10 month old agression

[highway61]

I have a pretty typical 10 month BC (Sammy) that I've had since 8 weeks. He's definitely reactive but not too extreme and we're working on that. My concern is more about some aggression he's started to show. Up until he was about 8 months, I was able to let him roam the un-fenced front yard (under my close supervision) but since then he's developed some aggression towards leashed dogs that people are walking. I see the monster inside come out as soon as he hears the tags from their collars. He will chase up to them barking furiously and aggressively. He doesn't actually make contact with the leashed dog but he does get close enough to before backing off just the charge again. So now, I'm using a leash every time I need put him in the car (as we usually have to walk out the front door). It was nice while it lasted but he's never allowed out front un-leashed.

 

And last week he got into a fight with my other, older dog (Foster). These two normally get along very well, Foster tolerates Sammy and Sammy...well he's still a pup so everything is fun and games in his world. They've had just a few scuffs in the past (always over free falling food) but nothing that lasts longer than about 5 seconds which is about how long its taken me to get them apart. The last altercation happened right in front of me and yes, I readily admit its my fault. They both have two "food balls" (plastic ball that release treats like a kong as they interact with it) and since Foster dominates, he will deplete his and then go for Sammy's. Seeing this, I took Sammy's from Foster and gave it back to Sammy who was about 5' away from Foster and me. Standing in front of Foster, I watched Sammy walk nervously around his food ball I just returned to him. This time he's walking nervously left to right of his food ball flashing his teeth and gazing at Foster just behind me. Like a dumba$$, I let Foster slowly walk towards the food ball and the fight was on with Sammy on the losing end. There was a gash on his right ear that the vet said could be left on its on the heel or she could clean it up and see if it requires sutures. "Couple hundred" was what she estimated. I opted for the clean up job and have posted a pic of my $370 investment!

 

Other than for myself, I don't know if there's a lesson learned here for the dogs. Sammy's still pretty submissive with other dogs who are unleashed so there are no problems unless on a leash. I used to be able to pass other dog walkers on the sidewalk but now have to pull him aside for them to pass. I notice if the other leashed dog passes without interaction Sammy's not too agitated. However if that other dog is making noise, staring, lunging Sammy goes nuts. I recently started working with a professional dog trainer but so far the only thing suggested is using treats to divert the bad behavior. I also recently bought and started reading BAT which is encouraging, I think it will help. But my main concern is not so much the reactive behavior that I am working him to overcome but the flashes of aggression that I feel helpless about. Is it somewhat normal for a 10 month? I'm not expecting to do nothing and hope he outgrows it but is there something about coming of age and aquiring a mean streak?

 

[d112358]

If you're in Seattle, there are a couple of people running Control Unleashed classes locally (a lot less confusing than McDevitt's book). I've been through CU and CU2 at SHS with my terrier mutt who has some similar behaviors, though I've always characterized his behavior as rooted in fear, anxiety and reactivity rather than overt aggression.

[TEC]

You are starting to closely observe Sammy's and Foster's behaviors, which is the beginning of understanding dog language. BAT and CU are steps in the right direction.

 

I would be careful about using terms like "mean" and "monster" in reference to a dog, as those words and others like them are not consistent with modifying canine emotions as expressed in behavior. They are human terms we overlay on dog behavior, because we don't know for sure what is going-on in their minds, so we anthropomorphize dogs, and lapse into using words that fit the human equivalent. Everybody tends to use terminology we normally attach to human character flaws (I've done it myself), so I likely understand what you intend. Nevertheless, I believe it's best to think of fixing a dog's behavior which is derived from some underlying emotion, rather than to label a dog as having bad character. Patricia McConnell Ph.D in "For the Love of a Dog" (2006) elaborates on canine emotions, including anger and fear, and how to read them.

 

Another problem I see with labeling a person or dog with a character trait, like greedy, lazy, stupid, mean-spirited, etc, is in so doing we seemingly say to ourselves (and the world) that this dog/person is bad and will continue to be that way. It is less likely the dog will be helped. Am I stereotyping by making that statement? Still, I believe character labeling is a human tendency that should be avoided. CU and BAT, I believe, have counter-conditioning techniques at their core, and those are good places to start.

 

I would try to think in terms of modifying Sammy's emotions, as expressed in behavior, rather than by labeling his character. Very best wishes, and keep the thread updated. -- TEC

[Camden's Mom]

The last altercation happened right in front of me and yes, I readily admit its my fault. They both have two "food balls" (plastic ball that release treats like a kong as they interact with it) and since Foster dominates, he will deplete his and then go for Sammy's. Seeing this, I took Sammy's from Foster and gave it back to Sammy who was about 5' away from Foster and me. Standing in front of Foster, I watched Sammy walk nervously around his food ball I just returned to him. This time he's walking nervously left to right of his food ball flashing his teeth and gazing at Foster just behind me. Like a dumba$$, I let Foster slowly walk towards the food ball and the fight was on with Sammy on the losing end.

