New rescue, snaps when sleepy

[lokilou96]

After searching through all the posts I couldn't find the situation I'm having.

I adopted a new rescue. I don't know much about him other than he seems to be a Chihuahua and possibly Chinese Crested mix. He is from Puerto Rico and about a year old. Absolutely loves attention, lap time and follows me everywhere. (As with all my dogs pretty much...even the bigger ones)

When he is tired and snuggling on me and one of the other dogs is looking for attention, he growls and snaps at them. He doesn't do this when he's on a dog bed or the couch.

I just brought him home two days ago. He was in a foster home for about two weeks. The foster family said she did not have this type of issue. She had two other dogs and cats as well.

When he does this, I have been separating him. I tell him no. He is placed on a dog bed with blankets. I do not one of the others getting hurt. Nor one of them returning the same type of actions. They haven't so far. They back off and just look at him.

I will be going through all of the training and games with him. I have just never come across this type of situation before and could use some guidance.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

First of all, thank you so much for rescuing, it's always heart-warming to hear about dogs being welcomed into new homes and becoming cherished members of the family. It's always a bit of question mark with these fellows, not knowing much about their histories and upbringings. We can assume though that things must be quite stressful for them being initially surrendered, and then going into a foster home and then once again in their new homes. It takes an adjustment period for them to acclimate and get used to all the new sights, sounds, smells and acquaintances.

 

It sounds like you are describing a case of resource guarding (guarding possessions that are perceived as particularly valuable). A warm, comforting lap may be as valuable as a bowl of food or toy. What makes me think that you may be dealing with a case of resource guarding is the fact that he is growling and snapping and the behavior seems to occur contingent upon being on your lap and other dogs approaching. It doesn't seem he does this when he's on the dog bed or couch and other dogs approach from your description.

 

Now, with resource guarding, things get somewhat challenging. It's a behavior that you want to address considering that the more your dog rehearses the behavior, the more it's likely to establish and put roots. This makes the behavior more difficult to eradicate compared to nipping a new behavior in the bud.

 

The aggressive behavior may therefore exacerbate with time. A growl may lead to a snarl, then a snarl may lead to a snap and a snap may lead to a bite in the case of a dog not backing down to the earlier warning signs. On top of this, consider that dogs who guard laps from other people or dogs, may start expanding their behavior, to the point of manifesting their aggressive behavior from farther distances up to the point of even guarding an entire room preventing another person or dog from coming in from outside.

 

Resource guarding is also strongly reinforcing. In other words, if every time your dog growls when another dog approaches and the approaching dog moves away upon hearing the growl, the growling behavior will reinforce. The growling behavior therefore strengthens and is likely to repeat next time, and the more your dog rehearses the behavior, the more it becomes habit-forming.

 

For sake of an example, imagine carrying a luggage that has valuables in it. One day, a person approaches and tries to steal it from you. You hold on to it tightly and start yelling at the top of your lungs "Thief! Thief!" This scares the thief who lets go and runs away. Since this method proved successful, chances are good that you would employ the same strategy if the same scenario happened again.

 

I will be posting some more details on how resource guarding behavior directed towards laps is tackled in the next post.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

If this is truly a case of resource guarding, considering that guarding is a serious issue that may lead to biting, it is important to enlist the help of a professional using force-free behavior modification techniques. The professional can assess the situation in person and provide one-on-one guidance on correct implementation. Having noted the importance of this, I will be posting some general guidelines that are just examples of behavior modification

 

Very important is to avoid punishment-based techniques. Not implying that you are using these, but always worthy of pointing out for other readers or in case you may encounter somebody suggesting these. While it may be tempting to scold a dog for growling or even use some physical, confrontational techniques one may have seen on television shows, these methods will only create more problems. While at first glance it may look like these methods work, what is really happening is that, when a dog is being punished for growling, one is suppressing an important warning signal without tackling the underlying emotions. This often leads to a dog who bites without warning. On top of this, physical methods can cause a dog to start perceiving the owner as unpredictable and untrustworthy. This may trigger hand-shyness and defensive aggression.

 

A word about negative punishment -removal of something the dog likes (lap) contingent upon the undesirable behavior (growling). While it may make sense to get up the moment a dog starts growling at other dogs approaching when on the lap, this can also have some negative repercussions. Sure, it may work in some cases, but not always. While it's true that one is interrupting the unwanted behavior this way and providing a consequence by doing this (getting up or putting the dog on the floor), it's also true that by removing access to the lap when the dog growls contingent upon another dog or person approaching, may trigger the guarding to get worse. Why? Because there are chances that the dog may associate the approach of other dogs with losing access to the lap, leading to negative emotions as his biggest fear of losing access to the warm, comforting lap is coming true.

