Shared Blog Post – the dodo – Cesar, When You Hit A Dog You Pay The Price

< a short link to this post – http://bit.ly/dodoDW-Holly >

If you found this post because you have a dog that is guarding their food or is doing any type of resource guarding or other form of aggression, I strongly encourage you to seek professional help from a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant ( click to find a CDBC near you ), a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, CAAB ( click to find a CAAB near you ), or a Veterinarian that is Board Certified in Veterinary Behavior, DACVB ( click to find a DACVB near you ). Resource guarding or any type of aggression by a dog has the potential to result in a dog bite. If you are concerned that your dog has a high probability of biting you need to address this immediately. A dog that bites can be very dangerous < click to read about dangerous dogs >. As you will see in the following video provoking the dog or threatening them or trying to be “dominant” is only likely to make matters worse.

There is a segment in the documentary film Dogs, Cats and Scapegoats < click to view > that shows the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan, punching a yellow Labrador Retriever in the neck, allegedly to teach her not to guard her food. I am sharing this blog post and video because it is an excellent tool for learning more about canine body language when a dog is feeling threatened.

In a November 2014 blog post from the dodo, Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society, discusses this episode, Showdown with Holly, and a slow-motion version of the show entitled Show Down with Holly in Slow Motion – A dissection of canine body language. The latter adds commentary that points out the body language used by Holly to indicate that she was feeling threatened. It also illustrates the additional visual signals Holly uses in an attempt to de-escalate the confrontation. Milan was either unaware of these signals and their importance (I didn’t see that coming!) or simply chose to ignore them. Milan is bitten when he moves the same hand he used to punch Holly near her face. < click to view > NOTE: You will need to click on “Uncover Video.”

Bekoff has this to say about the video Show Down with Holly in Slow Motion – A dissection of canine body language:

“This short video is a wonderful example of dog body language. I think of it as a crash course in canid ethology — dog behavior 101. I highly recommend those people who want to see what happened to study this video very closely. I’ve watched countless hours of video of a wide variety of social encounters in various canids — members of the dog family — and I still learned a lot from this encounter. I watched it more than a dozen times and I’m sure I’ll go back to it.”

There are many lessons in this video about how dogs communicate what they’re feeling using all parts of their body and various vocalizations. There also are valuable lessons for the need to respect what a dog is telling us, what they want and what they need. Holly was very clear about her state of mind, what she was feeling, and what she needed.”

I encourage you to read Marc Bekoff’s entire blog post < click here >

At the conclusion of Show Down with Holly in Slow Motion – A dissection of canine body language you will find two links to more information. The first is an excellent article on resource guarding by Dr. Patricia McConnell, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and author < click to read >. The second is a blog post by Jim Crosby < click to read > which provides a written description with time codes of the Showdown with Holly as it originally appeared on TV < click to view >. It is also very educational for those wishing to learn more about canine body language.

It is important to note that training your dog will NOT typically resolve resource guarding issues — a dog that is behaving aggressively, whether due to fear or anger, is responding emotionally. Teaching your dog to sit, leave it, or any other behavior is all about teaching them to offer a specific behavior when given a particular cue. Training is unlikely to change a negative emotion and may make it worse. Emotional responses can be altered through behavior modification, and that is where a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, or a Veterinarian that is Board Certified in Veterinary Behavior, DACVB can help you.

As a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, CDBC I offer behavior consultations for clients with dogs with problem behaviors. You can learn more about those services at our website < click to read > and about my approach to these types of problems in this article from my blog; Help! My Dog is Aggressive, Reactive, Fearful, Anxious, etc. – What do I do? < click to read >.

