Imagine yourself being afraid of roller coasters. Having a fear so overwhelming that if you ever find yourself in the position of taking a ride, you have a hard time even thinking straight. You persevere through all the twists and turns and you finally and very thankfully find yourself coming to a halt. Then imagine someone becoming angry with you, yelling for you to not be so afraid and even going as far as physically punishing you for your fears. It is a sure bet that you would not find this kind of approach helpful.
Now lets take a look at this scenario as it pertains to dogs and their fears.
Some fears are more obvious than others and many dog owners find themselves being quite patient while Sparky steers clear of balloons or men with beards. These fears seem to be more in tune with what we humans can relate to. We find ourselves being patient with an under confident dog who puts on a fearful front but can we find it in ourselves to understand how fear can manifest itself in our canine friends in other ways.
Dogs who lunge out at other dogs are often (and quite commonly) fearful. While this may look like aggressive behavior initially, upon examining it closer we often find the roots lie in a dog’s lack of confidence. The history of the person and their treatment of the dog during the initial stages of this fear may also play a part.
Commonly, owners tell off dogs that lunge out at other dogs. They are verbally reprimanded and often have their collars yanked. The dog owner may even resort to more physical correction as the lunging escalates. The thought behind this may be well intended, but this type of reaction on the part of the people only has a negative effect.
The occurrence of dogs that are reactive towards other dogs, especially on the street, seems to be increasing. This could be due to the fact there are simply more dogs out and about or it could be that dogs tend to feel the added stresses that add up to daily life. It is important to make a decision to work on helping these dogs feel more confident on their daily walks and to work towards changing their mind. We would like them to feel that the approach of other dogs is non threatening.
How do we go about this challenging exercise?
One problem is that the dogs that lack confidence often have the start of that problem inside their homes. There are many different types of dog/human relationships. There are those dogs that would love to have the job of pack leader and their owner, probably without realizing it, simply hands over the job. Then there are dogs that would love the job of pack leader and their people are more aware of the situation. Then there is the group of dogs who really never wanted the job. They don’t feel qualified to do it but have it given to them by people who are not taking on the job of pack leader themselves. In this case, you will find these dogs going out for a walk and they may not feel they have enough back up. They lack the confidence needed to greet the other dogs, or to even face the great outdoors, and they often display this by vocalizing and lunging. This may be an attempt to have the dogs stay away, a defensive action.
Now, lets look back on the history of this type of dog and his owner. The first time they go out for a walk when their dog displays this reactive side, the owner will attempt to diffuse the situation in one of two ways. Either the person will try to comfort their dog and settle them down or they will try to stop the behavior by being physical. When the dog owner attempts to soothe the dog by stroking and telling the dog that everything is all right, they are in effect telling their dog that his behavior is all right.
This could lead to the behavior occurring more frequently as the dog perceives the stroking as a reward. The second way of dealing with it is similar to getting angry with someone for being afraid of a roller coaster. It simply ends up making the fear worse or at the very least, not being helpful.
The way to successfully help these dogs is to assume a leadership role in the house. To do this you can start by making sure you say what you mean and mean what you say. In a nutshell, be consistent. If you ask the dog to sit, then follow through by nicely placing it into position and rewarding it accordingly. Treat and praise your dog for a job well done, not simply because he has nice velvety ears. Try your best to set up some household rules and follow through with them. Some examples of this are - your dog is not allowed near the table while you are eating, doesn’t use your couch as his bed or is not allowed to lounge in-between doorways.
Second, you must start to make an association between the dog walking on the street and good things happening. Let’s change the dog’s mind. First, create some distance between your dog and the approaching dog and start feeding him. Continue to feed him as long as he is paying close attention to you. As soon as he reacts, discontinue the food. While this may seem a bit confusing to some, let me assure you that you are not treating the dog for the lunging. You are treating before the lunge begins. You want to tell your dog in a way he can understand, that cool things happen for him when a dog walks by. Practice this a few times a day with fabulously tasty treats.
Once your dog is sitting by your side and allowing dogs to walk past without reaction, you can then progress to walking your dog and treating him after he passes the other dog. Go slowly and be patient. Remember that you are trying to undo his fear and that may take some time. The use of a head halter during this time is very helpful. It will provide some much needed focus.
