Dog attacks person coughing or sneezing

[ChristopherTyler]

My black lab appears to almost attack a person when the person coughs or sneezes. The dog hears the cough/sneeze, and then immediately barks and goes towards the person in an aggressive kind of fashion. Once at the person, the dog looks directly at the person but doesn't actually attack them in a physical way. Then if you pet them and say it is ok, the dog either stays for the petting or goes about his way. To someone new, this can be seen as a scary situation, but once it is learned then it is understandable. 

The secondary problem with this is that everyone around tries to not cough or sneeze. it can be very distracting during get togethers. We do not know if this was a trained response by a previous owner as we got him from the humane society and they do not have any history on the dog. Other than this response, he is an extremely nice, loving dog. 

What can or should we do about this behavior? Can it be untrained or trained to a different response?

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

I have encountered similar issues in the past with rescued dogs who were fearful of coughs and sneezes. Most didn't go as far as acting aggressively, considering that most would for the most part exhibit a very strong startle response, but one of them would always approach me when I did cough/sneeze and I often wondered what her real intent was, perhaps she was just trying to make me stop or check if I was OK!  I think this may stem from a lack of socialization, mistrust towards strangers or maybe dogs feeling a bit threatened by the sound either because it startles them or maybe they think it's some sort of bark or growl.  

In any case, I am glad to hear that your dog doesn't attack coughing people in a physical way as that would be quite problematic, however, behavior can always change and we don't want to put him into the position of one day thinking about doing that. Even if he may have no mean bones in his body, we must consider that moving towards people coughing in that way barking is perceived by your dog as reinforcing. In other words, he likely feels that by doing that, the other person stops coughing and therefore is successful. This may explain why he keeps on doing that. 

So what can be done in such a case? I have worked on this issue with the rescued dogs by using behavior modification. Here is what I did:

I would present fake coughing in less intimidating forms. In other words,  I would present coughing in a less intense form and then gradually increase its intensity working at the dog's pace. The technical term for this is desensitization. You can read more about this here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/?s=desensitization

I would therefore cough quieter in a way that doesn't overwhelm the dog, or I would look online for coughing sound effects on Youtube and start playing it at a low volume. However, I didn't just aim to do this, I would also combine the coughing with good things as explained below. 

I would create positive associations. While I would present fake coughing in less intense forms, I would simultaneously make great things happen. The technical term for this counterconditioning. You  can read more about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/?s=counterconditioning

In other words, I would present the fake cough in a less intense form and at the same time I would feed something the dog is crazy for such as a special treat or maybe some strips of roasted chicken (with no fat/bones or spices). After a few sessions, I would then start presenting the fake cough first, followed by the treat, so that the cough would become a cue that the treat is coming.

I would also ensure the dog is under threshold. While I would present the coughing in less intimidating forms,  create positive associations and gradually increase its intensity, I would pay a lot of attention on the dog's body language. In other words, I would ensure the dog doesn't go over threshold. You can read more about threshold here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

If the dog would ever shows signs of stress or fear, I would take that as a sign that I would have to take a few steps back in the process and work more at a less intense form until the dog was perfectly comfortable with that before increasing its intensity. 

With Labs being particularly eager to eat, I think behavior modification may work quite well. Since it sounds like he's reactive more towards others people coughing rather than you coughing, you may need to practice with a few helpers. 

A good place to start may therefore be having helpers sitting at a table, the dog on a leash with you from a distance (more distance also helps make the coughing less intense) and having the helpers practice low intensity forms of coughing (very low volume or maybe starting with just clearing the throat lightly). Every time a person coughs, you would feed your dog a high-value treat initially simultaneously, then right after the cough. Cough, treat, cough treat, cough treat rinse and repeat several times.

At some point, right after the person coughs, make a smacking sound with your mouth, right before delivering the treat. You would have to do these sessions often enough until you see what's known as a conditioned emotional response (CER). In other words, upon hearing the coughing followed by your smacking sound, your dog looks at you for his treat. 

Gradually, the level of coughing may be increased, but you need to carefully watch your dog's body language. If your dog  ever barks or seems stressed or uncomfortable, know that that's a sign of him being over threshold. Once we get a reliable response, and a lovely CER to a higher level of coughing, we can then further progress and try to practice off leash. Every time the coughing occurs, you can make a smacking sound with your mouth, and as soon as your dog turns around or comes your way,  you can give/toss a treat. 

 When these practice fake sessions cannot be done, it would be best to keep your dog away from your guests as we don't want him to rehearse the barking/rushing towards the coughing person behavior. That could lead to setbacks and losing all the progress made. 

After some time, we can then progress to start giving treats only when people really cough, keeping them always handy in a pocket or treat bag, finally progressing where we give treats only every now and then just to maintain the positive associations. For those times we don't give treats, we can still though use our smacking sound and have our dog come to us for some happy praise and pats.

Now, something important to consider is that, if your dog is truly moving towards them in an aggressive fashion, for safety and correct behavior modification implementation, it would be highly recommended enlisting the help of a dog behavior professional for an in-person assessment and in-person guidance. 

The other option rather than behavior modification, would be management, which would entail keeping him in a separate room to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior and its possible aggravation, but Labs being the family dogs they are, may want to feel included, so another option may be erecting a baby gate so he can still see and feel part of the family, but being unable to move towards the guests. He can be given a stuffed Kong or Lickimat to keep busy while back there.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

Best, 

Adrienne

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog is acting aggressively, please seek out the in person-guidance of a dog behavior professional for safety and correct implementation.