Recommended Resources

Articles on Don’s Blog

( http://www.words-woofs-meows.com )

Dangerous Dogs! – What Shelters, Rescues, Prospective Adopters, and Owners Need to Know – http://bit.ly/Dangerous-Dogs

 Dominance: Reality or Myth –  http://bit.ly/Dominance-RealityorMyth

Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Started Training Dogs – Gus, the Dominance Myth, An Alpha Roll, and a Damaged Relationshiphttp://bit.ly/Things-Gus-Dominance

What Should I Do When My Dog Does Not Let Me Take Something They Have Stolen and Snaps or Tries to Bite Me?http://bit.ly/StealGuardGrowlSnap

Help! My Dog is Aggressive, Reactive, Fearful, Anxious, etc. – What do I do?http://bit.ly/HelpDogAggx

Shared Blog Post – Dogs, Cats and Scapegoats: Messes We Make With Companions – A new film by Hugh Dorigo about the plight of millions of companion animals by Marc Bekoff in Psychology Todayhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/09/25/shared-blog-post-dogs-cats-and-scapegoats-messes-we-make-with-companions-a-new-film-by-hugh-dorigo-about-the-plight-of-millions-of-companion-animals-by-marc-bekoff-in-psychology/

Podcasts from The Woof Meow Show
( http://www.woofmeowshow.com )

Podcast – The Woof Meow Show: The documentary film Dogs, Cats and Scapegoats with Producer and Director, Hugh Dorigohttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/09/23/podcast-the-woof-meow-show-the-documentary-film-dogs-cats-and-scapegoats-with-producer-and-director-hugh-dorigo/

Books

Mine! – A Practical Guide To Resource Guarding In Dogs, Jean Donaldson, Dogwise Publishing, 2002

Other Articles On The Web

Cesar, When You Hit A Dog You Pay The Price – Marc Bekoffhttps://www.thedodo.com/cesar-when-you-hit-a-dog-you-p-812125567.html

The Other End of the Leash, Dr. Patricia McConnell – Resource Guarding: Treatment and Prevention  – https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/resource-guarding-treatment-and-prevention

Canine Aggression Issues with Jim Crosby – Food Aggression and a Famous Trainerhttp://jimcrosby.canineaggressionissueswithjimcrosby.com/2012/09/food-aggression-and-famous-trainer.html

 

Videos

Show Down with Holly in Slow Motion – A dissection of canine body languagehttps://www.facebook.com/799673286/videos/10152902693393287/ – NOTE: You will need to click on “Uncover Video.”

Showdown with Holly | Dog Whispererhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ihXq_WwiWM&feature=share

 

Resources for Finding Help From A Credentialed Expert in Canine Behavior

The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB)https://www.dacvb.org/search/custom.asp?id=4709

The Animal Behavior Society (ABS) – http://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/applied-behavior-caab-directory.php

The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC)https://iaabc.org/consultants

Podcast – Listener Questions No. 31

< Click to Listen to Podcast >

In this episode of The Woof Meow Show from May 5th, 2018, Kate and Don address the following questions; 1) Why is it important for cats to have wet or canned food in their diet?, 2.) Would you elect to ship your pet via air cargo?, 3) We have three Chihuahuas. Two of them fight terrible several times a day and then act like best friends. The third growls whenever she gets picked up. Help!, 4) I want to rescue a cat. What age cat and what sex will adjust the easiest to my home?, 5.) What do you think of weight management foods?, and 6.) My dog steals and guards things like socks and then growls when we try to take them away. She does this with anything she is not supposed to have. What do we do?

You can hear The Woof Meow Show on Z62 Retro Radio, AM620, and WKIT HD3 at 9 AM on Saturday. If you are not near a radio, listen on your computer at http://www.wzonthepulse.com or your smartphone or tablet with the free WZON 620 AM app. A podcast of the show is typically posted immediately after the show and can be downloaded at www.woofmeowshow.com and the Apple iTunes store.

< Click to Listen to Podcast >

Recommended Resources

Articles on Don’s Blog ( http://www.words-woofs-meows.com )

Book Review – Natural Nutrition for Cats: The Path to Purrfect Health by Kymythy Schultzehttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/07/31/book-review-natural-nutrition-for-cats-the-path-to-purrfect-health-by-kymythy-schultze/

Help! My Dog is Aggressive, Reactive, Fearful, Anxious, etc. – What do I do?http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/04/03/help-my-dog-is-aggressive-reactive-fearful-anxious-etc-what-do-i-do/

