Aggression Management

I recently had a discussion with several other owners of flawed dogs, and was surprised to learn about some of the behavior issues they had each dealt with. Particularly among the behaviorism and dog nerd crowd, sharing the extent of your dog's behavior issues is almost taboo. Support is hard to come by because admitting that your dog wants to bite people or attack your other pets tends to open up a floodgate of judgement from those who think you could have tried harder, or done things differently, or have no business handling that dog in the first place.

Realistically, aggression is something that can't be cured overnight. In most cases it will never fully disappear. All aggressive dogs need some form of management, and management always fails eventually. Even if you take your dog's aggression seriously, and manage it to the best of your ability, seeking help wherever you can find it, you can and likely will experience some sort of management failure. This is where the judgement comes in.

Regrettably, through the internet it is difficult or impossible to express how you've read countless books, worked with multiple trainers and spent hundreds or thousands of dollars and endless hours improving your dog's behavior. People don't normally give you the benefit of the doubt, or believe a management failure was a freak accident or honest mistake. We keep quiet because it never seems to be good enough to say "This happened, this is what I learned from it, this is what will be changing in the future."

Handling Aggression Responsibly

Photo by Erin Koski

Regardless of how other dog people view your situation, responsibly handing aggression means asking yourself some serious questions, and being honest about the answers. Just because you can keep an aggressive dog in your home doesn't mean you should, and just because you can choose to humanely euthanize an aggressive dog doesn't mean you should. It's entirely up to you, whether you can adequately manage your dog's behavior to protect him and the people and animals around him, and whether you can live with the consequences of management failure. Here are the questions I have had to consider for my own dogs:

What Does Management Failure Look Like?

This one feels like it should be last, but I'm putting it first because I feel it is the most important. Both Brisbane and Sisci are human aggressive, as was my dearly departed foster Ulysses. It's a common issue in cattle dogs, a product of their "bite first, ask questions later" mentality. Uly was also dog aggressive, and management failures occurred with all three dogs. 

Management failure with Brisbane and Sisci looks like a small scrape on someone's leg. They both have excellent acquired bite inhibition and don't touch people with more than their little front incisors. Total management failure with them looks like giving someone at the beach my contact information because they decided to sprint past me with 6" of clearance while I was tying my shoe and got a scrape on their ankle because they practically ran over my dog. Of course this is not ideal, and is a liability for me, but it's something I can live with. Management failure for Ulysses looked like multiple deep puncture wounds and permanent scars. I could not live with that.

Does management failure at your house look like a toddler with a bruise on their cheek? Or does it look like a kid with a face full of stitches? If your dog gets out accidentally, will they put holes in the mailman? Kill your toy poodle? Just annoy the neighbors? Can you live with that?

What Does Management Genuinely Require?

What does it take to keep the world safe from your dog, and your dog safe from the world? For Sisci and Brisbane, it means using martingale collars and harness to keep them securely leashed. Sometimes it means using a head halter or muzzle. Management also means avoiding high-traffic areas, we don't go to the beach at busy times. We don't walk through the busy downtown shopping district, or sit at sidewalk cafes. For Ulysses, management involved a crate and rotate routine for him and Brisbane, and ultimately him being crated most of the time for safety. 

Responsible management of aggression means accepting reality and planning for likely failures. If your dog will bite anyone that comes to the front door, then keeping the door locked and confining the dog before opening it may be enough. If you have kids or other residents that can't reliably follow that protocol, then you need a backup plan like a series of baby gates preventing the dog from even reaching the door. If your dog will bite the baby when approached while she's resting, then you need to be realistic about how much "watching them very closely" you can do, and use a barrier like a crate or playpen to keep them separated.

Can We All Live With This?

