Over protective with food/toys

Question
QUESTION: I have a 3yr old neutered male Doberman. Background/bloodlines are unknown, i rescued him. I have worked really hard over the past 13 months in his uncertainty with strangers, and charging at the front door when someone knocks. I spent a lot of time exposing him to many different environments (subway, ferry, car, buildings, rural/urban areas, buses, street cars, events, competitions ect) and this helped A LOT.

My main rewards for good behaviour was his favourite toy or treat. I found out the more positive reinforcement i used, the better results i got (makes sense, since he was lacking confidence. Over the past 6 months ive been noticing him becoming more and more obsessive with his food/toy (a great behaviour for focus right?) and going great lengths to please me for the reward. Unfortunately, he would bark or growl at anyone or any sound, at a random moment during our training sessions. He is becoming food/toy aggressive.

When i first witnessed this behaviour, i said a firm 'NO' and stopped our session. I picked up the session again, doing great, giving him rewards, hes having an awesome time, then randomly he would snap his head to a sound and growl.

He has no food aggression at dinner or breakfast time, no resource guarding with his chew bones, or toys, this only happens while we are training, or having fun at agility.

Should i stop rewarding with toys and treats? Just verbal praise? What if i want to do difficult training that requires a lot of attention and heavy rewards?

NOTE: This 'protectiveness' is not constant, i say 10% of the time, he will growl, or bark once and totally forget the 'offender' and get back into the training. I have kept it in check, i have not allowed it to escalate to snarling, repeated barking, or constant growling. But i CANNOT eliminate it, and its getting frustrating.

ANSWER: Thanks for contacting me with your question and congratulations on your successes thus far.

Have you gotten a clean bill of health from your veterinarian? That is a great place to start to be certain there are no underlying health concerns.

When I read through your information, I wondered if some of this behavior is similar to the dogs that bark all the way through an agility course. It seems like he shows this tendency when he is highly focused on the task at hand and something creeps in from the outside world. If he were to hear these sounds in a non-training situation what do you think the response would be?

Have you noticed any changes in his posture / behavior prior to the growl / bark? It may be really subtle but could be enough of a signal to redirect the behaviors to something more appropriate. It may just be over-stimulation for this particular dog at those particular moments. Do some additional observations of him and let me know what, if anything, you notice.

Here's a link to some information on my web site. Outlaw Chinooks || Chinook Dogs || Dog Training || Minnesota || 612.558.1369 http://bit.ly/jtUVNV

Here's some information about leadership too so you can see if anything fits your current situation. http://bit.ly/uyVcID

Let me know what you see and we'll go from there.



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

QUESTION: Hi,

  Yes he has been to the vets many times. He does have a few issues, he is Hypothyroid. I know this condition can be linked to aggression. He has been on medication for this for almost a year now. I also got him xrayed, bloodwork, and several physical exams. He came out clear. One other small issue is he does have a tendency to flare up with allergies. I keep this in check by feeding him grain/soy/corn free kibble, wiping his face and feet after a walk, giving him Benadryl on his worse days, feed him supplements of kelp powder, wild fish oil, and sardines. The allergies are not severe, i say they are mild.

As for his body language, i wish it was just over stimulation but he actually faces the 'offender' or where the noise/movement came from, and will make eye contact, bark or growl, and even approach them in a charge i would say. Once he has barked or growled, he will snap out of it and come back to me. There will also be times when his eyes will glance at the person and he will give a low growl.

Without a toy or food present he is an angel. He will not bark, growl, or challenge anyone. He will actually fall asleep with all the commotion around him.

This is rather frustrating because he is toy and food driven, and i can get him to do anything with these tools. Ive tried without, and yes he will do the tasks, but has a short attention span.

Answer
One additional thing you could try for the allergies is a locally produced honey. This will often reduce the symptoms and help build immunity for your dog. What color is your dog? I know the black and red Dobes seem to have less skin issues than the blues and Isabellas do.

I wonder about how much the thyroid is impacting his temperament and his reactions. I had a client dog that had very similar behaviors and she always seemed to be a little off. The specialists that saw her attributed that to her feeling poorly all the time -- her metabolic system was just a little different and she was quicker to react to sounds, people, circumstances. She was also very toy aggressive. It took about 15-months to get her thyroid levels regulated between meds and food supplements. I did find that the kelp affected the medication levels so that was something we found critical to follow.

Hope that helps you some. Let me know how things progress.