Adrienne Farricelli

Yes, distractions are a challenge for many. Even when dogs are taken to obedience classes, they do well performing there and then once out in the "real world" their behaviors fall apart. However, many impulse control exercises incorporate distractions. For example, sitting despite seeing us holding the food bowl, sitting despite being distracted by the leash, sitting despite the car door or front door opening, walking by and ignoring the distraction of food left on the ground. If Finn is very good at those, you have already worked though distractions that many untrained dogs struggle with. You are correct, you can compile a hierarchy of distractions with at the top the highest and at the bottom the lowest and work through those, with the possibility of adding some sub-steps/ intermediate steps if there are challenges along the way. Basically, if your dog struggles at any time, take that as a sign that the task being asked is too difficult. We also need to consider whether there may be a fear element as well at play. For example, if a dog isn't too comfortable being around kids with acute voices and who move around erratically and quickly, he may struggle to stay still in one spot as that puts him in a vulnerable position (taking his flight option away). So it may be important tackling any underlying anxiety as well. Distance, duration and distractions are the 3D's of dog training and we should work on each element separately. Working on more of one at a time is asking too much. So with kids around, you have high distractions, and you're asking for a down stay which requires duration, and he's likely too close to the kids for comfort. As a general rule of thumb, we shouldn't progress to the next level on our until we have attained at least an 80 percent response rate, meaning that dog performs the desired behavior 8 times out of 10. On top of compiling a hierarchical list of distractions, we can also compile a hierarchical list of treats with the highest ones being matched with the most challenging situations.

Thanks for the extra details, they are very helpful! Thank you so much. Lupo is just about 5 months old. His bite inhibition is better than any puppy I have ever come across. In the time we have had him I don't even have a scratch to show for it. When he does get mouthy we simply say "no teeth" which he seems to understand really well. Most of his mouthing is limited to my shirt sleeves. So far chewing has not been an issue - I was expecting a puppy to chew up everything and this has not been the case. This is great! Many pups tend to chew a whole especially the first year. He sounds very gentle and mellow. It has been so many years since I had to train a puppy I was actually quite worried about training a Maremma. Not that I have a lot of experience with different breeds but I find Lupo incredibly smart and easy to train. Maybe my expectations are too low or I just got lucky. Lupo does exhibit typical livestock guardian behavior when we walk the property. When we go out for a walk in the morning he likes to get a sense of what might be around - just studying the tree line and smelling the air. Once he has done that he is fine. I am not really concerned with this as I want him to be a dog and that is one of the reasons we decided on getting a LGD in the first place. I can point to one of several large rocks and tell him "up" and he will run to the top of the rock. If I tell him to "sit" he will sit on the rock. If I tell him to "stay" he will stay until called. When called he will come running to me. I always be sure to grab his collar. He will chase deer and the occasional fox off the property but does not pursue them. Actually foxes have become much less of an issue with Lupo around - they were trying to get our chickens every other day but no fox activity for a couple of months now. I am glad that training Lupo has been easy to train so far! Things may change as he becomes an adolescent up through social maturity (around 3 years). Chances are, you may sail smoothly through it, but it's always good to be prepared. Making collar grabs pleasant can help prevent moving away and playing hard to catch. I am glad that Lupo's presence has helped discourage foxes from approaching your chicken! Lupo does get the zoomies - especially in the early evenings and they are hilarious. I do spend a couple of minutes a day brushing him - not so much of a grooming exercise but just to keep him used to being brushed. He keeps his nails worn down pretty good but he does have the double dew claw on his hind legs so I do trim his dew claws ever so slightly once a week or so - just so he is used to it. The flight stage has always been my biggest concern and we have worked on boundary training twice a day since day one. He is never allowed to walk down the driveway - he will not even follow me when I take down the trash - and he never goes more that a few feet into the treeline. Great! Brushing and creating positive associations with nail trims is paramount. Keep up the great work! That is clearly the case. When we would walk past the truck together Lupo would take a wide berth around the truck. He is getting better since I started opening the door/tailgate and making him put his paws on the sill to get a treat. Our plan is for my wife and I to take him on some short rides together. The one time he did fine in the car was when we were both in the vehicle together. I am glad he doesn't show signs of being motion sick. In these cases, we need to take baby steps and possibly never force them to get into the truck by pulling or carrying them in it if we can. Of course, in the case of an emergency, we may need to do whatever it takes, but in that case, it may help taking them on a different car so that we don't lose all the positive progress made by practicing with the truck. It sounds like you have been doing a great job in letting him put his paws up to get the treat. We want to make it all fun and a game. If the issue is jumping up, here is a guide that has helped a dog I was boarding who struggled with the jumping up part: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-getting-car/ Other tips/ideas that come to mind: -If your dog is a bit clumsy or finds it challenging to jump into your truck, move your front seats forward so that your dog can aim on jumping in the footwell area rather than the seats. -Play fun car games based on desensitization (taking baby steps so that the dog doesn't feel overwhelmed) and counterconditioning (creating positive associations). For example, you can open both back doors and invite your puppy to follow you in one door and out of the other. Praise and reward lavishly for going in and out! If your pup is very attached to your wife, following her always around, you can have her do this exercise at first and then take turns. Make sure to make it fun game! You can hide some treats nearby and then inside the car for him to find. Treasure hunt style! https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ You can start with the treats around the car, like behind each wheel, and then include some treats placed indoors that he can reach while staying outside from the opened door, and then place some treats deeper inside so that he is forced to jump in. You can keep the car door open, have him sit and toss a treat in the car for him to go fetch and then wait for him to come back to you and rinse and repeat. Always keep the car doors open so that he doesn't feel trapped inside. You can then practice getting in the car, sitting in the back and clicking and treating for him targeting your hand and then progress to having him nose target the seats etc . https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ You can also start feeding all meals and playing with toys in the car, adding one element at a time. This means, starting by feeding the dog next to the car, then inside the car as it is parked, then inside with the engine on, then driving out of parking spot and back in, then short drive around the block, then gradually longer drives. Make being in the car super fun, praise and then make all the fun end once out of the car. To help consolidate positive associations, you can even schedule some fun drive-through trips where dogs get high-value rewards (doggy ice-cream, I think Sonic still makes a Pup Cup and Starbucks makes the "Puppiccino," special treats specially crafted for dogs) before heading back home. Just about all our interaction with people occurs outside the house. Lupo is primarily an outdoor dog who only comes into the house to sleep. Yes - especially children. When my wife is trying to have a conversation, he is nuzzling her guest. This behavior is more pronounced with women. A few times (4-5) a week people (women) will come over to buy eggs and stuff my wife sells. We also have fairly frequent deliveries to the house and I am not aware of any issues with delivery people. My wife says this behavior occurs less with men. Hard to say but I think it has always been there to some degree. No but its not like I have many friends stopping by. One of my friends (male) will stop by with two small children and the kids will play with Lupo and he is well behaved and my friend an I can have a normal conversation. One of my wife's customers brings her children to see the chickens and Lupo and Lupo is well behaved - getting attention from the children. Another friend (male) stopped by and Lupo started barking as we were talking. Its almost as if he was taking the appearance of a new face as a cue for playtime. No, his behavior seems more attention seeking and playful. OK, I was thinking this may be an early onset of protective behavior (which is not unusual at all in livestock guardians), which can sometimes start early or Lupo feeling somewhat intimidated by these people. In particular, the standing in front of your wife barking is something we can see with protective dogs, and sometimes, this behavior starts on the playful/experimental side, and then gets more serious as the pup matures if not tackled. Another concern I had is that he is placing himself nearby your wife barking because he is intimidated by the people and gains more confidence/feels safer being nearby your wife. Some dogs who may be fearful may sometimes engage in "fool around" behaviors, which is a type of displacement behavior when under some stress like behaving in a silly playful way at the vet's office. When dogs behave this way, their stress is often not identified as it’s not straightforward as a dog who is shaking or growling. In any case, we can take some steps to prevent this form of barking from putting roots, although as he develops, it's possible to see an increase in barking at people approaching his perceived territory, as they're figuring out things such as what is normal versus what is a real threat needing some level of guidance. Ideas that come to mind, and that other trainers specializing in livestock guardians suggest: -Training an alternate behavior, like dropping some treats to the ground for him to pick up so to give an alternate behavior to engage in while keeping his mouth busy. Or telling him to go lie down on a mat where you'll give him a stuffed Kong or something to chew on that you'll keep handy nearby. Many dogs bark in the initial first couple of minutes guests are over due to over excitement/novelty and then chill down afterward. -Letting your pup know it's all OK and then having your wife take a more active role and going to greet the people directly without her staying behind Lupo. Many owners of livestock guardians use a cue to let them know that their "job is done" and that with people visiting it's all good. Putting a leash on him (wearing a halti may give more control if needed) can help remind him that he should stay put as we will be handling the situation from now on. Even if it's not yet fully protective behavior, this is good to train as a foundation. -Practice having people over and keeping Lupo on leash and praising and feeding Lupo treats when he acts calm. You can ask him to sit or lie down before giving the treats if he's calm enough to perform those behaviors. You may need to work more on sits and downs first without people present and gradually build up to fluent level before practicing around familiar people and then strangers. Lying down is a plus because dogs are less likely to bark when lying down. If he still manages to bark, despite several trials, put him away in a pen with something to chew and try again later or on another day, with a mental note to take further steps to reduce the chances for barking next time (keeping more distance from the people, using higher value treats etc.). I hope this helps! Keep us posted on how things go. Happy training! Best, Adrienne