Managing Brisbane and Sisci means being very selective when allowing them to meet strangers in public. It often means crating them when people visit the house. They have extremely full and active lives, and I don't think managing their human aggression detracts from their lives terribly. Behaviorally they are happy and relaxed, enthusiastic and fulfilled. Managing Ulysses meant taking him on an ever-dwindling number of places where I could be reasonably certain we could avoid other people and animals, and confining him for an ever-increasing amount of time at home while the rest of us worried about when the next attack would happen. It was stressful for my other dogs and my cats, but not nearly as stressful as it was to be Ulysses.

Is managing your dog fair to you, your dog, and everyone you live with? Can your family, all species included, comfortably exist in their own home with this management plan? Will your dog's needs be met without putting them or others at unnecessary risk? Most importantly, can you yourself handle the stress? Care fatigue is a real thing, and a permanent crate-and-rotate routine, separate walks late at night, and keeping a dog and toddler safely separated at all times in a tiny house, can all add up to a lot of stress.

Be Kind To Yourself

I cannot stress this enough. Management always fails, there is simply no way to anticipate every possible situation. All you can do is educate yourself, plan for the things you can anticipate, and be realistic. You will make mistakes. To be truly responsible though, you must do your very best to learn from those mistakes. There is a huge difference between "my dog growled at my baby so I put up a baby gate and now the dog is confined to the kitchen when the baby is on the floor. Now we're working on training the dog to feel good about the baby", and "my dog growled at my baby so I'm keeping an eye on them and moving the baby when she crawls too close to the dog". If you take warning signs seriously and do your best to manage issues, I don't think anyone should fault you when your baby pushes a chair over to the gate, climbs on it even though she can't walk yet, and falls over the gate onto the dog all in the ten seconds you were answering the door. You can't plan for everything, but you can forgive yourself for mistakes while learning from them.

Appreciate the Good Parts

I had a management failure with Brisbane a few weeks ago. We were at his first barn hunt class, and I allowed him to greet a very tall older man with poor dog-interaction skills. Briz is uncertain about tall guys and old people, but is usually fine greeting for a few seconds and then coming back to me for treats. This has been very good for him. My mistakes this time were assuming that a person related to the trainer had decent dog-interaction skills, and allowing Brisbane to interact for a couple of seconds too long based on that assumption. In the future I will be more selective about who I allow Brisbane to meet, and make sure I have him disengage after a few seconds no matter who he is greeting.

A few days ago Brisbane met my best friend's 18-month-old twins for the first time. Briz is very good with kids. He was totally comfortable, gave very appropriate signals, and enjoyed some gentle patting from tiny hands. Old people and tall guys might be scary, but I truly appreciate that Brisbane is totally cool with babies.

Product Review: Gentle Leader Head Collar

The Premier Gentle Leader is a head collar, or head halter, made by PetSafe. The basic nylon webbing version comes in five sizes and nine different colors to fit dogs of all sizes. The deluxe version features a fleece-lined nose loop with a ribbon overlay, it comes in three colors and includes a matching leash.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Gentle Leader is probably the easiest to find head collar, and might be the easiest to use. I find them at thrift stores on a regular basis, and currently own three or four. Many dogs really hate wearing a head collar, but for the dogs that don't mind, this can be a really excellent bandaid for pulling on the leash.

The Gentle Leader became popular and easy to find in stores in the late 1990's, but it had been around for at least a decade before that under a different name. The Promise Collar was touted as a "natural" training system designed to work with the dominance-based pack structure believed to be the key to dog training at the
time. As the science of behaviorism began to influence dog training, and reward-based positive training surged in popularity, the Promise Collar was rebranded as the Gentle Leader. The Authority Loop became the Leader Loop, and the training tool was no longer intended to dominate subordinate pack members.

Briz is not a fan/

I sort of love and hate this collar. I love that I haven't paid more than a dollar for any of the many I have owned and given away. I love that this collar is incredibly adjustable, one side of the neck strap is a fixed length and the other side as well as the nose loop can be adjusted all the way down to nothing, so Brisbane can wear a medium, a large, and possibly even an extra large Gentle Leader. I love that there are only two loops, so it is relatively simple to put on.

