How Do I Stop My Dog's Defensive Behavior?

[NCEquestrian]

Hi Everyone

I am new here, but thought I would ask advice in a public forum where I may get a variety of responses and experiences.

I have a one year old dog, part mini aussie, part chocolate lab (and possibly something else too!). She is about 40 pounds, very sweet. She is a rather submissive dog, almost all of the time. At the dog park, she is friendly but reserved, and she took some time to warm up to playing with other dogs. Once she knows another dog or person she is the friendliest thing alive.

Lately, she has been acting strangely. Every now and then, and I can count the number of times on one hand minus a few fingers, she will act very defensive towards people when she is on the leash going for a walk. She is very good walking- she heels well, and we work on training commands when we are out walking (sit, stay, down, wait, etc. I carry treats in my pocket and make the walks also a learning experience). This morning she was fantastic- we walked by a huge flock of geese and she didn't acknowledge them, and we walked by people and dogs and she didn't bat an eyelash.

Then, on the path home, we were about to cross paths with a very large man. I asked her to sit, so she could work on sitting and focusing on me and letting people pass. The man walked up to us, stopped and praised me for having such a well behaved dog. Then he stepped forward to pet her and all hell broke loose. She barked VERY loudly, lunged forward, didn't make any move to bite but was very defensive. I quickly got control, made her lay down and told her NO very sharply. The man was unscathed, apologized for scaring her and went on his way.

Now, this man made a move into my space, and my dog's space uninvited. But he wasn't doing anything threatening. He was simply wanting to say hi to the dog. This has been the scenario in the previous incidents too. Someone makes a move into our space, dog becomes defensive and acts territorial. But she is not, by nature, an aggressive dog...Like I said, she can go to the dog park and doesn't so much as bark at anyone. It's only happening when we are on the leash.

So....how do I stop this? I don't know when it's going to happen- sometimes it does and sometimes it does not. It has always been with strangers. I believe she thinks she is doing the right thing and trying to protect me; how do I teach her that it is NOT her job to protect me when we are on a walk? I want my dog to be friendly and sociable and a dog people can interact with without having to fear her barking and lunging. I also want to be able to trust my dog and not cringe when I see a stranger walk by.

Any advice you have would be so helpful. Someone suggested I take her to a professional trainer who specialized in aggression...I don't think it has gone that far, but perhaps I am wrong. If so, I live in the Sf bay area, and any recommendations you have would be fantastic.

Thanks so much for your help!

Best Wishes,
Nicole & Maddie

 

[Doberluv]

It sounds like she may not have had ample socializing as a very young pup....before the age of about 3 or 4 months, where loads of socialization to all kinds of people, dogs, environments, objects etc, etc is imperative. If she had had ample positive experiences with humans, she probably wouldn't react that way. However, not all dogs want some stranger groping them and it should be left up to the dog to make the overtures when greeting others.

I hope you didn't scold her in the presence of this man becuase any punishment in association with whatever it is she's reacting to is counter-productive and can escalate the problem.

I recommend you get the book, Click to Calm by Emma Parsons. She'll give you a step by step desensatization process you can put your dog through. She needs to pair people with good things at a distance below her threshold and gradually, as she accepts seeing them at a comfortable distance, you work closer. In other words, you protect her from scenarios where it's too much for her and she winds up practicing this behavior, while you're conditioning her to accept that which sets her off.

It is not a sure fire thing that she was protecting you. More likely, she was defending herself. That she feels a need to defend herself against friendly strangers suggests an impovershed socialization history.

 

[OutlineACDs]

Have people you know walk by you, stop, lean into you a little bit and drop a handful of treats at the dog's/your feet then walk away.

If strangers would like to pet her explain that she's shy and would they mind dropping a few treats for you and then taking a few steps back and see if she is willing to approach them. Don't force anything on the dog though. If she doesn't want to be pet, don't force her.

 

[NCEquestrian]

Thanks for the replies so far. I actually did order a clicker and clicker training book the other day, so hopefully that can help.

