Need help training my stubborn Polish Tatra Sheepdog

[AlexisR.]

I messaged Adrienne about this and am awaiting another message from her but she suggested I post this to the forum. 
 

Here is my message to her.

 

“Hello my name is Alexis and I was wanting to ask you some questions about training my almost 1 year old Polish Tatra, Sadie. She is very food aggressive and at times toy aggressive not with me or any people but with her big 3 year old brother Samuel (he is a dogo Argentine mastiff) as well as her 5 cat siblings. She also doesn’t like any of her siblings sniffing her while she is laying down, she gets growly. My other issue with her is that she has never wanted to crate train. I tried for months ever since I got her as a little puppy And she never did well in the crate. She would literally scream and cry for hours and also would break out of her kennel (Which resulted In her kennel being destroyed and also her having fur torn off of her and hurting her legs and hips from forcing her way out of her kennel when me and my family were not around to stop her) . I never let her out when she cried and always rewarded her when she went in her crate willingly as well as kept her favorite stuffed toys in her kennel and sprayed the kennel with dog pheromones . Samuel however loves his crate and having his own space to sleep in at night. I love all of my fur-babies so much and my cats have always coexisted very well with their dog siblings especially my one cat Bing, he absolutely loves both his dog siblings especially Samuel but Sadie has kind of made Bing a bit fearful Of her as of late due to her bad food aggression. It’s just been a lot tougher training Sadie than it was Samuel because she’s so strong willed and also a whole other type of personality. Sadie is really a sweetheart, ver verrrry sensitive, and very very loving of her humans as well as her big dog brother. I just really need help though in training her through this aggression and crate training. She currently gets to roam the house at night and just sleeps on her bed on my floor in my room or sometimes outside of my room on her bed in front of the closet due to the breaking out of her kennel and absolutely Just not wanting to crate train. I also need help with her being grabby with treats as it has been very difficult to train her to be gentle when taking her treats. Please please help me with training my Sweet girl Sadie.“

 

Sadie will be 1 year on the 13th of May. I’ve had some struggles with training her to sleep in a crate, be gentle when taking treats from myself and family members, as well as some food and toy aggression. My cats always steer clear of the dogs when they are eating and only occasionally will walk past them when they are eating. My dog Samuel was food aggressive as a puppy but he learned very quickly that the cats weren’t trying to steal his food from him and also crate trained very quickly and loves his kennel/sleep area. I understand they are both completely different breeds and personalities and I love that they are different. Sadie just happens to be a more strong willed and more difficult dog to train than Samuel which Is why I have come here to get help In training not only her but to find more things I can train Samuel in. What Sadie does when it comes to food is she’ll growl, show teeth, and sometimes go after her other pet siblings if she feels they are to close to her food. However she doesn’t always do this to the other pets. Sadie also has a problem with devouring her food instead of chewing and enjoying it. I’ve had her eating in a slow feeder bowl since she was a young pup but this hasn’t seemed to slow her down. I’d also like to say that my cats and my dogs have their own separate feeding areas from each other. Sadie does like her cat siblings and absolutely adores her big brother. She just has some food aggression issues and whatnot that I am just hoping to get help with nipping it in the butt while she’s young. 
 

If there’s any information I need to expand on please let me know.
 

Here is a photo of Sadie and Samuel

[Adrienne]

Hi Alexis R!

Welcome to the forums and thank you for adding details as they are very helpful!

Sadie and Samuel are two cuties!

 

When dealing with food aggression and toy aggression directed towards other pets sharing the household, often the best option is strict management. Let me explain. Dealing with resource guarding (being either food, toys or resting areas) more than training, behavior modification is needed. However, the "prognosis," basically how well it is likely to work tends to vary based on several factors. These factors can have an ameliorating (making better) or aggravating (making worse) effect on the prognosis.

