New rescue...sweet most of time then abruptly changes

[BarbaraGeer]

We adopted Gemma 3 weeks ago from a shelter.  She is an approx 1 year old pittie mix.  Extremely well behaved first two weeks.  Had kennel cough and wasn’t feeling well.  Much more energy as started feeling better.  Walks well on leash and is nonreactive to other dogs at a distance (no actual meet and greets as of yet), people, bicycles, etc.. She is great with the “watch me” command, sit, down, wait...... the perfect dog......Until she gets a toy.....very aggressive resource guarding.  We Have been working with her...we don’t play tug type games.....stop playing if she’s growling and have used the “trade” method of having her “drop” toys. Pretty good success.  She is learning to drop toys, rocks, Etc when we tell her to.  
thought we were doing real well but 3 nights ago while we were walking in our yard she suddenly started running at me and grabbing my wrist or shirt....growling and barking.  I was so startled and said “NO”. This didn’t help ...I turned my back on her and she continued running around me jumping and growling/barking and trying to grab my arm. I knew that pushing or grabbing her could escalate things so I folded my arms so that they weren’t an easy target.... then she wrapped her front legs around ny ankle and started biting my shoe.....not fooling around...really biting my shoe!  I tried to just stand still and ignore but she wasn’t quitting.  I can usually redirect by telling her to “sit” and “watch me” but she was not responding at all   At this point i tried to walk away.... but she continued to bite my foot. After what seemed like forever but was probably just a few minutes i told her to sit again and she did at which point she became her sweet self again.  I’ve had dogs for 35 years....never experienced anything like this.  The next day i was able to anticipate her starting this behavior and was able to distract her without it escalating to badly but last night She did it again with no warning.  Even more aggressive....Biting and shaking my feet (shoes) and pulling on mu shirt.   This morning we were doing leash work ....working on the heel command.  (I did not have her training collar on....just regular collar). She was paying attention and doing great. There was no pulling or strong corrections on my part at all.  Very calm.  All of a sudden she pulled out of her collar and 
started barking and growling at me...then Ran at me, jumped and grabbed my wrist....no broken skin but definite marks and more aggressive than the other incidents.  Ran at me several times growling/ barking and grabbing at me.  Once again she eventually responded to the sit/wait command and i was able to get away. Today she lunged at my face.  I am at a loss, sad and thinking that we won’t be able to keep her. Afraid for her to be around our grandkids or even an occasional dog sitter. 
she gets two walks a day.....We play fetch and frisbee several times a day,  she gets part of her food in a KONG, snuffle mat or other food puzzle....treats on lick mats

iIve never been scared of any of my dogs.....gotta be honest she’s starting to scare me.  Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

 

 

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

I am so sorry to hear you have been going through this. I wished shelters would conduct more careful and thorough assessments of the dogs they are re-homing. However, here's the thing: many rescued dogs go through what is known as a "honeymoon period' during which they may behave differently initially and may only start showing their "true colors" a few weeks later.  So unless the shelters had volunteers fostering this dog in a home setting, they may not be fully aware of certain behavior problems. While they do assessments for resource guarding, the results are not always as accurate as one would like. 

 It would be insightful determining what may be causing this behavior in the first place so to know how to tackle the issue correctly. Are these behaviors happening mostly at night? Has she had a thorough medical check up? If yes, have you mentioned this behavior to the vet? What training collar are you using exactly? If so, how is it being used?                                      Were there any toys nearby you when these episodes occurred? Can you find any common factors in the episodes you describe?

This may turn out being a difficult case, especially if this behavior is happening when no particular trigger can be identified or if the dog's aggression/anxiety has generalized so much that the initial trigger can no longer be recognized. Since there is aggression and biting, your best option for safety is the intervention of a board-certified veterinary behaviorist of Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or some other experienced dog behavior professional (not a simple dog trainer). The use of force-free behavior modification would be important considering that most aggressive behaviors are due to underlying anxiety. 