You are very welcome! Keep us posted on how things go with sweet Zach! Your vet may be able to suggest some over-the-counter calming supplements (like Composure or Zylkene), before trying situational anxiety medications, based on what he or she feels may work best.

Hi there! What a pretty GSD you have and thank you for rescuing! This sounds like stress barking. It can be very stressful for them dealing with intruders entering the home, carrying big tools and wrecking havoc in the home. For us, it's simple: we know the workers are helping us out remodeling the home, while to our dogs, they are uninvited intruders, using ear-piercing tools and destroying stuff! These intruders should be sent away! I have actually seen some dogs becomes reactive towards people after enduring such stressful events. I therefore cannot emphasize enough trying to do as much as possible to make these events less stressful. Here are some tips: -Walk your dog. I know this isn't always feasible, but if one of you can walk him during those 1-2 hours or at least take him on a car ride to pick up some goodies and walk him around the store (if he's OK with seeing other dogs/people), that would be extra helpful in sparing him from all the stress and as a bonus you'll be keeping up his training and socialization, win-win! -Make the area less stressful. Take him to the farthest room of the house from where they are working. You can try to buffer sounds with some white noise using a white noise machine, turning on a white noise YouTube channel, using classical music TV/radio channel, having a fan blowing. You can also run a DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) diffuser in the room which may have a calming effect. -Make your dog calmer: Rescue remedy, calming supplements. You can ask your vet for some prescription calming meds that are situational (just meant to be given when exposed to certain temporary triggers). In this situation, these can sometimes work alone in reducing stress enough for the dog to not feel like barking, but the ultimate goal should be changing the dogs' emotions towards workers. -Work on creating positive associations. This can take some time, but I have used this often with dogs and like the results. I actually do this with any person coming over from plumbers to roof installers to delivery guys. I keep the dog laying on a mat on leash with me holding the leash and sitting on the floor next to them, and every time the dog hears a noise, I feed a high value treat (like slivers of low sodium hot dogs). I basically work on the 'hear that" method as explained here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/ It's important to keep the dog at a distance from the triggers, so that he's not too over threshold, but yet in a learning state and capable of taking the treats. More about thresholds here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Every sound the workers make, I feed a little treat this way I am using desensitization and counterconditioning. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ If calories are an issue, I mix some kibble with the hot dogs overnight so that they absorb some of the aroma and use those. With several reps over several days, if done correctly without the dog ever feeling overly stressed, I start seeing what's known as the onset of a positive conditioned emotional response: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ I then progress to the dog seeing the workers enter and exit, doing the same, but moving from 'hear that' to look at that. Basically the dog is fed a tasty treat every time he sees the workers. We may start by watching the workers from a window before progressing to seeing them enter and exit the home. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ I may swap from hear that to look at that, back and forth as needed. This is a behavior modification sample of a case I worked on using a similar approach: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/ I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions, keep us posted on how things go. Hopefully, it won't be long for them to finish up, so that your dog can resume enjoying more peaceful days. Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hi there! I am glad to hear things with Lupo are progressing really well. Please see my questions/comments under your bolded statements. So things with Lupo are going really well. We regressed a little bit with on leash training since I really don't need one - Lupo just hangs out with us. But I have started leash work again just so he is well behaved on the rare occasions we leave the property. Yes, I would keep it up with the leash training because you never know when you'll need to take him on leash somewhere. Even for a vet visit, you want to have him under control when entering the building. Make sure to make putting on the leash fun and following you around in places rewarding. His adult teeth are coming in and while he is mouthy, he does not bite or rarely even nips. That is very good news! I hope when he has nipped in the past he has shown signs of good bite inhibition. Has he? Make sure he has durable and safe chew toys to chew on. How old is he now? I estimate around 5 months? They get a second "chewing stage" which takes place between 4 and 9 months. A couple of issues that I need a little help on: Sometimes he gets a little too big for his britches - sometimes I will give him a command - that he full well knows how to do - and he will stubbornly bark as if to say "no way am I going to do that right now". When he is like this he will not let me grab his collar and jumps back when I try. This sounds like typical livestock guardian behavior (the not wanting to perform a behavior). Livestock guardians are not the easiest dogs to train as do not easily take directions. This should be confused with them being stubborn. It's just that these dogs were selectively bred to work independently without human interference and gazing at your eyes adoringly or sitting and laying down at the blink of an eye may not be of their interest, unless you make it worthy of their time. And getting frustrated makes only things worse: if they sense that you are too emotional they may not easily take directions from you because they feel the need to take over and make their own decisions. However, just because they're not the easiest dogs to train doesn't mean they can't be trained. This is a big myth. They can be trained, but with these dogs we'll have to consider their histories and who they are, so to lower our expectations a little bit. We just can't expect that level of responsiveness that we may see in other types of dogs. We therefore need to take extra steps in making training more interesting and worthy of their attention. They may enjoy clicker training: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/ It's also important paying attention to in what circumstances the dog doesn't follow our directions so to identify patterns. A great Pyrenees I trained didn't do well being trained nearby windows or doors as she was hearing noises often and wanted to check them out. I often used the Premack Principle considering that for her one of the highest rewards was going outside to check things out, so if she didn't listen to something, at least I made the best out of it, by asking her to sit in front of the door before opening it. Since she cared so much about being out, in 90 percent of the cases, she readily complied. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/premack-principle/ You may also want to work on making collar grabs more pleasant so that he doesn't feel like instinctively moving away. See section 2 Rewarding Collar Grabs by scrolling down this article: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/ At around 5 months, you'll also start seeing further more independent behaviors as he's in the flight stage and nearing adolescence, so keep up the training, but always ensuring to not make sessions too long or boring. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ This will usually occur if I am near a vehicle as he absolutely wants no part of getting into a vehicle. He is smart and I think this may be a trust issue. I have been working with him - getting him to put his paws up onto the back of my wifes jeep and treating him when he does. I also have been successful at placing him in the Jeep with the tailgate open and treating him for sitting in the back of the Jeep. I would really like to reduce his anxiety over getting into a vehicle. Yes I can pick him up and go for a short ride - but he does not like that - and it only seems to increase his level of anxiety. OK, so that's a circumstance I talked about prior that we need to pay attention to. Being extra smart, Lupo is likely worried that he'll have to get into the car and may be rebelling to that because he's not comfortable in there. Does he ever start drooling or get nauseous/ or has he ever vomited in the car? Many cases of car phobia may be triggered by underlying motion sickness, and not always it's easy to identify. Is he taken on car rides that mostly lead to the vet? Or does he get to go to some "fun" places too? Is he taken out on car rides sparingly? Many pups quickly dishabituate to car rides if they're not taken often. I know of some vets who have suggested pups not to be taken outside due to risks for infectious diseases and these pups become quickly de-socialized and afraid of anything new and won't go on car rides due to fear. Is he just tentative of climbing in the car, but then does fine once in? Or does he appear anxious for the whole duration of the ride? Some dogs just struggle with the getting in the car part. When people come to see my wife, Lupo will insert himself between my wife and her guest, and bark to get attention - it is quite annoying and we really have to correct this behavior. I am concerned this may be actual protective behavior more than attention seeking. Is he doing this only with guests entering the home? Does it happens also outside of the home? Does he seem to really like human attention? How often do you have guests come over? Has he always been this way or is this a new behavior? Does it only happen when around your wife? If it's only you having the guests over (your wife is away in another room or out of the home) does he still engage in this form of barking? Is he putting himself in between your wife and the person approaching, with the barking increasing the more they advance towards your wife (don't actually try this, just let me know about this by recalling past events) Is he always by your wives' side when people come over? What has happened once the guests enter the home? Does he keep on barking? Chills down eventually? Or does he chill and then star barking again as guests move around, get up etc? Sorry for all these questions, but it's not always easy differentiating certain types of barks from others.

