Growling Dog (Part 1) Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 11:24:07 -0500 From: Barbara Nibling Subject: Re: Growling Pup >>Message Sent by: Barbara Nibling At 03:09 AM 6/6/98 EDT, you wrote: >I run puppy socialisation classes and we often get the >odd pup who is already beginning to back off from >people and maybe even growl. >Look forward to hearing your reply, Kathleen, and >those of anyone else with something to add. I found it intriguing that the larger veterinary teaching universities - Texas A&M for example - now teach behavioral counseling and vets can specialize in it and for the large part they use shaping behavior to achieve the results. The good points about shaping is they can teach a 100 pound woman how to manage her Great Pyrenees and get good results. For dominant aggressive dogs, they do use some "calming signals" - although they don't call them that. They go through the concepts of escalating aggression and point out that the first step is to get a dog who will "sit" or even better "come and lay down" in front of you (those positions being less "reactive" than a dog standing. And then you randomly ask for those positions before you do things like feed the dog, go through a door, pet the dog, put him in the crate - you make a list of things you *have* to do with the dog every day and now ask for a specific behavior. It makes you practice every day <g> Now they don't click, but you see where a click fits.  You keep your hands off the dog - good rule for a dog that wants to growl - and you "get the behavior". This is not obedience - they point out most dogs with aggression problems have been there and done that - if obedience made the problem go away, they wouldn't be there. You put the behavior on cue, you ask for the  behavior. You don't get the behavior, you turn around and walk out of the room. Ignore the dog. That's only the first step. We're not near there yet. So we have a reliable behavior, now we start teaching  the dog that "if in doubt, do this behavior". So now for several sessions a day, you practice what in obedience is termed sit-stays. While you jog in place, while you move around, while you rap on wood, nothing new, ho-hum. Now we add something new for a dog who doesn't like to be approached. Ideally, they like a dog who is already steady with the idea of "sit" being a great idea - in counseling, they won't go any further until you can get that behavior. A very clear point is that they do not allow you to bribe the animal - a food lure - but they do mandate you reward the animal - after the click comes the treat. The sit is in place in counseling to distinguish a "safe" position - a dog sitting is less likely to bite than a dog who is standing. But now they consider another scale of intensity - a dog who can interrupt his behavior (stop growling) is less likely to bite. A dog that can inhibit his behavior (growl less) is less likely to bite. So the goal now is a "safe" position and to teach the dog to interrupt and then inhibit the action. The dog can be on or off lead, depending on the reaction from the dog. The dog must remain attentive to the person giving cues and rewards - a brief glance at the helper is allowed if and only if the dog is responsive to its name when the rewarder calls it. You are not allowed to jerk the lead if the dog is on lead. The helper stands to the side of the dog - about 10 feet away - facing sideways to the dog (facing the same direction) and starts making small hand circles close to their body. Ideally, the dog should remain relaxed, waiting for the click and the the treat. The helper gradually increases the size of the hand motions. Then they step closer and start with small gestures again. Large gestures. Face the dog, not looking at the dog, small gestures. Large gestures. Look at the dog, small gestures, large gestures. A few feet at a time, you close the distance. You are increasing at each distance the amount of threat the dog feels - how large the gestures are and staring - but when you move closer, you decrease the gestures and staring to compensate. At each point, the dog is rewarded for correct behavior - just sitting. A growl is noted but worked through until the dog learns to inhibit its growl - it stops growling when it gets used to the motion - or the growl can be interrupted - the rewarded can call the dog's name, it stops growling and is clicked for ceasing to growl and looking at the rewarder. Well, you know where this is headed. At the dog, you have taught the dog to maintain a less reactive stance (sitting) and taught it to inhibit the growl and interrupt the growl. Now you're at the dogs side and bend at the waist, beside the dog, then over the dog. Make a small circle above the dog's head. A large circle. If not over the head, in front of the head or beside the head.  Touch the dog while you circle the dog's head. Increase the pressure. Touch the dog's shoulders at the side, touch the shoulder blades, touch the dog's back, press gently to push the dog to the ground, expose the dog's belly. That's the way they teach the alpha roll at behavioral programs nowadays. Repeat in different locations with different helpers, reward with food every two to three tasks the dog completes (randomizing the reward), repeat varying the speed of approach to the dog. Repeat with throwing gestures or rowing motions or swimming motions. Now they are working with dogs who typically have a bite record so obviously the problems a puppy class might face could be much less severe and go faster. Ideally the aim of their session is to get anyone able to rush up and hug the dog but they stress not all dogs will be able to handle that level of interaction with strangers. One thing it does offer is the level of awareness of what specific gestures cause the dog to react - was it the size of the gesture or the speed of approach - was it what the helper wore or sex - was it bending over, maybe touching the mid back but not the shoulder. Because it shapes the dog, you become much more aware of the signal the dog gives prior to the growl and better able to anticipate changes that will cause the dog to relax. Barbara Nibling

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