aggression towards specific dogs

Question
QUESTION: Dear Madeline, I have read your bio & will read and rate your response fairly within 3 days.  I have two rescue dogs: Toby (3 years old, English pointer or walker coonhound mix?) and Mieke (~2 years old, redbone coonhound mix?).  My concerns center on Toby, whom we adopted first.  He was about 1.5 years old when we got him--he's a very sweet dog, but has serious anxiety problems.  He's a wonderfully calm, easy dog in the house (no separation anxiety, can be left alone), but is extremely nervous outside.  At one point about a year ago, he refused to go out for walks at all.  We've worked through that, and he's improving.  We go for regular walks now, but he is clearly still stressed when outside: he looks around to monitor the situation constantly and will ignore food completely.  He does, however, get excited to see other dogs, which leads me to my question:

Toby is dog friendly, so much so that he seemed a bit depressed after about 6 months with only us (me and my husband), which is when we adopted Mieke.  Mieke brought Toby out of his shell; they get along beautifully and play quite vigorously.  He's generally excited to see dogs in the neighborhood, and when we allow it, greets them happily with his tail wagging.  But there are two exceptions: a 15 year-old German Shepherd (who completely ignores him--I don't understand why she triggers Toby's response at all), and a black standard poodle (male).  I'm most concerned about the poodle.  As soon as the poodle comes into view, even a block away, Toby begins growling, lunging, and barking.  I try to anticipate this and turn to walk the other way (even as I do this, Toby continues to pull towards the poodle until he's out of sight).  Today it got out of control: I was walking both dogs and we were about 30 yards from my house.  The poodle was walking towards us on the opposite side of the street, just in front of the house.  I tried to hold my dogs to let the poodle (and owner) walk past (we were separated by a street) so I could go home, but the owner froze in front of our house and although I initially had control of my dogs, Toby's lunging eventually dragged me across the street and pulled me to the ground.  I managed to hold onto the leash, but Toby got within striking distance of the poodle and lunged once.  The poodle responded, but his owner held him, and they finally walked away.  No one was bitten, no fight broke out, but it came much too close.  

I'm told by a neighbor that the poodle is supposedly dog friendly; however, I did encounter the poodle while walking Mieke alone once, and the poodle was aggressive towards her.  

With respect to today's event, clearly I responded poorly--I should have turned and walked away as soon as I saw the poodle, despite being almost home.  And I wish the owner of the poodle had, at some point, walked away before I was pulled to the ground.  I accept the responsibility for this event, and I would like to address this issue of this dog-specific aggression, but I'm not sure how to approach it.  Toby's too nervous about being outside to respond to treats, so I don't think that counter-conditioning is really an option.  Is this something that is best dealt with by just avoiding it?  Just walking away when we see this dog?  If nothing else, I'm going to walk my dogs separately from now on.  I may have been able to hold Toby back by himself, but his excitement triggered Mieke, who also began pulling towards the poodle.  But other than walking Toby alone and avoiding this dog, is there anything else I can do?  

I appreciate any input you might have.  Thank you in advance.

-LKB

ANSWER:
Hi There,

The expert you sent your message to chose not to answer it, and it was bounced into an unanswered "message pool" where any of the experts in the dog category could answer it. That is how I came to see your message.

I would say in your case, defence better than offense. When you see dogs you know are going to be a problem for Toby, turn and walk away. (I hope you weren't hurt when you fell and was pulled!) It would have been preferable (and neighborly) had the owner of the black Poodle recognized the problem and continued to walk away, rather than just standing there. Training people is harder than training dogs! Maybe if you see the Poodle owner, explain in a friendly fashion your problem, and how helpful it would be if he just walked away whenever he's out with his dog and he sees you with Toby.

Most dog owners walk their dogs on a schedule. Try to become aware of the times you see other dogs being walked that Toby has a problem with, and adjust your walk schedule so you won't run into them. Whenever you walk your dog, be aware of other dogs in the distance so you can turn and walk away before things escalate. When you turn and walk away is a good time to practice some simple obedience commands with Toby -even if he already knows the commands.  Pop quizzes remind your dog of your position as the "pack leader". Dogs need a clear, dominant leader,  who is calm and very strong-minded. Dogs instinctually crave this leadership and guidance. A very simple way to give your dog strong leadership is to practice "Nothing In Life Is Free". You can read about it here:

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

Getting Toby used to wearing a head harness, rather than a neck collar or shoulder harness could be a good way of controlling him on leashed walks. A head harness is worn on the dog's head the same way a horse's harness is worn. It gives a much greater degree of control. Popular brands are Halti, and Gentle Leader. It does take some getting used to, so work with Toby in your home or back yard to get him used to it before attempting to walk him in public with it on. These videos on using a head harness might be helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLY6-vmKKxc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6XMb2XRVVs

If you can't get Toby used to a head harness, using a shoulder harness when he's walked would be preferable over a neck collar.