You are very welcome! How is his bite inhibition now that he is 6 months? When he has nipped in the past, has he ever broken skin?

Hi Carmen, welcome to the forums. I am glad to hear you have trained you Lab so many things and that you were able to potty train him so quickly. I agree with you in that it does sound like frustration. Some dogs may feel particularly frustrated when on leash which they sense as a barrier that prevents them from interacting with the environment. I worked some years ago with a Lab mix who wanted to meet people and dogs so badly, that if we deviated and distanced ourselves or went the other way, she would redirect her frustration and overstimulation by nipping my arms. Walking her was a nightmare as I would come home with lots of scratches and black and blues. These case can be challenging because we are sometimes caught off guard, and once they're latched on the leash, it's difficult to redirect them, and the more we try to pull the leash, the more they'll latch on and growl. Not to mention, as they try to grasp the leash, they may nip our arms, and that obviously get's a reaction from us, and they may then start focusing more on our arms, than the leash. In these cases, it's helpful identifying if there are any particular triggers/events on walks evoking the behavior (leash biting when the walk starts, when it ends, when we take a different path, upon seeing other people or dogs on walks). In any case, the goal is to tackle this early before it becomes an established habit. In your case, it sounds like pulling him away from a situation is a trigger, so we can use a multi-faceted approach: 1) distracting him in a timely manner and keeping his mind off the leash by providing alternate behaviors to engage in 2) making the leash less enticing to bite So with distracting, you'll aim to toss several small pieces of treats on the ground before he has a chance to grab the leash. This way, you'll be reinforcing the behavior of not biting the leash, therefore creating a replacement behavior. You pup can't be focusing on grabbing the falling treats and grabbing the leash at the same time since his mouth is already occupied by searching for the dropped treats and chewing. I would aim to training a strong response to the smacking sound. Practice this at first in a quiet room in your home, then progress to other rooms, than in the yard, then in front of the home, then on a nearby walk, then farther to the point of having a very fluent response. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ So any time you need to distance him from something, make the smacking sound to grab his attention and start tossing some treats on the ground in the direction you want him to move so that you don't need to pull. If you use treats that are high enough in value, this should cause his frustration to dissipate and should activate his "seeking system". As he gets good at this, you can then also insert some training. For instance, when you need to move away from something, make a smacking sound and try distracting the pup by asking a few steps of attention-heeling with a tasty treat at high level, that surpasses the leash in value (in other words, the treats attract the pup more than the biting the leash as dogs can't bite the leash and eat at the same time). Here's how to train attention heeling https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ You may also find it helpful training emergency u-turns: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ and generously reward each turn. With making the leash less enticing to bite, you can use a metal chain leash (which most pups do not like to chew and is often the easiest fix). However, I wouldn't use this as a standalone solution, as if we don't tackle the root of the problem which is the frustration, he may feel compelled to start jumping up and biting your arms. Implementing more impulse control and frustration tolerance exercises can also help teach dogs how to better moderate their emotions. This won't magically solve behavior problems, but provides dogs with an extra skillset that can help them. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ At 6 months, your pup is reaching the adolescent stage. This is an age where behaviors often start getting more challenging. It's good being aware of it and what to expect. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ I hope this helps, keep us posted on how things go and feel free to ask any further questions Best, Adrienne

Thanks Adrienne. He’s much improved now. But we had a problem this weekend with a family gathering at our house. We had friends and relatives over and Finn was superb in the garden playing with the little ones. He was there for at least 2 hours running around with five children under 6 playing catch and dropping the ball for them. He joined in with their football and all the adults were so impressed at his gentleness. The youngest was 2 and we were worried he might knock her over running free, but he never jumped up at any of them. They all loved him. I am glad to hear that he was so well behaved and everyone was impressed with his gentleness and that he never jumped up at the children, that's great! Then we all sat down at a big table outside to eat. We put Finn on his bed and gave him a lick mat and a kong, but he couldn’t hold his place and wanted the kids to keep on playing, so he just barked and barked at them, running around while they were eating. He didn’t jump up, but the noise got very wearing after a few minutes. It sounds like he was too overstimulated to be able to eat. We need to consider that 2 hours of play with kids can be very taxing on them and they may get tired/overstimulated/stressed and that can lead to crankiness. Children will put them in a hyper-excited state, and it's hard for them to chill/lie down when there is so much going on. His barking could have been tiredness, or he was frustrated that all the play has stopped and now everyone was sitting. There can be an element of anxiety too, as dogs may go into the "fool around'" response when they're not totally comfortable in a situation. I went over to put a lead on him and take him away, but he just dropped to the floor. I tried to entice him back to his bed with a tug toy and by throwing treats but he wasn’t moving. I gave him another chance but he continued the frantic barking. Eventually, I had to pick him up and take him indoors, because people couldn’t think, let alone talk. I didn’t want to and felt bad. It was such a shame as he was doing so well. When the meal was over I brought him out and he was fine again until people went home and then he barked like crazy again because everybody left. What could I have done different to use it as a training scenario? I think he didn't do too bad overall if his behavior just broke down when everybody sat at the table and when they left. I think he needs more training in less overstimulation environments, five kids under the age of 6 are a whole lot and many dogs would feel overly excited with kids running, squealing and moving around unpredictably. This can lead to barking, pacing ( and some dogs even engage in mounting)-see Shiloh: The fact he refused the Kong and licking from the lick-mat and then didn't care about the treats or playing tug, can be used as an emotional barometer, suggesting that he was too over threshold to be in a thinking/relaxed state. In such a case, it would be best to put him indoors *before* meal time, so to prevent him from rehearsing this behavior. This can be a permanent solution, or if you wish to work on the issue it would take practicing more in less overstimulating situations, giving him some distance from the guests (you can put him behind a baby gate/exercise pen or indoor tethering under supervision (using the back ring of a harness) so that he can't be running around and barking while others are trying to eat/talk. Implementing more impulse control and frustration tolerance exercises can also help teach dogs how to better moderate their emotions. This won't magically solve behavior problems, but provides dogs with an extra skillset that can help them. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

That's so awesome, kudos to you for a job well done! Thanks for posting the update. Keep up the great work!.

