Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 1/29/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi, about 10 months ago I rescued a little cross breed (possibly staff or patterdale X whippet and maybe some collie)from a house where i was told the owners were emigrating (I think not!)and had advertised her on the internet as free to a good home. She had already had four or five homes one being a rescue centre, in the first 16 months of her life, needless to say she suffers terribly from separation anxiety which I have been unable to help with despite seeking advice from several behaviourists. She is very high energy which is why I guess no one could really cope with her, I can deal with this though as she gets plenty of off lead exercise in the fields near me and we have completed several obedience classes and take part in agility too.  I have been told by many people that she is in the top 5% of intelligence levels for dogs and she loves learning new things, all in all she is a real sweetie, loves kids and in general most other dogs.  However, I have noticed that (possibly since she was spayed) she has become a real bully towards some other dogs, to begin with it was only when she was on the lead but this weekend she started on a little puppy spaniel at our agility class whilst off the lead and it seems that it is becoming more nasty each time, there seems to be no pattern with the dogs that she doesn't like and I cannot fathom why she has become like it when she was so good before?  I have my suspicions that she wasn't very well socialised as a pup because she had a total obsession with other dogs and barks, whines and leaps around until she can get to them and within seconds if she gets to them and doesn't like them she just pounces.  I don't really know how to stop this behaviour because if it carries on I will be unable to continue with our agility classes as Im sure nobody else wants her there and Im losing any trust in her to behave herself.

I would really appreciate any ideas you may be able to give me with handling this situation and maybe her separation issues too if you can.

Kind Regards
Lorna

ANSWER: Hi, Lorna,

Thanks for the question.

Bless you for taking on the responsibility for this dog's restless energy and intelligence.

You're right that the recent surgery may be one of the causes of her aggression. (They never tell you that there are studies showing that neutering may actually increase aggression problems in dogs!)

I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions. Does she like to play tug-of-war? If so do you play it with her and let her win? Because that's one of the quickest and easiest ways to resolve aggression issues in most dogs. It gives them an outlet for their restless energy, and while you may think letting them win means you're surrendering control over to the dog, it actually works in just the opposite manner. If the dog is really into the game, tugging with all her might, and you let go, it makes her crazy to bring the toy back to you for another round. She'll essentially become "addicted" to playing with you, a feeling you can use to great your advantage in training.

Also, how much hard, vigorous playful exercise does she get every day, just the two of you? We can't let her play around other dogs right now because her energy boils over into aggression, and you don't have enough controls in place to keep that from happening. And the controls you DO have (I'm guessing scolding, corrections, time outs?) aren't geared toward giving her an acceptable outlet for her energy.

And by the way, when she whines and leaps around and pulls toward other dogs she's exhibiting social attraction. In effect, the energy of the other dogs is pulling her toward them like a magnet. But when she gets up close, it's not that she "doesn't like them," it's that she doesn't have the skill set or experience to handle the sudden shift in her OWN energy when she gets that close so she panics. She doesn't know what else to do. That's why the agility classes are so helpful (the same will hold true for tug). That's because these exercises put her in a position where she HAS to be more flexible and adapt quickly to different energy states within herself. (This same principle is behind her separation anxiety which I'll get to in a minute...)

Since the agility classes are somewhat problematic, I'd recommend you re-train all her basic commands (and maybe throw in some other things you think she might find fun to learn), but do all the training while she's in a, revved-up, high-energy state. In other words, use a favorite toy as an inducement and reward for obeying. One of the best tools for teaching a dog to shift gears emotionally is teaching her the "down while running." It may be part of her skill set from agility class. If not, do it! A LOT! It's a great way to give your dog the ability to change gears quickly, from one emotional state to another. (The ultimate would be to throw a favorite toy, and while she's running after it to give her the "down" command and have her obey it.)

Finally, it's probably best to think of her behavior this way: forget about trying to get her to "behave herself." She IS behaving herself. What you need to teach her is how to accommodate sudden shifts in energy. All YOUR energy and intelligence needs to be geared toward taking on THAT task rather than looking for ways to stop her from misbehaving. Once she has the skills and the inner emotional dynamic necessary to shift her energy quickly, she'll naturally gravitate toward "behaving herself" because the underlying reason for her misbehavior will no longer be compelling her to act out.

