When Your Dog’s Behavior Suddenly Changes

 

Michael Baugh CDBC

Our dogs’ behavior is always changing. They find new interests and interact with the environment in ways we’ve never seen before. That is a sign of a behaviorally healthy dog.

New phobias or aggressive dog behavior are not so healthy. Those kinds of behavior changes can crop up throughout our dogs’ lives for various reasons.

Puppyhood and Adolescence (the first two years)

These are developmental changes. New fears and first-time aggressive behavior are fairly common. Common does not mean they are acceptable or that we should ignore them. On the contrary. We need to intervene and help our dogs at the first sign of fear or aggression. Causes include socialization deficits (our dog’s lack of positive experiences), emotional trauma (including before birth), and genetic predisposition (not always permanent). Early positive reinforcement training can turn this kind of unwanted behavior around when our dog is still young. It’s also a great way to prevent fear and aggression problems.

Adulthood

If our dog begins behaving fearfully or aggressively as an adult, we still need to take action. This is especially true for dogs who have otherwise been joyful and pro-social for the first several years of their life. A sudden change in behavior in our adult dog is a red flag. Our first step is to take the dog to the vet to rule out pain (that’s a big one) or other medical causation. Be thorough. Ask lots of questions. Make note of environmental changes, like a move to a new home, a new partner or roommate, or a baby growing into toddlerhood. Those can all affect our dogs’ behavior. We still recommend positive reinforcement training for adult dogs.

Senior Dogs

When a senior dog’s behavior changes, we look for the same causes we’d consider in a younger adult dog. In addition, we can ask our vet to begin regular senior blood work and test for any cognitive decline. Yes, old dogs benefit from positive reinforcement behavior change training. Age does not impede this. But, a late-in-life development of fear and aggression almost always involves vet care as well.

It’s Not All Bad

Behavior is always changing, from birth all the way until our dogs’ last days. Most of the changes we see are benign, delightful, even cute. Many dogs learn to play in new ways, make new friends (human and dog), discover new toys, or learn to enjoy new favorite sleeping spots (mine loves to sunbathe). Cherish these moments. Remember them. They will become part of the stories you tell long after your sweet dog has passed.

I’ll help with the unwanted behavior. The good behavior changes: those are yours to keep in the most treasured parts of your memory.

 

Michael Baugh teaches dog training in Sedona AZ and Houston TX. He specializes in fear and aggressive dog training .

Are We Asking Too Much of Our Dogs?

Michael Baugh CDBC

In 2003, Jon Katz published The New Work of Dogs. He was prescient. Humans were becoming more isolated, divided, and lonely. Dogs, he predicted, would fill the void, becoming surrogates for the human connections we couldn’t find or keep. Even then, our athletic hunters and protectors were trading in their physical roles for emotional ones. Heart Dogs saw us through life’s changes, relationships, heartbreak, big wins and losses.

The New Role of Dogs

We humans have a tendency to change our world faster than we can sometimes keep up. Cultural evolution now outpaces biological evolution. Our brains were built for small tribes and slow change, not endless notifications and global crisis feeds. It’s no wonder we are so stressed. And so sick. So, we look to our dogs for a moment of warmth, some playful nonsense, a bit of meaningful connection.

Here’s the problem, and Katz knew it. All these changes in our lives are putting dogs under new pressures. When I first started as a trainer in 1999, therapy dogs were a novelty. Psychiatric service dogs and emotional support dogs were very rare. Now, they are commonplace. Dogs used to herd and protect cattle, to flush and retrieve game, and to guard property. Today we discourage them from doing any of those things. Instead, we want them to take care of us.

We Changed Their Story

Dogs didn’t change. We haven’t changed all that much either. But we rewrote the storyline. Fast. It’s too much for us. It’s too much for our dogs. And here we are, in counseling and on meds — both of us. And somewhere in the quiet moments, we know something just isn’t right.

What Can We Do Now?