Excellent! And I am proud of both of you! Keep up the great work.

Sure thing! Keep us posted on how things do, and feel free to ask any other questions. Happy training!

Sounds like you found a really nice facility! It's great to hear that they do assessments prior to just accepting any dog. These screenings along with careful monitoring can help a lot in finding out what dogs may stir trouble. Of course, as with child daycare, there are always certain risks for incidents, but at least they're minimized. It sounds like they do everything they can to prevent them and those recordings can turn very valuable.

Hi Emily, How are things going? I must have missed your post as I was away from my computer for a few days last month. Feel free to post an update or any challenges you are encountering and we can do some troubleshooting. Best, Adrienne

Sounds like a good plan! Huskies are notorious for escaping their properties (they're escape artists), so I wouldn't be surprised if this dog managed to figure out a way to escape, bringing along the other dog with him. I am glad you were able to avoid them. In general huskies don't tend to be territorial or aggressive, they're known for making lousy guard dogs. Given the opportunity, the may invite thieves for a movie and some popcorn 😉 However, as always, there are exceptions to the rule and a guy in a store once told me his husky was very territorial and he was concerned about his behavior towards guests. Thank you for the kind words! Best, Adrienne

Just chiming in to say that it's great that you followed up and provided the list of force-free trainers to your vet. As the saying goes "Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime".

Oh no, no worries, no reason for you to apologize! It can turn helpful for others reading this post who may have dogs marking for other reasons. It's always good pointing out other forms of marking so that we have more breath and depth on the subject. And no two dogs are the same, so what may work for one may work for another. You always make great questions and are a great conversation starter! Keep up the great work with Loki. We are always here if you want to do more in depth troubleshooting. Send pats to Loki!

