Help with an Aggressive Dog
Here is a recent email I received from a distraught lady in South Africa (published with her permission) about her beautiful but aggressive dog, Axel. It’s pretty lengthy but because it highlights issues that many trainers deal with throughout the year, I am publishing it with my response in its entirety. It’s always difficult to provide help from a distance but there are usually certain suggestions that can help people get started in the right direction.
Dear Mr. Owens,
I realize that you are probably a very busy man, but I’m desperate, so please forgive my boldness in sending you this message. This really is an S.O.S, Mr Owens, because we have NO idea what to do about our aggressive dog, Axel.
Axel (center in this photo) is about 1-and-a-half. His mother was a German Shepherd, and his father a Siberian Husky. Both healthy, both well-looked after. Axel is from the 2nd litter.
The Problem: From the very night that we brought Axel home at 7 weeks (too early, I know, but very common, especially here in South Africa), he NEVER behaved like a puppy. He never chewed stuff, he didn’t play with toys, he was utterly terrified beyond ALL reason whenever he went for walks. He never guarded property, he never showed any protectiveness, he didn’t do any of the things puppies usually do.
Obviously, this concerned us, but even more concerning is the fact that Axel seems to be an aggressive dog without any reason – which obviously isn’t the case. For instance, he’ll come over to me, nudge at my hand, indicating he wants to be patted. I’ll comply and all will be fine. If I speak to him, say his name, or whatever, he will stop panting, lick his lips, avert his eyes, and growl. He then moves away from me as soon as he can, growling all the while. At other times, he’ll be sitting somewhere, I’ll talk to him, and the same thing happens. Lip licking, averted eyes, head turned away, growling…he’ll move elsewhere as well.
The thing is, Mr Owens, at other times he’ll be too sweet for words. He’s still scared of things we see no reason for him to fear, but he isn’t as bad as he used to be.
But there is a little more to this story, if you will be so kind as to bear with me…?
When Axel was 11 months of age, we moved 900+ miles away, to another part of the country. Axel had to remain with a “friend” of mine. The arrangement was temporary. We had every intention of sending for him as soon as we were able to do so. Over the next 5 months, my friend told me Axel had settled in with her and her family, that they truly loved him and he loved them, and she told me she would prefer to keep him. She made it sound as though Axel had truly blossomed on her farm and in her care, that he was blissfully happy. Then, just when we’d managed to finally accept leaving him with her (since we wanted to do what was right for him), she told me there’d been an “incident” at the farm. A day old calf had been attacked, and Axel was suspect number 1. I found that difficult to believe, because Axel has always LOVED other animals, and never showed any inclination to harm any of the ones he’d met while with us. She insisted that she didn’t believe it was him either.
The calf was treated and left in her garden, with its mother, for the weekend, to give the little one time to heal before joining the rest of the cows, bulls, and calves. But Axel apparently wanted to get to the calf. According to my friend, when the cow tried to stop him, he pulled her away by one of her horns and then lay down beside the calf. He started licking at the wounds. Someone told my friend it was good that he was doing that, and that he should be left alone.
I don’t know how much time elapsed, but according to my friend, when she went to check on the 3 of them (the cow, calf, and Axel), he’d licked the wounds SO BADLY that the damage was extensive. She said he just wouldn’t stop licking! He also allegedly chewed off one of the calf’s ears as well. Through it all the calf didn’t make a sound, she said. The calf was taken to the vet, but Axel had done SO MUCH damage that it was hopeless. The calf was destroyed.
My friend told me she couldn’t bear the idea of Axel being cooped up in a Suburban yard after knowing so much freedom on the farm, therefore, if we didn’t want him back, she was going to have him put down. She said she’d rather know he was at peace and buried in her garden “where he had a good innings”, than let him spend the rest of his years in some suburban back yard.
Of course, we flew into action! Her story about Axel and the calf didn’t ring true, and we were absolutely not going to let our boy, our problematic, scared, confused boy, be KILLED! My husband moved mountains and eventually Axel was put on a plane and came to us. This happened in mid-January.