Remember, just because a dog has a tendency towards being reactive does not necessarily deem him aggressive and by committing to these exercises you have given him a great chance at recovery.
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Training
It doesn't help that Cesar Millan tells you to use collar corrections and force a dog to face his fears. And that any love for a fearful dog will cause more trouble. It forces people into a corner of having no idea what to do next. I had a very fearful dog (of other dogs) right from 8 weeks. He's a Dachshund, and that seems to be common.
I tried the Cesar way, and then I tried some of the things you're suggesting. But I have to tell your readers this: GO TO A TRAINING CLASS TO LEARN TO TRAIN YOUR DOG! And also, if your dog is really afraid, just stop exposing him to the stuff he's afraid of. Not permanently, but once I went to training, and I stopped forcing my dog to walk on a dog filled path, he just started naturally becoming better.
I think we all have this excited attitude that we are going to be great dog parents no matter what it takes. But the truth, at least in my experience, seems to be that it just takes time and knowledge. If a dog is afraid of something, a few treats around that thing is rarely going to cure it. It's going to take time. Also, especially around other dogs, if you can't control that situation just forget it. I had the best intentions of getting my dog near other dogs and treating. But just one off leash dog running up to him would set us back weeks.
I take issue with one thing you suggested, "nicely placing it into position". You suggest you should place your dog in position. Victoria Stillwell strongly disagrees with anyone physically manipulating their dog into position. And Ian Dunbar does this via luring where you don't even touch your dog, and I do as well, and I can say it works great. Now maybe you meant to say "lure it into position", but when giving dog advice you should be sure to be very clear.
If someone wanted you to sit, and you didn't want to, and they took your legs and bent them, and forced you to the ground, what would you call that? Torture.
It is a sure bet that you would not find this kind of approach helpful.
Fear is an exception
The idea that trying to comfort the dog leads to reinforecmemt of the behavior is a bit of a misconception. I would suggest reading an article by Suzanne Hetts titled "Can you "Reward" A Dog for Being Fearful?" Basically, by definition, fears are not considered rational behavior. Fear is an emotional response and "emotions aren't affected by reinforcement and punishment in the same way voluntary behaviors are." To continue your roller coaster example, if I was afraid of roller coasters and expressing fear, and my friend next to me who loves roller coasters tried to calm me down and pat me on the back and so on, my fear of roller coasters wouldn't get worse. By that logic, giving food to a dog would make them worse, but clearly that is not the case because using food for doing classical conditioning on dogs with fears work very well. As Nicole mentioned in her post, it's how you come across that matters (your body langauge, the pitch/tone of your voice, etc.). You certainly can condition a dog to be fearful (people do it all the time by accident), but once a fear exists, it's not subject to reinforcement and punsihment the same way voluntary behaviors, such as sits, downs, jumping, etc. are. And I also agree about physically putting a dog into position in not the best idea. It's not necessarily aversive (although it can be) but more importantly, it slows down the learning process. If you ask a dog to do something, and then you basically do it for them (i.e. push them into position), that extra help you are giving them will make it take longer for them to learn a cue for the behavior because they become so dependent on your help that it takes longer to phase it out. Luring, shaping, or even capturing would get quicker results in reality.
Classic conditioning
I agree that finding the reactive distance,stepping back and using a high value food can make a huge difference in leash reactivity and fear aggression but honestly think the pack leader thing can be misleading. Using NILIF (nothing in life is free)does work to help instill a sense of control over your dog in the sense of controlling the resources but calling it a "leader of the pack" tends to move too much into dominance theory in my opinion. THis in itself, for the average dog owner can translate into positive punishment (think Cesar Millan). CC and then OC do not require an alpha mentality and so we must be careful about the mixed messages here. I am surprised, knowing your are considered a positive trainer that you would not only buy into the alpha thing but would advocate a forced sit.