Hi there! I hear you, this has happened to me several times. We don't have many strays where I walks dogs, but we have neighbors with dogs who sometimes escape their yards. Some are friendly, others are fearful/territorial, others I don't know what their clear intent is, so I always use the upmost caution. In these cases, my personal "go-to" approach is to carry extra treats in my treat bag and "treat bomb" the dog. In other words, I will aim to scatter the treats in the dog's direction hoping to distract him (several treats end up bouncing off of him) and that he realizes that we "come in peace." If we meet the dog several times, with time, rep after rep, I even see a change in his body language, from being /territorial/fearful/aggressive to calmer, and even happier anticipation. However, this won't work will all dogs. That's why I like to carry with me a can of Spray Shield which was crafted by dog trainer Grisha Stewart. It's sprays citronella in a sudden burst which stops dogs in their tracks. I used it on a group of Chihuahuas one day which had bitten the ankles of another dog (another neighbors' dog) walking by, and they turned around and headed back home. I have never tested it though on a large dog with a serious intent to harm, there may be chances it may not work. Hopefully, we will never make such an encounter! I also make sure the dogs I walk have some training in attention heeling past dogs https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ and use emergency u-turns if the dog is heading our way. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ I have personally found that once we distance ourselves past what the dog perceives as his territory, the dog will go back to his property and we'll then use a different route. However, I aim to walk dogs in areas I am pretty familiar with and that I know there are no stray, aggressive dogs. Had to sometimes drive to some areas if there were dogs I didn't trust around other dogs. Edited to add: I was notified of an earlier post, but can't see it anymore. Feel free to use the info provided on dealing with stray dogs in your blog, you can quote me as Adrienne Farricelli, dog trainer and author of Brain Training For dogs (link to this website). If you haven't already, you may be interested in joining our affiliate program that allows you to monetize on your blog. If interested contact: [email protected] or visit this page for more info: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/affiliates/ Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! Neutering has often been portrayed as being a cure-all surgery, magically causing undesirable behaviors to melt as ice cream under the sun. However, this is far from being true. In general, neutering will only impact behaviors that are, for the most part, hormonally-driven, meaning behaviors that are triggered by the hormone testosterone. With the hormones out of the way, neutered dogs who still mount are often doing so out of overstimulation, as a way to express their happiness or as a way to cope with stress, as an attention-seeking behavior (who could ever ignore a dog that mounts!), or it may stem from medical problems. It sounds like you have ruled out everything medical with the help of your vet, and that he's being exercised enough and has enough attention during the day, and since he does this to guests, I agree with you that it sounds like he's likely overstimulated, super happy and maybe even a tad bit stressed if there's too much going on. Basically, it often boils down to this: if your dog is unsure on how to behave in a certain situation, or if he’s overly excited about the arrival of guests, mounting can help relieve his tension. I think you're on the right track, but need to tweak things a bit by using more management and consistency. Here are some general tips: -Prevent Rehearsal of Mounting Behavior One of the most important tips when dealing with dogs who mount people/dogs is to prevent rehearsal of the problematic behavior. Dogs are very routine-oriented beings and when they rehearse behaviors over and over, they get stuck into their habits and practice makes perfect causing it to become their default way for them to want to interact with guests. Things become even more difficult when dogs are allowed to rehearse behaviors sometimes yes and sometimes no, because they get intermittent reinforcement (which is the science behind why people get addicted playing at casinos, they never know when they'll win). Mounting is a self-rewarding behavior on its own so any time he gets to perform it, he's being rewarded. In general, with mounting behaviors, the earlier the behavior is tackled, the better the outcome. A dog who has rehearsed the humping behavior for years is going to be more difficult to tackle compared to a dog who has just started. So you'll need to factor this in. If your setter has mounted for over a year, it will take more effort and persistence to tackle it. When it comes to undesirable dog behavior, it's much easier to nip things in the bud. -Be Consistent With Management To prevent rehearsals, we use strict management. That means we take steps to prevent the dog from rehearsing the mounting. This can entail, keeping him on leash at a distance away from the guests, keeping him in a separated area (crate, exercise pen, behind a baby gate), tethering him (there are outdoor tie-outs) and tell guests to not approach him (this is temporary, until he's better trained). This may need some testing because, if he sees the guests and can't get to them, that may lead to relentless frustration barking, so in some cases, not seeing them works better, especially if there are kids running around back and forth. Providing the dog with something valuable to chew when confined can help them better cope with the separation, while giving them something to do. If your dog is not used to being confined in a crate or exercise pen, you will need to work on that and that can take time, so you may need to use other options first. Keeping him on leash may be a good option considering that he'll still be able to take part in the family gathering, but he won't be able to approach guests and start to hump. However, even here we may need to use caution: some dogs may get frustrated and start humping who they are leashed to or may start biting the leash (a chain leash is less appealing to bite if that's the case). There are leashes thar are hands free and can be clipped to a belt. Keep some treats in your pocket or treat bag and occasionally ask for sits and steps of attention heeling https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ and reward those every now and then. This helps prevent him from feeling frustrated (since he's no longer free to go around as he pleases), creates positive associations with you, while also teaching him some self-control in presence of distractions. -Don't Fall into the Redirection Trap Redirection is often recommended, but there's a caveat that is often not mentioned. We risk falling into a redirection trap due to the phenomenon of behavior chains. In other words, let's say a dog mounts, and we then call him to us and give him treats to stop him. In this case, we risk that we insert an undesirable behavior into a behavior chain. Behavior chains are simply sequences of behaviors. In simple words, the dog learns to get a double whammy or rewards, one he gets to hump (which as mentioned is self-rewarding on its own) and two he's rewarded for rushing towards you. Soon the dog thinks: every time I mount, I then get called and get treats, so the mounting behavior repeats and gets stronger because of this double reinforcement at play. Some dogs may also get a kick out of it as it soon turns into a game where the dog purposely mounts and then looks at you in hopes of being called and then getting treats. To break this chain, it can help to insert more behaviors in the chain, like when he mounts, you call him, then ask for a sit and then ask to shake, and then ask for a hand target, before giving the treats. This is done in hopes that with all these additional behaviors inserted, the dog forgets he was humping prior, but some dogs can be super smart in learning chains, even the longer ones. So my go-to method in these cases, is doing everything possible to calling the dog away, *before* he has a chance to hump, once we recognize his intent. This can be a bit of a challenge, because you need a speedy fast response from the dog and very close monitoring of the most subtle "pre-mounting signs." But it helps a lot, also because a dog is more difficult to pay attention to us once they have grasped somebody's legs. -Provide Alternate Activities Due to reinforcing nature of mounting, it would therefore be important to prevent the behavior from happening in the first place and offering alternate activities that surpass the reinforcement provided by the mounting. This training takes time, so ideally, prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior in the meanwhile through management, while you work in the background on the desirable behavior you’d like your dog to perform when guests come over. What behaviors can be trained? There are several behaviors we can train our dog to interact with guests in better ways. For instance, we can train them to target the guest's hands with his nose in exchange for a tossed treat. Here is the guide on targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ We can play "round robin recalls" where we have guests in a circle taking turns calling your dog, asking for a sit and then tossing a treat, rinse and repeating several times to drain that hyper excited energy. I can't emphasize enough the importance of going high value with the treats when working around strong distractions. I am talking tripe, baked liver, roasted chicken, whatever he drools buckets for. We need to compete over the mounting's self-reinforcement nature and its strong, established rehearsal history. -Work Under Threshold Now, we can't obviously train these behaviors with a variety of guests around and kids running amock. Your setter would likely be way too over threshold to listen. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ So start training hand targets, recalls and sits in a low distraction area using medium-value treats and family members, and build up from there, gradually and systematically. Once he's reliable in responding, you would need to enlist the help of one to two friends to get started. Keep your dog on leash and practice on approaching them. Have your guests ask for a hand target or a sit, and tell them to toss the treats on the ground treasure-hunt style. Rinse and repeat several times. If you notice an intent to mount, instruct them to turn their back around and walk away, or you walk with your dog away. Give him a minute cool down time. This teaches your dog that his behavior doesn't yield any attention/interaction. But then as you return, and you keep giving him opportunities to make it right by attending to you or your guests' cues, you allow the idea that, if he interacts appropriately, he gets attention, interaction and treats, to sink in more and more. Then practice with more guests, a variety of guests until you establish a new way to interact that doesn't involve mounting. Then start practicing on a longer leash (from 4 feet to 6), then on a long line (10 feet) until you build enough reliability that you can start working off leash. Of course, you won't always have guests willing to ask for sits or hand targets, so you also want to practice also more on recalls and leave its. Recall is the happy response you want and that you have been working on, but likely in too high-level distractions where he's unable to respond. Leave it is more of a "stop doing what you are doing" and come towards me. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/recall/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ -Dogs Who Mount Need More Impulse Control If your dog is too excited around guests, he may benefit from learning better impulse control. Here are some impulse control exercises: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ If your dog is slightly anxious, take steps to reduce his anxiety. Ask your guests to talk in a calm tone of voice and use subtle movements. Create positive associations with having guests in your home. Reduce the number of stressors from your dog's environment. If there are kids running around in the yard, that can be too much for many dogs. It's best to do a little training when things are better under control (like kids standing quietly) and then put the dog in another area to relax. Calming aids like DAP collars and sprays, calming supplements can help too (ask your vet's advice for these) if there's some stress at play. Giving the dog a break from the guests allows us to relax too because it's close to impossible to attend to guests and a dog who needs so much close monitoring all the time. Not to mention, dogs get mentally exhausted at some point with so much going on and when they get tired, they get cranky and that can cause them to mount even more. You can basically strategically time your training with when your guests are engaged in calmer activities (like chit-chatting versus playing with a ball) and once you're happy with how your dog is interacting, you can praise him lavishly, and then take him back to a quiet area to get some respite with something desirable and safe to chew. Warning: when dogs mount, they may sometimes react aggressively, if we approach them and try to pull them off. On top of this, such removals can cause scratches to the person's skin if the dog has grasped them. It is best to give them a cue or toss a treat to let them disengage. -Make Sure Physical and Mental Energy are Drained When guests come over all the excitement (sometimes nervous energy) needs to go somewhere. I know you mentioned you exercise him, but mental stimulation (brain games) can help drain a good portion of that too. You may need some experimenting and see how more exercise, training and mental stimulation prior to the guests' arrival impacts him best. You need the right balance as too little energy expenditure can increase mounting, but too much can make them cranky and that increases mounting too. I hope this helps, keep us posted on how things go! Happy training! Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Hi Fredery, Hope all is going well with sweet Loki! There is urine marking and urine marking: there's hormonal urine marking, territorial urine marking, anxiety urine marking, social urine marking, and then, to further compound things, sometimes dogs may seem like they're urine marking, when in reality they're peeing from excitement/submission, and other times what we are seeing is incomplete housetraining, or peeing in small amounts and frequently due to a urinary problem like the presence of stones/ urinary tract infections. So it's very important identifying the exact type of urine marking so to tackle it correctly as each type often requires a different approach. For example, the trainer that you mention who used the dabbing the pee around method may marginally help in the case of a dog who is peeing from anxiety and hoping things smell familiar again, but if the dog happened to pee due to incomplete housetraining, the dog would be likely to pee more because now we have spread his scent more around and therefore, now everything smells like bathroom! So we need to be super careful in knowing what type of peeing we are dealing with. If a dog is anxiety marking, we would have to tackle the underlying anxiety. More than dabbing urine around, I would have sprayed the marked areas with a pheromone-based spray. Cheers!

