Dog growling/fear aggression

Question
QUESTION: My dog Doc, really is a very good and obbident.  Its my husband and I that got him to growl when we were just playing with him, now he will not stop.  My hubby and I constantly get into arguments about this and the way to stop him.  We now have a 11 month old daughter.  When she gets to "chasing" him he leaves with tail tucked and growling as he pushes past her and then he is shivering,  he has the textbook look of fear.  I have read everthing I can find to get an idea on how to stop this before she gets bit. I am scared to death this will happen at some point. My hubby thinks that by holding him by his collar and letting her pet him, that he will stop. I think that is going to make it worse.  I have watched the Dog Whisper enough time to think that is wrong.  My hubby an I are at odds big time on this. I told him we need to let Doc know we are his pack leader, and telling my hubby that Doc is a dog and he is not human. When we got Doc I wanted him neutered, but hubby did not.  We do not have the money to get Doc the help he needs. Although, Doc is living in fear, he is actually behaves quite well.  Will not leave the yard, does not chase objects unless we say its ok.  Anotheer mistake we made is by not socializing him.  I do not want to get rid of him. I just want to know where to start on improving on him, and our marriage back on track, and I can stop be scared that he will harm our daughter, which will happen at some point if we can't "fix"  him.

ANSWER: Why did you teach the dog to growl?  Playing with a dog to the point that it is fearful is way off the mark although some people think it is cool to have an aggressive dog. The dog now has a traumatic view of its family group and will require a lot of work to undo the damage. You infant should never be allowed to chase the dog. Further, the dog needs a safe haven to sleep, enjoy a toy or other safe activity.

Holding the dog and letting the infant pet the dog will only teach the infant to not be afraid of aggressive dogs and place it in future danger. The infant and dog should not be together period.

Now you have to retrain the dog to not be afraid. The tucked tail and growling is a clear sign of a dog that feels abused and unfriendly.  You need to enroll the dog in obedience and other group activities to give him a role model to follow, obtain socialization skills and engage in non competitive activities as fly ball, agility, fetch etc.  You have been using win-lose games and the dog has learned it is no fun to lose. you need to engage in win win play where the dog and owners have equal fun and not competitive.

As for the dog whisperer, I have been in Broadcasting since 1969 and the show is fantasy. I suggest you visit :http://www.4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm to review what other professional trainer have to say about his questionable techniques and antics. I saw a recent episode where he engaged in "flooding" a dog that has already been shut down. Leading experts agree that this technique is worthless and only shuts the dog down even more. Several other of his exercises are abusive and wrong headed or ineffective. TV is highly edited and produced to entertain and gives the impression it is quick and easy to change an animals behavior. Just the opposite is true. Some abused dogs never recover. In our training we suggest reading White Fang and The Horse Whisperer (or watch the movie) as these are remarkable exceptions and not the typical results.





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QUESTION: My husband and I both got laid off from our jobs so money is kind of a issue.  We live in Michigan, and winter is going to be here sooner then I would want.  What do you  for our dog? My hubby and I didn't have him growl to be mean.  We were playing with him and playing ball and keep away, he would growl in playful tones, and we would growl back at him in play.  Now he growls at us even when we pet him and he is wagging his tail. Its hard to tell the difference, at least for me it is. what is the 1st thing we should do to stop him from growling? Or just to stop him from growling at us?  Thank you again for your time.

Dacia

Answer
We call it the law of unintended consequences. Stop doing anything that makes the dog growl. When the dog growls, stop and put the toy away or walk away and not pay attention to the dog. The dog will learn that growling results in denial of wants.  The classic nothing in life is free system works well. In your case provide nothing if the dog growls. Normally we teach the dog to wait and be patient as part of obedience training. NILIF exercises:  any activity. When you feed the dog, tell it to sit. Slowly (30 seconds from counter to floor) lower the dish. If the dog growls, freeze, do not move the dish away. Tell the dog, "no growl". Wait 5 seconds and then continue to lower the dish (providing the dog is not growling). When teh diush in on the floor, stand up and walk away and tell teh dog to take it. Toys, treats, same thing. The dog gets nothing, not attention, if it growls. If the dog comes over and wants attention, ignore it. Wait a couple minutes, then go to teh dog and give it some attention. If it growls stop immediately and walk away. Give the dog a treat unexpectedly if it has been quiet and non aggressive for a while.

A wagging tail while growling is not a sign of "I like you".  The wagging tail tells other dogs if it wants to be friend or foe. Its hard to tell by eye, but the dog will wag its tail farther to one side or the other as a body langauge to signal friend or foe. There was an excellent study on this last year and was part of a DOGS 101 TV program on Discovery or Animal Planet. The slower the wag, the less happy and the more warning it is giving.

There are a lot of good books and videos on dog behavior. Amazon, B&N, etc or 4pawsu e-store.

I lived in Ann Arbor from 1969 to 1975, between 30" of partly cloudy on my drive in March and then the 74-75 recession I left and never had any desire to return except to visit.

Regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind Kennels LLC