Something that might help Toby's overall anxiety is if you used a D.A.P (Dog Appeasing Pheromone). It's an odorless product (for people) that has a calming effect on anxious or stressed dogs. You can buy D.A.P in the form of a plug in defuser, or embedded in a collar (like a flea collar, but it doesn't kill fleas of course).  You can read more about D.A.P here:

http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/behavior/a/dogbehaviorprob.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_appeasing_pheromone

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Patti,
I just wanted to thank you for your response.  I'm going to look into the DAP collar--I've thought about it before, but never very seriously.  Assuming it helps, in your experience, is the use of these pheromones something that typically is used continuously, or is it more temporary, i.e.,  just a mechanism to habituate a dog to stressful situations without the anxiety response?  If the latter, it should be possible to wean Toby off of the collar, correct?  

I was using an Easy Walk harness at the time of the big "poodle event".  One particularly terrifying part of that event was that Toby was pulling so hard, he actually broke the harness open.  It was still around his neck, so I could still hold him back (at least a little bit), but if he'd backed up at all, the whole thing would have come off.  I have thought about a Gentle Leader, but he's so sensitive to everything on walks, I didn't want to add another element of discomfort for him.  

I am starting to do the "pop quizzes" that you suggested.  Right now, it's kind of limited to just getting his attention--he's so preoccupied with noises when we're outside.  But hopefully it will improve with time.

You've given me a lot to think about--thank you again for your response.

Best,
-LKB

Answer
Hello again,

One of my dogs is particularly anxious when I take him in the car, which is a problem during long trips. I started using D.A.P (in spray form) and the change in his behavior was remarkable. He actually slept during part of the trip, and was noticeably less anxious.

The method of application of D.A.P (spray, plug in diffuser, or collar) depends on where the dog displays the stress/anxiety response. For my dog it was just in the car, so I used the spray. Other people might need to confine their dog to one room during the workday might choose the plug in diffuser, and dogs that could benefit from constant exposure should get the collar (for about a month or two, until they are out of the anxious habits).

D.A.P is temporary, when a dog is out of it's scent area, it isn't calmed by the pheromone response. That is why the collar works better for some dogs. In the case of the collar the dog is exposed to the pheromones at all times.

Much of an anxiety/stress problem is habitual. Using D.A.P really works to stop the anxiety and calms the dogs, but it also breaks the cycle of the habit, which is why it's important to use it for a long enough period of time, so the new habit of calmness can be adopted. Using D.A.P alone isn't the answer, D.A.P is a tool, it's most effective when paired with training.

If you find Toby is ignoring you during training sessions, try using food as a motivator. A tiny bit of hot dog or cheese (or another highly desirable food) can make him a more attentive student.  

Also, keep in Toby at his comfort level, and progress slowly. If Toby is skittish outside, don't try to train him outside - not at first. When starting the training, avoid all situations which will make Toby anxious. Reprogramming a dog's behavior should begin when the dog is calm, starting with teaching the dog to relax in the absence of whatever it's fearful of. Then reward this behavior to reinforce the idea that relaxation is a positive thing. As you progress, there may be set-backs, if this happens you need to go back to the last place of comfort and start working to progress again. If you are having trouble training Toby, it's then time to consult with a professional dog behaviorist/trainer. Your vet's office or a local boarding kennel might be able to give you a recommendation.

Until Toby is calmer, always try to walk him at times others aren't walking their dogs, and turn around well in advance, if you see another dog walker.

I once had a German Shepard we adopted as a young adult. She wasn't socialized (as a puppy she lived alone outside) and by the time we got her she was so fearful of ANYONE she was impossible to walk in public. My dog Chip's response took the form of paralyzing fear, without any aggression (not that it matters) phobic responses take many forms. It was before the use of D.A.P, which probably would have helped her. We ended up not even trying to walk her. Luckily we had a big back yard, and she was content to have her trips outside limited to that. In the end, you may need to adjust how you deal with Toby's fears. It would be great if you can get him to walk on the leash, but you may need to reconsider your expectations.

Best of luck!

Patti

PS. Is Toby was able to break his Easy Walk harness, there are other more heavy duty harnesses to consider. Perhaps one with a metal buckle instead of a plastic closure.