It's been much better now that I feed Betsy and Bailey away for Buddy, But now Buddy will hang out nearby. It would be best if they are completely out of sight/sound from each other. Fortunately, feedings are short (most dogs wolf down their meals in under a minute) so that can allow you to have the dogs eat in different areas (bathrooms with doors closed come to mind, yard, taking Buddy on a brief walk while all the others eat). Make sure to pick up all food bowls (I like to give a treat/extra kibble to each dog when I do that) and ensure there's no food on the ground so there's nothing to fight over. However, as mentioned, it sounds like you may need more involved management, considering there have been fights even in absence of food. Buddy wasn't at the door today (yeah). Right now, I can't figure out where I could limit Buddy's location when we come home. It's an old house, but I guess it is fairly open so it would take a bunch of barricades. There are several options for open homes such as crates, exercise pens, pet extendible gates, baby gates, a bathroom. However, if Buddy was never confined for most of his life, it can cause stress on him and he may try to escape. It may take some time to get him comfortable to being confined, although the Prozac can help in that too once it kicks in. Have all your three dogs always been kept loose together when you're away without any sign of conflict when you come home? Is Betsy crate trained? I'm sort of feeling like I need a behavioralist for Betsy and Buddy. But alas, I am not made out of money. Veterinary behaviorists can be costly, but they're the top experts in the field as they're the specialists. They can prescribe meds and then carry out a behavior modification plan simultaneously so to make things work out in synergy. Not to mention, they are the go-to professionals for ruling out medical problems that may cause behavior changes. They may find things, vets may miss. Next in line are Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists (CAABs). They may cost less, but have obtained specialized training too. These animal behaviorists are certified by the Animal Behavior Society and have obtained graduate degrees in the science of animal behavior. Some CAABs though are actually licensed veterinarians who have expanded their knowledge by completing a residency in animal behavior. CAABs can also work closely with veterinarians, recommending physical exams and other tests prior to their consultation, and providing vets with ongoing updates on the dog’s behavioral diagnosis with a summary of the treatment plan. To sum things up, dog behaviorists have attained higher degrees and have studied all aspects of animal behavior. In order to remain up-to-date on research, they are required to continue their education and stay on top of the most recent scientific findings. Then, we have dog trainers/behavior consultants. While dog trainers/behavior consultants can be very knowledgeable about dog behavior, with many attending continuing education courses and obtaining specialized certifications on dog behavior and titles, they lack the depth and breath of the specialized training, behaviorists obtain. They also cannot prescribe medications or make medical diagnosis, but can suggest seeing a vet/veterinary behaviorist if there are suspicious behaviors that may point to a medical issue or if dogs present with challenging behaviors such as aggression or deep anxiety to licensed behaviorists. Now, caution is needed. Anybody can call themselves a behaviorist. This means that you'll need to dig deeply on their credentials. What are their qualifications? How and where did they obtain such title? What are their degrees? Also important is "What methods do they use? You want to ensure your dogs are in good hands and that no further stress is added by "behaviorists" or trainers using outdated and harsh methods. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) advocates using professionals that stray away from the alpha, dominance models. https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Dominance_Position_Statement_download-10-3-14.pdf Ideally, according to AVSAB, professionals should use principles based on the following: animal training, behavior prevention strategies, and behavior modification programs should follow the scientifically based guidelines of positive reinforcement, operant conditioning, classical conditioning, desensitization, and counter conditioning. I will briefly provide some examples: Animal training: anything that involves operant conditioning, like training dogs to lie down on a mat or come when called at the first signs of conflict. The focus should be on "what do I want my dogs to do, rather than not to do?" This can be difficult though when dogs are too over threshold to listen and it takes time to train them toa fluent level. If one dog is prone to guarding food from other dogs, they should be trained in separate areas from one another to prevent fighting. Behavior prevention strategies: anything that prevents the dogs from getting into conflict, in other words, management. This prevents dogs from rehearsing problematic behaviors (using aggressive displays can become habit forming), is a safety measure (with nothing left to fight over, or with dogs away from each other, dogs are safer), helps reduce levels of stress. Management may be a long-term, permanent solution, although dog owners often often struggle with it (rotating dogs, separations, removing access to triggers like removing food bowls, toys etc. if sources of conflict), however, there are more options for those who want to work directly on the problem. In those cases, management is used strictly, until the dogs have been trained fluent responses to cues and behavior modification has attained desired results. At that point it can be marginally reduced, although it may still be needed for those times when we can't supervise/train or when there are risks for triggers presenting unexpectedly. Behavior modification: that's getting to the root of the problem. Often entails carrying out a functional assessment to find out the root cause of the behavior, (after having ruled out medical causes, taken behavior history, testing theories when safe to do so etc.) and implementing with the in-person help of a professional. Behavior modification often entails desensitization, and counter conditioning combined. Desensitization entails taking small baby steps in the direction we wish to attain, but in a way that doesn't cause the dog to go over threshold and therefore causing minimal stress. For example, if a dog is scared of bikes, bikes are presented initially at a far distance that the dog can tolerate. This is covered more in depth here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ Counterconditioning entails creating positive associations, changing the dogs mindset of he he or she perceives something. For example, if a dog doesn't like another dog to approach when he's sitting by the owner, he can be fed treats as the other dog is walked by at a distance. Rep after rep, the approach of the other dog comes to predict treats, forming a positive conditioned emotional response. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ This is covered more in depth here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ I must be living right or my stars are aligned or something, because my dog park friend just gifted me a paid program with one. So, I can pretty much swing paying for Buddy. Caution with dog parks, they are frowned upon by many behavior professionals due to risks for squabbles and major fights. For dogs who guard stuff, toys, food, treats, bowls, attention can be triggers. Don't want to be a party pooper, but not all dogs are great dog park candidates. Ideally, we want at a very minimum a great, fluent response to a come cue (recall) and dogs with great social skills. I swear, I had fed Betsy and Bailey and Betsy later went to the communal water bowl. Buddy pulled his growl on her. She wasn't even close. It irks me to no end. Extra and soul sucking! Luckily Betsy ignored him. Do you feel he was guarding the water bowl too? Has he ever guarded the water bowl before towards your other dogs? Or is this a totally new behavior he's showing towards Betsy? It sounds like Buddy is stressed in her presence and he feels threatened. He is an older dog and is set in his own ways, any changes in their lives (like the addition of a dog) can be major disrupters. It could be Betsy has been suppressing herself a bit initially (the honeymoon period) and/or now that she's a teenager stage in full swing, she may be opening herself up more and more, and Buddy doesn't like that. Has you vet suggested any behavior modification/referral to a behaviorist to accompany the Prozac? I find it a bit odd it was prescribed as a stand-alone solution.

Hi Laura, You can also try contacting [email protected]. This is the support email and they may have a downloadable version.

