Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 1/31/2012

Question
QUESTION: Hi!

I am an owner of a 2 year old rescue named Penny, we adopted about a year ago. Our best guess to her breed is a Cattle dog/Shepard mix. Lately, she has been exhibiting behavior that we have no idea how to deal with.

We boarded Penny in a kennel for a little over 2 weeks during the holidays. Ever since boarding her, we noticed a change in her behavior when we take her to the dog park.

It begins like this - she finds a dog that she focuses on, usually one that she has been chasing around. Once this dog gets tired of being chased, Penny gets right in their face and barks at them, she doesn't stop no matter what I do. She doesn't even pay attention to me - sit, come, or stay means nothing to her. Her attention is solely focused on the dog. I literally have to chase her around, grab her color, pull her into the corner to get her to calm down. Even after this, once I let her go again - she starts barking right away in the other dogs face.

Most of the time, the other dogs just stand there while she is barking in their faces - but this is more of a concern to the other dog owners. They think Penny is out of control and is going to cause a problem. She hasn't caused any problems, but I think her behavior is worrying the other dog owners.

Before we boarded her, we did notice her herding instincts kicking in at the dog park - chasing and some barking - but this has escalated to a level far beyond comfortable. We cannot stop her from chasing dogs and we cannot stop her barking. We can no longer get her to respond to "come" at the park (this never was a problem before) and we have to chase her down and leash her up to get her out of the park. Previously, she would obey a "come" and would follow us out of the dog park on her own.

We would love to continue taking her to the dog park because she really needs the exercise - but it is getting uncomfortable to take her there, and I am afraid the other dog owners are sick of our presence.
 
Was the boarding at the kennel the cause of this behavior shift? What can I do to prevent/help this from happening at the dog park?

Thank you,
Molly

ANSWER: That boarding experience harmed your dog.  NEVER LEAVE HER THERE AGAIN.

Barking is communication: your dog appears to be responding to a conditioned response acquired at the kennel.  It's likely (as is the case in SO many of those places) that dogs are neglected and a great deal of stress and vocalization occurs.  Being a breed mix that is both guarding/herding, her control factor is very high.  She is not responding to you because her fight/flight mechanism is in full force.  STAY AWAY FROM THE DOG PARK for now, it's a lose=lose situation until you can address this issue.

Your dog needs a POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT GROUP TRAINING experience.  Look around in your area and OBSERVE A FEW CLASSES.  Ask for the credentials of the trainer, SEE them for yourself.  This person should be well credentialed (not just a member of some dog training organization) and have at least THREE references WHOM YOU WILL CALL AND QUESTION.  Optimally, a "growl" class (designed to correct problem behaviors) is the answer but a basic obedience course (NO CHOKER COLLARS, NO coercion, NO "correction", ONLY positive reinforcement) will help her to learn to "work" for reward in the presence of other dogs.  You will also have to start from scratch with your recall (because it is now extinguished).

Demonstration of a "growl class" is below (Dr. Ian Dunbar):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zQAgY-fk6A

Exposing the dog to the dog park where her fight/flight instinct is kicking in will only worsen the problem.  She needs "schooling" where she can obtain "manners" and re-learn the recall.  Even so, recalling a dog in a situation where there are multiple dogs at play is difficult and requires a dog have impeccable training and response.


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

QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response! I believe you are right, the boarding experience did harm her.

My only problem is that we have already attended a class called "Reactive Rover" to help her learn how to act nicely in the presence of other dogs. On her leash, she was lunging and barking at other dogs - with this class, we learned how to help change her behaviors and she now is very well behaved on her leash. The class was excellent and the instructor was amazing.

I have tried methods that I learned from the class, but nothing works at the dog park - now I'm afraid that taking another class will not help either. Since I have already taken a "growly dog class" I am at a loss at what else to do. Would you recommend private training?

Answer
No.  No private training unless you use a certified applied animal behaviorist (NOT a regular dog trainer).  You may be able to find one at the following sites:
http://certifiedanimalbehaviorist.com/page6.html
http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory

Right now, stay AWAY from the dog park.  Repeating the "growl" class can't hurt. There is a possibility this learned/conditioned response will self extinguish if the dog is kept from an environment which resembles the environment in which it was acquired.