Barking and biting

[SGriffiths]

My lab x collie has recently started getting really bad when I'm leaving the house or going to bed. Shes aggressively barking and nothing will calm her, including a pack of ham, if I turn my back on her shes jumping up and going to bite my arm!!! She is 1 on 31st july, had her 3.5 months. Please any advice.

[Adrienne]

 Hi there, and welcome to the forums,

This behavior may stem from various causes. On possibility is that you may seeing a form of separation anxiety from your dog disliking to being left alone. While the most classical signs of separation anxiety involve dogs following their owners around the home, and then, upon being left alone, anxious pacing, drooling, barking, whining and/or howling, scratching windows and doors and having pee/poop accidents in the home, some atypical cases may involve dogs who react by trying to prevent their owners from leaving using the only methods they know how to use (body blocking, jumping, biting, grabbing fingers/hands to lead  away). 

Most dogs (besides a few very independent dog breeds) do not like to be left alone. Many dogs learn to cope with their owner's absences, but some dogs develop such strong dysfunctional attachments to their owners, that they have very poor coping skills when left alone. These dogs therefore go on to develop separation anxiety which is a very distressing situation to the dog.

In dogs who try to bite their owners' hands and feet, as they are leaving the house, the behavior may be triggered by the hyper arousal associated with anxiety. These dogs are desperately trying to prevent their owners from leaving the home, because, once left alone, they feel vulnerable and get highly stressed.

It is always a good idea recording your dog's behavior once you go to bed or when you leave the home. Many dog owners are not aware of their dogs having separation anxiety until they record their dogs' behavior when left alone and watch it, noticing several signs of distress. So I would suggest recording a good half hour minimum (ideally the whole duration of your whole absence) when you leave the home to see what your dog does when you leave. If she appears distressed, and shows signs of separation anxiety, that may be what you may be dealing with. With the COVID19 pandemic, many dogs have been starting to show signs of separation anxiety now that some dog owners are starting to go back to work or leaving the home more to do shopping, doctor visits, run errands of various types etc. 

Other than separation anxiety, since your dog is a collie mix, there may be chances that your dog may be attempting to "herd" you. Herding dogs have been known to herd people as if they  were "flocks"  preventing them from leaving the premises or in an attempt to "move them" from one area to another.

Now, it's true that sometimes we may have simply dogs who are jumping and barking because they want attention, but if the behavior you see seems to contextually occur, meaning you notice it only in the two particular circumstances you describe (that is, when you must leave the house and go to bed) most likely there's some dislike about you separating from her. 

Here are therefore some options to tackle the issue:

1) Record your dog's behavior when left alone. Once again, this is to identify signs of panic/distress when left alone. If you are dealing with a true case of separation anxiety, it's important to tackle the underlying anxiety through desensitization and counterconditioning. Since you describe an aggression component here, for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification, enlisting the help of a dog behavior professional would be important. 

Here is a read on desensitization and counterconditioning:

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

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

Here are some reads about separation anxiety:

2) Manage the behavior. In other words, prevent these instances from occurring. It may therefore come handy erecting a baby gate or keeping your dog enclosed in a crate or sturdy play pen /exercise pen or in a dog-safe room, several minutes before you have to leave so that your dog doesn't have a chance to rehearse the problem behavior. Since this happens when you are leaving the home or going to bed, placement of the baby gate or play pen requires some strategic planning. I would put it midway between the bedroom and exit door so it can work in both cases (leave the home, go to bed). 

3) To make being in these areas more rewarding, make sure to provide some tasty goodies when you are placing your dog there. A stuffed Kong or long-lasting chew can help. Also, place your dog there also at times when you don't have to leave so that your dog doesn't predict a pattern.

 2) Another option to try is redirection. In other words, toss some high-value treats or a ball (if your dog is ball-driven) the opposite way as you are leaving. It sounds like though you mentioned that a pack of ham doesn't work to redirect her. This is often a sign that your dog is too over threshold. In other words, your dog is too concerned/anxious/ or focused on the behavior to pay attention. This often means that we need to take smaller steps. You can read more about threshold levels here and how they impact dogs:

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

So in this case, you would have to take some baby steps, pretending you have to leave (but don't leave the first several days of practicing) but splitting the action in smaller more easy to assimilate steps. For example, if your dog starts jumping/biting when you grab the keys and then head towards the door, you would start by barely touching the keys and tossing a treat, then lifting the keys an inch and tossing a treat, then carrying the keys a step and tossing a treat, then carrying the keys and walking towards the door and tossing a treat, then grabbing the keys and walking towards the door and touching the door knob and tossing a treat, then grabbing the keys and touching the door knob and opening the door a little bit and tossing a treat, and then the same sequence but now  even leaving for a few seconds, but tossing a very valuable treat and then returning shortly and then leaving for some more time leaving a longer lasting treat etc. always never leaving yet until your dog seems to be more comfortable with all the process. 

Same would happen with your bed-time routine. You would have to desensitize and countercondition to all the things you do before going to bed, but practice during the day.  Determine which of your behavior/behaviors before going to bed trigger her behavior (does she start getting hyper/anxious when you brush your teeth? walk towards the bedroom?), then split these actions into smaller components and expose your dog to them while you also aim to associate them with goodies your dog loves. 

If at any time you notice your dog starts to want to jump/bite, this is often sign that you are going too fast in the process and need to take a step back and work until your dog is more comfortable at the previous level and maybe split the action a little further. Again, since you described an aggression component here, for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification, enlisting the help of a dog behavior professional would be important to help you out through the whole process. 

3) You can try training an alternate behavior to the jumping/biting upon leaving, such as training your dog to lie on a mat with a stuffed Kong before you leave or doing a treasure hunt game where your dog must hold a stay as you hide all sorts of goodies around the home and you release her to search for them the moment you exit the door or you enter the bedroom. 

Here is how to train these:

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

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

4) Provide more exercise, mental stimulation, brain games and outlets for possible herding behaviors (herding trials, sport of Treibball). Treibball is a new doggy sport where the dog must “herd” several large inflatable exercise balls into a soccer-like net. Start by training (with the use of a clicker) your dog to hand target first, then to target a sticky note placed on an opened cabinet, then to target the sticky note on the cabinet with enough force to close the opened cabinet, then place the sticky note on a large ball and encourage your pup to push the ball with his nose, gradually adding distance. The sticky note can be removed once your puppy grasps the concept.

Here is a guide on training targeting:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

I hope this helps,

Let me know how things go or if you have any questions.

Best,

Adrienne

[SGriffiths]

I think it sounds more like the herding as I've got a camera to watch her and once I leave she sits or lies down and just waits. She wont eat, or play but she doesn't winged it bark or anything else either, just waits. 

We going to try the small steps, and if have to get a professional in.

Thank you I'll keep you up dated x

[Adrienne]

Good to hear she sits or lies down when you leave, that's a good indication she's chill enough in your absence. Keep recording her behavior every once in a while when left alone just to make sure she remains calm. Yes, please keep me posted on how things go. 

Best,

Adrienne