A Look at Inter-Dog Aggression

Michael Baugh CPDT-KA, CDBC

Let’s start with the good news first. Most dogs are not intent on killing each other. That’s not to say they don’t have conflicts. They do; and those conflicts can sometimes be scary, noisy and even hurtful. Still, in most cases dogs don’t settle the score with fatal consequences.

dogs8 — Play can sometimes look like aggression

In fact, dogs give each other plenty of signals when they are upset about something. They growl, snarl, lung and even snap wildly at the air. You’ll hear some trainers refer to that as “ritualized aggression.” Think: argument or the occasional sign language you see in Houston traffic. It’s unpleasant and communicative, but not dangerous in and of itself. There are more subtle nuances as well, the slight change ear posture, facial expression, breathing rate, or pupil dilation. When it comes to their own kind, most dogs are expert communicators. The reason is simple and serious. Real fighting is costly in terms of both risk and expended energy, so dogs have to be very good at resolving things without physical conflict.

If we step back a bit we can see most inter-dog aggression is about stopping some perceived threat and making the other dog go away. Increased distance often resolves the argument. This is most obvious in dogs who guard food and objects from other dogs. It’s also evident in dogs who lack experience interacting with other dogs. Animals, including the human animal, tend to reject things they don’t understand. Dogs who aren’t familiar with their own kind keep their distance. They might run away and hide as adolescents and young adults. Later as more mature adults, they might put on an aggressive display or worse to make the other dog go away. Either way, the message is clear. “Stay away from me.”

The real trouble arises when the dogs can’t properly communicate, and when one or both of them can’t retreat. They’re trapped. This is especially true in the case of dogs who are specifically aggressive towards other dogs while on leash. It is, perhaps, the most common form of inter-dog aggression.

Jean Donaldson (1996) first identified the on-leash cycle of aggression. It begins with well-meaning people who take their new dog or puppy on a walk for the first time. The dog, naturally curious, pulls toward other dogs he sees out in the wide world. He may even bark. The owner, frightened or angered by the pulling, yanks back on the leash yelling “heel” or “no bark.” Trying to stop the problem, the person might invest in a choke or prong “training collar” for his dog. Then, even if the dog begins to pull less, the owner keeps tension on the leash every time another dog is near just in case. As the weeks and months roll by, the dog learns that whenever he’s on leash and other dogs are around things get a little scary and maybe painful. He’s unable to investigate his own kind, and his owner is freaking out (or at the very least anxious). Before long the pulling and barking turns into lunging and growling, plus more yanking on the leash and yelling. Now dogs on walks are no longer a curiosity but a trigger that something bad is going to happen. We don’t know for sure what the dog is thinking, but we can imagine it might be “Get out of here dog, you’re making my owner freak out and he’s choking me.” Imagine how much worse this becomes if the other dogs in the neighborhood are trapped in this same cycle.

Prevention is always easier than a cure. Would that we could turn back time and stop the cycle before it starts. We’d teach our young dogs and puppies how to meet other dogs while on a leash. We would hold the leash without pulling it taught; we’d keep the line slack while two friendly dogs sniffed and circled each other. On our best days, we’d chat up the neighbors and admire each other’s dogs. Some days our dogs would play in an enclosed area off-leash. Each day we and our dogs would become more social.

Fixing the problem takes more effort. However, there is help. Qualified dog trainers and veterinary behaviorists can outline a plan that includes protecting your dog from having more aggressive displays. The plan will also involve reward-based training, teaching appropriate behavior while helping him feel better about his own kind. The prognosis is usually better with younger dogs, but there is always hope.

Dogs, I’ve discovered, are amazingly adaptable. At their core, they are social animals. Even the hardest cases can and do show some improvement. I guess that too is the good news.