At the same time, I hate that most dogs fight this collar even when it has been carefully introduced. I hate seeing long leashes and even retractables attached to these. I hate seeing dogs back out of them at the worst possible time, and I hate how pretty much everyone has them sized wrong. The neck loop is supposed to be very tight, so tight even a single finger can't be slid under it. Most dogs hate this, and most of their owners do, too. The thing is, the neck strap needs to be super tight, sitting right up behind the ears, in order to keep the nose loop in place. If the neck strap is too loose, the nose loop can slip off, and most people respond by making the nose loop too tight.

A correctly-fitted Gentle Leader should fit tightly around the neck, but very loose around the nose. The plastic adjuster on the nose loop should be positioned so that it is barely not loose. Most dogs will not be able to back out of the collar when it is super tight, but I use a martingale or slip collar as a backup in case they do manage to escape the Gentle Leader.

Pros: Easy to find, easy to use, and each size fits a wide range of dogs. Definitely the least-confusing and most user-friendly head collar.

Cons: Most dogs hate it at first, many continue to hate it even when properly introduced. Difficult to adjust correctly, and may be uncomfortable for the dog when the neck strap is tight enough. No backup or safety feature in case dog backs out of collar. Unlined nose loop tends to rub marks on dogs who wear the Gentle Leader often.

Bottom Line: There are head collars I like better than the Gentle Leader. There are head collars that many dogs like better than the Gentle Leader. However, this is still my best bet for introducing people to the whole concept without overwhelming them with a tangle of straps.

Ulysses Returns

Almost three weeks ago, Ulysses was returned again. He was fighting with the other dog in the home, and showing some reactivity towards other dogs and people on a busy bike path. Between the fighting, barking, and lunging, the second adoptive family felt that Uly wasn't a good fit. I resolved to keep him for a few more weeks this time to better evaluate what type of home would be best for him. Although he has lived peacefully with two other dogs, he did fight with the dog in his second adoptive home, and he and Brisbane butt heads pretty regularly.

In fact, a little over a week ago Ulysses and Brisbane got into a fight in the yard. Though neither of them have been injured in any of their noisy disagreements, this time I got hurt. Brisbane wasn't ready to call it quits, so I grabbed him and walked away. Uly came after Briz and got my arm instead. He immediately bounced into a sit afterward, but I was left with a nasty puncture wound.

This is Uly's third bite, and that is very dangerous for a dog in rescue. Dogs with bite histories are a liability to place, I or anyone involved in his rescue could potentially be sued if he bites again in an adoptive home. For most dogs in rescue, a bite equals a euthanasia appointment.

So what's different about Ulysses? Uly remains an incredibly sweet dog despite his bite history. All three of the bites occurred in potentially preventable circumstances. Maybe just gut instinct too, he doesn't feel like a vicious dog.

The first bite occurred when the baby in the first adoptive family crawled near, or possibly on, Ulysses and took the toy he was chewing. The baby received a bite to the face, causing a bruise. The second bite occurred several weeks later when the adopter allowed both baby and dog to be on the floor with nothing between them. The baby crawled near Uly, the adopter says he stepped between them, picked the baby up, and pushed the dog out of the way. Uly turned around and bit his arm, causing a puncture and a single slice that required stitches. We believe the damage was largely due to Uly's broken lower canines.

This third bite is very different from the first two, I was actively moving out of Uly's space, and he was in the middle of a dog fight. Given his behavior immediately after the bite, I believe he was intending to bite Brisbane and not me. While this wouldn't be an ok bite for Briz to receive either, it makes a bit more sense than Uly randomly deciding to bite me.

So what is next for our boy? Prior to the most recent bite, we had been leaning toward finding Ulysses a home with someone who has worked with a reactive dog in the past. Immediately after the bite I was afraid that we were out of options because I could no longer keep Brisbane and Ulysses in the same house. However, Uly and Briz are both quite amenable to being crated, especially when there are stuffed Kongs involved. I've been able to keep the peace via the crate and rotate method, making certain there is always a door, gate, or other barrier between the two of them. This has worked extremely well, and has bought us some time to work out exactly what to do next, and to gather opinions from dog people near and far. When Uly is done with his current quarantine period in a couple of days, we'll be meeting with an evaluator for a local rescue, depending on her assessment we may meet with a highly regarded trainer in Los Angeles who works with aggressive dogs.