 

 Examples of factors that ameliorate a prognosis are: 

 

1) the attacking dog engaging in ritualistic aggression (all that noise made when dogs fight without an actual real bite occurring- basically dogs using their words)

2) a good level of bite inhibition (if the dog happens to bite, no serious bite wounds occur), early intervention (the earlier help is sought, the better)

3) the predictability of the attacks (they always happen in the same circumstance) 

4) the attacks not occurring too frequently

4) a strong history of training (more likely these dogs be redirected at first signs of trouble, but of course up to a certain extent)

5) the attacks not having much of an impact on the attacked pets (the other pet just shrugs it off without living in fear) just to name a few

6) the other household pets avoiding to challenge the attacker (they stay clear and are careful to not provoke attacks and avoid to fight back)

7) the number of pets sharing the household (the more pets, of course, the more challenging it is to successfully manage them)

 

These positive prognostic factors don't rely solely on the dog/dogs sharing the household, but on the owner as well, so we have to consider in the likelihood of success such as:

 

1) owner motivation (time and commitment to follow through)

2) owner's compliance and ability to follow instructions

3) a supportive environment (where all the family is committed to collaborate)

4) the ability to always monitor interactions 

5) the ability to read the dog's body language intervening before matters get worse (it is more difficult to intervene once dogs are fighting)

 

Examples of factors that aggravate a prognosis are:

 

1) a dog who skips ritualistic aggression and goes straight to attacking/biting (no growls, posturing, snarls)

2) Dog bites on a higher level of the bite scale

3) a longer history of rehearsal of the problem behavior

4) attacks occurring frequently

5) attacks occurring  unpredictably

6) the attacking dog being much larger than the dog being attacked

7) The attacked dog fighting back rather than retreating

8) the attacks negatively impacting the other dog at an emotional level

9) a household with more than two dogs

10) presence of other types of pets that are more difficult to control (cats, ferrets, etc)

 

Of course, some of these factors have more or less weight on the prognosis. In your case, what makes things more challenging is that you have several pets and most of them are cats.  On the plus side, it seems like she is "using her words" more than anything which is good (although there are always chances for escalating, but some dogs just keep sticking to ritualistic displays as long as the other parties retreat). 

 

In general, if I was working on a dog who was mildly resource guarding food or toys towards another dog I would have the dog muzzled for safety for the exercises and I would work on using desensitization and counterconditioning. The exercises might look like something like this (disclaimer: this is just an example. For a protocol custom tailored for your specific situation consult with a dog behavior professional -veterinary behaviorist, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist-  to provide in person guidance and assistance considering that multi- pet household dynamics can be quite complex)

 

Dog A (the resource guarder Sadie) is held by a handler on leash while another handler has dog B (Samuel) on leash as well. At first, dog B is walked at a distance where dog A is under is under threshold (she sees Samuel, but Samuel is at a distance where she doesn't feel threatened so she's rather chill). Every time Samuel walks by, Sadie is fed treats. When Samuel is no longer in view, food delivery to Sadie completely stops. Gradually and systematically, the distance is reduced. If Sadie at any time reacts, showing signs of tension, we know that she wasn't ready for that level of closeness yet, so distance is momentarily increased again, until distance can be gradually reduced again. Of course, all steps must be taken to avoid this kind of setback😞

 

At some point, dog A starts learning that food is contingent upon dog B's approach, so her emotions start changing. Since every time dog B is around she gets tasty treats, rather than dreading her presence, she starts anticipating it. At some point, you notice a change in her body language, her eyes are softer, her muscles relax and you even may notice a tail wag--you are witnessing what's known as a positive conditioned emotional response.

 

Afterward, we start increasing criteria, we start doing these exercises when dog A has a toy she doesn't care too much about or is in front an empty food bowl. Every time Dog B is nearby, tasty treats are delivered. When dog B leaves, treat delivery stops. Also, as we progress, we may do exercises where both dogs are on leash and far enough and dog B is fed a treat first and dog A right after. This to create a positive association: every time dog B gets a treat dog A gets one too. This makes dog A think "cool! every time dog B is around, I get a treat, I now like having dog B around as it means I get treats!"So the dog comes to look forward to dog B's presence rather than dreading it. Then gradually distance is decreased, until the dog can be fed treats nearby. 

