Possessive (of family members) aggression (towards other family members)

[AntonioMontemayor]

I have a 3.5-year-old male toy poodle who is very sweet 90% of the time.  However, we have problems with him when he sometimes becomes overly possessive with family members.  For example, when I am asleep at our bedroom (and he is also lying down beside the bed) and a family member enters the room, he comes out and displays aggressive behavior.  The severity varies and we can usually calm him down quickly (or he snaps out of it on his own when he realizes who it is). We also try to "announce" entry into the room by making noises before going in.  However, there are times it is more difficult to handle like when he is also half-asleep and gets startled (especially at night).   To a lesser degree, he also displays the same behavior regardless of family member in other situations.  For example, when my wife is on the computer and he is lying down underneath her chair and someone approaches or when he is lying down in the sofa with my son or daughter and someone approaches.  In general, he is also easily triggered by noise or sudden movement.  He had undergone some basic dog training and knows how to sit, etc.  We were thinking of neutering him but it seems that recent studies suggest that this might even make the problem worse.  Not sure what to else to do.

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums,

It would be important in a case as such evaluating carefully whether we are dealing with truly protective behavior or whether something else may be going on. For instance,  one important distinguishing factor would be whether he is simply reacting from being startled when lying down and sleeping or about to fall asleep or whether he is truly resource guarding people/acting protective. This differentiation is important considering that the way this type of issue is tackled will vary based on the underlying trigger. 

For instance, we would expect that a dog who is prone to acting protective of a family member in general would do so regardless of whether he is lying down or standing or being walked etc. We would therefore expect to see this behavior also when he is fully awake and bright and alert. Does your dog fit this picture? Does he display aggressive behavior when he is fully awake such as when he is standing nearby a family member? Also, does he show show aggressive behavior exclusively towards strangers approaching or even familiar family members? 

Another important piece of information is whether he may be protective of sleeping areas. Does he ever act aggressive when he is laying down but no family member is nearby him?

Finally,  do you see a recurrent pattern of him exhibiting this behavior only when he is laying down and being asleep or half asleep? 

Thanks for the additional information.

 

[AntonioMontemayor]

Hi Adrienne, thanks a lot for replying.  First of all, the problem is much more pronounced at night.  While it also manifests during daytime, it is much milder and manageable then.  We don't have any problems when he is fully alert and actively interacting with all of us. The problem usually occurs after he "settles down" for some time beside a family member (ex. he lies down at my daughter's feet or under the chair that my wife is sitting on, etc.). Once he settles down for some time in that position, he sometimes reacts if any one of us (even another family member) approaches him and the family member he is with at that time. Its like he turns into a guard dog for that person (even against other family  members).  So we always try to make sure we telegraph and/or announce our approach and that usually minimizes any negative reaction from him (interestingly, he also sometimes reacts if the family member he is with makes sudden movements and so whoever is with him when he is in that state also tries to make his/her movements gentle/slow).  When he does react aggressively, it seem as if he momentarily forgets that he knows the other family member that approached. So what we do is to talk gently to him/move slowly after which he usually calms down.  However, as I mentioned at the start, the problem is more severe at night. There was a time when my daughter slept in our room in a sleeping bag for a few days and he slept beside her. He would get up and growl even at me when I passed close at to them. Maybe its a combination of protective behavior and disorientation when he is drowsy.  I tried an Adaptil collar on him but it didn't really make any difference. Not sure what else to do to change his behavior.  He is really a sweet dog although he does seem to have an anxious personality and maybe that is also a factor.  He generally does not like loud noises and gets easily triggered by them.  He does bark at strangers, the mailman, other passing dogs, etc. but only when he is at home and he sees them outside (he is meek when walking outside with a leash).   Thanks a lot for trying to help!

[Adrienne]

Thank you for the extra details, they are very helpful!

With this type of behavior, I think it's important ruling out possible medical problems just to play it safe and exclude this possibility. Since you mention the behavior is worse at night, for instance, the vet may inspect the eyes to rule out PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) which is not uncommon in toy poodles around the age of 3 and 9 years old. Other conditions to rule out are internal pain, liver disease, kidney disease and infections. Sometimes neurological disorders may be at play.

Some dogs may suffer from sleep disorders as well. REM behavior disorder is a condition where paralysis of motor neurons during the REM stage of sleep fails to work. The end result is violent motor activity during the REM stage of sleep. Dogs with this condition have been reported to run into walls and even bite and attack objects or people around them. This can be another factor to exclude if the behavior occurs mostly when he's sleeping. 

And then we can have simply dogs who have stronger startle responses. A dog may be dreaming and suddenly awakening him may cause him to startle causing instincts to kick. The startle response may vary in intensity.

We may have dogs waking up, lifting the head and looking around and perhaps getting up to follow the owner or just go back to sleep. Many dogs sleep by their owners' feet on purpose so to be awakened by their owners' movements and stay informed about their whereabouts. Some dogs may lightly startle upon being woken up, but their startle responses don't involve aggression. The dog may perhaps yawn (not because he's tired but more because he got startled) and then go back to sleep.