 In the meanwhile, if you decide to undertake this route,  it would be important playing it safe and doing your best to avoid these episodes from occurring in the first place. It may be also important to start muzzle training for safety. However, being that she has recently lunged at your face, you may need to train this under the guidance of a dog behavior professional to play it safe since muzzle training puts your face close to the dog and some dogs aren't comfortable with this.

 Disclaimer: Behavior modification comes with risks and often required the expert guidance of a professional for correct implementation. If your dog is acting aggressive please enlist the help of dog behavior professional for safety.

 

    

[BarbaraGeer]

Thanks for the quick reply.  
This is our 3rd rescue and we are familiar with the “honeymoon period”. That’s why we weren’t too concerned when she guarded her toys the first day or so.  We were encouraged by how quickly she responded to training “drop it”.  It takes treats but she is improving every day.   She does not guard her food at all and is very relaxed eating when we are near her. Even to put our hand in food dish.  
I don’t blame the shelter. They saw a beautiful mild mannered pup who liked everybody and was easy to get along with.  That said....they told us that they had not had any time to play with her.  She had been there for two weeks.  They said she was an owner surrender and had lived with a 3 year old child. (Right now i wouldn’t even consider allowing my 3 year old granddaughter to be around her). They   said she was surrendered because owners apartment complex would’nt let her stay.  You are right.....a foster could have provided some much needed information.

To answer a few of your questions:  The first incident happened in late afternoon.  I had been sitting with her in the grass in our yard.  She was very relaxed and enjoyed a belly rub.  When we got up and started walking around is when the first incident happened.  Later that night, my husband got down on the floor and were playing......this was not rough and tumble play..... just laying around together while watching tv.  A few minutes later we went outside again....my husband and I and Gemmy.   That’s when she did it again.  This time we were pretty easily able to redirect her after a few seconds  just by telling her to sit. She immediately calmed down.  We decided we couldn’t play at her level (On floor or on ground) anymore and have not since. Yesterday it happened twice after just walking in the large fenced yard on a potty break.  This morning started by walking around and then we tried a little leash work.  We have done this every day with no problem.  There were no toys around during any of the episodes.  

She wears a nylon slip type training collar on walks (at this point she is a good loose leash walker)but was not wearing it during any of the incidences.

She was checked out thoroughly  by the vet the day after we brought her home. I did mention her guarding toys but vet thought, as we did, that was probably due to her just coming into our home from the shelter and we could most likely work through it with time and patience.  She has improved greatly. 
We have been able to get close to her face since day one with no problem.  Took her for her first nail trim yesterday and she had everyone falling in love with her.  very friendly to staff and no reaction to the husky also being groomed.  
That’s why this whole thing has me so shaken.  Unfortunately we don’t have a behaviorist anywhere within an hour from our home which makes this even more upsetting.  She’s wonderful most of the time.........just not sure if we are the right people for her.  My heart’s pretty much broken.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond

Thank you, Barb                                                      

 

 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the additional details, they are very helpful.

I am glad to hear that she has improved a lot with the "drop it." This exercise may look like a simple obedience command, but it works on many levels. In ideal situations, and when taught correctly, it conditions dogs to learn that, when they have an item in their mouth, and they give it up, we are offering something better. When training this, I  look for what is called a "conditioned emotional response," where the dog looks forward to us approaching, and their face is happy, their body is relaxed and maybe even the  tail is even wagging a little bit in anticipation for some goodies they will get in exchange of the items dropped. 

Now, in the drop it section, there is a little warning. It says ""if your dog shows signs of aggression such as stiffening, growling or showing teeth, please stop training this exercise and consult with a professional. " The reason for this disclaimer is that resource guarding involves more behavior modification rather than regular training. In training, we are primarily teaching dogs to "operate" to perform desired behaviors (sits, downs, tricks etc) that are reinforced by us. Sure, we can also change some emotions while training, but this is often just part of the package, it's not our primary goal in most cases. In behavior modification, we instead aim primarily to work on changing a dog's emotions, although there can also be some elements of training incorporated within it at times. 