A little history- I got her as a very young puppy. About 7 weeks. She was a rescue- someone dropped a pregnant dog in a backyard. The mother dog rejected the puppies around 6 weeks and so they were given homes a little earlier than what is commonly considered appropriate.

I made the mistake of taking two. I had the best of intentions- give two deserving dogs a good home. But, when I did some more research on litter mates, I came to realize that this was a mistake. The other puppy was very dominant and picked on the submissive one all the time. The dominant dog was definitely a more alpha type. Around 5 months of age, I decided that while I loved both dogs, it was not in their best interest to keep them both. So I gave the more dominant one to a good friend who has acerage and a lot of time to work with the dog, and that dog is now doing really well.

We didn't separate them cold turkey- we would bring them together to play often as they were adjusting to their new homes. Now, they rarely see each other. The other dog has a great home where she is loved and her dominance has greatly decreased now that she is an only-dog and not competing for attention.

I know now that taking litter mates was a bad idea. Please don't be too harsh with me because of this- I was trying to do a good thing, and I fixed the situation as soon as I realized it was harmful to the dogs.

When they were young, say under the age of 5 months, they were exposed to people all the time. The dogs came to work with me every day and spent numerous hours with many adults and children. (I work with horses and teach lessons). They were exposed to other dogs as soon as they had their shots and could meet other dogs. So, they were both socialized a lot.

I am not sure if the constant alpha dominance by the other dog is what has caused my dog to act this way. It has been 8 months since they were separated, and this is a new behavior- within the last month. The dog can no longer come to work with me because of new rules by the management (long story, but it looks like we may get that changed and as soon as it is she will come with me again), so her socialization became much less several months ago. She stays home, and I come home at lunch every day to let her out and play with her.

Hopefully this helps you when advising me. Thank you all so much for taking the time to offer your opinions.

 

[NCEquestrian]

One more thing- she is very very friendly with people at the dog park. Not at all shy and not at all aggressive. She goes up to everyone looking for a pat and is very friendly. This new behavior is only happening on the leash.

 

[Sweet72947]

One more thing- she is very very friendly with people at the dog park. Not at all shy and not at all aggressive. She goes up to everyone looking for a pat and is very friendly. This new behavior is only happening on the leash.

On a leash, your dog is feeling vulnerable. Her brain goes into "fight or flight" mode. She can't run away (flight) so she barks and lunges (fight). At the dog park, she has the ability to choose when she wants to be pet, and the ability to run away if need be. She is probably much more confident at the dog park than on a leash because she has those options.

I would do what the other posters have suggested and have people give her treats when they meet her so that she learns that meeting people while on a leash is not scary. I would also try letting her sniff people out before they try to touch her, that might make her more comfortable. In other words, have her go into the person's space, instead of having people come into her space.

 

[lizzybeth727]

The fact that your dog was so submissive to her litter mate indicates that she probably just has a submissive/fearful/"soft" temperment to begin with.... not necessarily that the littermate made her that way, but that she was like that to begin with and the littermate didn't make things easier for her.

It is not uncommon for a dog to be reactive on leash but act differently when off leash; the leash is restrictive and makes her feel like she is trapped and cornered, so she will tend to be more offensive when she is scared, whereas being off leash gives her the freedom to approach people on her terms and get away if she feels like she needs to.

It sounds to me like she just needs to have her confidence built up quite a bit. I agree with the above posters, especially that you should get "Click to Calm" and work on the exercises outlined in the book. Clicker training (if done correctly) is extremely effective at building a dog's confidence. I'd also suggest checking out Karen Pryor Clickertraining for more info on clicker training and using it to build up confidence.

ETA: Didn't mean to say EXACTLY what Sweet said, we just posted at the same time. Great minds think alike!

 

[Maura]

what your dog is doing makes perfect sense. As Sweet wrote, while on leash a dog is very vulnerable. A big strange male approaches her and leans over her, possibly reaching for her head, and her reaction is quite logical. A hand over or on the head is a very dominant gesture, certainly not a polite response from a stranger. Keeping treats in your pocket is a good idea. Ask the stranger to give a little treat, and ask them not to pet your dog if they want to.