 

Using management to prevent rehearsal is important. This simply means not putting the dog in the position of practicing the undesirable behavior. So in the case of lap guarding, it is best to avoid keeping the dog on the lap and instead training the dog to go to his mat/bed instead. This comes helpful, especially while you are seeking the intervention of a dog behavior professional.

 

Changing the emotional response. Sometimes, management may not be enough. Perhaps dog owners want the dog to stay on the lap, what to do in such a case? The goal of behavior modification for lap guarding is making great things happen when other dogs approach using desensitization and counterconditioning techniques. Once again, for correct implementation of behavior modification (it requires some level of skill and one-on-one personal guidance) and for safety (bites can happen if you're not careful enough!), it's important seeking the assistance of a dog behavior professional such as a veterinary behaviorist (DACVB), a certified applied animal behaviorist (CAAB) or a dog trainer using force-free dog behavior modification. We also don't want dogs to be over threshold during the process, which is also why we want a professional on our side.

 

You can read more about these methods here:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

Now, lap guarding directed towards people overall is much easier to tackle than when it's directed towards other dogs. This is because, with people, we can instruct them on what to do and not do, and this helps tremendously in paving the path towards success. With lap guarding directed towards dogs, things are more challenging. Other dogs may approach quickly and giving the lap-guarding dog treats while on the lap may lead to the lap becoming more valuable from the guarding dog's perspective. Not to mention, the other dogs may want the treats too and may therefore approach more which can obviously lead to problems.

 

In this case, it's important to use a systematic approach making sure treats happen contingent upon the appearance of other dogs. How can this be done? For example, an assistant can be employed to walk another dog towards the lap-guarding dog, but initially from a distance. Treat delivery starts upon seeing the other dog and treat delivery abruptly stops when the other dog leaves. In words, this is what we are looking for, although in reality, in a dog's mind it might not be exactly expressed like this, but it gives the point: "Good things happen when other dogs come near, when they leave, all the good stuff stop. Conclusion: Dogs make great things happen, so I like having other dogs near!"

 

Distance is then gradually decreased based on how comfortable the lap-guarding dog appears. In the whole process, it's fundamental ensuring the lap-guarding dog is kept under threshold and that the process proceeds at the dog's pace. Again, for this reason, it's important to seek the guidance of a dog behavior professional so to reduce chances for the dog going over threshold and going back and forth in the process as criteria is raised gradually.

 

Consider potential for regression. It is not unusual for setbacks to happen when working on behavior modification. This phenomenon is known as regression, and it's most likely to occur in novel situations or situations that weren't practiced (a new dog approaching when your dog is in your lap, approaching too fast) or when your dog is particularly stressed, sick or tired.

 

It's also important to hold "refresher sessions" every now and then so to maintain the progress made and ensure those good feelings about dogs being near the lap remain solid in the dog's mind.

 

Now, something that needs to be considered is that you have had your dog for only two days. Your dog has likely lots of stress hormones in his body and he has to adjust. Chances are, he may need some time to get used to the other dogs and not perceive them as a threat. Right now, it could be that all he knows is that your presence reassures him and that he is seeking some stability and your other dogs stress him out. There may be chances that as time goes by, he may no longer feel this way and this behavior may reduce, but then, maybe not, maybe he is prone to lap guarding and it didn't happen in the foster home because she/he wasn't allowing him on his/her lap, or maybe this person didn't want to disclose it (it happens at times).

 

Another thing to be on the lookout is your other dogs reaction to this new dog. In general, it is best not to give particular preferential behavior to new comers as this may trigger "jealousy" in the dogs being owned for longer. It could be your dogs are sensing this and they are approaching in a bit of an assertive way ("who is this new dog who is taking over ad laying on our owners lap?"), and your little fellow is sensing that. It might therefore be best to just give this new dog attention when the other dogs aren't around (like when they are taken on a walk or or out in the yard) as too much attention in this delicate introductory phase may cause squabbles at times.

 

Here are some general guidelines:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/introduce-dog-new-dog/

 

So for the time being, it may be best to prevent rehearsal of the lap-guarding behavior especially during this introductory phase and having a plan in place on what to do if this behavior persists. In the meanwhile, it may be best encouraging him to sleep on his own bed/mat.

 

If you plan on doing training and games with him, it may be ideal providing your other dogs with something pleasant to do in the meanwhile so that it doesn't look like you are spending more time with him and giving him all the good stuff. For example, your other dogs can be crated at a distance and each provided with a stuffed Kong in the meanwhile as they wait their turn being trained. Walks are also another good way to encourage bonding between your dogs (for safety, initially have one family member walk your new dog while your other dogs are walked by another).

Edited February 5, 2020 by Adrienne Farricelli