How Can I Tell When My Dog Is Anxious or Fearful?http://bit.ly/DogsSignsofFear

What Should I Do When My Dog Growls?http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/07/18/canine-behavior-what-should-i-do-when-my-dog-growls/

What Should I Do When My Dog Does Not Let Me Take Something They Have Stolen and Snaps or Tries to Bite Me?http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/08/20/what-should-i-do-when-my-dog-does-not-let-me-take-something-they-have-stolen-and-snaps-or-tries-to-bite-me/

Podcasts from The Woof Meow Show ( http://www.woofmeowshow.com )

Podcast – Pet Nutrition with Kymythy Schultze Author of Natural Nutrition for Cats: The Path to Purrfect Healthhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/07/31/podcast-pet-nutrition-with-kymythy-schultze-author-of-natural-nutrition-for-cats-the-path-to-purrfect-health/

 

©06MAY18, Donald J. Hanson, All Rights Reserved
< Click for Copyright and Use Policy >

What Should I Do When My Dog Does Not Let Me Take Something They Have Stolen and Snaps or Tries to Bite Me?

Dog resource guarding a bone

Dogs have evolved to be excellent opportunistic scavengers. If they smell, see, or hear something that they believe may be helpful to their survival, they will often grab it with their mouths. If we or anyone or anything tries to take away what the dog has acquired, the dog may growl and be willing to fight and bite to keep possession of that item. This behavior is called resource guarding, and while undesirable, it is a normal behavior for a dog. The video above illustrates a dog guarding a bone.

This article is meant to teach you what to do when this behavior occurs and how to prevent this behavior from happening in the future. The safety of you, others in your household, the community at large, and your dog must ALWAYS be your first concern. Dogs that bite to keep something that they have may be classified as dangerous dogs.

If you have not had this problem with your dog, you will still benefit from learning how to prevent the behavior. The best place to get that advice is from a certified professional dog trainer or certified dog behavior consultant. Because the potential for getting bitten is a real possibility when a dog guards a resource, I recommend that you see the advice of a professional. In my 20+ years of experience working with people and their dogs, I do not believe that dealing with this type of behavior can be learned from the internet, a book, or a video.

FMI – How to Choose a Dog Trainer –  http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/01/08/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/

What to do when your dog steals and protects something

If your dog has something they are not supposed to have, do NOT:

  • get mad at your dog,
  • be embarrassed,
  • or punish your dog.

None of those actions will be helpful. Any type of punishment is very likely to make your dog even more defensive and will substantially increase the odds of your being bitten. Dog bites are very damaging to the relationship we have with our dog. Both you and the dog will lose trust in one another, and it may take weeks and months for this trust to be restored, if at all.

If your dog has something they are not supposed to have, calmly assess the situation. Dogs steal things. I find that these items tend to fall into one of the following three categories:

  1. things that may cause your dog harm if they ingest them, such as a bottle of medicine, a sock, or pair of nylons,
  2. things that could harm your dog and/or cause you great expense such as a cell phone, or a remote control, and
  3. something we would rather our dog not have, but will not cause them any harm. The latter could be a napkin or a paper towel.

In the first two cases, you want to get the items back from your dog as easily as possible without you or the dog becoming injured or traumatized. The best way to do this is to offer a trade with a high-value piece of food such as a piece of deli meat or cheese. Yes, technically, this is rewarding a behavior you do not want; however, it is the easiest way to retrieve the object without you getting bitten.

If the dog has something in category three and you do not feel that you can safely get it away from the dog by trading them for something better, I would just let them keep what they have. Consuming a napkin or paper towel will typically not be harmful.

After you have possession of the object, you should start planning on how to prevent this type of behavior in the future.

Signs of guarding behavior include those shown in the video above, as well as:

  1. Freezing and staring at you while maintaining possession of the object,
  2. consuming the object as quickly as possible,
  3. running away with the object and trying to hide,
  4. growling,
  5. snapping and biting at the air,
  6. and biting you if you get too close. This may either be an inhibited bite, with little or no injury or a bite that punctures the skin.

