Dog Behavior

Dogs are pack animals and as such seek the alpha in their association with other dogs and people. Numerous serious problems arise when a dog appoints itself the alpha in its relationship with its owner. The most common problem is the over protective dog.

This is a fairly common problem with elderly people who cater to their dog's every whim. The usual scenario is that their children have gown and left the nest and now they have gotten a dog for companionship. It makes no difference if they obtain a puppy or an adult dog, nor does it seem to matter whether they have had dogs before. It all hinges on how they treat the dog.

If the dog becomes a substitute for their children and they fail to teach it its place in the household pecking order, they are in for trouble. Funny, but most of these people would never have tolerated such bossy behavior from their children. The dog makes the decisions as to when it wants to eat, go out, where it wants to sleep and eventually who is allowed to visit or talk to the owners. Since the dog has become the alpha, it feels that it has a responsibility to protect the owners and it begins to growl, bark and even snap at certain people who approach the owners. Usually, an experienced dog person with a strong personality can take the dog from its environment and completely turn it around in two to three days. However, no matter how much training the dog receives, it will revert to its former behavior once it is returned to its original owners unless the owners also receive training.

While I mentioned that this problem is most common with elderly owners, they are not the only ones. Any owner who allows a dog to make decisions on its own will have problems with a dog that becomes overly protective.

Another problem that causes a dog to become overprotective is the owner that gives the dog mixed signals. Some people want their dogs to be protective, the so called, "He's a good watch dog." Every so often this gets out of hand or the owner becomes fearful of a lawsuit. What has to be dealt with here is the insecurity of the owner.

It's perfectly all right for an owner to want his or her dog to be protective, but only when the owner wants it to be, not when the dog decides that it should be protective. At all times, the owner must be in charge. As William Campbell states in his book, "the dog behaves as if it feels responsible for rather than to its owner."

The way to correct the over protective dog begins by teaching the dog its place in the household. Begin by never petting the dog or offering it special attention until it has performed some feat at the owner's command. This does not have to be difficult. Basic obedience commands such as sit, down, stay should be taught to the dog. When the dog comes to the owner for petting or attention, the owner should make the dog perform one or more of these exercises before it receives its reward. By doing this in a consistent manner, the owner will start to assert him or herself as higher ranking in the pack than the dog. A week or two of this and the owner should be ready for the next step in correcting the over protective behavior.

Anyone, who has a dog, has to have a sense of humor. Dogs are great fun to watch and be with. Those of us who have several dogs not only have a sense of humor, but are just a bit insane. And, this, together with some equally crazy friends, is just what is needed for changing the behavior of the overprotective dog. First, determine what causes the dog to begin its overprotective, aggressive behavior. Is it a car in the driveway, the ringing of the front door bell, a knock on the door? Once this has been determined and the help of some friends has been enlisted, the behavior modification can begin.

Let's assume that a knock on the door is what sets off the dog's aggressive behavior. Have two or three friends come to the owner's home and as soon as they approach or knock on the door, whichever action starts the dog to barking or growling, the owners should start to laugh and act happy. This action must begin before the dog gets into a frenzy of barking and growling. If the dog does not respond to the happy talk, in a happy voice, the owner should request that the friends leave and return in half an hour. Continue this until the dog responds to the owner's happy talk and begins to wag its tail. In some cases, the owner may have to begin the happy talk before the knock at the door. When the dog is acting happily with the owner, the friends should be let in and they should also be laughing, toss the dog a ball or give it some treats and then ignore it.

This routine should be followed for four of five consecutive days. The routine of having the dog perform for a reward of being petted or shown special attention should continue for four or five weeks. I know that this type of correction sounds crazy, but I have used it with a number of dogs that would not allow people to enter their owner's homes or go near their cars. In one case, several weeks after using the routine, the owner had a party at his home with over twenty guests and the dog was well behaved throughout the evening.

Anthony Cherubini