Guarding behaviour – when is it a problem?

Guarding behaviour here relates to a dog being protective, specifically in this post I am talking about when walking with your dog and being approached by another dog.  It is a problem when your dog becomes aggressive because they are trying to guard you.

I confess; I don’t like everyone I meet.  Sometimes I get to know someone and decide they are not really my kind of person.  And occasionally, though I hate to admit it, I dislike someone straight away.  Call me prejudiced if you like.  I think it is a natural human trait.  We are naturally unsure of people we don’t know and if we have a bad experience with someone, this might ‘colour’ our judgement when meeting someone similar.

Dogs do this too, believe it or not.  If they have a bad experience with one breed or type of dog, they carry this over to other examples of that breed, or type.  So you will very often hear people say “my dog doesn’t like Dalmatians” or “my dog hates small dogs”.  Racist?  Surely not.  But it’s true.

The other day someone said to me that her collie was “a real snob.  She only likes other collies.”  This is also true.  Border Collies in particular, in my experience, are very fixed on their own breed.  They almost universally dislike other breeds of dog.

Reading signals from other dogs

What does this have to do with guarding behaviour?  Well it’s about how dogs form relationships with others.  This in turn is related to how well a dog is able to ‘read’ another dog.  So dogs are usually fine to interact with other dogs who are open and friendly when they approach.

Not all dogs like their space to be invaded, as I have said many times.  This relates to how they interact with children but also how they are around other dogs.

Dogs also have a problem reading some body language from other dogs.  This might be because of their markings – Dalmatians being the prime example.  Or it might be due to their shape – anything with a tail that curls over their back can be problematic, as it is harder for the dog to show submissive behaviour (tail between legs).  Dogs also struggle to read all-black dogs.  Bearing in mind that dogs are not able to communicate through language, being able to read posture and subtle facial expressions is the key to effective communication.

Misunderstandings lead to guarding

Once you appreciate that dogs are not always that great at understanding each other, (due in the main to the differences we have bred into them,) it becomes easier to see why problems can occur.  So a lovely, friendly, open dog may not always be quick enough to see that the dog they are enthusiastically bounding over to greet is less than impressed.

What then happens is that the dog being approached becomes cautious and wary.  We then get into a cycle of behaviour with our dog:

• dog reacts to being approached by another dog
• we react to our dog being upset and become protective of our dog
• we put their dog on lead when they see another dog
• dog gets put on lead and thinks something is wrong
• dog feels us being fearful and wants to protect them
• GUARDING behaviour: dog attacks approaching dog
• we react to our dog being upset…

Can you see how this can quickly escalate?  You then have a problem.  You have a dog labelled as ‘reactive’ and an owner who lives in a state of constant anxiety.

How to deal with guarding behaviour

Let’s take a step back here.  If your dog is off lead, running around and another dog approaches to say hello – so what?  If your dog doesn’t like it, they can say so.  Usually – of course you may need to watch this if you have a large, strong dog being approached by a cheeky and annoying dog.

If you feel that you don’t want your dog getting into a discussion with other dogs, catch their attention.  NOT their body – in other words, please DON’T rush to put them on the lead.  Just call them and either hold their attention to you with a treat, or play with a toy.  Your dog should be focused on you, not the boring other dog.

Give it a go?  Try not to grab your dog.  Please remember to reward all the behaviour you want and try to ignore the stuff you don’t want.  If they look at you, say ‘yes!’ and reward.

Over friendliness in your dog

Sometimes you have the goofy dog who just loves to say hello to ALL dogs, regardless of how they are behaving.  Please try to manage this behaviour too?

Don’t say “oh he just wants to play!” or “he loves other dogs” “he’s just being friendly”  IT IS NOT WANTED!  Be aware that your dog is being the loud-mothed lout that you turn and walk away from at the office.

Yes I know that sounds boring and mean-spirited, but really you are just being polite and respectful.  Your dog won’t get attacked and you won’t get shouted at.  If you teach your dog to be well behaved, you can then allow it to play with familiar friends.

Ask for help?

You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice.  I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues.  Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my new service.

Please let me know if you have found this post helpful?

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

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Why routine is important for your dog

Last week out walking I met a very sweet 18 week-old Border Collie puppy.  I started chatting to her ‘mum’ about the joy of having a Border Collie, while the pup ran around my girls, some of whom even managed to speak to her nicely lol.

As I usually do in these situations, I mentioned how challenging it is to walk a puppy for a limited amount of time, as it goes by so quickly.  According to Kennel Club exercise guidelines, a puppy of this age does not need as much exercise as an adult dog.

“If you over-exercise a growing puppy you can overtire it and damage its developing joints, causing early arthritis. A good rule of thumb is a ratio of five minutes exercise per month of age (up to twice a day) until the puppy is fully grown, i.e. 15 minutes (up to twice a day) when three months old, 20 minutes when four months old etc. Once they are fully grown, they can go out for much longer.”

The lovely owner of this pup said she had talked to the vet about the amount of exercise to give and had been told that it was fine for the puppy to have plenty of exercise, as she is such an active breed!  Hmm, well I’m not happy with that!

Being consistent

Anyway, I’m always banging on about the amount of exercise we should or shouldn’t give our dogs.  But what really frustrated me when talking to this person was that she said “I decided not to walk as far (she’d been doing 3 hours a day I believe!) yesterday so the puppy was ‘playing up’ all day long; being really naughty.”  You think?  Might that possibly be because she is used to walking for hours each day and wonders why she isn’t doing so today?  Might that be because walking for so many hours per day has made her fit and a flea, so that is now what she expects to have?  It’s not her fault her owner suddenly couldn’t be arsed, is it!

Fit for purpose

This owner also explained to me that she had grown up on a farm, where the collies were ‘running with the tractors all day’.   Maybe, but actually I doubt it.  When your parents have dogs, you take them for granted; they are part of the furniture.  You don’t really pay attention to whether they are actually running about all day, or whether they do a bit, then take themselves off for a good long sleep.  And I challenge most teenagers to tell me whether the dogs owned by their parents suffer from arthritis, or whether they are on medication.

When considering getting a dog you must start by thinking about the pattern of your everyday life.  What time do you currently have that you are prepared to set aside for a dog?  If you honestly have nothing going on in your life and want to walk for 3 hours EVERY DAY that’s fine, but really?  Who can do that?  Your dog must fit the life that you have, not the one you think you would like.

Feeding routines

Yes, yes I know; in the wild animals have to hunt for their food and may not catch anything, so why do they need routine feeding?  What time do you have your breakfast?  And your dinner?  I bet it is within a few minutes of the same time every day.  Sure, you can cope with going out to dinner and waiting a bit, but the term ‘hangry’ has not been coined for no reason.

I bet that if you studied wild animals closely, you would find that their behaviour follows the same exact patterns every day.  Wake up, toilet, go hunting/grazing, do some exercise, sleep for a while…

Be kind to your dog

They will thank you for it.  If you follow a rough routine and do the same things with your dog most days, you will have a much happier, more relaxed dog.  They will know what is going on and be able to manage their expectations.  Changes in routine are scary and difficult for dogs, who have no control over their environment or the structure of their lives in our homes.

Be patient if you do have to make changes.  When you take dogs away on holiday, they might have accidents in the night, or be sick, simply because they are not able to cope with what is happening.

Ask for help?

You are very welcome to contact me to ask for my advice.  I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues.  Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my new service.

Please let me know if you have found this post helpful?

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.