 

Now you can see, how involved this can become especially when you have to do the same exercises involving all the pets sharing the household and then hold maintenance sessions on a routine basis. At times, when things are too involved, the best and easiest thing to do is to simply avoid giving food to Sadie or toys in presence of your other dog and cats.

 

This often solves lots of headaches, although we must face the fact that management is not always 100 percent effective. A day may come when there may be a crumb accidentally left on the floor, or maybe a cat vomits and Sadie wants to eat that (I know yuck!, but as a cats/dogs owner, I can attest this happens!) Supervision is therefore a must, you can never let your guard down when owning a multi-pet household.

 

Now, I see you mention that your cats and dogs have their own separate feeding areas from each other. However, we may need to adjust this considering that Sadie seems to suffer from the worry of the possibility of the cats or Samuel getting too close. You see, the fact that she eats fast tells us that she is a stressed eater. She is gulping down as much food as quickly as possible because she is worried about some competitor coming along to steal her food. She is also likely very hyper vigilant keeping an eye on everyone.

 

Sure, no dog will ever eat slow, savoring every morsel like us humans do, but they shouldn't be inhaling their food either. So I would suggest creating a "Sadie safe" eating area with perhaps a baby gate erected or feeding her in a separate room or in the yard. She may or may not slow down, but at least we take away a bit of the stress and prevent her from rehearsing the problematic behavior.  

 

To slow her down eating, you can try feeding her meal in a Kong Wobbler or doing a treasure hunt game in her separated area. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/

 

With the fear of the crate, it could be she has some sort of containment phobia going on, but can also be separation anxiety. Does she seem to struggle when you leave her alone regardless of whether she is crated or not? Does she panic in the crate even if you are there with her? 

 

For being grabby with treats, you may find this read helpful:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/

It may help once again to train her away from your other pets, so she feels less the need to grab them quickly. 

Disclaimer: Behavior modification and training meant to tackle dog aggression comes with risks. If your dog has ever shown any form of aggressive behavior directed towards you or other pets, please seek the assistance of a dog behavior professional for safety and correct implementation. By participating in this forum, you automatically accept this disclaimer. 

[AlexisR.]

Thank You so much for all of this information. I will definitely be using it all to train Sadie as well as all of the other training techniques you have on your website. I’m really hopeful about Sadie and her behavior issues. She truly is such an intelligent and loving dog and I just know she will and can learn. She’s Just so strong willed Lol. I’m excited to use these training techniques. I will definitely be creating Sadie her own Sadie eating space now as well.

And in regards to the kenneling questions. She does not like when any of her family that she is attached to leaves her alone. Just yesterday I was outside planting flowers and I had the door cracked open but the outer screen door closed so that I could see the dogs and cats and they could see me. But even though they could all see me Sadie still did not like me being outside without her and she kept crying and jumping up on the screen door. And Yes, she does cry in the crate even when I am right there with her. I have tried kenneling her in my room as well as in the spare bedroom and neither worked for her. 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome!

It sounds like she *could* be suffering from some level of separation anxiety/isolation distress which is putting a dent into her crate training. With these dogs, crating them can make them feel worse because they associate the crate with being left alone or just feeling vulnerable in not being aware of the owner's whereabouts which can add up to a simple dislike of being confined. 

You can find some information and reads with examples of exercises that can be done to reduce separation anxiety in the link below, although the more severe cases may require prescription medications from the vet.  For diagnostic purposes, it helps to record her behavior when you are gone from the home and then show them to your veterinarian and he/she may decide whether meds are suggested along with behavior modification. 

Crating dogs suffering from separation anxiety is subject to debate. Some dogs may do a little better,  but a high percentage do worse. In general, we see where the dog copes better when left alone (and this is where video recording once again come handy!) and stick to that as long as he/she is safe and doesn't risk getting injured.