Dog psychologist part 2
I have been having some inter-dog aggression issues among my politically incorrect dog and my politically correct dog. As a result, we decided to take PCD to the doggie psychologist. I made my predictions about what I thought they would say here. I was largely correct but it was good for my recommendations to be affirmed by a professional.
What surprised me about the visit was that the neurologist didn’t seem to know a lot about my particular breed of dog, the American Bulldog. She stated that she was concerned because he’s genetically programmed to fight other dogs to the death. I then stated that she has him mistaken with the Pit Bull Terrier, which was bred for that purpose by (according to some) crossing American Bulldogs with Bull Terriers. Bull Terriers are also noted for fighting. Further, she recommended that a good family dog based on research was the Golden Retriever. I kept my mouth shut even though I knew that Pit Bull Terriers score better on temperament tests than Golden Retrievers.
The behaviorist person basically affirmed what I had said. She recommended that we keep dogs and the baby separate when we’re not capable of close supervision (duh, like we didn’t know that). She also said that the other changes we had made (restricting treats, food, etc.) were good (again, duh). But, and here’s where it paid off, she stated we should implement a policy of Nothing In Life Is Free. In other words, for the dogs to eat, go through a door, get attention or nearly anything, they must perform a command (most notably sit). Excellent idea. And, of course, regular obedience training, which we’ve been slacking on lately with the new baby.
Another interesting thing that she stated (and which really seemed to work in one day) was an attitude of aloofness. Given my dog obedience background, I’m inclined to correct behavior by essentially asserting dominance. A glance and a sharp No is my method, generally, for correcting behavior. But this aloofness thing works. The concept basically is that as long as the dog is engaging in inappropriate behavior, you act completely uninterested. Even to the point of getting up and leaving the area. Apparently, this aloofness thing is what alpha wolves engage in to keep the pack in line. It shows confidence and calm. For example, when the dog wants affection and comes up and nudges, I would have, in the past, said No. And later invited the dog back on my terms. Under the new method, such nudging isn’t even acknowledged. At all. Just ignored while you act interested in something else. And it works very well. A nudge by PCD that I ignored turned into a brief bit of anxiety on his part. However, he soon came up to me and sat patiently, wherein he was rewarded with a head scratch.
The point to all this is that as your life changes, you must expect the way you interact with dogs to change. In our single days, it was OK for the dogs to be a bit rambunctious and playful. Or for them to lounge on the couch with us. Now that they (at 75 pounds each) have toddler they can knock over or hurt, things must change. And as the dogs get older, they change too. PID as a pup was never concerned with dominance. Now, he is and that must be corrected.
Now, PID and PCD are on an 8 week program.
December 12th, 2005 at 11:12 pm
Uncle,
I grew up working a family kennel of Weimaraner’s and although very docile loving dogs there was one thing I learned that could help you out. I now have a full blooded chocolate pit and a pit/dane mix. The pit/dane mix is our baby, or in other words she was the first addition to the family and the pit came only 6 months ago at age 12 weeks. The pit acted as most pit pups do, intimidated by new people, noises, and even a foot stop would send her running. She was scared of everything as a matter of fact, that is everything but the baby (pit/dane). She is trying to assert that she (pit) will be the alpha dog and has even started biting baby (pit/dane) around the mouth and leg areas. With her still only 21 lbs this is not a big concern as baby is 96lbs, but in the near future we were concerned that the pit pup would grow up in alpha status and harass and possibly harm the baby (pit/dane).
One thing that I was taught working in the kennel with older dogs and pups that were competing for this position of dominance is this. If you’re older dog is getting knocked out of the dominance roll or vice versa it is important that the one that is attempting to take dominance is shown mildly less attention all together. In other words the one that is loosing the battle of dominance should be fed first, given attention first, and in every aspect should be shown attention from you (alpha male) to assert the dominance table. The pet psychologist was correct however in stating that American Bulldogs are apt to attack other dogs, but mainly to protect their master or to assert dominance. They are one breed that will attempt to assert their dominance in most any dog/dog encounters. With the proper training they can also be among the most docile and loving, while also being very fierce protectors of their masters, property, and belongings. One way to start this is if the dog that is taking the roll of second on the totem pole is fed, the dog trying to act as alpha be leashed and forced to watch the other dog eat. This asserts to the alpha that you give precedence and favor to the other dog. When attention is due (coming home from work for example) again the lower dog on the dominance roll should be shown all the attention and when that dog calms down then the other dog should receive equal attention, only after the non alpha is satisfied and calmed and attempting to completely ignore the alpha that will be trying to come between you and the non alpha. By doing this it is you that will set the level of dominance between the two, and you that will remain looked at as the Male alpha.
The wife must practice this as well to affirm her dominance. One thing for the wife to do is to fill a squirt bottle up as her specific form of punishment. When either dog acts up a good squirt to the face will establish to both dog A and B that the wife is above them on a dominance factor.
I do not claim to be any sort of expert in the matter, but I have trained and worked with dogs on an obedience level with much success. From verbal to hand commands as well as agility, and I have had to break up my fair share of fights while growing up in the family kennel (and no my family didn’t make me live IN the kennel) I had to work with groups of young dogs that mixed with old for purposes of bird hunting to hog and bear hunting. It has been my experience though that as far as asserting the alpha progression the pit bull has been by far my most challenging. Once they “establish” their place in the pack (family) things usually tend to get better, and once on that path they actually self improve.
Again, I do not claim to be a pro, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last week. I will soon send photos of the family duo for your inspection to the size difference of my two, and you will see that even though smaller, the pit is trying its damndist to push its dominance on the older dog (both of which are female).
Something to try if the psychologists suggestions do not work….
BT
December 12th, 2005 at 11:15 pm
BT, I’ve heard of people using that method but one problem they tend to have is that the fights will break out when they (the owners) are not around.
December 13th, 2005 at 11:42 am
Uncle,
That is true, are your two canines outside or inside dogs? My experience in these situations has been one or both dogs crate trained. Both of the pups we have are inside dogs and one is crate trained while we are at the workplace, the eldest has free reign over the entire house as well as property, while the pit rests safely in her crate.
December 13th, 2005 at 11:44 am
My dog is crate trained, PCD is not. They both have run of the house/yard via doggie door.
April 4th, 2006 at 9:28 am
[…] I mentioned our inter-dog aggression problems in the past (here and here). What I haven’t told you is we got rid of Politically Correct Dog (PCD). We still have Politically Incorrect Dog (PID). It’s not as bad as it sounds. A while back, the in-laws’ lost their dog due to health problems. They asked if they could borrow PCD for a week or so to help scare off squirrels in their bird feeder and because they’ve always liked PCD. Also, they’d been looking for another dog and hadn’t had much luck. Basically, he went there and never really came back. No big deal, really. He was just 3 miles up the street and we knew he was taken care of. […]