Upon his arrival we were stunned! He was skin and bone! Bones jutted out everywhere! My friend told me that he’d lost weight because of the medication the calf had been on, and which he’d ingested, when he’d licked at the wounds. Initially, she said he had weighed 40kgs, but when he boarded the plane to come here, he weighed 28.4. So in a week he’d lost nearly 12kgs. Again, it didn’t ring true. He also had diarrhea, another side-effect of the calf’s medication, she said. She said he only ate human food, and that he’d been on a VERY healthy diet. Yet, aside from being so thin, his fur was hard and coarse, it was falling out, and his skin was flaky and dry.
She told me he was mad on her, her shadow, and that he’d probably pine. He didn’t. And he eats dog food most of the time.
Since being with us, he’s put on weight and now weighs 39.4kgs. His fur is thick, luxurious, soft, and isn’t falling out. His skin is no longer flaking and dry. He looks like the picture of perfect health, just like our other 2 fur-babies. But the growling is STILL there. It hasn’t gone.
Whereas our other German Shepherd cross Irish Wolfhound (or so we were told), is all full of the joys of life, and absolutely LOVES and ADORES love and affection, Axel is basically a loner. He keeps to himself. Every now and then he comes to my hubby or me for cuddles, but it nearly always ends in growls. Especially around me, although my husband isn’t immune, either.
Mr Owens, we don’t know what else to do. We have tried everything we can to make Axel feel safe, secure, and loved. We didn’t abandon him. We put ourselves in debt to get him back. Our commitment to him is total! He is our big, beautiful, perfect boy, but we are troubled nonetheless. We are deeply concerned that one day he WILL bite, or worse, attack! More than the injuries, it would break my heart! We love him dearly, Mr Owens. We so want him to have a happy life, like our other 2. We want him to be happy, to feel loved, cherished, valued, appreciated, and precious. Our dogs mean the world to us, and Axel does, too, despite all the problems. We don’t want to lose him, but lately we’re starting to discuss possibly putting him down, which to us, seems like the ultimate betrayal!
He has a clean bill of health from the vet. We spend time with him. I’m with him ALL day. We’ve tried training him…he learns fast…but nothing, I repeat, NOTHING works!
A dog behaviour professional we know has given up on him now. She raised her hands, shook her head and said: “Mrs David – I don’t know what to do!”
So, Mr Owens…can you offer ANY advice? Can you help us save Axel in any way?
I apologize for such a long message! But it’s like I said, we love Axel and we don’t want to give up on him, so I will even message a total stranger, write a long message to the stranger, and solicit his help if there is the slightest chance it will benefit our boy.
Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this!
Sincerely,
Stacey
And my response. Hopefully this will help others out there who find themselves dealing with aggressive dog issues.
Dear Stacey~
Thank you for writing. What an incredibly difficult situation. I so appreciate your efforts in trying to help Axel. You obviously have a deep connection with him and I believe this, along with your affection is the foundation for any progress. And thank you for sending the beautiful picture.
Without being able to see Axel, it would be impossible for me or any other professional to accurately evaluate him and offer any kind of comprehensive behavior modification program. Further, a complete work up would be required that would include information on his diet, previous training methods, daily routine, where he sleeps, structured play and exercise and more. That being said, I can give you an overview of what needs to be done and some suggestions as to how to proceed.
First and foremost is the health issue. Have him thoroughly examined. The examination would not only include his overall physical health: eyes, ears, teeth, spinal alignment, muscle and joint health, no parasites, ticks, fleas, and so on, but also a blood test should be done. Make sure all the blood chemistry is normal and there are no problems related to thyroid, liver, and anything else.