I can't say for certain what is going to happen to Ulysses, there is still the possibility that we will all conclude that he is too dangerous to be placed in an adoptive home. We may find really reliable triggers for his behavior, and then begin working with those triggers. All I can say for now is that I will do my best to see that Uly is happy and loved for the rest of his life.

Last Day of Quarantine!

After today, this blue beast is finally allowed to leave the house again! First stop: the dog beach! Second stop: the grooming station at work. I cannot believe how much this dog sheds.

Photo by Erin Koski

Uly has been handling his ten-day quarantine period well, aside from shredding my fourth edition Van Norstrand's Scientific Encyclopedia/doorstop. This evening I gave him a rawhide chew and was pleased to see that he spent longer than Brizzy devouring it and didn't try to swallow any really big pieces. He has also successfully enjoyed Nylabones, the Urban Stick filled with peanut butter, and a variety of other toys without destroying them, so he's probably not going to be a serious chewer.

I am very pleased that Ulysses has become significantly more food-motivated since escaping the Orange County municipal shelter. This makes him much easier to train. He wants to sit and wait politely while I prepare his dinner, but he's so excited that he just has to dance. And Sit. At the same time.

A couple of days ago Uly picked up the plush Eiffel Tower from our latest BarkBox. Once he had the toy, he began to worry when Brisbane, Ru, or the cats were nearby. He has been gradually relaxing while staying here with us, but the other animals near his toy brought back the still posture, laid back ears, and wide eyes had had all the time when he was fresh out of the shelter. This kind of concern could turn into resource guarding if handled poorly, so we immediately started telling him what a good boy he was when the other pets were nearby. Right away he started relaxing and enjoying nibbling on the stuffy instead of focusing on the other animals.

Uly also doesn't like being led by his collar. At first I thought maybe he was unused to wearing it, but his shelter paperwork says he was wearing a collar when he was picked up as a stray. If I try to coax him up onto the couch or bed by pulling his collar, he drops to the floor and looks scared. I suspect he has been punished by being grabbed and shaken by the collar, so now he is afraid. We will be working on making collar touching a positive experience for him.

Phrases We Can Retire: "My Dog is Protective"

Another phrase that grates on my nerves is "protective", as in "my dog is so protective" or "he's just being protective" when a dog shows signs of aggression.

This is not a sign of aggression, it's just silly.

When my dog spazzes out and throws a barking fit because he saw another human on the street, he is not trying to protect me. My dog is being reactive, the sight of the other person causes him stress and anxiety, and he puts on a big loud display to tell the guy not to come any closer.

When my dog is ok with other dogs at the dog park, but attacks them when on leash, he isn't trying to protect me from the other dog. He is feeling vulnerable because the leash prevents him from retreating in a confrontation.

I think the reason that hearing bad behavior dismissed as "protective" bothers me so much is because it puts a positive spin on something we should be discouraging. There is absolutely nothing good about a dog that turns into a sputtering ball of rage every time another living thing gets within range. There is no reason to put a positive spin on a lapdog chomping anyone who sits down beside its favorite lap.

A lot of people I've talked to claim that their dog's protective behavior is a bad thing, but I feel that the word itself lends a subconscious positive cast to the word. Sure, I do feel at ease walking Brisbane through the bad part of town at 2am because I know he will eat anyone who gets within leash range, but I never call him or his behavior "protective". Briz is reactive, when he's feeling anxious he is likely to go off at anyone no matter how nonthreatening. On a dark street at 2am when I'm feeling antsy and the tension is going right down the leash, Brisbane would probably chomp a baby.

Happily, Brisbane does not guard non-edible toys.

