| THE PET TEACHER In-YOUR-Home Dog Training 248-232-3655 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| AGGRESSION AND RESOURCE GUARDING Resource guarding and other aggression issues often develop when we allow our cute little puppy to take charge because we aren’t providing effective leadership. It is natural for a dog to continually strive to be in control of their environment. If they were living in their natural state, this control would be necessary for survival. We change the rules, however, when we bring them into our homes. As their behaviors develop, there are some that unwittingly allow the dog to mold into a dominant or bossy attitude. These attitudes might govern over small things at first, which many owners overlook or even think are cute. Behaviors like growling when we try to take a toy from him or when he is sitting on your lap and someone approaches. Or he barks at us when given a request, or nips at the back of our heels or pants, or refuses to move out of our way when we’re trying to walk through the hallway. The problem with overlooking these first demonstrations of control and aggression is that without our acknowledgement that the behaviors exist and then taking steps to institute proper leadership, these behaviors will surely escalate to a very dangerous level of aggression along with the potential for Resource Guarding. When it develops to this stage, the dog uses growling and eventually biting in order to control the situation. He may bite anyone he thinks is a threat, often children. Here are some chilling statistics:
These unnecessary attacks cause many owners to then have to make the heartbreaking decision to get rid of the dog. Did you know that a dog with a bite history will NOT be adopted to a new home because of today’s increased legal liability for the shelters and rescue groups? If you do not take proper steps to become an effective leader for your dog so that he learns how to be a good canine citizen you may be setting up your family or friends for a bite, while condemning your new puppy to euthanasia at a shelter. Work with a professional positive reinforcement trainer schooled in proper leadership to help you to understand how you can become an effective leader for your dog, as well as how to avoid your unintentional development of resource guarding and other aggression issues. Leadership works more effectively with a positive reinforcement approach than with outdated force techniques. Why? Because it is scientific fact that when any species learns, their brain embeds the behavior more quickly and more accurately when it’s learned in a fear-free environment. You do NOT need to teach with harsh intimidation techniques such as a choke chain, water squirter, hitting with a paper, submissive rolling or verbal scolding your dog. Controlling aggression with aggression is never acceptable or required, and does not result in desired long-term behavioral learning. Today there is a new generation of highly skilled trainers schooled in how to use motivation and your dog’s natural learning skills to teach good manners to your pup. |
| WATCH FOR THESE SIGNS OF STRESS Stress signals (also called Calming Signals) are used by dogs to communicate with each other. They will also use them to communicate with us. These signals often communicate stress or the potential for a dog to aggress toward you. It is vital that you become familiar with these signals and closely observe your dog so you can be aware as soon as possible in order to circumvent a problem. Some examples of these signals are: licking of lips, turning away (head and/or full body), half-moon or showing whites of eyes, tail postures, ear positions, sniffing the ground, or any combination of these. Every dog owner should have a copy of Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas on their bookshelf. You can find it at Amazon.com. You can also read more on Turid's website: www.turidrugaas.com Growling is a form of communication for your dog. It is often used as a warning prior to biting! Our usual response to a dog growling is to punish them. DO NOT PUNISH OR SCOLD YOUR DOG FOR GROWLING. If you do, you are likely to cause the dog to stop using the growl as a warning ... you may actually cause more aggression ... and your dog will bite first rather than giving any kind of warning. You need your dog to growl so you know that there is a problem that you have to fix. Never hold resentment toward your dog or use a punishment tone after the incident. Your dog will not understand why you are upset and he may react to your tension with his own fear ... but he will NOT understand that it was about whatever triggered the growling. Your dog thinks and lives in the present and after-the-fact communications of any kind (including reprimands) just don't mean anything to them. You have a small window of up to 3 seconds after your dog has done something (whether it is something you like or don't like) in which to communicate with him. If your dog is using growling, make a note and answer who, what, why, where, when, and any other pertinent information to the situation. Then immediately call a positive reinforcement trainer/behaviorist. |