To help you understand a little more as to what could be influencing Axel’s temperament and behavior, here is a brief overview: the three things that affect temperament and behavior are genetics (what the grandparents and parents pass along), the socialization period (up to approximately 12-14 weeks of age), and how the dog is raised and his everyday environment. Obviously, he’s had a tough go of it but that doesn’t mean he can’t be helped. A dog’s progress if dramatically affected by the combination of compassion (heart) and training skills (science) of his caretakers, family and friends. With you he may just have that chance.
To give you an idea of the process of any behavior modification program set up by a professional, here are the three things that are necessary:
Prevention/Management
Creating an environment for safety and success. In other words, keeping dogs safe and “under threshold.” This means an environment where fears and unwanted behaviors aren’t triggered and your dogs really want to learn. Distance away from distracting, threatening or “scary” stimuli is the key.
Systematic desensitization/Counter-conditioning
This has to do with changing the way dogs feel about things. This is done using a step-by-step training program, starting with introducing minute distractions while training and by associating anything the dog feels threatened by with high-valued treats like chicken and cheese and a happy attitude.
Substitution
Teaching dogs the behaviors you want instead of trying to stop the behaviors you don’t want. My books and DVDs can be a big help. www.originaldogwhisperer.com
It is unfortunate the trainer you hired didn’t work out, but a professional dog trainer or behaviorist is needed to evaluate Axel so a behavior modification with step-by-step protocols can be set up and followed up on. Dog training is like any other profession, there are varying levels of competence so you have to vet the trainer and ask them what specific methods they might employ. All trainers say they are “positive.” But positive means different things to different people.
There should never be any jabbing, jerking, pinning to the ground or shocking. No choke, prong or shock collars should be used. Also, the trainer should be able to offer advice on whether or not Axel would benefit from any training adjuncts such as herbal or dietary calming formulas and therapies (e.g. Nutri-calm, Composure, massage and T-touch, aroma therapy and anxiety wraps such as Thundershirts) or whether pharmacological aids are warranted. Please note, anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs are only effective when used with a comprehensive behavior modification program.
Do an internet search for Positive Dog Trainers and Behaviorists in your area.
I checked online and found two possible connections in South Africa. If they can’t help, they may be able to refer you elsewhere:
Elizabeth Fourie-Hendry, Mrs
Hands2Paws
Panorama Western Cape
7506
South Africa
Phone: 0027219393395
elize@deponseele.com
APDT Member since 2014
and
Janine Da Silva
DogTrix Training & Behaviour
Randburg Gauteng
2118
South Africa
Phone: +27836666184
Email:dogtrix@webmail.co.za
Web: www.dogtrix.co.za
Lastly, I have included an article I wrote several years ago you might find helpful.
Please keep me posted as to your progress and if you would like me to review the behavior program any trainer sets up for you, feel free to contact me.
I wish you the absolute best!
Paul Owens
Paul,
Really informative to hear this story, and read your take on it. I hope these people find the help they and Alex needs. desperately.
I’d also like to talk about our use of e-collars (and prong collars) in my training business, Paws Alive. I’m interested to hear your thoughts.
In all of my training and rehabilitation, I follow first my conscience, then the Humane
Hiercharchy as listed on the CCPDT site. Keep in mind that this does not forbid
the use of aversives, but requires trainers to exhaust every other option
before. Also, to my understanding, aversive simply means something that the dog
doesn’t like, to decrease the likelihood that a dangerous or unwanted behavior
will be repeated. This could be a loud “no”, leash pressure, or removal of
praise/treat/toy, etc (that was initially being offered for good choices.) I
follow this to a T, using BAT, desensitization, counter-conditioning and
threshold work, to upping the “three D’s’”, to utilizing every sort of
functional reward I can think of to communicate and work with a dog to
effectively modify behavior. I always use the LEAST stressful, intrusive methods
first, and only then try something more intensive or invasive.
Sometimes, very rarely, food, treats, counter conditioning and BAT set ups, and
obedience alone are not enough. There are dogs coming through who are so
fearful, so violent ( and not fearful), that do not respond to food, want human
praise, or toys. These are the dogs that are on death row. They do not have
weeks. They do not have months; I have maybe a week to rehabilitate some of them
and get them into a home, or their owners to take another chance on them.