Because resource guarding is a behavior that can result in a dog bite, and because a dog bite can cause irreparable damage to both you and the dog, I recommend that you meet with a reward-based certified professional dog trainer or certified dog behavior consultant as soon as possible. You are unlikely to resolve this problem on your own. In my 20+ years of experience working with people and their dogs, I do not believe that dealing with this type of behavior can be learned from the internet, a book, or a video.

FMI – How to Choose a Dog Trainer –  http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/01/08/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/

FMI – What Should I Do When My Dog Growls? – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/07/18/canine-behavior-what-should-i-do-when-my-dog-growls/

FMI – Reward Based Training versus Aversives – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/04/25/dog-training-reward-based-training-versus-aversives/

 

Why do dogs steal and guard things?

Most dogs have strong instincts to survive and thus may growl to protect resources that they believe are essential to their continued existence. Canine behavior specialists and dog trainers typically describe this behavior as resource guarding. Put another way; it is the dog’s fear of losing something that the dog believes is essential to life. The item most frequently guarded is food, but resources can also include; toys, spaces, trash, inanimate objects, particular people, basically anything the dog believes is worth protecting because of the value it offers to them; sustenance, comfort, attention, and affection. It is important for us to understand that the dog decides the value of something, not us. We may see an object as being totally without value to our dog, but if they believe it has value, they may choose to protect it.

Resource guarding has nothing to do with your dog trying to dominate you. In fact, science tells us that dominance has little or nothing to do with our relationship with our dogs. Trying to intimidate a dog into doing what we want is more likely to cause our dog to distrust us and is less likely to get the dog to work for us than reward based training.

FMI – Dominance: Reality or Myth – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/06/20/dog-behavior-dominance-reality-or-myth/

FMI – Reward Based Training versus Aversives – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/04/25/dog-training-reward-based-training-versus-aversives/

 

What Will A Canine Professional Recommend?

The first thing that a qualified dog training professional will discuss is the importance of managing the dog’s environment to prevent resource guarding from occurring. That means that you need to make sure that things your dog may want to steal are kept someplace where the dog cannot get to them. Socks and shoes are put away in a room that the dog cannot access, or better yet in a dresser. Trash is kept in a container in a closet or pantry or a trash can that the dog cannot open. If your dog always guards a specific treat like a rawhide, then the trainer may recommend that you no longer give your dog this type of treat. Managing the dog’s environment is about us using our more powerful human brains to outsmart the dog.

If your dog is guarding their food at meal time, a professional will advise you to, first of all, leave your dog alone while they are eating. How would you like it if someone kept stealing your food off your plate while you were eating? While we want a dog to be safe when eating in our home, the best way to do that is to teach them good things happen when we are near them while they eat. A trainer can show you how to do that safely.

Lastly, a trainer will teach you how to train your dog to respond to a behavior like “Give” and “Leave It.” We discuss both of these behaviors in our Basic Manners class. “Give” is used when we want the dog to relinquish something they have in their mouths and “Leave It” is used when we want the dog to choose to focus on us, rather than trying to get something they find tempting. Keep in mind that your dog will not learn either of these behaviors quickly. They will take more time and effort on your part than teaching a behavior like “Sit”, because in the case of “Give” or “Leave It” we are asking the dog to do something that is against their instincts. A dog may find it unnatural to relinquish a sandwich they scarfed off the table, just like many of us find it difficult to drive past a donut shop.

 

Recommended Resources

Articles on Don’s Blog (http://www.words-woofs-meows.com)

 

How to Choose a Dog Trainer –  http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/01/08/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/

What Should I Do When My Dog Growls? – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/07/18/canine-behavior-what-should-i-do-when-my-dog-growls/

Reward Based Training versus Aversives – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/04/25/dog-training-reward-based-training-versus-aversives/

Dominance: Reality or Myth – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/06/20/dog-behavior-dominance-reality-or-myth/

 

Podcasts from The Woof Meow Show (http://www.woofmeowshow.com)

 

How to Choose a Dog Trainer –  http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/01/08/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/

Dominance: Reality or Myth – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/06/20/dog-behavior-dominance-reality-or-myth/

©20-Aug-17, Donald J. Hanson, All Rights Reserved
< Click for Copyright and Use Policy >