Susan, thanks for the extra details, they are very helpful! (And thank you Jennifer for providing support and awesome management tips!) I will be posting some general observations in non-bold. Buddy growls low when any of the dogs eat. He seems to want to control who and when the dogs eat. It was absolutely about the food. I usually guard so Buddy can't pull his growling but I had to use the bathroom. I saw the tension between them and tried to distract and that's when it happened. Then they started fighting. I was able to slip the leash on Betsy and put her in her crate. OK, so we clearly know that food is a trigger. I always like to tell clients that if they can describe their dog's triggers such as "My dog growls every time when.... (fill in the blanks) we have the advantage of knowing what contexts or circumstances trigger the behavior and that gives us better control over the situation. You mention Buddy does this growling with any of the dogs, so it sounds like he's not picking on her in particular because he doesn't like her. He simply doesn't like ANY dog near food. However, being that Betsy is the youngest of the crew, and a new addition, she may cross boundaries, and he may feel more like she needs to learn "her place." On top of this, the salmon oil on her food could have made her meal appear to him as extra appetizing. Being that Buddy is elderly, overweight and is so controlling about the other dogs' food bowls, to the point of trying to steal other dogs' foods, I would think it would be helpful having him see the vet to rule out any medical issues. You mentioned he wasn't always this way, but this behavior started at a certain point. There are several medical conditions that can cause dogs to be hungry and want to eat more (polyphagia) to the point of them developing a ravenous appetite. This can sometimes cause resource guarding tendencies over food. For sake of example, possible causes for polyphagia are poor absorption of nutrients, Cushing's diseases and diabetes (which can cause increased drinking as well), side effect of certain medications, in particular prednisone. Of course, dogs don't need to have any of these medical issues to resource guard, but most behavior professionals would want to start with a thorough medical screening on any dogs exhibiting conflict-triggering behaviors, considering that they can't be treated efficiently from a behavior modification standpoint, when there's a medical issue as the root cause. I know now it was a horrible idea to let Betsy out of the crate after their first kerfuffle, but I did it. When Betsy attacked Buddy after I let her out of the crate, food was not involved, but my husband came home. The fight was the first. OK, this is where I was hoping that food was involved because it would have made things easier to manage. It could be that food was the initial trigger, but now Betsy is stressed and feels intimidated by Buddy and is therefore now taking the "offense is the best defense" strategy. Being that she is fairly young though, there may be also genetic components at play. However, you mentioned that this was shortly after the initial episode of Buddy growling over the food. Here's the thing: when dogs have fights, they need a "cool down" period. If we get them out and together shortly thereafter, there are chances that they may resume to where they were before because they are still tense, shaky and those stress hormones are still in high gear. Giving them a cool down period where they are separated for some time can help them go back to baseline. When I let Betsy out of the crate, her ears were back and I knew it was "going down". I honestly thought Betsy was going to kill Buddy. Betsy did break the skin. Buddy's ear looked pretty bad. He was taken to the vet this morning. Vet said it was not a hematoma but it was infected. He did not need stitches. The vet also prescribed Prozac for Buddy. I really feel that the food growling/growling is a big part of the issue and I'm not sure Prozac will help. That must have been very scary to endure, but glad to hear that Buddy didn't need stitches. I wonder if she left a puncture wound or whether her tooth may have "snagged' and caused some type of laceration. It sounds more like some puncture wound as these can get easily infected. In any case, we know that Betsy, in these situations, is likely to react, rather than back down and avoid a confrontation-unless she was cornered or body blocked by Buddy or in a tight place, meaning that she had no way out. giving her no other choice than defend herself and confront him. Prozac, (generic name fluoxetine), is an antidepressant which works by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain. Because of this, it's classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, commonly abbreviated as SSRIs. When serotonin levels increase, the chemical transmission of messages among brain cells is facilitated. This makes Prozac a good drug to use along with the implementation of a good behavior modification plan. When this drug is used, there are better chances that the dog can relax enough to cognitively function, opening the lines of learning. However, as other SSRIs, Prozac is not a drug that works immediately. It takes about about 4 to 6 weeks to fully see the very first effects. This is because it takes some for this drug to induce noticeable changes at serotonergic receptor levels. In general, this drug needs to be given for at least 6 to 8 weeks before evaluating its efficacy. The good news is that significant improvement of behavior issues (like over 60 percent) can be expected when the drug Prozac is used along with a behavior modification plan. Also according to a study, the best responses to Prozac where seen in dogs who received trazodone (a shorter acting drug) or clonidine in addition to fluoxetine. I would suggest discussing with the vet more in depth on what his/her plans are going forward. More and more vets are also suggesting medications to the dogs who are victims of fights since they can be deeply emotionally impacted and may benefit as well reaching baseline levels. Buddy has limited training. He does know "no" and sit but in the fight nothing worked. Betsy and Buddy co-existed prior to this event but didn't interact much. Since the incident, Betsy has been fairly well behaved but I hear Buddy doing his growl thing any time Betsy is anywhere near. And at times, it seems that he is trying to get near her. I move quickly to reassure Betsy so she is not triggered. I'm starting to feel resentment toward Buddy. That's not good. Buddy is always at the door when I bring the younger dogs home from the dog park. I tried to come through the back and he went there too. I don't take him because he gets car sick. It's been a challenge. When dogs are in a super-aroused state, as when they feel threatened and ready to fight, they go "over threshold." You can read more about threshold levels here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ This makes it difficult for them to focus on us and follow cues. This is where a drug like Prozac can come handy. When this drug is used, there are better chances that the dog can relax enough to cognitively function, opening the lines of learning. However, while Prozac can help calm dogs down, making them more laid back and manageable, as mentioned, it's not really meant to be used alone. Once the dog is weaned off this drug, there are good chances that behavior issues will quickly resurface and attain the same intensity as before. Prozac is therefore not a miracle pill meant to magically wipe behavior problems away. It works for cases where a dogs' levels of anxiety, aggression and reactivity are so high at baseline that they are unable to cope and focus. Once on the drug, they are more amenable to training and behavior modification. Prozac can also help dogs who are prone to the effect of trigger stacking, which takes place when dogs are constantly triggered by things in their environment, never allowing them time to recover. What is a veterinary behavioralist? Veterinary behaviorists are licensed veterinarians who have received board-certification in Veterinary Behavior. In other words, on top of graduating from a veterinary college, they have undergone additional training lasting at least 3 years under the close supervision of an established behaviorist. During this time, attendants conduct behavior research, publishing in peer-reviewed journals and authoring case reports. The title of veterinary behaviorist is obtained after passing rigorous Board Examination. After passing the exam, board-certified professionals are referred to as "diplomates" and the title of DACVB is placed after their name. The title stands for Diplomat American College Veterinary Behavior. There are several other advantages of working along with veterinary behaviorists. Because a veterinary behaviorist, on top of specializing in behavior, has also a veterinary degree, he or she can turn very helpful in ruling out medical problems. Medical problems should always be ruled out when dogs present with behavior issues. This is because many medical conditions can trigger anxiety and lower a dog's threshold for aggression. Veterinary behaviorists can also prescribe drugs. Behavior issues in dogs can sometimes stem from a neurochemical imbalance. Drugs may help lower a dog's threshold so to open more up the lines for learning, making them more receptive to training and behavior modification. And last but not least, veterinary behaviorists can get to the root cause of the problem and create a custom-tailored plan based on their observations and always keeping safety in mind. Betsy had zero training when I got her. I house trained her and taught her to sit as well as reliable call which is somewhat iffy right now but getting better. I have been feeding Betsy and Bailey (the two year old) completely separate and it has reduced the tension a little. Once medical issues in the dogs displaying aggressive behaviors have been ruled out, if food is the main trigger, then management options to prevent the dogs from rehearsing problematic behaviors (the more dogs fight, the more tension is created and more stress hormones, putting them more on edge) will need to be in place. In dogs who fight over food bowls, this may therefore entail feeding them in different areas, preferably out of sight. Since Buddy seems to the be main instigator, this could entail feeding him in a crate, behind a baby gate or ex-pen or in the yard if you have a safely fenced one, with the door closed and away from the other dogs. When your other dogs are then done eating (always allow sufficient space from each other and closely supervise), pick up the food bowls (I like to give a treat/extra kibble to each dog when I do that) and ensure there's no food on the ground so there's nothing to fight over. However, it sounds like you may need more involved management, considering there have been fights even in absence of food (more about this is discussed further down). When I was able to call Betsy away food was not involved but my husband was coming home. It occurred to me that Buddy may be a little jealous of Betsy as she and the two year old play together a lot and Bailey does not play with Buddy as much. I think there is a jealousy about my husband's attention as well. I am trying to keep the dogs away from each other, but they live in the same house . We're doing what we can to keep them apart. I'm not positive how old Betsy is, but it fairly close to 7 months now. I don't think Buddy has an underlying medical condition but he really likes food. I had to keep him away from the puppy food when I fed Betsy previously. I am pretty stressed out about the situation and I know that doesn't help either. OK, this can compound things. As mentioned earlier, this could have been because they were re-introduced too shortly after the fight, but if it's true what you suspect, then things get much more involved. And this would mean more stringent management (not giving attention to Betsy in his presence, and not letting him see her play with your other dog and more separation time). If you wish to proceed beyond management/ avoidance, a full behavior consultation with a professional like a veterinary behaviorist or Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist for an evaluation and implementation of dog behavior modification would be important. This is for safety and for correct implementation of behavior modification. Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

You're very welcome! You're doing a wonderful job with Finn! Keep us posted on how things go.

