs. The relationship is good, and the owner has
firm and consistent established rules of the household, but admits that the dog
is spoiled within certain aspects of their life together.
The first
step of the process was to assess the aggression through a series of controlled
exercises with other dogs. The conclusion of these exercises revealed that
George's form of aggression is not fear based, rather dominant aggression,
possibly genetic and not unusual to the breed, but perhaps triggered or heightened
by an experience unknown to the owner.
Regardless
of the source, the treatment will be a combination of controlling the dog in
social situations with other dogs, eventually allowing him to interact with other
dogs and knowing what dogs to avoid, as he will likely always have a problem
with other, equally dominant aggressive dogs.
The
second step was to assess the level of control the owner has in a variety of
challenging situations. The assessment
revealed that when George is distracted by another dog, most notably when the
other dog is distracted by him as well, he does not look to his owner for
support, rather shoulders the weight of the responsibility. This is seen a lot in fear aggressive dogs
that do not look to their owners as leaders in fearful situations, where this
added responsibility contributes to the stress and subsequent aggression. In George's case, he clearly is making his
own decisions based on personal choice - he's looking for a good scrap.
The
treatment here is a two-fold: first, the
owner is instructed to alter additional aspects of their relationship within
the home, and the second is to get the dog in the practise of looking at the
owner before any decision is made. Although
the owner believed that the rules of the household were already relatively
firm, what was not clear was the true dominant nature of the dog, where
additional rules were necessary to psychologically alter the status of the
owner to the dog. Surprisingly to the owner, these rules were easy to
implement, non-confrontational, and quickly accepted by the dog. They entailed limiting the dog's access to
the first floor, which again is a psychological message that the owner is higher
ranking. The owner had always enjoyed
being greeted by the dog in the morning and being shadowed by the dog
throughout the day, however, the freedom provoked solicits for attention, which
contributed to the dog's controlling behaviour. Through this behaviour, the dog also learned how to solicit for food -
when he wanted to eat and when he felt it was time for a snack. The solicits were
considered "cute" and were rewarded - yet another perception of
rank: owner offers reward on dog's
terms. A few more similar rules were
made within the home and the behaviour both in and outside the home changed
almost immediately.
In
addition, the dog is now required to look at the owner before any decision is
made. While he always waited at the
door, he now must look at the owner before he is granted the reward of going in
or out. On walks, there is a point in
the walk where the dog is always allowed to run and play off- lead, however the reward is only permitted when the dog looks directly at the owner -
the same is the case for eating, greeting, playing and any other reward-based
activity.
The owner
got into the practise of taking the dog to busy city centres and standing
amongst high level distractions, where the dog would be immediately rewarded
with a treat every time he looked at his owner. Before long, the owner noticed the dog making eye contact for every
decision and throughout all activity. This change in status enabled the owner to control the behaviour further
by issuing commands during these moments of connection. These commands provided instruction that was
clear, trustworthy and rewarding to the dog, moreover,
it took the burden of responsibility and choice away from him.
The final
step was to teach a simple "leave" command, a command that would
instruct the dog to avoid something the owner wants the dog to avoid, which in
this case is contact with another dog. This is initially taught by introducing the command with food - a titbit
of food is placed on the floor by the dog, and is immediately removed when the
dog makes a move for it. The command word
is introduced and the dog is rewarded with the food the exact moment eye
contact is made, with the length of contact increasing as the dog progresses
with the exercise. The leave command is
then used around other dogs as the dog is now conditioned to look at the owner
for instruction (and possibly reward) when the word is used. Once the dog's attention is on the owner and
not on the other dog, the reward issued is at the discretion of the owner and
appropriate to the situation. The dog is
completely under the owner's control.
The owner
knows this is a difficult dog and a great amount of focus and impeccable timing
may always be required around other dogs, however, this is now a harmonious
relationship, and a safe relationship. Lastly, the dog is not denied the privileges of his early life, as he
still is "invited" to the first floor on special occasions, and the
rewards of these invitations are now of immense value and more greatly enjoyed
by both.
It is
true that dogs either lead or are led in any circumstance, this is especially the case as demonstrated by George. George is now a much calmer dog, and if you
knew him before and thought he was a happy dog, and then met him today, you'd
say he's blissfully happy and without a care, (except to always keep one eye on
his owner).
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