Then some dogs may be grumpy when awakened from napping, and any touch may evoke an episode of growling or snarling. While these dogs may "use their words," there is always a risk for escalation and a potential bite. And finally, some dogs may act aggressively and go straight to a bite, skipping all the warning signs. These dogs may be startled to such an extent that there is no thinking involved. The reaction is highly instinctive with little thinking involved. These dogs react first, think later. Obviously, this can be dangerous depending on the size of the dog and level of bite inhibition. 

  A pronounced startle response may occur in dogs genetically predisposed to be that way. Interestingly, research has shown that fearful responses to certain stimuli or situations can be passed from a generation to another. Not to mention, the impact of stress on developing puppies when they are still in the womb. Research has shown that, when the levels of mother dog's cortisol are consistently high, some manages to seep through the placenta reaching the developing fetuses. When this happens, puppies "learn" that the world is a scary place to be and their bodies develop an appropriately tuned stress system and metabolism. Prenatal stress in mother dog may therefore lead to permanent alterations in their brain structures. Such puppies will be predisposed to anxiety and will incapable of coping and adapting to threats they may encounter throughout their lives.

Even if a dog is born with good coping skills, the environment in which a dog is raised can also play a number on a predisposition to startle. If a dog is frequently bombarded with stressful triggers and events, he will eventually reach his breaking point. Just like the game tetris,  where pieces stack on top of each other up to a point where they will collapse,  when dogs are overwhelmed by daily stressors, they can have a more pronounced startle response and go into fight or flight mode  Such dogs lead highly stressful lives and may be in deep need of restorative sleep and a calm environment so to not be excessively over threshold.

So these are just several possibilities. Tackling this issue therefore requires finding the underlying cause and addressing it correctly. So here are a few ideas that come to mind:

- I would start off with a medical evaluation to exclude medical causes mentioning to the vet that the behavior seems more pronounced at night. A veterinary behaviorist though may be your best bet if you are lucky to have any of these professionals around considering that they can exclude medical conditions and then go on to assessing the behavioral component. 

--Very important is to avoid punishing the dog for biting or attempting to bite. This will only exacerbate the startling response as the dog now feels additional stress. 

-It is best to keep dogs who are nervous when being awakened in a designated area away from too much action (in a crate, x-pen or behind a baby gate) so they don't get startled too often and can get restorative REM sleep undisturbed.

-Prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. Repeatedly startling the dog and exposing to noises risks not inducing habituation, but rather fosters hypervigilance, exhaustion, and increased anxiety. So dogs as such benefit from a sort of "cortisol vacation" where they are kept away from triggers for some time and get to finally relax.

-While we want to avoid direct exposure that frightens and causes further stress we can work on exposing to triggers in a way that isn't overwhelming taking baby steps. This is accomplished with behavior modification using desensitization paired with counterconditioning.   For example, to tackle the fear of noises, you would start exposing to low levels of the noise in a way that your dog is under threshold and pairing the sound with high-value treats. Here is an example of a protocol for dogs fearful of noises: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

-For barking at triggers at home, you may find the look at that exercises helpful: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

-If we can get calmer behaviors around these triggers, we may also reduce stress and its associated startle response if that's triggered by stress rather than medical conditions, a sleep disorder or a neurological condition. These dogs benefit from a multi-faceted approach along with possible calming aids (over the counter calming supplements/prescription meds from a vet).

-While it's a good idea to announce yourselves, but since you mention he reacts aggressively as well if the person he's sleeping with moves, the stakes at risk are too high, so the best option is to provide him with his own place to sleep  (in a crate, x-pen or behind a baby gate) so all family members are safe, so that he doesn't get to rehearse the behavior and so he can be stress-free to a good extent. 

-To address the issue directly, it would require the intervention of a dog behavior professional for safety and correct implementation. Methods used may vary. For example, owners may be instructed to repeatedly announce themselves (in a least noisy way initially to keep dog under threshold) and then toss a super high-value treat as they move nearby, in hopes of creating a positive conditioned emotional response (+CER) so that rather than dreading people approaching when he sleeps, the dog comes to look forward to it. If feasible, and if your dog is a good candidate based on the professional's assessment and level of response (and safety,  based on history or biting, level of bite inhibition-dog may wear muzzle), this can progress to where the dog is talked to to announce our intent, then is touched very lightly (by hand or by a treat tossed on the dog or through a gentle touch with target stick if using hands is too risky) and fed a tasty treat. Touch-treat, touch-treat for several trials and many reps with several setups organized every now and then for maintenance. Of course, these are just examples. Your behavior professional should find the ideal protocol based on your dog's individual situation.

On a side note, a dog I had over not too long ago for boarding and training which had moments of startling severely when awakening from sleep, she didn't growl or bite though, just moved suddenly like a jack-in-the-box toy and this reflexive behavior gradually dissipated to disappear from her behavior repertoire after tackling her anxiety on various levels (hear that method, brain games and training to increase her confidence levels, a predictable routine, exercise, no full exposure to triggers). 

I hope this helps!

Best, 

Adrienne

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. 

[AntonioMontemayor]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to provide such a detailed reply, I really appreciate it!

 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome!

Keep me posted on how things go.

Best,

Adrienne