  • Be with your dog. Your dog is a living, feeling, thinking being. Not a checklist of problems to fix. Spend time with your dog in whatever way makes sense now. We are in this together, changing together, trying to keep up together. Dogs don’t live long. Neither do we. Don’t waste a minute.
  • Move. We need motion to stay healthy. So does your herder, your retriever, your terrier (or any of the aforementioned mixed). Play with your dog. Learn with your dog.
  • Get outside. Let your dog sniff. Leave your phone at home and let your eyes wander. Get away from other dogs if it’s safer and follow your dog to follow unfamiliar scents. Some of us call these decompression walks.
  • Stop outsourcing your dog’s life. Daycare and board-and-trains can be useful. But they are not a substitute for you. That might be a hard line to read. I’m sorry. Humans are clever. We’ve created services to ease ourselves of the burden of having a dog, when all we ever really wanted was … a dog.

Lean into discomfort (together). If we’ve put our social and technological lives on hyper-drive, we’re going to feel it. Our dogs will feel it too. The human and canine brains do not evolve that fast. So, it’s not a matter of keeping up. We have to adapt.

Let your dog turn to you for support. He’s not your therapist or your emotional anchor. You are his. Own that. What about us? We have to turn toward each other. Rekindle an old friendship. Go to book club, or pickleball, or mahjong (whatever your thing is). Be with people. We’re not that bad. And let’s make peace with ourselves. Pray. Meditate. Read inspiring books. See inspiring films. Listen to music.

Take a deep breath. You’re alive.

And damn, look at that dog you have. So sweet. And those eyes. I wonder what’s going on behind those eyes.

Michael Baugh teaches dog training in Sedona, Arizona and Houston, Texas. He specializes in aggressive dog training. 

 

Why People Stop Training Their Dogs and How to Get Back on Track

Michael Baugh CDBC

I’ve been thinking a lot about why people don’t train their dogs. It’s one of those Holy Grail questions for professional trainers and dog behavior consultants. Why won’t clients follow the plan we laid out together?

The excuses are predictable. I didn’t have time. I’ve been busy. I’m not coordinated enough. I don’t have the right tone of voice. I’m not good enough. Then there are the dog-focused ones. He’s stubborn. My dog is dominant. He’s too old, too young, too dumb, too distracted. Trainers hear these all the time, and it’s tempting to argue with every single point. In our heads, though, the response is usually much shorter. “No, none of that is true.”

So what’s really going on? Those of us who love training do it because it’s fun. Dogs learn when they see their actions affect the world around them. Seeing that in action is thrilling. We learn the same way. Our actions cue the dog’s response. The dog’s actions cue our reinforcement. We are communicating!

The problem is that new trainers give up before they get that first taste of success. It’s like the first episode of a series. If it falls flat, you stop watching. Humans have narrow spans of attention, sometimes. Sound familiar? We crave reinforcement. If we don’t get hooked early, many of us find it hard to keep going. What you need is a spark, something that starts a real conversation between you and your dog. A little back and forth of shared success.

And no, I’m not blaming your dog for failing to reinforce you. He’s probably just as bored and confused as you are.

Here’s the fix: Start simple. I teach hand targeting to all my clients first. It’s the appetizer, the ice breaker, the first clear win for both dog and human. You do this and I do that. Now we’re talking.

But don’t rush. Build gradually and set both of you up to succeed.  Grab another easy win. Work on something simple, maybe a trick that makes you laugh. Enjoy the success. Show a friend. Reinforce generously.  Once you’re feeling the rhythm, try a more challenging task. You’re getting it, little by little, both of you.

Here’s the bottom line. You can train your dog. And you can learn to love training, too. Drop the labels and get out of your own head. Go for that early win, that “wow” moment. Your dog will feel it, too. Ahh, this is how we have a conversation!  Smile. Laugh. Have some fun. And get ready to learn. Your dog has a lot to teach you.

Michael Baugh teaches online dog training and in-person training in Houston, TX. He specializes in aggressive dog training.