Maggi Burtt
Tailspin Petworx
re: Classic Conditioning
I agree with what you said. Personally, I think that when 99% of the average public hears words like “alpha” and “leader of the pack,” they are automatically in the frame of mind of “dominance” and “who’s the boss” type mentality. Top wildlife research biologists, such as L. David Mech, define “alpha” as the breeding pair in a nuclear family (mom, dad, and offspring). So essentially, it’s a synonym for parent, and a parent is a teacher to their child. A teacher does not need to be forceful to a get a message across. Furthermore, I don’t think the idea of “dominance” even deserves to be called a theory. One definition of a theory is: “An explanation for some phenomenon that is based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning.” Right off the bat there are problems: Dominance is not observable. You can see biting, hear barking, see jumping etc., but you can’t see dominance. You can’t quantify dominance. Furthermore, it is not a falsifiable concept.
Conditioning, Dave Mech, Alpha
Dave is a super guy on wolf biology & wolf behavior. I have corresponded with Dave. Many of my associates know Dave personally. Dave is not an expert on training. It is not his field or interest. "ALPHA" in wolves is a lot more than a single behavior. It is an entire role which includes that no other animal of that sex mate on pain of death. (There are exceptions in very large packs). Also, "ALPHA" is somewhat a role which can be obtained, e.g. the Alpha dies, the order is changed & a new Alpha steps up to that role. Further, Alpha has different stiles. There are dictators who are brutal & there are far more gentle types, as in people. Alphas tend to get deposed in a manner similar to how they ruled.
The Bottom Line is that some dogs/breeds have behavior closer to wolves, many dogs/breeds do not. We can no more treat them all exactly the same as we can treat all people/personalities exactly the same.
L.A.
PS - The serious dog person should read Dave's Book "The Wolf, . . . " ISBN 0-8166-1026-6
I Love DogStarDaily.Com !!
This should be a daily habit. Ian's training methods have given my animals such better lives. I regret that I can't go back in time and do a better job with my beloved Black Labs, Goldens and all my other furry lost family.
L.A.
Training
Hi Kody,
Thanks for your comments. I did suggest that you nicely place your dog in position. A few years ago we noticed a lot of dogs coming into classes that had a hard time with anyone around their back end. They would snap and become fearful when touched. I even had the same experience myself with one of my dogs that I added to my family when he was 8 months old. The issue we face is that dogs need to feel confident and okay when touched. While we do use luring, we also like to treat a dog for being touched, and do like to place a dog...nicely...into a sit. I think that I should have qualified my article though. I was thinking of a dog that understood the word and was not being consistent. For those dogs, if you continue to bring out a treat, they will continue to wait for it.
I didnt intend anyone to think I was suggesting bending the dogs legs, or hurting the dog. That is why I included the word "nicely".
It is like when I took golf lessons last summer. My instructor could have dangled a cookie in front of me, or tried to tell me verbally how to hold that club, but until he stood behind me and took my arms and showed me how it felt, I didnt understand.
So...I do think that nice touching of the dogs body is appropriate. This sets up the dog for confidence if he has to go into a Vet clinic or groomer, where he will need to feel safe while being physically handled. But, no, I dont agree with it being forceful or hard on the dog, just a gentle hand placed on him as a reminder.
Hope that helps to explain where I was coming from.
Gillian
illian Ridgeway
Director
Who's Walking Who Dog Training
www.whoswalkingwho.net
Classic Conditioning
Hi Maggi
Thanks for your comments. It is always nice to be able to have a discussion.
I agree that dominance is a word of the past, and that is why I tried to avoid it by using pack leader. For the public, I think it sounds a bit nicer. I do believe that dogs feel safer living with some guidelines. I dont advocate a forced sit, but do believe in being consistent and once the dog understands what I mean, I like to "nicely" follow through. I have never caused any harm or pain to a dog and dont think that a hand on the bum is the same thing.
I do consider myself a positive, motivational trainer and I am very proud of that. I also believe that consistency, in a nice kind manner, is the key to haveing a great dog.
Sorry if you got the wrong idea...I also dont like the dominance theory and didnt realize my article would come off as such.
Thanks again for the discussion,
Gillian
Gillian Ridgeway
Director
Who's Walking Who Dog Training
www.whoswalkingwho.net