Make sense?

You've got a lot of work ahead of you, so here are a couple of very helpful links:

http://tinyurl.com/3balu6
         
http://www.tiny.cc/tug

http://www.tiny.cc/TrickorTreat

http://www.tiny.cc/praise622

As for the separation anxiety, here are some links that will be helpful:

http://www.tiny.cc/jumpstart

http://www.tiny.cc/playbenefits

http://www.tin.cc/sepanxiety

Let me know if you have any further questions,

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for your quick reply, it was very interesting and included some points of view that i had not considered before.

We do play tug of war with her quite a lot and to be honest she usually does win because of her vice like grip and sheer determination!!  She does enjoy this and many other games, however she has zero interest in toys when there are other dogs around and only a slight interest (which is better than it was when I got her) in the smelliest tastiest treats I can muster!!  Other dogs are her top motivation and I can find nothing to beat it at all.  I am sure you are correct that her social skills with other dogs leave a lot to be desired as she does constantly pester them and loves to chase or be chased, totally incapable of relaxing when they are around, until they tell her off, then it sometimes seems that she will go off and pick on a smaller dog to almost make herself feel better.  Im sure this is not correct in behaviour terms but it is what it seems like.  Also I have to add that these aggression problems only occur in our agility class, when we are out walking in the fields we regularly come accross other dogs which she will play with absolutely fine, never had an issue there, other than a bit of recall trouble and she mingles with my friends dogs regularly without a problem, I can't understand why it is just at the class that she does it???  Sometimes I try to watch her body language when she is with the smaller dogs in class and she seems to steam into greet them with her tail staright up and stares right at them whilst other dogs, that she seems to get on well with (usually the bigger ones) her head and tail are always down and often she will sit in front of them with her back to them as a kind of appeasement gesture, theough she does not do this with the smaller dogs so unless they immediately 'submit' she will go for them.  These are just my observations and why I think she is becoming a bit of a bully!!

As part of her obedience training she will do a 'distance down' and we have spent a lot of time together learning new tricks, just because she seems to enjoy using her brain so much and I am always trying to think of ways to keep her occupied so that she doesn't get bored, she is quite a big chewer and has destroyed several 'indestructable' toys but I try to rotate them every so often so she doesn't loose interest.

I am also confused how she can have suddenly developed this behaviour, although she has always been highly attracted and motivated by other dogs, the aggression is relatively new and Im worried that it is something I have inadvertantly made her do?

I have not read your links yet but I will have a good read and see if I can pick up some pointers!

Kind Regards
Lorna

Answer
Hi again,

Thanks for the response.

As for your question of why she's "suddenly" become more aggressive, remember you've only had her for 10 mos. In the first few months in a new environment most dogs put a lid on their emotions. Then as they learn the "rules" of their new home and new life, they begin to act on their impulses more and more. Also, you took her to obedience classes, which can be problematic for a dog like her, because the first objective in a class setting is to get the dogs to settle down and pay attention. If you've read my article on the importance of play by now, you'll see why this can be detrimental to the real learning process. Plus, if the focus in class was on either food or force as the motivation for learning commands, rather than a focus on high-energy play, the things she would've "learned" in class will only be relevant to her when she's already in a "calm" state of mind. And when she gets charged up she won't have a reference point for how to behave, and won't be able to listen to you as a result. That's why I suggested re-training her basic commands (and a few others) while she's in a high-drive, highly motivated state. As you do this you'll become more magnetic to her instincts for group harmony (contained in the canine prey drive), and she'll have more of a feeling that whatever you're asking her to do at any given moment is relevant to her emotionally.

Make sense?

Sorry to give you more homework, but from your descriptions of her behavior I really like this dog, and want things to work out for the two of you in the best manner possible. So here's a link on redirecting an aggressive dog: http://www.tiny.cc/RedirectWalk

Best of luck! This sounds like an interesting learning experience for you guys!

LCK