So we are looking at two different areas of specialty, and therefore, in the case of a dog with a resource guarding issue we need to take a different approach and therefore we need to consider many additional things other than just training a dog to drop.

-For instance, we may start by not asking to drop yet, but work more on creating positive associations (counterconditioning) with us approaching tossing goodies when the dog is in possession of a resource starting from a distance. 

-It's not only though a matter of mechanically tossing goodies, but also making sure that the dog is comfortable. So we need to be careful in reading the dog's body language to ensure she's not over threshold. It may take some time to master observational skills to the point of recognizing the most subtle signs suggesting that a dog is getting stressed and is about to go over threshold. 

-On top of this, it takes a certain level of skill and expertise to make important decisions such as whether it's time to progress or take a few steps back in the process. Baby steps are needed to prevent set backs and progress smoothly without stressing the dog (desensitization). Also, it's important to find the most suitable management options to ensure safety and prevent the dog from rehearsing the problematic behavior when behavior modification is not being actively implemented.

-When swapping toys or edibles we need to be absolutely sure that the item offered in exchange is truly higher value than what the dog has. This therefore takes perceiving things not from our perspective, but from the individual dogs'. For instance, if a dog grabs a bone from the table, we may think of offering in exchange a liver treat which may seem higher in value, but we don't consider the fact that a bone is a long-lasting delicacy and the fact that dogs get to scrape off little bits of meat off of it while laying on the floor, brings back deep ancestral instincts of the past and this may increase its value. Therefore, once the dog gobbles up the liver treat, he may go back to looking for his bone with a panicky look on his face. This little upset feeling may look like nothing major, but it can lead to the dog thinking twice about relinquishing something next time. 

-All dogs are different and all situations are different. It's up to behavior professionals to create a behavior modification plan that is custom-tailored to fit the dog and the household's needs and particular situations. This takes place through a detailed history taking and assessment often keeping as well into account the dog's medical history, considering that certain medical conditions may lower a dog's threshold for aggression. 

I know that petting a dog while eating or putting our hands in our dog's dish may seem like a reassuring way to prove to ourselves that our dog comes to trust us, but in some cases, we risk the opposite. We may only teach the dog to become tense in our presence. Just like us, our dogs cherish to eat in peace and I am sure none of us would like a waiter serving us a bowl of pasta and then sometimes sticking his hands in it. On top of this, we may never know how a dog reacts to anything that startles him and a hand coming his/her way out of nowhere may cause an instinctive reaction in defense. I rather would just walk by at a distance and toss a few treats in the bowl or just nearby (aiming well!) than just merely putting the hands in the bowl with no specific purpose other than expecting the dog to tolerate it just because we are humans and they are dogs who must tolerate everything we do. 

You may find it interesting reading how Jennifer worked on her dog's resource guarding with the help of a dog behavior professional. Of course, this is a customized plan and therefore implemented for her particular situation so not to be interpreted as a recommended approach. 

The same goes with the scary biting episodes you are describing. This sounds more like something requiring the intervention of a dog behavior professional (like a board-certified veterinary behaviorist DACVB or certified applied animal behaviorist (CAAB) for a thorough assessment and customized plan based on observations. 

From your description, I cannot find a clear antecedent ( common trigger that evokes the biting behavior). The first episode could have been an attention-seeking behavior considering that just prior to that you were giving her a belly rub and then stopped and started walking around. Perhaps, there may have been some low frustration tolerance as well (some dogs just don't cope well with good things abruptly stopping). If this theory was correct, then, in the second episode, the biting would have occurred when your husband stopped playing/interacting with her and then the other episodes would have happened as well when you stopped interacting with her. Yet, these latter episodes don't put together the puzzle pieces as neatly as we may want. They seemed to have occurred for no particular reason other than walking around the yard or doing leash work. 