(originally published in Houston PetTalk Magazine August 2011)

Look and Listen

MICHAEL BAUGH CPDT-KA, CDBC

HOUSTON – A lot of people think their dog has selective hearing when it comes to basic obedience cues, especially coming when called. No matter how many times they call their dog, it seems he’s just not listening. Some folks even worry their dog may be ignoring them out of spite. Fortunately, that last one probably isn’t true. He just hasn’t been trained yet to tune into you when you call.

It turns out the key to really effective dog training isn’t so much about listening. It’s about teaching your dog to look at you. Dogs who are keeping their eyes on you are also keeping their ears attuned to what you are saying. In fact, most precision obedience training is really about the dog’s visual attention, not his listening. Dogs actually learn visual cues (hand signals) more easily than they learn verbal cues (words).

Start at the beginning. The first thing I recommend people teach their dog is eye contact. It’s important that dogs learn to focus their attention on our faces. It sets them up to catch our verbal instructions on the first go around. It also allows them to better read our facial expressions for feedback on how they’re doing (dogs are experts at reading human facial expression, even subtle change in our expressions).

Here’s how to do it. Keep some of your dogs kibble in your pocket. Every time you catch him glancing up at your face say “yes.” Then, immediately follow up by giving him a piece of his food. This is called capturing a behavior. In a short time, your dog will be watching you all the time regardless of whether or not you have food on you. Once you he’s doing that you can start calling his name (only say it once please). When he responds to his name with a look up to your face, immediately say “yes” and treat him. Repeat this often so that his name becomes like a magic word that draws your dog’s attention to you immediately every time.

Before long your dog will be glued to you, watching attentively for further instructions. Your friends will all say, “Wow he really listens.” Of course you’ll smile and agree, because you know he’s looking at you.

(from myfoxhouston.com)

Potty Signals

Michael Baugh CPDT-KA, CDBC (from All Things Dog Blog)

Dear Trainer:

Skittles’ quirk is her very quiet way of telling us she needs to go outside. I hear her because she generally sticks to me like glue. When I leave the house, Skittles does not do a very noticeable job of getting the message across to other family members. Sometimes we have accidents when I am gone. She will leave her surprises as close to the door as she can get, sometimes right at the door crack as though she wanted to put it outside but could not. Since I cannot make my family hear her quiet whine I do not know what to do. If you have ideas on how to help increase her ability to get their attention I would appreciate it.

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When I read your very good question I couldn’t help but think of how we humans sometimes behave with each other. I thought specifically of the time I yelled at a very good friend, “What’s the matter with you? Do you think I can read your mind?” He didn’t miss a beat. “I didn’t even know you could read.” He said. It was the rhetorical equivalent of lifting his leg on my sofa and laughing at me.

I’m not suggesting you or your family learn to read Skittles’ mind, not exactly anyway. I do have to admit, however, I’m not a huge fan of teaching dogs to give loud signals when they want to go outside. Certainly, you could teach Skittles to ring a bell on the doorknob with her nose signaling her desire. Clicker training would probably be your fastest path to success. She rings. You click. She goes outside for some treats, fun and potty (we hope).

Here’s the rub. You’d be teaching Skittles to ring the bell when she wants to go outside, not necessarily when she has to go potty outside. I dare not teach this to my dear Stella. She’d be ringing our bell from now until the cows come home (actual cowbell optional). It’s bad enough that she stares out the door now with her newly emptied bladder and bowels. I digress. Suffice it to say, the whole bell-to-go-outside thing is a bit of a slippery slope. You may not necessarily be teaching what you want.

My guess is, you just want Skittles to stop doing two things in the house: number one and number two. The idea, of course, is to teach her to hold it until she goes outside. Go there, not here. Teaching potty training is just a matter of setting Skittles up to win. When she’s learning she should always be supervised or safely confined. You should never ask yourself the question, “Where’s Skittles?” (Just call me; I’ll tell you. “She’s squatting in your dining room.”). Supervising means you also go outside with Skittles. Praise and treat her as soon as she’s done eliminating, right then, on the spot.

(Read more at All Things Dog Blog)