Low level remote collar work, when done properly, has turned dozens of fearful,
anxious, dangerous dogs that were about to be given up on, into wiggly, playful,
and obedient dogs who now get to live in homes with families, leading normal
lives. It literally allows me to have a conversation with them whether they are
5, or 50 feet away from me, in a room alone, or out in a field. It is meant to
mimic touch, or pressure, as is the prong collar (note: gentle pressure on,
pressure off- no jerking or yanking). I DO NOT believe in using either of these
tools to cause pain, or punish a dog- it is simply means to refine attention,
and focus them. I am not shocking the dogs- the highest level we use is so
gentle that I put the collar against my neck, and feel nothing but slight
pressure when I push the stimulation button. The dogs respond to the remote collar by tilting
their heads, or fluttering an ear- in other words, they tune in. No jumping,
yelping, fear, or pain. We pair the stimulation with commands, so I can
communicate far more clearly than without. This can be a LIFELINE do dogs who
are so fearful and disinterested in affection/praise/food/toys, that even though
they know the commands, they cannot calm down enough to hear them. And know it’s
coming from me. And they begin to trust – it’s incredible.
I have a Boston Terrier and an English Mastiff
in programs right now who two vets had told the owners to kill- do those dogs
deserve to die? No way- they are now mellow, enjoying themselves mostly
off-leash, and have a whole new set of coping tools to deal with dogs, and life.
If I didn’t have these training tools, I would not be able to get them to where
they are as quickly and safely as I have, and they would have been put down. We
have a little maltese named Poppy who could not stop shaking with her owner. One
session with the remote collar, and she is wiggly, happy, playful, and focused.
She no longer shakes in fear, and shows affection and confidence with abundance.
It is absolutely incredible. She now has the ability to focus, and it was the only
method that reached her- I exhausted everything else.
I use e-collars very, very differently than most trainers. We have literally
saved dogs with this Board & Train Program humanely, in a way that is minimally
stressful to the dog, and with lasting results that transfer seamlessly into
their every day lives.
I implore you to check out some of the videos on the Paws
Alive fb where I post before/after, and progress videos illustrating my methods-
these dogs are not stressed, and are not being abused: https://www.facebook.com/PawsAlive1
I understand if you still feel these methods are inhumane. I have a
huge amount of respect for you and value your opinion professionally and
otherwise immensely.
Thank you for any feedback. If I’m ever in LA, I’d love to demonstrate these methods in person.
Best,
Corinna Melanie, CPDT-KA
http://www.paws-alive.com
Hi Corrina~
Wow, that was quite a missive. Thank you very much for spending the time as it was obviously well thought out. I agree with many of your points and absolutely identify with your working “in the trenches,” to not only help improve so many dogs’ lives, but to save their lives. These are true indicators of compassion that are dear to my heart. I celebrate your passion and your work.
To address a couple of the things you asked about, as I understand it, you use the e-collar as a tactile in the same way another trainer would use a hand signal or vocal cue to get a dog’s attention and/or you use it like a clicker, whistle, or vocal signal like “yes!” or “good dog” to mark the behavior. If this is what you are saying, I applaud you! You a rare bird indeed! :0)
The reason so many trainers avoid e-collars, prong collars and such is two-fold:
The temptation exists for so many people to “speed the process up” by cranking up the intensity. For example, if a trainer thinks a little prong collar discomfort works, it is easy to slip into “a little more might work better” mode and the leash corrections start. In your prong collar example, a trainer might use the same method you describe, using a regular buckle collar or martingale instead so no “extra pressure” or potential discomfort from a prong collar is needed. Personally, I suggest collars only be used to hold ID tags. Another example: if a “feather’s touch” electronic signal seems to be working, the temptation to crank it up more to speed up the training is just too great a temptation for so many people. It is this use of collars that causes discomfort and pain. That indeed is “inhumane.”