 

I live in a single dog household, so I am ill-equipped to offer advice on the dog to dog interactions you described. However, something caught my eye in your description of the last fight over the treat ball.

 

I have one of those treat balls for my dog. It's not often, but on days when he's got a little too much energy I will feed him his dinner from the treat ball just to tire him out a bit. When I first got the treat ball my cats were very curious about it too and would kind of follow the dog around as he worked the kibble out of it. I could see it was making the dog nervous having the cats linger about while he was trying to earn his dinner. He didn't do anything nasty, but I could see he was tense and keeping a very close eye on the cats. So, from that day on, I kept the cats out of the room until he had finished getting all the treats/kibble out. I don't let my dog bother my cats while they eat and I figured I owed him the same courtesy.

 

Dogs can be extremely sensitive about mealtime and food. If Foster has, in the past, stolen Sammy's food/treat ball then Sammy is possibly nervous and defensive with good reason. I'm not saying you should accept the behavior (obviously you've got some things to work on with Sammy) BUT, in the meantime, I would try to make mealtime less stressful. Maybe you could feed them separately or at least be ready to prevent Foster from even *thinking* about stealing Sammy's food?

 

Anyways, that was my one observation from your original post and figured I'd offer my two cents. Good luck with Sammy!

[Shetlander]

I would try to make mealtime less stressful. Maybe you could feed them separately or at least be ready to prevent Foster from even *thinking* about stealing Sammy's food?

 

I agree with this. Sammy is at an age where he is "coming into his own" as he matures. This can result in a rise in resource guarding, rivalry and jockeying for position. Food is a big, serious resource for many dogs. I never want my dogs to feel like their food might be taken from them. I would definitely feed the dogs separately and if you use the food ball, keep them separated by barriers (door, gate). You might want to make mealtime as calm and quiet and separate as possible. And be careful with how they have access to treats, as well. This kind of rivalry can escalate quickly to dangerous levels. I wish I had been smarter about managing/training Quinn at Sammy's age. He and my Lhasa developed quite an intense rivalry by the time he approached 2 years. At one point, I thought I might need to rehome one of them. Things are much better now, but they still need to be managed with care.

 

It does sound like you may want to work with Sammy on obedience, starting with no distractions and working up to being around the things that set him off. I know many people love the Control Unleashed books and I have heard lots of success stories about that approach. I have used Emma Parsons' Click to Calm for the type of reactive behaviors you describe and have been very happy with the results. If there is a trainer or class you could work with, that might be very helpful. But I would come up with a plan (either Control Unleashed or Click to Calm) to address Sammy's reactive behaviors. And again, I would keep the two dogs separated at mealtimes.

[highway61]

And again, I would keep the two dogs separated at mealtimes.

 

Meal times have yet to be a problem, I have been feeding them in the same room without incidence since I brought Sammy home. Resource guarding (from me) has never been a problem but I will heed the good advice here and will feed meals in separate rooms from now on (it's easily done). Who knows, maybe there is something going on there that I haven't acknowledged?

 

It's been treating where they've had a few scuffs and that's because it's been where a treat intended for one of them happened to fall between them. Totally my fault. Foster is a very confident dog so he has no fear going for a treat intended for the less confident pup. Normally, the pup defers to the dominate, old man for everything but in the instance where a treat is involved, he will get brave and fight for what is rightfully his. So long as I feed them their individual treats from my hand I will avoid confrontation. The food balls have been stored for now, Foster was the only one digging it anyway as the pup was just too shy to use his with Foster in the same room. They both cling to me so what ever room I'm in, that's where they insist on being.

[Shetlander]

It's been treating where they've had a few scuffs and that's because it's been where a treat intended for one of them happened to fall between them

 

My guys have got into small fights over this exact situation, usually with other people. I've been very strict that any snarling over treats I am handing out results in NO treats for the snarker. So treating is one of the areas they are on their best behavior, but it is still something I try to be careful about. Accidents can happen. I drop treats or food. What I always do is the dog who backs off the fallen food gets lots of praise and extra treats. I think that has been very helpful in reducing tension about who gets the tiny cookie. Dogs.

[Camden's Mom]

Meal times have yet to be a problem, I have been feeding them in the same room without incidence since I brought Sammy home. Resource guarding (from me) has never been a problem but I will heed the good advice here and will feed meals in separate rooms from now on (it's easily done). Who knows, maybe there is something going on there that I haven't acknowledged?

 

I misunderstood thinking the treat balls were being used for mealtime. My mistake! If they eat without problems in the same room I don't know that you would have to switch up your routine so long as neither dog is intruding on the other dog's space. I'd follow the advice of others with more dog to dog experience on that one but I'd hate for you to upset your feeding routine if there aren't any issues with it. Sorry that I misunderstood your original post!