This is why I greatly prefer the term "resource guarding" and "reactive" to describe the vast majority of "protective" behaviors. When my chihuahua shows his teeth because another dog or cat hopped up on the couch while he was sitting on my lap, he is guarding me as a resource. I can help improve this behavior by giving him treats when the other pets get close by, so he develops a positive association.

Brisbane used to throw a fit every time he saw a jogger, I improved this behavior by giving him treats every time he saw someone jogging. Eventually he learned that joggers meant tasty treats, and now he doesn't care about them anymore. Had I viewed this behavior as Brisbane protecting me from joggers, I may have tried to discourage it through aversive training.

When we call aggression and anxious behavior "protective", it gives us a reason to avoid dealing with it. Without consciously realizing it, we may write it off as something potentially positive. We may also attempt to remedy it the same way we might remedy other overly enthusiastic behaviors like jumping up to greet people. A knee to the chest might discourage a bouncy dog from pawing my clean shirt, but a leash correction or a harsh word when he's growling at a jogger across the street could be enough to convince him that everyone in sweats must die.

Welcome Back Ulysses!

Ulysses is back with us right now, his adoptive family returned him. This was a wise move, and we are very glad to have him back.

No idea what happened to that book.

Uly's adoptive family had a baby just under a year old. While Uly didn't show any signs of uncertainty about the baby while we were there, we also didn't get to see how he felt about the baby crawling on the floor. I did let the adopters know that he had growled at my dogs and cats one day while he was resting, and that he might feel uncomfortable being approached in that situation. I recommended a crate in the living room or wherever the family spent the most time, so he could have a protected resting spot where he felt safe.

Within a few days in his new home, Ulysses bit the baby. There was no damage aside from a small bruise, but it was concerning. We are told that the baby was crawling near him while he was resting, and that he probably gave signals that he was uncomfortable beforehand. The family said they still planned to keep him, and even took him to be signed up for their pet health care plan.

A few days ago he bit the man of the house. We're told that the baby was crawling near him, and that the man went to pick up the baby and pushed Uly out of the way, and then Uly turned around and bit his arm, leaving a puncture. While I wouldn't normally continue working with a dog that had a bite history, I feel there is more to this story.

First, Uly has an incredibly soft temperament. He is an absolute moosh. I have a very hard time believing that there wasn't some sort of severe and extremely scary correction involved in the original baby incident. The adopters seemed to be fairly competent in their dog training abilities, but I'm not certain they knew how to deal with behavioral issues. The average human would probably respond to the baby incident by screaming and punishing the dog, and then attempt to prevent future incidents by warning the dog not to do anything bad when the baby was nearby. This would actually just teach the dog that the baby is bad news, and that he is not safe around it.

We shared Dogs and Babies with the family, and recommended total separation via baby gates along with helping Ulysses understand that the baby means good things for dogs. Obviously neither of these things happened. The adopter tells us he went to push Uly out of the way, but Uly can't tell us how he was feeling at the time. Not everyone speaks Dog, and he may have been giving every possible signal that he was afraid. I honestly think he was afraid he was going to be hurt or killed when he bit.

Now that Ulysses is safely back in foster care, we're taking the time to learn more about him. The friend that picked him up and brought him back tells me that he wouldn't approach her husband even for bacon. He has been extremely friendly and affectionate with me, much more relaxed and playful than he was when he left. However, he is just as reserved as ever with my husband and male friends. Uly will greet them and hope for petting, but he isn't as happy and silly as he is with women. We haven't gotten any sort of fear or aggression response out of him. When he's off his ten day quarantine, we will be meeting lots of men and watching him carefully to see how he feels.

Was Ulysses labeled aggressive in the shelter because he was cornered by a man? We're not sure, but it seems likely. He's still the soft, gentle, sweet boy we thought he was. Now we need to find an adopter who is willing to respond to undesirable behavior with a quiet "uh-uh" or "what's wrong?" rather than "NO! BAD DOG!"