Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 1/15/2008

Question
QUESTION: My Maltese seems to be getting more aggressive as he gets older. He has to be caged when visitors come over or he will attack their ankles when they move.  He has bitten a couple of people already.  Today when I went outside alone for approx 20 minutes, he peed and pooped in the house and when I showed him the spot and gave him ONE slap on the posterior, he reared up and snarled like never before...for quite a long time too...he made as if he would bite me coming toward me then backing off..all on his hind legs...its getting worse...I love him dearly and would hate to lose him as I take care of my elderly mother and he snarls at her when she comes near me when I'm lying down also.  What can I do to stop this behavior?  He's almost three years old, a rescue dog and I know that this was his problem that got him in the pound in the first place.  He was ok for the first year and then he became more aggressive??????

ANSWER: Hi, Lisa,

Thank you for the question. I hope I can help.

I'm having some problems with my server, so I may have to answer this in more detail later (when my internet service is faster and more reliable), but it seems to me that anytime you act aggressively toward a dog you're bound to get aggression BACK from him. Either that or he'll wind up being afraid of you. So, to my way of thinking, when you slapped him on the tush today, well, no wonder he snarled at you. I would too if I was having a bad day! It sounds to me as if your dog has a lot of spunk, which I think is admirable. You just need to teach him how to re-direct his spunkiness into a more amenable brand of behavior (like playing fetch or tug-of-war).

And you're right, the problem may have started with his previous owner, or at the pound. But why don't you try this: the next time he does something he "shouldn't have," either ignore what he's doing or praise him for it! Although personally, I would only praise a dog while he's in the middle of doing something I didn't want him to, not afterwards like with the mess he made in the house today.

You're probably asking, why I would praise a dog for doing something I didn't want him to, right? Because it's often a very good way of stopping the dog in his tracks, just as scolding (saying "No, bad dog!") would do. But it has the added benefit of not being perceived as aggression by the dog.

The mistake we make in using punishment is we think that dogs can learn how NOT to do something--but they can't. They can't learn a negative behavior. What we have to do is give them an acceptable alternative behavior, an alternative outlet for their energy, if you will. Or we have to teach them how to do something right, not correct them for doing something wrong.

Here's a link that explains my use of praise: http://www.tiny.cc/praise622  

So getting back to using praise to correct unwanted behavior, if he were my dog I'd actually try praising him when he snarls at your mother! It will totally amaze you to see what happens to your dog when you simply try this! I know, everyone else is going to think you're crazy, but trust me, if you do nothing else but try this crazy praise idea of mine, and if after a few days you don't see a pretty impressive change in his behavior AND his attitude, we can talk further. (And hopefully I'll have my WiFi back by then!) Seriously, read the link I sent you, and then try praising your doggie for almost anything you can think of. You will be amazed. (And by praise I mean telling him he's a good boy, using a high, silly voice, with a lot of positive emotion in it--but just use vocal praise, no petting.)

As for the mess the little guy left you today, I want you to ask yourself what he was trying to tell you when he did that. I think it was part of an emotional cry for something he wants from you, I just don't know what he wants. So if you can think of what it might be, please let me know, and we can solve that problem too.

And stop SPANKING the little guy! He doesn't like it, and it isn't making things any better.

I hope you're not too put out by my response. I'm really trying to help you!

LCK


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

QUESTION: No worries...I appreciate the input and will try the "praise" method you suggest.  

As for the mess in the house, I suspect it was the fact that I didn't take him with me as I usually do...actually I was afraid he'd bite the builders that I had to deal with.  He usually goes everywhere with me and if I can't take him, I put him in his crate but I was only outside for a short while...I suppose it was anxiety that I'd left him...or maybe spite?  He's done it before and it's been in the same circumstances...a quick trip outside to do something on the property.  Hopefully, I'll be able to take him all the time if we can cure the nipping thing...just don't want to risk any more ankle biting...got me once by mistake too..lol...I pulled him back on his leash as he was going for a guy and he got me instead.  Sunk his little fang into my ankle.

He's actually very adorable as you can see for yourself on YouTube.com.  My handle is "ninilchikwoman" and he does amazing tricks, the best being a lively little back scratching stunt.  Thanks again for your advice!  Lisa

Answer
Hi again.

Thanks for the further info. I had suspected that his penchant for eliminating in the house was an anxiety-based issue. So is the aggression.

I'm going to recommend that you hand feed him every day, outdoors, using a "pushing" exercise, where you hold the food with one hand, put the other lightly up to his chest, and as he eats start slowly pulling the food hand away, ever so slightly. As he moves more toward the food he'll be pushing into your other hand. Do this very surreptitiously at first, but over time build up to the point that he's pushing against you as hard as he can in order to get at the food.

Here's a link that describes this more fully: http://tinyurl.com/3balu6

I also recommend that you play tug-of-war with him outside. It will do two or three things. First of all, it will use up a lot of his aggressive energy. Secondly, it will give him a great feeling of satsifaction, which will be directly related to his relationship with you, but in a way that uses up energy instead of bottling it up. (My suspision is that you may be giving him too much physical affection, which kind of keeps his aggressive energy bottled up.)

Here's a link to another article, this one on tug:
http://www.tiny.cc/tug

If he won't play tug with you (most aggressive dogs won't), the pushing exercise will help over time. But you may have to try some other tricks. Here's a link for those: http://www.tiny.cc/jumpstart

Dogs are predators at heart. Good predatory results (the ability to actually kill something) require that dogs have a strong urge to bite. It's something they're born with. They normally learn to sublimate that urge in social situations, but some dogs get anxious and "forget the rules." Their anxiety, and the knowledge that biting is a no-no, create internal tension that NEEDS TO BE RELEASED in some way. Tug and fetch are the best release points for dogs. It gives them a safe way of expressing their predatory instincts in a social setting. Long walks are also good. Play dates with other dogs are also good (if you can trust him not to play too rough).

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to YouTube today. It won't open for some reason. The whole site just won't open on my server.

At any rate, good luck and happy hunting!

LCK