Hi there! Welcome to the forums, Your pup is very young (8 weeks) and therefore is trying to engage in play, albeit with those needle sharp teeth, it can feel overwhelming. It sounds like you got Molly at a very young age, 6 weeks maybe? Usually, we want young pups to stay with their littermates and moms for at least 8 weeks during which they learn more social skills, get to play more with their siblings, and learn more bite inhibition. These two weeks away from the litter can really put a dent in their behaviors and they can be super nippy as that's how they play/interact with the world. Do you know why she was put up for adoption so early? Did you get her from a breeder? Or a rescue? Did they tell you whether she is a singleton puppy (the only puppy of the litter?) If she doesn't lick, it may help to use a little help to evoke licking. One of my favorite tricks is to spread a little bit of butter on my hand, and when they lick, praise (yay!) and open your hand giving access to the treat. You may also find these games helpful as they give your pup an alternate way to interact: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ These handling exercises can help too: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/ Here are more tips: You want your puppy to gain more reinforcement from interactive toys so that Molly chooses them more and more over playing roughly with you and your family. Look for toys that offer some form of engagement. Some of the best toys are the ones that offer reinforcement under the release of kibble and treats. Examples of such toys are Kong Wobblers, puppy Kongs, Buster Cubes, Licki mats and Snuffle Mats. You also may want to do some brain games like: The muffin game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/ The treasure hunt game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ Hand targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Airplane game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/airplane-game-training/ You may also include the smacking sound so to teach her to pay attention to you: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ These games encourage play that doesn't involve you, or, if the games involve you, your pup is interacting in a different way that doesn't involve biting. Some also allow some level of impulse control (the treat in the airplane game is released only when the dog doesn't jump and decides to make eye contact). "Preempt" the Behavior Through Alternate Play Ideally, you should catch your puppy *before* She has had the opportunity to nip and latch onto you clothing or heels. Once your puppy has jumped up and latched, it will be more difficult to interrupt the behavior, you allow rehearsal of an unwanted behavior and you also risk creating an unwanted behavior chain if right afterward, you distract your pup with a toy. These forms of alternate play may require you to carry some items with you or keeping them extra handy, but it's totally worth it! Here are several options for alternate play (make sure to offer these as soon as you notice your puppy approaching you with a possible intent to jump/bite). -Carry kibble in your pocket and treat bag. The moment your puppy approaches, toss kibble the opposite way. Rinse and repeat. Your pup will love the game. If your puppy knows how to sit, you can ask that before tossing the kibble or you can train a little later. Here is how to train sit: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/ -Use a long tug toy and encourage your puppy to play tug with it the moment he approaches. If your puppy knows how to leave it and drop, you can add these cues in the game, for now though, since she's so young, you can just have her let fun with it. Here is how to train these though for later on: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ -Keep a flirt pole made for dogs handy. I like to carry one on my shoulder or keep it around my waist. The moment your pup approaches, let her play with it. Being part whippet, she should be drawn to it like a magnet. When young pups are around my elderly parents, I let them hold and drag a flirt pole on the floor when they're walking around to prevent the pup from nipping their heels. -Keep several balls in your cargo pant pockets. The moment your puppy approaches, toss a ball the opposite way. Ensure Your Puppy Gets Sleep! Puppies are generally very active pooches, but their batteries tend to discharge quickly. One minute they're up and running, the next they are exhausted as they used up all their energy and need to re-charge. Pups have a lot of growing to and they need to get all the rest they can get. After all, it is known that growth hormone production increases while the puppy is resting or sleeping. Similar to children, they may get cranky when tired (which leads to more nipping!) and may be reluctant to go to bed. You may have to enforce naps by placing them in the crate/play pen with something to chew and providing a quiet environment. Avoid Wearing Tempting Stuff Watch carefully when your pup jumps up and bites, is your puppy trying to reach something in particular? What exactly is your puppy nipping? Puppies with high prey drive are strongly attracted to anything that moves and captures their attention. Watch carefully what your puppy does when she jumps up and nips. In many cases, puppies are after your loose sleeves or your pant legs or that scarf or necklace that is dangling. Some pups may also be after your shoelaces, long skirt or even your hair as it moves around as you walk or from the wind. To puppies reaching these things are irresistible, because they are moving and stimulate their desire to chase and grab. It may help to avoid full exposures to things that attract puppies so much at least until we have their behavior better under control. So it may help heaps temporarily keeping hair up, not wearing dangling jewelry and using shoes without laces. Tucking flapping pant legs in socks may help too and so does wearing tall Wellington boots if the pups aim to bite feet and ankles (I know, with this heat, last thing we want is to wear tall boots, but they can be a life saver and prevent pups from getting into a feet chasing habit!). Once we have strongly reinforced other ways to interact with us, we can gradually re-introduce these. Enroll in Puppy Classes Puppies benefit from puppy classes for the socialization, foundational training and the opportunity to play with other puppies and to further refine their social skills. These sessions give your puppy the opportunity to engage in the type of play she craves so badly and this further helps drain some excess energy while allowing her to socialize with other puppies and people in safe place. Look for puppy classes run by positive reinforcement dog trainers who put an emphasis on ensuring safe and happy interactions. I hope this helps! Puppy biting won't stop overnight, it's a process rather than one-time done ordeal, it's very normal (you'll find an abundance of desperate new puppy owners with puppy landsharks by searching these forums) but with these interventions, you should see a gradual and steady decline with an increase in more desirable behaviors, especially if you reinforce them with great rewards! Happy training! Feel free to ask any more questions or post updates. We can always do deeper troubleshooting as needed. Best, Adrienne

Hi there, welcome to the forums, Sorry to hear there has been tension in your household. Fights among several dogs sharing the household can be quite complex, we need to pay close attention the potential triggers and figure out which dogs is the instigator and then carefully manage the situation and have some plans in place in cases fights are about to erupt. Working on these cases often requires a mix of management, training and behavior modification carried out with the help of a professional (ideally, a veterinary behaviorist) for safety and correct implementation. "Letting dogs work things out" can be a recipe for disaster considering the high risks. To better understand your situation, I have some questions: You mentioned that you have had Betsy for 2 months. Did these fights just start now? If not, how has their relationship been until now? In the episode where you were trying to let them "work things out" was there still food involved? What happened before Betsy attacked Buddy causing the ear hematoma? How bad was the bite on the ear? Did Betsy break the skin? Did Buddy need stitches? When your husband came home was there a particular trigger? What happened just prior? Were they trying to greet your husband? Have your dogs received any training? It was great that you were able to call Betsy away from Buddy before things exacerbated. Has Buddy ever seen a vet for the behavior? Does he have any medical conditions? Sometimes, excess food guarding can stem from medical causes. Are you sure Betsy is 6 months and not older? If possible, post a picture. It would be best keeping her separated for now for safety as the situation sounds pretty tense.