Further, regarding e-collars, if all e-collars in existence had a maximum setting of your “feather’s touch,” without any chance of additional intensity, they can, with strict instruction and careful monitoring, be a useful tool for many, but not all, dogs. If absolute minimum settings on e-collars were the norm, then some people could do what you’re doing without any chance of causing any dog any discomfort or pain. It would eliminate the temptation and the ability for anyone to crank it up. Do I think that will ever happen? One can hope! Maybe yours is a voice that can lead the way to eliminate all variable settings on all remote training devices so they are all permanently set on the “feather touch” you mention. Then, people who choose to use them are never tempted or able to use them as an aversive, ever. If this isn’t done, you’ll see more and more countries around the world protecting our dogs by banning all e-collar use.
The other reason is, they simply aren’t necessary as evidenced by the tens of thousands of dogs whose behaviors have been modified over these many years without their use. Heck, getting some people to praise their dog or use a clicker is difficult!
Personally, I never use tactile signals except for affection or to signal deaf or blind dogs. And I only use my hands for those. Since I switched to positive training in 1988, I have never found a dog who could not be motivated with the food, toys, or affection that you mention.
To address a couple of the other points you asked about, because of the science behind the training, it’s not possible to rehabilitate a dog in a week’s time, two weeks’ time or any short period. It simply takes a while for those neural pathways to form and behaviors to generalize. I often ask people “if someone came into your house and changed your silverware drawer, how long would it take before you stopped going back to the old drawer?” Habits, that is, established behaviors “die hard,” as the saying goes. They take a while to be replaced and the new behaviors strengthened. But as you know, the old behaviors always remain lodged in the memory banks. You may, however, be referring to rehabilitation as getting a dog to a point where he or she is less reactive and their stress management threshold is raised. That’s a springboard for more progress and that’s really great!
Again, I thank you for your note as many people ask about the same things. From my experience over these past 40 years of training, you seem to be an exception. I sincerely appreciate your work and passion.
Continued best wishes,
Paul
i found your website through an article on the dog whisperer on Taryn’s website and saw this article. I don’t know where stacey lives but taryn is in scarborough in the cape peninsula
details below
http://www.tarynblyth.co.za
Telephone: 084 687 4699
.
or 021 780 1616
.
Email taryn@tarynblyth.co.za
Hello,
I am completely stumped by the behavior of our newest addition to our family. I have a 13 year old spayed female Dalmatian(Dottie–no problems) and a 7 year old neutered male Dalmatian (Nitro–no problems) and about 5 weeks ago we adopted a 3 year old neutered male Dalmatian (Theo) from a shelter.
Everything seemed to be going well until about 5 weeks after his arrival. The two males played together constantly without problem.
Then yesterday Theo growled at Nitro. I could not see any reason for this. I have been keeping a close eye on them since Theo’s adoption–since I thought if we were to have any problems it would be between the two males. I told Theo NO–but he would not stop growling at Nitro. I took Theo’s collar to remove him from the situation and then he growled at me. I again told him NO and put him on his side on the floor. When he submitted and I released him. He went back to Nitro and starting growling again. This time he ran from me and when I got to him he growled, snapped and lunged at me. I finally got a muzzle on him, We made him wear the muzzle the rest of the time he was around Nitro last night.
There were no previous problems between the two males—I know they say there is always a trigger and a warning–but my husband and I have racked our brains trying to come up with something that could have set them off and we cannot find any reason.
From Theo’s behavior since he arrived here, I can only guess that perhaps he did not benefit from socialization when he was at the critical stage in his life. He is very mouthy–but Nitro tolerates it and they have roughhoused without incident before yesterday. (They were not playing when Theo growled at Nitro—they were just standing near each other).
The fast that he growled, snarled and lunged at me was very disturbing.
I am disabled so I am unable to walk the dogs daily. They have a doggie door out into a securely large fenced yard. I know they need more exercise—we bought a treadmill —but we are unable to get them to walk on it at this point.