Sure, there are other possible triggers such as a dog simply with too much energy and not knowing how to burn it, which may lead to rowdy, play aggression which in some dogs seems like true aggression. Or a dog who just can't come to accept people walking away and maybe some herding instincts mixed in (which may be possible if he has some herding breed mixed in with pittie).

Some dogs get hyper and nippy when tired, so she may be cranky like a cranky toddler misbehaving. If she hasn't napped enough reaching the deep REM stages of sleep (when dogs paddle, wag and even howl/ bark in their sleep) enticing her to go in the crate to enjoy a long-lasting chew (that she can finish in one setting) and settle undisturbed may help. Many dogs nap after chewing.

There may also be some elements of anxiety or overstimulation. Being in a shelter is very stressful and those stress hormones tend to linger for some time and must go out in some way. With some very stressed rescues, I have seem them go through stages where they acted super hyper, bouncing off the walls,  acting crazy, nipping, mounting, scratching and chewing and then, right after these bouts, they seemed to have several days of acting calmer and getting some nice deep REM sleep. Then once again, they had another stage or two of these hyper behaviors followed by calmness to a point of finally getting more and more moments of calm.

Management in a case like yours would entail trying your best to reduce these episodes. Here things get tricky since we might not know what the exact triggers are. It seems like you have identified one: playing or interacting with her on the floor (many dogs get overstimulated when we get down at their level). So yes, avoid doing that.

It seems like being in the yard is another place that triggers her "episodes." Perhaps, she perceives the yard as a place release all her pent-up energy/anxiety or frustration. Dogs like routines, and so she may have come to associate the yard with this behavior and hence she keeps repeating it over and over.  We can try to break the cycle by establishing a new routine that greatly outranks what she gets by biting you. However this is a delicate situation since she also resource guards toys and possibly food and most of these activities involve them. So to play it safe, the intervention of a dog behavior professional is needed so to find the most suitable activities for your specific case. Ask your professional whether once out in the yard, you can safely offer these alternate activities, perhaps offer them while you stay behind a door or separate fenced area. 

-Turning on a dog bubble-blowing machine. These machines emit bubbles that taste like bacon and many dogs go crazy keeping themselves busy popping them. 

-Doing a treasure hunt game by scattering  some kibble around the yard before you let her out and then sending her out to search. Here's how to teach this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/

-Asking her to sit and then providing her with a Kong Wobbler to scavenge for her meal rolling it around the yard.

-Asking her to sit and tossing her a stuffed Kong to work on (avoid getting near her, unless your behavior professional suggests tossing goodies her way and the once she's done swapping it with a higher value item) 

-Offering a bottle filled up with kibble/treats; https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/

-Offering a muffin game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/

Once she is done with these activities, be ready to provide something else to do so to prevent her to go back to biting because there's a vacuum of time with nothing going on. So maybe swap between different activities. The more we provide alternate activities that outrank the biting behavior, the less she should rehearse this problematic behavior. It's important to measure how much her biting behaviors decrease over time and determine what the next step is. If she is ever regressing, we need to take some steps back and do some troubleshooting.

As seen, this is a delicate situation. We don't know exactly what may be going on and a behavior professional would be important on so many levels, safety being the most important, especially if she is aiming for the face. acting aggressively and you have children around. Muzzle training would be important.  If there are no professionals in your area, some will be willing to travel to you. Some cases may require just a few visits, and then follow ups can be done through Skype and phone consults. 

I hope this helps, 

Adrienne

Disclaimer: Behavior modification comes with risks and often required the expert guidance of a professional for correct implementation. If your dog is acting aggressive please enlist the help of dog behavior professional for safety. The information provided above are only examples of behavior modification not to be interpreted as specific recommendations.