Since we have horses as well, we have a corral that we use (weather permitting–we are in Iowa) to exercise Theio. We put him in the corral and then I drive our golf cart around and around and get him to chase after me to give him exercise. I do this as much as I can–but since it is winter here–I cannot do this every day—and even when I do it, it does not seem to wear him out at all! He has lots of stamina! I am trying to work with him on obedience—but admittedly–I have not gotten as far as I would like .I am 64 years old and have owned Dalmatians for over 50 years–so I am well acquainted with their need for exercise. And I am doing my best to provide that.
Any tips on getting them to accept the treadmill? Everybody on Youtube makes it look so easy—are we the only ones who can’t get their dogs to accept it?.
Since I cannot pinpoint what set off the growling incident–I don’t know what to change to make sure it does not happen again. I also need to know how to correct him when and if it happens again, because what the way I corrected him did not work. HELP!
Thanks for your time,
Ava
Hi Ava~
Thank you for your note.
Without a history of all the dogs, including previous training, diet, health, where they sleep, house environment, and so on, I can only give you a general perception.
I would suggest you hire a professional dog trainer (positive training only) who can do an evaluation and set you up with a step-by-step behavior mofication program.
In positive training, the dog is never corrected. The behavior is corrected. Hiring a positive dog trainer is the way to go.
The key to all of this is rooted in contextual learning.
You can learn a little bit about that on my site: https://www.originaldogwhisperer.com/videos/
Watch: The Secret to Dog Training
There are probably a number of things contributing to the behavior:
First of all, it takes some dogs 1 – 3 months to familiarize and get used to a new environment. Often they are on their best behavior during this period and “inhibit” or hold back other behaviors while they size things up, so to speak.
To his benefit, he did not bite. Dogs can bite several times in one second and draw blood with each of those bites. He chose not to.
There are several forms of aggression:
Resource, where a dog want to guard food, toys and or people.
Territorial aggression
Fear-based aggression rooted in touch, sound and/or motion sensitivity and so on.
His problem may be also related to stress or “trigger” stacking. Say your alarm doesn’t go off, then you stub your toe, then the car won’t start and so on throughout the day. The built up stress lowers your stress-management threshold and when you return home, this stress is often redirect onto family and friends or the family dog. This is called redirected or transference aggression. In Theo’s case, it might be health related, combined with the weather, combined with a host of other possible factors. Then when you tried to restrain him, it was the stressor-straw that broke the camel’s back.
The dog training profession is like any other in that there is a wide range of competency, so you’ll have to vet the people you talk to and ask them what they might do and what methods they would employ.
Different people have different meanings for the word “Positive!”
Search http://www.apdt.com for trainers in your area. Explain the situation and ask them what they might do.
That being said, three things are necessary…and the competent professional will know exactly what these mean.
First, get a health exam including a blood test. We’re especially interested in his overall well-being but also, whether he has any problems related to his thyroid, liver and urinary tract.
Prevention/Management – creating an environment for safety and success. In other words, keeping dogs safe and “under threshold.” This means an environment where fears and unwanted behaviors aren’t triggered and your dogs really wants to learn. Distance away from distracting, threatening or “scary” stimuli is the key. Baby gates, tethers, exercise pens and crates are the tools.
Counter-conditioning/systematic desensitization: Changing the way dogs feel about things. We do that by associating anything new, like a person or dog walking by or someone coming in the house with high-valued treats like chicken and cheese and a happy attitude :0) And we introduce things little by little.
Substitution: Teaching dogs the behaviors you want instead of trying to stop the behaviors you don’t want.
It usually takes two to 12 months to establish new behavioral habits (for humans and dogs!) and this is dependent on the trainer’s (you) skill and consistency.
As for the treadmill, the trainer can also show you the steps on how to do that without force and making it a positive experience.
I hope this helped a bit. Meanwhile keep everybody managed and safe so the unwanted behavior doesn’t happen again.
Keep me posted with your progress and very best wishes!